But then the ground rumbles from a battle that should be giving us an opening to escape through and the fire returns.
Why does Catalina have to be so fucking stubborn!?
“We need to go back to Wilmar’s,” I hear her mumble through the wind. Her head darts on a swivel as she tries to find a route back to safety. If only she knew how unsafe we really are...
“It’s too late to turn back,” I say, stepping towards her. She flinches backwards, turning her shoulder to me as if to protect Oscar from my fury.
Guilt battles anger as my conscience threatens to tear itself apart.
“How do we get back to Wilmar’s!?” Catalina demands, the fire in her eyes directed entirely on me.
A distant blast shakes the ground and I know that our opening is dwindling. If I don’t get these two out of here now, then all of this will have been for nothing.
I step forward again, but Cat is so filled with hate towards me that she’d rather step out from behind the protective brick wall and brave the storm than let me fucking explain to her what’s happening.
“Enough!” I boom.
That gets her to freeze. The swirling wind lifts up her dark hair and wipes the tears from her cheeks. It doesn’t stop Oscar from crying, though. My exposed heart threatens to burn into ashes. “You hear those explosions?” I growl, pointing to the west. Just as I do, another blast shakes the ground. “Those are for you. People are dying to help you escape, and you’re wasting the opportunity they’ve provided. Why!?”
Cat’s guilt furrows her brow. Her eyes follow my outstretched arm before quickly darting back down to Oscar. I can practically hear the internal struggle that’s threatening to tear her apart. Suddenly, I just want to hold her and tell her everything will be alright.
We shouldn’t be fighting each other.
The longer she takes to respond, though, the less I want anything to do with her. She’s putting our son at risk...
Oscar’s continued cries stab me in the chest like ice picks. I need to end this. “Cat...”
“Catalina!” Someone else calls her name before I can get any closer.
“It’s Catalina!” another voice shouts. I don’t recognize either of them.
The wind greets me with a tempered blow as I lunge out from behind the brick wall and instinctively put myself between Cat and those who call her name.
“... And Angel! Oh, my lord!”
The faces of the ragtag group filing in through a nearby alleyway aren’t familiar, but it’s instantly obvious who they are.
Revolutionaries. My revolutionaries.
There are no weapons in their hands, but they seem bruised and battered from some past battle. What are they doing here?
Probably slinking home to rest...
“Sir, sir, it’s an honor to finally meet you!” A man rushes up to me. My initial reaction is to clench my fists and step forward.
Doesn’t he know that he’s interrupting a family matter?
... Of course not.
“I can’t believe you’re actually in the slums!” Another man cries, rushing up to my side. “A true man of the people!”
The wind seems to ease temporarily as I shake the hands of the two men who have obviously been fighting for my cause. I’ve given speeches to those like them countless times before, but I purposely never get too close. Cat has already injected me with enough guilt; the last thing I need is to get attached to anyone else—especially anyone who is putting their life on the line to follow my vision.
Back when I ran my cartel, I had hundreds of loyal soldiers to do my bidding, but barely even a handful of men who I would ever have considered sharing a drink with. That’s just how life is when you’re a leader. These people aren’t your friends, they’re your followers.
... Maybe that’s why you failed.
“Catalina, you are as—” the man who currently shakes my hand tries to approach the mother of my child, but I tighten my grip around his palm, pulling him back, and his words catch in his throat.