Isela's Love (22 page)

“My mother stood up and faced him. She was shaking she was so furious. She told him the only way he’d ever get his hands on me was over her dead body. The next day she was dead. She’d never have killed herself. Not when she felt she had to protect me.”

“How long after your mother’s death did it take him to...make advances toward you?”

Isela clenched her jaw, her whole body visibly tensing. “Three days. He called me to his office. He put his arms around me under the guise of concern for how I was handling things. The next thing I knew, he had his hand on my breast. I was thirteen.”

The rage that slammed into Brendan caught him off guard. He wanted Guarros to suffer for the things he’d done to Isela. His heart raced. He would see that bastard come to justice, one way or another.

Brendan crushed Isela to his chest. He stroked her hair, placing soft kisses on her temple, on her forehead. Anything to distract her from her horrific memories.

“I fought him. I told him the only way he’d ever touch me was if he raped me. And then I’d kill myself. He said I was a foolish child and one day I’d realize what he could give me.” She covered her face with her hands, convulsing with sobs.

Brendan continued to hold her.

“He said I’d come to him, because I was a whore just like my mother.”

Brendan swallowed the bile as it rose in his throat. Isela was a strong, beautiful woman, but she’d only gotten that way because she’d risen from a broken, abused child. His heart bled for the horrors she’d endured.

He didn’t even fight it this time. He held her as she wept, his own tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Lie down, Isela. Let me lie next to you and hold you.”

She pulled the blanket up tighter around her. Brendan looked at her, as if noticing for the first time it was all she had on. He’d been so wrapped up in their conversation and where it had led them, he hadn’t even really looked at her attire, or lack thereof.

She glanced around as if coming out of a trance. “It’s late, Brendan. Shouldn’t you go back to your cell?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No. I’d give anything to lie in your arms for the rest of the night.”

He groaned. “Ever since that first night we spent together. It seems the guard is distracted by something, usually Keeri, right about the same time every night. I don’t have to be back for hours.”

“I think we’ve had enough tears and sorrow for one night, don’t you think?” Isela asked.

“I think we’ve had enough for a lifetime.”

“Well then,” she said in a husky whisper, “how about something to take our minds off of all of the bad? How about something good? And if I remember correctly...” She dropped the blanket. “What we had was pretty damn good.”

Brendan gulped. He stared at Isela, captivated by her beauty, aroused beyond the point of no return by her words as well as her actions. The second she dropped the blanket, he was putty in her hands, but when she purred out those words, nothing else existed, just him and her, no evil, nothing bad, just the two of them.

Brendan jammed the chair under the doorknob, ensuring their privacy. He turned back around to find Isela still standing before him gloriously nude, her taut nipples jutting out, inviting him in. He slid his hands around her slender waist and kissed her, taking possession of her mouth like it was the first time. His tongue delved inside her mouth, seeking, exploring. She leaned into him, clinging to him, devouring him. He pushed her away long enough to tear his shirt off.

“Your pants,” she panted, “take off your pants.”

He kicked off his pants like they were on fire.

Isela reached down, gently wrapping her fingers around his massive erection. Brendan moaned. He took Isela’s face in his hands tracing his fingertips over the line of her chin, down her neck, and across her collarbone, followed by light kisses. When he finally reached her lips with his own, she eagerly welcomed his kiss, drawing him in deeper, sending his arousal into overdrive.

He moaned into her mouth as she moved her hands back and forth over the length of him. Brendan urgently grasped her buttocks, intending to grind her against him. When Isela cried out, he released her immediately.

“I’m sorry, Isela. Did I hurt you? Was I too rough?”

She backed away, shaking her head, refusing to meet his worried gaze. “No, you didn’t do anything.”

Ugly realization seeped into Brendan’s brain. A sense of foreboding came over him as him. “Turn around, Isela.”

“No, really, it’s nothing.”

“Please, Isela. I need to see for myself.”

Isela’s gaze dropped to the floor. Slowly, she turned around. A combination between despair and a feral growl escaped Brendan’s lips as he gaped at the purplish, striped welts across Isela’s beautiful body.

