I clenched my muscles.
The first spurt flew from me like a stream from a hose. It landed on the grass a yard in front of me and slid over the green blades like something from nature. I kept pumping.
Another spurt flew from my cock and landed closer than the first. I kept pumping. The next landed on the ground with less force. Soon, it was just pouring over my hand like lava flowing down the side of a volcano.
“Faith,” I gasped.
The love of my life. Nothing I ever did would recreate the feeling I’d had with her. I’d made her mine. Then I’d lost her.
I’d told her I was bad to the bone. That wasn’t the half of it. The moment she saw me, she should have run. Meeting me was a curse.
I prayed she was still waiting for me.
Chapter 23
Jackson
I WAS EXHAUSTED WHEN I finally got off the bus. After twelve years of wandering, it was strange to be back in the Socorro Valley. It felt good to be home, and at the same time, everything felt foreign. I took in a deep breath of the air. I swear to God, I could smell the salt of the Pacific. It’s different from the Texan coast—fresher, deeper water, bigger ocean. It was the smell of home.
But I wasn’t the man who’d left. I hadn’t set foot in the valley since the day of my father’s death.
That was the day everything changed.
That was the day destiny took over my life.
It was the day I met Faith.
I had my pack on my back as I walked out of the bus station. It was eight in the evening and darkness was setting in. I could have phoned the Brotherhood to come get me, but I didn’t want to return like that. I hadn’t told them I was coming. I figured I should make my own way back to the house.
They knew I was alive, they all did, even Faith. I’d sent her one short letter eleven years ago. It was just a few words, but enough to give her hope. I’d spoken to the Brotherhood a few times during the years too. They would have told her I was still out there. And then there were the periodic killings of Los Lobos members. It wouldn’t take much to follow my trail if you knew where to look.
The one thing I was grateful for was that no one at Los Lobos ever put together the dots. They hadn’t figured out about the Brotherhood. They hadn’t connected Faith’s disappearance to the killings. Everyone I cared about had remained safe.
But a phone call wasn’t the way to return. Not after so long. It just didn’t feel right.
I thought about hitchhiking as I walked along the side of the highway. It was a steep road that sloped down the mountainside and it wasn’t safe for walking. There were a lot of hairpin bends.
But I wanted to walk. I enjoyed it. After being on that bus for two days, it felt good to stretch my legs. And after being away from home for so long, it felt good to be surrounded by the familiar mountains of my childhood.
And then it happened.
I was on one of the blind bends on the road when a black Mercedes Benz came coasting around the corner at high speed, it’s headlights blinding me. It was headed straight for me. I didn’t think. I just jumped. Somehow, the driver had the reflexes to jam on the brakes. The car skidded to a screeching halt. I was down in the ravine next to the road, my leg bloody from the gravel, but the car hadn’t hit me.
It was close, but I’m a lucky son of a gun.
I know a lot of drivers who wouldn’t have stopped. The lady driving this car at least had the decency to get out and check on me.
“Oh my God,” she cried as she ran over, her fancy heels clinking on the road. “Are you all right?”
I’ve said it before. There have been moments in my life like forks in a road. Moments that change everything. Fate seems to come down from the heavens and reach directly into my life. This was one of those moments. I could feel it in my bones, even if I didn’t know what was happening.
I pushed myself up from the ground and got to my feet.
“Goddamn it,” I said, “I hate for a lady to see me flat on my face.”
“Flat on your face? I was afraid I’d killed you.”
“No such luck,” I said. “But you gave it a good shot.”
Her car was pointed at us, the bright lights glaring, and all I could see was her silhouette. She had a good figure, a sexy skirt and blouse, she looked professional. I wouldn’t have minded taking her back into her Benz and punishing her for almost killing me. I tried to see her face but the lights were too bright and I had to shield my eyes.
“Let me help you out of that ravine,” she said.
And then it struck me. That voice. The voice I’d been longing to hear for twelve years. It was her.
It was Faith.
I couldn’t believe it.
My heart pounded in my chest. It was like seeing water after crossing a desert. It was like seeing sunlight after being trapped underground. God, it was like tasting life itself.