Sunday 'Sunny' Santos

…later that afternoon…

The drive from the range had been quiet and tense.. After a fun day of working on my aim and snacking on vending machines delicacies, the mood had quickly soured when I'd made the mistake of trying to talk to him about last night and the unforeseen consequences yet to unfold..

From that moment on he became guarded again.. All those walls and defences clicked back into place and suddenly Max and I were strangers once more..

Now, as I climb from the cabin of the SUV, a salty seabreeze whips my hair about my face as thick grey clouds gather overhead, casting the afternoon light in a miserable tone..

The rhythmic slap of waves crashing against the piers beneath the docks drowns out the rush of the nearby motorway, while seabirds squawk and quarrel by the waters edge..

“What are we doing down here?” I look around the isolated sea of shipping containers and messy discarded commercial fishing equipment, wondering what kind of business Max could possibly have in a place like this..

Everybody in Darkport knows the docks are a dangerous place and now standing here at the centre of it all, I am beginning to understand why.. It's isolated, eerie, like another world away from the city.. The kind of place where nobody would hear you scream..

“You'll see..” He grunts, motioning me to follow with the nod of his head..

We wind through a maze, passing though the colour coded zones that seem to be placed in strategic blocks, optimal for stacking.. We pass through dark blue containers with peeling paint and faded numbers.. We make our way around the green containers, where a pungent herbaceous scent seems to hang in the air.. And finally we stop at the centre of the red containers, marked in white Cyrillic lettering..

Max takes a firm hold of the locking mechanism, cranking it upwards with an impressive display of brute force.. The rusted hinge of the heavy shipping container door creaks as it is pulled open to reveal a pathetic sight..

The stench of sweat and urine offend me as I peer into the darkness, my eyes blinking to adjust.. Inside my shocked gaze finds a listless Javier, slumped against the back wall, a chain fastened tightly around his neck with a padlock that keeps him from moving beyond a few feet..

My horrified whisper might as well be a scream for the decibels of deafening silence.. “Me siento enferma..” (I feel sick)

Upon hearing my voice Javi lifts his head, leering at me through one eye, the other swollen shut.. Evidence of the severe beat down Luka had administered..

“Cariña, qué estás haciendo aquí?” (baby, what are you doing here) Javi spits hatefully, as if his miserable circumstances were my fault.. But I didn't do this.. I didn't put him here.. “Estás cansada de su Polla Rusa ya?” (are you tired of his Russian cock already)

Outrage roars like a lion in my chest at his demeaning accusation and for the first time in forever I react without thinking, without fear of retribution or punishment.. “¡No puedes estar celoso, Javier! ¡Me vendiste!” (you don't get to be jealous, Javier. you sold me)

"I was going to get you back, Baby, you know I was!" Javier shouts, attempting to climb to his feet but kept down by his shackles.. "I love you, Cariña.. I've always taken care of you--"

"You never loved me! You're a liar and a cheat and a-- a-- rapist!" The cathartic anger and injustice vents from my mouth like venom and nothing could stop it now.. The damage is already done and my heart is already cold.. "I hate you, Javier.. I hate you and I never want to see you again!"

"You don't mean that, Sunny--"

“Don't listen to him, Zayka..” Max steps up beside me to offer his sleek black pistol, pressing it into my hands.. “You wanted revenge.. It's yours, take it..”

“You want me to kill him?” I frown in confusion, looking between the two men with uncertainty..

Max studies my face as if seeking some kind of answers, though his own stoic mask gives nothing away.. “You said you wanted him dead..”

I did say that.. And I had meant it.. Hadn't I?

"Sí.." (yes) I nod, blowing out a steadying breath.. Slowly turning and lifting the gun to take aim, just as Max had taught me.. But I can't keep my hands from shaking.. My body rebels against my head, refusing to comply with the task..

It feels as though I am being torn in two, stretched in opposite directions between right and revenge.. The pressure of it all, the stakes, it is overwhelming and my seams suddenly become unstuck..

“I can't do it..” I begin to sob, my entire body trembling with rage and remorse as I collapse, only to be caught against Max's muscular chest..

“Don't cry, Bunny..” He soothes softly, petting my hair before carefully extracting the gun from my grasp with one hand as the other settles comfortingly around my waist..

I sniffle, burying my face in the soft cotton of his T-shirt.. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you, Max.. But I'm not a killer..”