All of the passion he’d been feeling only moments before changed into fury, a blind rage exploding throughout his entire being. His muscles tensed and he found it hard to swallow.

“You call this nothing?” he wailed. “I’ll kill him!”

Brendan snatched up his pants, yanking them on with unnecessary force. “That motherfucker has put his hands on you for the last time.”

Isela blocked his path with her body. “No, Brendan, no, please,” she pleaded desperately. “You can’t do anything. You can’t even act like you know.”

She lowered her voice, as well as her eyes. “Then he would know...about us. He’ll kill you. I already thought I lost you once. I couldn’t bear it again. Please, Brendan.”

She took his face in her hands. “Please stay with me. Promise me you won’t do anything crazy.”

Brendan punched the wall, and Isela flinched. “I can’t stand that he hurts you.”

Resting his forehead against hers, he sighed. “It makes me sick. It makes me crazy. Seeing those marks on you? I want to kill him with my bare hands. I want to make him suffer, watch him beg for mercy, and then spit in his face. A slow, painful death is far too good for him. I love you, Isela. When you’re hurt, it hurts me. Knowing you had to endure suffering at that bastard’s hand is more than I can take. I want to rip him apart.”

“I’m...I’m sorry,” Isela said, her eyes swimming with tears.

Brendan crushed her in a hug. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything. That fucking animal Guarros is to blame.”

“It was my fault. I mouthed off to him. I should know better.”

“That does not give him the right to hurt you. To leave marks on you.”

“Believe me, Brendan, it wasn’t that bad.”

“No, I mean it. That’s the last time. We need to get this over with. I need to get word to Darrios.”

Suddenly Isela stepped back, covering her mouth with both hands. “Oh my God, Brendan, the hunter is your brother-in-law.”

“What about him?”

“I didn’t put it together before because I didn’t know his name. I just realized...”

“Isela, I’m not following.”

“I overheard Guarros one day, before you ever got here, discussing his plans for revenge.”

“Revenge for what?”

“The man who killed his brother. It was Darrios.”

“Darrios killed Guarros’s brother?”

“Yes.”

“What was his brother’s name?”

“Ah, Pordo...Prod...Podredo! Yes, that’s it, Podredo.”

“That doesn’t ring any bells for me. What’s he planning to do?”

Isela shrugged. “I don’t know. All I heard him say was he was going to make Darrios pay for killing his brother. I don’t know who he was talking to either. He said he was going to ruin him first, then destroy his family. And then, once Darrios is left with nothing, he plans on torturing him slowly and finally, when he grows tired of the game, he’ll kill him.”

Brendan swallowed hard. “Darrios’s family is my sister and my nephew. I need to find out more about this Podredo.”

“Brendan, they’re changers,” Isela said.

“Changers?”

“They can change into any other creature they want to as long as they’ve seen it before.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I never saw Guarros do it, but I did see his brother. Guarros had me in his office tormenting me for whatever reason that particular day. I managed to get away from him and crawled under his desk where his fat ass couldn’t get to me. Podredo didn’t see me there when he flew in as a bird. He changed into himself right there in Guarros’s office. I’d never seen anything like it. Hideous.”

“What did Guarros do?”

“They had a huge fight over it. Then he slapped me around a little, making all kinds of threats if I ever told anyone. He assured me he’d have everyone believing I was crazy, just like my mother if I said a word. I never did, until now.”

“If he can change into anything, why does he choose to look like he does? Why not make himself more attractive?”

“From what I’ve been told about changers, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to maintain a change for any amount of time. He doesn’t want anyone to know what he is, and it isn’t possible for him to remain something else indefinitely. He doesn’t really have a choice.”

“We need to make a plan. I think we can trust Bashua to help us.”

“Oh God, Brendan, we can’t let Guarros know you have any connection with Darrios. That’s how he could get to him. By turning into you.”

“Christ, I’ll bet that’s his plan. To change into one of the trustees. The only ones who need to know the gate code are the escorts. Jesus, they could ride him right to the farm. When is the next delivery due?”

“Next week.”

“Okay. We have to get some evidence of his crimes so the Council can take him out before then.”

Isela tightened her jaw. “Or I could just kill him.”

