The Moral Dilemma (War of Sins Book 5)

“HOW IS HE?” Noelle jumped out of her chair as Lucero entered her apartment.

“Back at work in the temple,” Lucero confirmed. “He’s lucky the guards didn’t take more offense.”

“What do you mean?” She frowned.

“They don’t like it when people disobey.” Lucero shrugged, coming over to her side and laying a basket of food on the table. “He got off easy. They only threw him into solitary for a few days and shook him up a little.”

“Shook him up a little?” Noelle repeated, horrified. So much so that she was ready to dash outside just to get a glimpse of him, worried he might have been hurt.

“Calm down,” Lucero sighed. “He’s only a little bruised, nothing more. I’ve seen others disobey the guards and all things considered, he got away lightly.”

“A little bruised? Lulu!” Noelle exclaimed, pacing up and down the room. “The goal was to get attention off of him, not get him further hurt!”

“And you can’t intervene because you will put the attention back on him. Let it go, Noelle. From what I’ve seen, he can handle himself. He saved you, remember?”

“I remember,” she murmured as a blush stained her cheeks.

How could she forget the most intense moment of her life? Almost a week had passed and she kept replaying the events of what had happened in her mind every second of the day. By now, she had to wonder if she hadn’t embellished her memory with the way he’d looked at her—the way he’d touched her.

God, but it had been the culmination of all her dreams to have him gaze upon her so intently, with so much worry. His body had been on top of hers and she didn’t think she’d felt more at home anywhere else. And when he’d tucked a strand of hair behind her ear? She’d been ready to swoon then and there.

Yet the moment had been over too quickly.

Before she’d been able to get her bearings together, he’d already been taken away. If it hadn’t been for Lucero whispering in her ear, to not do something she would later regret, she would have run to him.

Damn, but she really had too little self control when it came to him. She was thankful her friend was always there to save her from herself, but even so, she needed to be more careful in the future.

“Let’s eat and I’ll tell you what I saw,” Lucero said, taking a seat and spreading the food on the table.

Noelle listened attentively as her friend described how Rafaelo had looked when she’d seen him in the morning, and those little details helped her calm down.

He was safe. That was all that mattered.

“There’s an auction tomorrow,” Noelle added as she took a bite of bread. “I’m going to attend and get another man—someone I’m going to shower even more with attention. That way, Sergio should see that Rafaelo is not special.”

“That’s a good idea. You haven’t left the hacienda since he came here. It might help.”

“I hate leaving him here, though,” she sighed. “You’ll look over him for me?”

“You know I will,” Lucero assured her.

Though Noelle was still not convinced leaving was the best thing to do—she desperately wanted to be as close as possible to her Blue despite being unable to be by his side—she reasoned that it was necessary to throw Sergio off.

They finished eating and Noelle packed a small suitcase for her trip. This time, the auction was to be held in Belize, and she had an early flight in the morning.

Trying to not worry too much, she decided to focus on her business.

The day of the auction, she chose a man with a similar build to Rafaelo, thinking it would merely signal to Sergio that she might have a type.

Once the transaction was completed, Noelle was set to return to the hacienda. Unfortunately, though, her scheduled flight was canceled and she had to wait another day in Belize before she could fly back.

She kept in contact with Lucero though, getting updates about Rafaelo.

She learned he was back working in the temple galleries, building the tunnels and helping carve the artwork into the walls. Lucero told her his bruises looked better and that he was well on the mend. More than anything, she assured Noelle that she’d managed to increase the rations for all of the slaves, so that they got more water and a little more food than usual.

Since they didn’t want to show preference to Rafaelo, Lucero had thought that targeting everyone was the best avenue.

Noelle couldn’t agree more.

She was proud of her friend’s quick thinking and the fact that she’d been able to convince the guards to offer them more rations.

Yet the more she was away from Rafaelo, the more her anxiety increased. It was to the point that she couldn’t sleep the night before her new flight was scheduled to depart. She was a ball of nerves as she kept thinking that something might happen to Rafaelo—that Sergio would take advantage of her absence and strike.

The next morning, as she was about to board the plane, she called Lucero again—just in case.

“Nothing happened. I swear, you’ll go insane at this rate. He’s fine. And as long as you keep your distance, he’ll be even better,” Lucero told her in that serious tone of hers.

Of course, Noelle knew deep down that she was right. But no matter how much she tried to rationalize her actions, she always came back to him—her Blue.

To say she was becoming obsessed was putting it mildly. She’d already been obsessed from the beginning. And after years of dreaming about him, having him so close, but unable to act on her feelings was pure torture.

“Discipline, Noelle,” she muttered to herself as she leaned back against the leather seat of the plane. She took a few calming breaths as she focused on the bigger picture—on the future that would be theirs once she managed to get him out of there.

Then, and only then, would she be able to put her plan into action, of getting rid of Sergio, so that she would be a free woman once more.

Yet the issue with her husband was that he was so unpredictable. Just as he’d threatened, Noelle was sure he had plenty of contingency plans in place that ensured that even if she did manage to kill him, she wouldn’t get out of the hacienda alive either.

The goal was for her to reunite with her Blue and live happily ever after. It wasn’t to die foolishly because she’d let her temper lead her actions.

