Delgano: A Dark Contemporary Interracial Romance

Fifteen minutes after they set up their trap, it remained empty, but they’d had to replace the bait leading up to it several times. In Brazil, they would have already caught five, which made him wonder whether tropical climates made lizards more easygoing—or lazy.

They lay on their backs on the sand, far enough from the trap that the lizards didn’t sense them as predators. It wasn’t quite dark enough for a sky full of stars, but he saw a few twinkling spots, and the moon was already visible.

“Mr. Delgano?” Ahmed called. “What was your job before? You were a police?”

Police officers were referred to as law enforcement. He’d been an enforcer. At the moment, it didn’t matter that they had operated within their own definitions of legal and illegal, or that he’d exterminated an officer or two as part of the job. Part of Chamas’ dominance came from controlling legal and political systems, but occasionally, they caught someone trying to play both sides.

“You could say that,” he said.

“I want to be a doctor,” Qasim chimed in.

“And I want to be a pilot.” Ahmed pointed to the sky. “Pilots can go anywhere in the world.”

“You don’t like it here?” he asked.

Qasim shook his head. “It’s too dry. Me and Ahmed, we want to live by the beach.”

“What about your sister? Where does she want to live?”

The boys exchanged glances.

Sayeda poked her head outside from the back door. “Qas, Ahmed, dinner’s ready. Show Mr. Delgano where to wash up, okay?”

They checked the trap one last time, collectively groaned when they found it empty, and went inside to clean up.

Sayeda was a tremendous chef, but at home, in her kitchen, she was a guru. They had perfectly seasoned fish tagine with vegetables, couscous, and buttery skillet bread. Once the four of them had polished off dinner, she brought out crispy donuts that were light as air on the inside.

They stayed up with the boys until Qasim and Ahmed began to succumb to all the food they’d eaten, and he waited patiently in the family room while they cleaned up and went to bed. The minute he was sure they were alone, he grilled her.

“Sayeda, what ‘bad men’ were here?”

“Come and take a walk with me,” she said, headed to the front door. “Walking’s good for your digestion.”

This woman knew what he did, what he was capable of. If someone was threatening her or her family, it would make sense to tell him. Even if she didn’t want him fighting her battles, she had to know he would derive pleasure from doing so.

They left the house and walked out to the road.

“You’re leaving the boys alone?” he asked. “When there are men around who clearly make them uncomfortable, that you’re going to tell me about, even if you think you’re not?”

“See that rock?” She pointed to a large boulder not too far from the house. “That’s where we’re going.”

“Who are these men, Sayeda?”

“I’ll tell you on the rock.”

“Fine.” She shrieked as he scooped her up and raced to the rock, making it in half the time. “Where do you want me to put you down? Up there? On that flat surface?”

She tightened her grip around his neck. “Hold me forever?”

“I’ll hold you as long as you need me to, notwithstanding the destruction of my muscles over time.”

“Right here is fine,” she said, laughing. “We can climb up.”

He set her down and made sure she made it safely onto the flat surface at the top of the rock before joining her. A second rock created a natural back for their seated area, and they sat facing the road with what he wasn’t sure would remain a respectable distance between them.

“Show me where you plan to bury my body.” He examined the ground below. “Around here, somewhere?”

“Adrían, burying bodies is your specialty, not mine.”