“Right, so you can spend the rest of your life locked up here instead of with me? I don’t think so.”

Isela wrapped her arms around Brendan’s waist. “Do you really think we have a chance at a future?”

He smoothed the hair off her face. He kissed her tenderly. “More than just a chance. It will happen, Isela. I promise you.”

“I’m sorry Guarros ruined our evening together.”

“The night isn’t over, Isela. He might have altered it a bit, but I refuse to let him ruin it.” He sat down on her bed, pulling her close to him. “Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll just lie here next to you.”

Isela smiled warmly at him. “How did I ever get so lucky to have found you?”

Chapter Twenty

Darrios and Evan arrived at the prison with their delivery right on schedule, much to Brendan’s relief. He’d written Darrios a lengthy note. Now he just needed the opportunity to give it to him.

Unfortunately, Brendan’s work assignment didn’t give him close proximity to anywhere Darrios or Evan would be. He could only hope Darrios would stall so they could hang around until lunchtime.

Brendan hurried through his work, watching the sun rise high in the sky. He finished his work minutes before the noon meal bell. Dropping his tool belt, Brendan sprinted to the dining room. He scanned the room for Darrios, but didn’t see him. Usually, when they made a delivery, he and Evan came in to help put the meat away, to make sure it was done properly.

Brendan spotted Isela from across the room and smiled. The sight of her made his heart swell. She smiled, blushing. Brendan was finding it increasingly difficult to pretend there was nothing between them when they weren’t alone. He wanted to scream it from the rooftop, but it would only endanger them both.

He went through the lunch line, accepting his food from her as though she were merely an acquaintance, like she hadn’t been screaming his name last night in the throes of the orgasm he’d given her, as if he hadn’t held her in his arms until she’d fallen asleep, leaning on his chest.

Their eyes met when she handed him his plate. She blushed again. Obviously she had some recollections of her own about their previous night together. Brendan kept the smile he had for her hidden. He’d give it to her later, along with several other things he had in mind.

The night guard continued to get preoccupied every night, allowing Brendan to come and go quite freely. They’d stayed up every night making love, talking, even just to hold each other. He cherished every second he had with Isela, knowing it could come to a stop any time. If he was caught, the consequences would be severe, but well worth the risk.

Brendan sat down at a table by himself to eat his lunch and wait for Darrios, all the while speculating on what he and Isela would do later.

He spotted Darrios as soon as he entered the kitchen area, barking orders at one of the inmates. Nodding, the young man hurried off, assumedly, to do whatever Darrios had told him to.

Brendan glanced around to make sure Guarros wasn’t lurking around somewhere watching him. He slowly made his way toward Darrios, purposely going the long way, around tables and people, to mask what he was really doing.

Darrios obviously picked up on it because he started doing the same thing toward Brendan. As Brendan threw his trash into the receptacle, Darrios came up next to him to throw something away also. He slid his other hand into Brendan’s pocket, retrieving the letter Brendan had written him. He jammed it into his jacket and walked away without a word.

****

Standing in the bathroom stall, Darrios made sure the door was locked before opening the letter he’d taken from Brendan’s pocket. He swept his hand over his head through his hair as he read.

Darrios,

Things are heating up quickly around here. Isela says Guarros is a changer. He says you killed his brother, Podredo, and now he’s out for revenge. He’s planning to destroy your family and then come after you. Apparently, he’s been planning this for quite a while.

Bashua hates Guarros as much as Isela and I do. I spoke with him and he says you guys are right about Kie. The fact that Guarros abuses the female inmates is no secret either. It’s been going on since he took over.

There’s other things too. He’s been pocketing a nice little allowance for himself and doctoring the books. Bashua told me Guarros keeps the real figures in a maroon-colored folder in his residence, which is above the prison. I need to get my hands on that folder.

Bashua doesn’t think the council will ever intervene with Guarros unless we get some rock-solid evidence against him, so that’s what we have to do. He has an idea. He’s going to do something so high on the warden’s list of no-no’s that Guarros throws him out into Midland unprotected. You have to be waiting for him so the scabras and viocomen don’t get him.