Part 17 (1/2)

Diego lay on his back in the water, dead. Vivian sprang to her feet, crying, as if in relief, as if he'd freed her from a monster. 'Oh, G.o.d, Cab, thank you, thank you.'

She took a step toward him, her arms wide.

'Stop.'

Vivian froze. 'Cab, what are you doing?'

Cab aimed his gun again, this time at her head. 'Get on your knees,' he told her.

She stood in the sand. 'Cab.'

'Do it!' he shouted.

Vivian's knees sank into the dark sand. She squared her shoulders, as if to show off her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to him. She was beautiful, even with her white skin splattered with Diego's blood.

'So what happens now?' she asked him.

'Now I take you to the police. Now you spend the rest of your life in a stinking hole.'

'You can't do that to me.'

'Watch me.'

'I lied to you, Cab,' she admitted. 7 cheated on you. I betrayed you. But the rest? I didn't know. Diego was running from you, but I had no idea what he was planning. I would have told you if I'd known.'

'Twenty-seven people died, Vivian. The police won't care. No one will care.' 'Just let me walk away. You have Diego. He's dead.'

'You can mourn him while you sit in your little box.'

Vivian's face screwed up in anger. 'Is that what this is about? I f.u.c.ked you, and now you f.u.c.k me back?'

'This isn't about you and me.'

'Oh, like h.e.l.l it's not.' Vivian spread her knees wide, exposing the shadow between her legs. She leaned backward, stretching her torso, balancing on her palms. 'Is this what you want? You want a last ride, like Diego?'

He felt his fury resurfacing. 'Shut up.'

'Come on, Cab. I'm just a wh.o.r.e. I'll do whatever you tell me to do.'

'Stop it. How could you do this to me?'

'I'm sorry. We were both fools.'

T loved you,' Cab shouted. 'I still love you.'

She bowed her head. Her hair fell across her face. 'Then let me go. Don't put me in jail for the rest of my life just because I lied to you.'

'I don't have a choice, Vivian.'

'Cab,' she pleaded again.

He wanted it to be over. He never wanted to see her again. He wanted to begin the process of dismantling her face from his memory. Cab let his arm fall, pointing his gun toward the beach. He hadn't counted on her desperation, her willingness to betray him again. Vivian grabbed Diego's gun from the sand, taking him by surprise. She didn't hesitate. She wasn't sentimental. In a single motion, she swung her bare arm round and fired.

She missed. She was an amateur. The bullet sang by his ear, but Vivian never made the same mistake twice. Her arm s.h.i.+fted, aiming again, and he knew her next shot would be dead square into his brain.

Cab raised his arm and pulled the trigger at the woman he loved. He didn't miss.

Cab's wine gla.s.s was empty, and his skin was numb. He turned his back on the harbor and went inside. In the warmth of the apartment, he smelled his quiche burning, and when he opened the oven to a cloud of smoke, he saw that his dinner was charred and inedible. It didn't matter. He wasn't hungry anymore. He poured more wine. More than half the bottle was gone.

His phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID and saw that Lala Mosqueda was calling from Florida. He was glad to have a conversation with someone other than Vivian, and the truth was, he missed Lala. He'd felt himself falling for her when they dated. He didn't know if their relations.h.i.+p would have gone anywhere, but he hadn't wanted the risk of leaving himself vulnerable, as he had done once before. That was why he'd pushed her away. As usual.

'Mosquito,' he said automatically, and his face screwed up with self- disgust. He was doing it again. 'Sorry. Lala.'

'h.e.l.lo, Cab,' she replied. 'I tried you twice. Where are you?'

'The Arctic, I think. I'm pretty sure I saw a polar bear. Anyway, the signal comes and goes around here. Are you still at the office?'

'No, I'm home.'

'Good. You work too hard.'

Lala was slow to reply. He knew she was wondering if he would sting her with a joke. Anything to maintain their distance.

'Yeah, well, home's no treat. The neighbor's yipper dog is barking again, and someone didn't take out their trash this week, and the a/c is broken, so it's like a compost pile in the rainforest in here.'

'Florida,' he said.

'Exactly.'

'You're welcome to stay at my place while I'm gone,' Cab suggested.

Lala was silent.

'It's right on the beach,' he added.

'I know,' she replied coolly.

'I know you know. I'm just saying. The a/c works. You could feed my fish.'

'You have fish?'

'Actually, no.'

'Are you drunk, Cab?' Lala asked.

'A little.'