“I don't expect you to kill, Zayka..” He tells me, drawing back to set me upright, as I quickly wipe away my tears in the back of my sleeve.. “I want you to you to forgive..”

A spark of suspicion spreads in me.. How could he ask me to forgive Javier, after everything he has done?

But I don't dare argue that here after my failure, nodding instead.. "I'll try, Max.."

“Good girl..” He nods over my shoulder.. “Now go wait in the car..”

Not needing to be told twice, I turn quickly, darting through the maze of containers, back to where the headlights glow in the distance.. I almost make it to the passenger door when the bone chilling sound of a single gunshot rings out through the cold night air..

-BANG-

I jump in shock and freeze on the spot, my mind reeling and my stomach spinning.. Turning around I see Max striding towards me out of the darkness..

“I thought you were going to let him go?” I shudder, wrapping my arms protectively around my waist.. “I thought you wanted me to forgive?!”

“I wasn't talking about him..” Max grumbles, eerily calm and composed for somebody who had just committed a cold blooded murder..

“Dios mio.. Max..” I whimper.. “What have you done?” I heave uncontrollably, hyperventilating when my footing falters.. Before I can hit the asphalt, a pair of strong arms encircle me, catching me in a protective hold..

“It had to be this way..” He speaks low and soft, cradling me against him.. His winter-blue eyes hold no evil in them, only concern and sadness.. "I warned you, Little Bunny.."

“You did but–” I can't disagree, though that does little to settle my upside down stomach and neither do the manic butterflies that always seem to show up when Max is around.. “I didn't know it would happen like this..”
Looking up into his electric eyes, I am devastated by the shockwave of conflicted emotions rippling through my veins.. My shoulders shiver as I heave and hyperventilate, struggling to breath between shoulder shaking sobs..

“Calm down, Sunday..” When he speaks, it is heavy with authority, almost an order..

One I am helpless to resist..

Inhaling a deep breath, I peer up at the brooding Loan Shark as my blood begins to pump and pool at my core.. I'm not sure if it is the shock setting in or something more sinister, but a wild recklessness overcomes me.. His hard, unrelenting stare pours into me, filling me with a twisted cocktail of grief and vengeance, fear and lust.. It all combines to make me just crazy enough to throw away all caution as I push up onto my tip-toes and kiss him..

Beneath my fingertips I can feel his shoulders snap taut, caught off guard by the unexpectedness of my brash actions.. But that hesitation quickly gives way to a vicious desire and soon he scoops me up to crushe me against his rugged physique, hungry lips part, daring me to deepen the kiss..

His tongue is warm velvet in my mouth, demanding more as my head tips back and a needy moan escapes me.. The wrongness of our heated passion is what makes it so right.. I could try to deny it, but I have wanted to kiss Max since the moment our eyes met across that casino table.. All I can do is hope I’m not an idiot for thinking that maybe he has been wanting the very same thing..

Max feels like my sanctuary in the storm of chaos that ensnares me in its wicked eye, tossing me around and beating me up.. And all it took for me to be able to admit it to myself was to remove the one obstacle that had kept me chained, trapped as a prisoner in my own heart..

Javier..

With Javi gone, all fear of him punishing me or holding his power over my head have evaporated into the ether.. I know I should be scared, shocked and sickened by what Max has done.. But as my body bends to his command as he hauls me so close his hardening masculinity grinds against my belly, I feel nothing but the burn of a blinding white-hot flame..

My fingers spear through his hair, gripping needily at thick dark locks to keep myself from falling into our kiss so deeply that I’d drown.. A powerful hand cups and squeezes my backside, the other remains anchored at the back of my neck while I melt into the intoxicating rhythm of his all consuming kiss..

After an eternity, contained within mere minutes, Max regains his self-control as I fight helplessly for my own.. Carefully setting me down to wrap his hands around my shoulders and using his formidable restraint, he pulls back to hold me at arms length.. I blink dumbly, swaying slightly as the spell is broken and reality comes crashing back down all around us..

Whoa... What the hell was that?

The look in Max's cool aquatic stare is dangerous, dark and primal.. His broard shoulders heave with aggressively ragged breaths, along with a deep warning growl.. “Get in the car, Zayka.. Before I do something I'll regret..”

A note from the author:

Thanks for reading Besties, I hope you enjoyed this double update!
Don't forget to show your support by leaving me a comment and voting for each chapter.

Much Love
Leela ❤️