As the plane touched down close to the hacienda, Noelle’s resolve strengthened. She would not put Blue in danger, no matter what the situation.

Yet as her car pulled right in front of the hacienda, it was to find everyone scrambling about in horror.

“Que paso?” she asked one of the servants as she entered the house.

“Una desgracia, señora,” the woman said, proceeding to detail her very nightmare come to life.

The temple Blue was working at… One of the galleries had collapsed, blocking the entrance.

Her eyes widened in fear as she dashed to her apartment, calling out Lucero’s name.

“Tell me he’s fine,” she said the moment she spotted her friend. “Please tell me he’s alright.”

Lucero pursed her lips, not answering.

And Noelle instinctively knew.

“No,” she shook her head. “No, no, no.”

“He’s trapped inside the gallery that collapsed.”

“How long?” Her voice wobbled as her entire body trembled.

“Six hours. They’re working on it.”

“What do you mean they’re working on it?”

Lucero was quiet once more.

“They’re not doing anything, are they?”

“The only other entrance is in the back, and it was sealed last month. If they blow it up…” she trailed off, the implication clear.

If they blew up the sealed entrance, the entire temple structure might collapse. It was likely a risk no one was willing to take, especially not for a slave.

Lucero explained that their plan was to dig their way back into the gallery, but that could take days.

“They’re going to let him die there,” Noelle muttered as she sank in her chair. “Is there someone else besides him?”

“Another worker is missing.”

Noelle breathed in and out to avoid a panic attack as she squeezed the armrest of her chair. Good Lord! They were truly going to let him die.

“Bring me water, food and medicine.”

“Noelle… What are you thinking?” Lucero stopped in front of her, her features creased with worry.

“What no one else seems to be willing to do,” she said with quiet determination.

Before Lucero could ask more questions, Noelle promptly left the room, making her way to the weapons room where she knew Sergio also kept explosives.

If no one else was willing to blow the temple up, she would do it. By God, she would do it.

She knew she was risking a lot, but she would deal with the fall-out later. For now, she only needed to make sure Rafaelo survived—that was her only objective.

Browsing the artillery in storage, she picked a few explosives, some less potent, others more so. Placing them in a small suitcase, she took them back to her apartment where Lucero was already waiting for her.

She knew her friend did not approve, but in this instance Noelle would not allow that to bother her.

“El señor isn’t home today,” Lucero added, straining a smile. “Maybe you can do this before he comes back. I’ll try to keep the guards busy as best as I can.”

“You do realize I’m going to blow the back entrance,” Noelle added, tilting her head as she leveled Lucero with her gaze.

Lucero nodded. For once, she didn’t point out that by doing this, she would be back to ground zero, and Sergio could realize just how much Rafaelo meant to her. At the same time, Lucero was aware that nothing was stopping Noelle from marching forward with her plans. And to an extent, she couldn’t blame her.

She loved the man far too much to care about the consequences at a time like this.

“And I’ll do my best to cancel out the noise,” she told her, giving her a look full of solidarity.

How Lucero planned to do that, Noelle didn’t know. But at that moment, she found that she didn’t care, either.

“Thank you,” she simply said and nodded, turning her attention to the bag Lucero had prepared with supplies. She didn’t know what state she was going to find Rafaelo in, so it was best she went prepared.

Once everything was ready, Noelle and Lucero started towards the pyramid, with Lucero creating a small diversion so that Noelle could slip past the guards and head to the back of the temple.

The moment Noelle reached the sealed entrance, she wasted no time in unloading some of the explosives, placing them in strategic locations around the area. When she was satisfied with it, she set it off, taking a few steps back and waiting for the boom to happen.

Just as expected, it was loud.

Yet something was louder as she heard the sound of music permeate the air—so loud it must have come from outdoor speakers.

Lucero.

Noelle couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s actions. Although she didn’t agree with what Noelle was about to do, she still went out of her way to help her, in the process of risking her own safety.

“Thank you, Lulu,” she whispered.

Dust gathered around the entrance, slowly dissipating to reveal the darkness of the inside.

The explosion had been small and localized, and the result was a small hole in the structure—luckily it was large enough to fit Noelle.

She crawled through the small aperture on her hands and knees, dragging the bag with water and medicine. Yet as soon as she walked a few steps inside, she realized she’d forgotten one critical thing. She hadn’t brought a flashlight with her.

“Damn it,” she muttered to herself, taking out the lighter she’d used on the explosives and creating a small flame—enough to see where she was going.

Though she wasn’t as familiar with the temple structure as Lucero was, she knew enough to find her way to the main chamber. From there on, it was only a matter of finding the right gallery.

“Is there anyone there?” she asked, her voice echoing through the eerie stillness.

A shiver went down her back as she found herself in the middle of Sergio’s ceremonial room. Some of the walls had been painted and carved, while others were still blank.

Yet the many drawings creeped her out, especially considering the purpose of the room and what Sergio had in mind for it once it was finished.

She thought she heard another voice, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Is there anyone around?” she asked again, this time louder.

Her flame flickered in and out from the current created by the many galleries surrounding the main room, and she knew she would soon run out of gas.