Once inside his room, Caleb stood for a moment, staring into nothingness as water dripped off of him. Livvie had said she loved him and he’d made her feel stupid. Something in his gut twisted at the thought and at the memory of her tears. He often thought she looked beautiful when she cried, because she was nervous, or afraid, or embarrassed, but these weren’t the same; he’d really hurt her. She’d hurt, him, too. Caleb couldn’t change who he was.
He hadn’t thought about Rafiq in a very long time. He’d been too busy playing house with Livvie. Too busy to think about the debt he owed and why he owed it. It was probably the reason Rafiq had been in his dreams as of late. It was his subconscious’ way of reminding him not to lose focus. He’d ignored it. He couldn’t do it anymore.
The night before, he’d had a dream about speaking with Rafiq about the murder of his mother and sister. Caleb had been in Rafiq’s study, learning the English alphabet and the sound each letter made. He’d been proud to discover he could use the sounds of the letters to make sense of words. They had begun to look less like a collection of squiggly lines and slowly, but surely, he could read some words without sounding them out.
Rafiq had been teaching him English and Spanish at the same time, because they used the same letters. It had been confusing at first, because they didn’t make the same sounds, but Caleb was learning. The Arabic and Urdu were much harder to read, but easier to speak because he’d grown up with them. His Russian was a mess on both counts, but Rafiq insisted he learn it.
Caleb knew he had to learn the Russian because it was Vladek’s native tongue. Caleb had become hungry for information about Vladek after Narweh’s death, but Rafiq often refused to give too much detail when it came to the murders of this mother and sister.
Somewhere in his mind, Caleb knew the incident was painful for Rafiq, but as Caleb didn’t have a mother or any siblings he knew of, it was difficult to wrap his mind around Rafiq’s emotions. With the exception of Rafiq’s thirst for revenge, which Caleb understood empirically, he often wondered what Rafiq was dealing with emotionally.
Rafiq had given him a long speech about family, loyalty, duty and honor. He said he had had responsibilities to his father and to his country.
“I expect obedience, Caleb. I expect your loyalty. Anyone who betrays me will only do it once. Do you understand?” Rafiq had said ominously.
“Yes, Rafiq, I understand,” Caleb had replied.
Caleb finally returned from his far off thoughts and began to dry off and dress. It was going to be a shitty day. That much, was obvious.
A knock on the door drew his attention. He answered and Celia immediately cast her eyes downward and held a deep curtsy.
“?Qué quieres?” he asked more harshly than he intended.
Celia stood slowly, eyeing him with confusion, but then explained her master, Felipe, had requested an audience with him.
Caleb reluctantly agreed to come down stairs after he was fully dressed. He also reminded her to please feed Kitten. He wouldn’t be returning to her room for the day and he didn’t want her starved. Celia nodded, gave him what he interpreted to be a judgmental look and walked away. Caleb slammed the door behind her.
Caleb dressed quickly, but not because he was in any particular hurry. Afterward, he descended the stairs and met Celia at the bottom. He noted the stern expression and instinctively knew it had to do with the state in which he’d left Kitten. However, he had better things to do than indulge the scorn of someone else’s fuck toy.
“Take me to him,” he said.
Celia eyed him with open disdain, but still dipped her head in acknowledgment and led the way to Felipe’s library. It was the same room in which he’d first encountered Rafiq, and for a moment, he had to wonder if it was truly, Felipe, who would greet him when he entered. He squared his shoulders and prepared himself mentally for any eventuality.
Celia knocked on the library door and waited for Felipe’s recognition before she glared at Caleb one final time and walked away in a huff.
Fuck you, too.
“Come in, Se?or Caleb. Let us have a conversation,” Felipe said jovially. Whatever was up Celia’s ass, Felipe didn’t seem to share it. “May I offer you a scotch?” Caleb entered the library and took the beverage Felipe offered.
“Gracias,” Caleb said and took a seat in a reading chair near one of the book shelves. He refused to sit across from Felipe’s desk.
“De nada,” Felipe replied and joined Caleb by the books.
Caleb got comfortable in his seat and sipped from his scotch. It was perhaps too early to be drinking, but he reasoned it had already been a long day. He was eager to get this conversation with Felipe over with and find more interesting diversions for the day. “Forgive me, Felipe, but why am I here?” Caleb got to the point.
Felipe smiled and sipped from his glass. “I only want to talk. You and your slave have been here for quite some time and we have shared very few conversations.”
Caleb sighed, but tried to keep it respectful, “What did you want to discuss?”
Felipe leaned back. “So serious, my friend. How are things progressing with the girl?” Felipe asked. He was too casual for Caleb’s taste.
“Fine.”