His Purple Heart

36 - Tik Tok

A second or maybe three hours later, I woke up, disoriented, with a braincell frying headache. I blinked several times to clear my blurry vision. My hands were tied behind my back with scratchy rope that made my skin itch while cutting off my circulation.

I found myself lying on a bed in what appeared to be a shabby, run down motel. The sheets were thin with holes in them and they smelled like vomit. A TV box from the 1950's sat across from me collecting dust and the floor looked like it hadn't seen a broom in over a century.

"Sleeping beauty's awake," a heavily accented male voice drawled not too far from where I was lying down on my side. "I thought I had to get your prince to come wake you up – have him kiss those pretty lips. "

I whipped my head in the direction of the deep compelling voice almost giving myself a whiplash. Sitting arms crossed on a chair, slicked back midnight black hair gleaming under halogen lights, a barely discernible nose ring drilled into his left nostril, was a man I'd never seen before.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't recognize me just because I cleaned up a little?" Obsidian eyes regarded me coldly as he stroked his goatee.

I blinked like a fish in a fishbowl. "Who are you?"

He scowled, unfolded his arms and stood up. He was dressed in a grey suit two sizes too big. A box of cigarette was laying on the nightstand and he lifted it, pulled out one of the thin cancer sticks, stuck it between his lips and lit it up with a lighter from his pocket.

He let out a stream of smoke, his calculating eyes fixed on me. "I think you need me to help your memory along a bit." He dropped the cigarette in a glass astray and reached inside his jacket.

The silver gun he took out looked very real and he was aiming it right at my head. "I killed two people tonight trying to get to you, so you better remember who the fuck I am, or you're next."

"Okay," I said backing up on the bed using just my butt and my legs. "I need a minute to think."

"You have 10 seconds. A second for every minute I was gone only to come back and find my woman gone."

Recognition bloomed. I could place the accent now.

Canada.

I felt like a kid who had gotten the answer right to a very difficult pop quiz question. Even if the prize meant that I got to live for five minutes longer.

"Alvarez?" I croaked.

"That's right, sweetheart." His smile was predatory.

"What do you want?" I said, my voice trembling just a little.

Alvarez was a dangerous man. He'd been to prison several times in his lifetime and it looked like he was prepared to go back in. He'd murdered two people in a mansion filled with veterans, soldiers, and cops. And then somehow he'd managed to kidnap me, taking me away from the festivity without anyone noticing. He was like a fucking ghost, docking in and out in the mist.

He came around the bed, his movements slow and thoughtful. "The question is more like 'who do I want'?"

"Trystan?" I shook my head in denial. "I'm not giving him up so you might as well kill me now and get it over with."