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Guy Bianchi
Pulhapanzak Falls, Honduras
Guy leaned over the railing and searched the water. The sun was finally breaking the horizon but it was still difficult to see down to the water. Boulders created long shadows and plenty of places to hide. Guy strained his eyes looking for any movement.
Juan, a hot-headed man from Colombia, argued Gray was hiding right under their feet. Guy didn’t join in the discussion. Jose, a Mexican national, tried to calm Juan. The three men had worked together for years running drugs up to the United States, the largest purchaser, and bringing money back down.
Up until now, the handoffs had always gone off without a hitch. Guy would fly up to Victoria, Texas or further to make the trade. Guy’s cover as a hands-on CEO of a non-profit worked every time. The foundation was based in the US, but Guy ran the operation out of his hostel. Travelers wanting to volunteer some of their time to help the locals were plentiful.
Guy flew local, handmade products to the US to be sold online. It justified his frequent trips to the States. Local customs agents and police were paid handsomely to look the other way as the secret bottom of the plane was either loaded or unloaded along with the legal wares. In twenty years, they’d never even had a close call.
Until today. Until Gray.
Guy knew he shouldn’t bring Gray to the drop but what else could he do with him? Kidnapping Gray had been a spur-of-the-moment action. His whole plan had gone haywire, and he’d made it up as he went.
Guy’s plan had been coming together throughout the last week. Wreak havoc on the hotel, slowly and methodically, until the grand reopening weekend where his final act would unfold. The death of a dancer would send chaos through the hotel. The show would close. Other dancers would leave the show, running for any other opportunity. Servers and bartenders would seek out other places of employment out of fear. Mischief would reign for months to come as the damage Guy inflicted came to light. Everything from switching hair processing chemicals to damaging boxes of clothes to be sold. The hotel would’ve slowly crumbled before Frank’s eyes while Guy stood back and watched. The Magari’s reputation would be ruined. Sales would drop. It would be the laughingstock of the Strip. It was perfect.
Or, it was, until Regan came along. She seemed to be everywhere Guy went. He would have to duck behind support columns and hide or drop to the floor and crawl away like an idiot. It was ridiculous. How could one person cause so much trouble? What was she doing at the hotel?
When she’d run up the catwalks to confront him, he’d lost his chance to kill the dancer. He’d acted on instinct and changed his plan to work within his circumstances. Guy would just kill Regan instead. As Gray’s new bride, the devastation it would wreak on the family would be endless. Michael and Frank would’ve been heartbroken. Gray would seek revenge but Guy would’ve been long gone and back in Honduras before the authorities were any wiser. What would they have said? The long-missing son of Antonio Bianchi shot her? The authorities would’ve thought they were mad. He’d felt thirty years of betrayal come to an end as he raised the gun. He lusted to pull the trigger. He felt joy as he took aim.
But he couldn’t do it when Gracie had called his name. Not in front of her. He still longed for her every minute of every day. When he’d realized he was surrounded, he changed tactics again. He knew he would be killed without a human shield. Gray made it possible. He was a tough fighter. Guy wasn’t sure he would’ve won if he hadn’t gotten in the stab to the side. It weakened Gray enough that Guy could overpower him, giving him the protection he needed to escape the hotel.
The hotel. The reason Frank had left Guy for dead years before. Frank’s love of power and respect destroyed their friendship. Frank wanted control and money and influence so much that he would kill to keep his chance for it.
Kill his best friend.
Rage, his old friend, swept through Guy. He tightened his hands on the railing. His knuckles turned white. The breath rushed out of him. His vision blurred with red. The response never lessened in these thirty years. Every time he thought of Frank. Every time he thought of leaving his wife and unborn child. Every time he thought of Michael keeping him away. The rage came. Guy had thought about returning, but fear for Gracie’s safety and the safety of his child kept him from doing it. Guy wouldn’t be able to live with himself if they were hurt because of his actions.
The sound of a gunshot brought him back to the moment. Juan pointed his gun toward the decking below their feet, preparing to fire again when Guy heard it.
Someone had cried out below them. Juan had been right. Gray was hiding under their feet.
Smart, Guy thought. He’d need to up his game with this prey.
Juan scrambled over the railing and along the side of the cliff, yelling for Guy and Jose to keep lookout and point him in the right direction. Guy agreed but his mind wasn’t in it. It didn’t matter to him whether he killed Gray later or Juan did it now. Maybe an accident would happen and save them all the cleanup.
Guy leaned over the railing and looked for Gray along the cliff. He fired off a shot in the direction he’d last seen him. Something fell into the water on his left, causing a loud splash. Guy searched the water, expecting to see Gray’s head pop up and float right by him. Nothing. Maybe one of them kicked a loose rock?
Guy turned his head toward the hidden caves. Gray and Regan toured the waterfalls when they stayed at his hostel but he couldn’t remember if they did the caves or not. The caves weren’t advertised. It was only by word of mouth that hikers knew to hire a guide and explore them. ‘Guide’ was a loose term. The guides were made up of young men who’d been climbing behind the falls their whole lives.
Did Guy mention the caves to Regan and Gray when they were tourists?
He couldn’t remember, but he kept his eyes in that direction anyway. His foresight payed off when Gray’s head popped up behind a boulder. Guy yelled for Juan and pointed in Gray’s direction. Guy called out again, warning Juan to beware of the slippery rocks under the water. Juan’s dress shoes would be no match for the slimy algae.
Guy watched Juan slowly make his way toward Gray. Guy didn’t spot Gray again but he had to either be behind the boulder, waiting, or making his own way to the caves. It was a poor choice on Gray’s part. Once he went into the caves, he was trapped. Juan would find him hiding in one and kill him. Gray would be at Juan’s mercy.
The body could be left in the caves. When it was found, the local police would chalk it up to a drug killing with nothing to investigate. It would all work out.
Guy watched as Juan started to round the boulder, a small smile forming on his face.