The Perfect Stranger (LOS SANTOS Cartel Story #2)

by Melissa Jane

  “I understand. Just another day or two.”

  “I’m sure you appreciate what’s at stake, Hunter.” It served as a blatant warning, no concessions. If I didn’t hand her over for him to claim his fortune, we all were better off dead.

  Oblivious to the amount of eyes watching, Nina emerged from her unit block and climbed straight into a waiting cab. As predicted, the blue sedan loaded with Los Santoss tailed without any concern of being caught.

  My own cab followed at a distance and took us all the way to JFK. This was not good news.

  Nina’s cab squeezed into a tight spot in the ‘drop off’ lane, yet my own and the blue sedan were caught in waiting traffic.

  “I’ll get out here.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the Indian driver became frantic. “You must remain in the vehicle. We get issued fines if you get out in this lane. You must wait.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it.” Dropping notes on the front passenger seat, I made a run for the entry. If I lost sight of Nina in the airport, I wouldn’t stand a chance of finding her again. She had entered a few doors down, and while Santos members were beginning to filter out of their car, I caught sight of a long dark ponytail swishing from side to side as she hurried down the thoroughfare. I took off at a sprint, bypassing the Santos men. I dodged and weaved, then paused a moment straining to hear as her name was announced over the speaker. Her flight was leaving.

  “Fuck!” I cursed loud enough for a prudent middle-aged woman to cast a sideward reprimand.

  The check-in display screen flashed.

  San Antonio.

  Gate Closing.

  I was too late. She was the last to board the flight which means even if there was a seat available, there was no chance of getting on board that plane without raising her suspicions of me being there. After everything, and the seed of fear Jacob’s planted would be enough to set off her alarm bells.

  I stood back watching while she hurriedly conversed with the irritated attendant. Identification was exchanged before the boarding ticket was handed over. Instead of taking off down the bridge, Nina paused, shoulders squaring before casting her eyes around the room. She could feel me. Or perhaps she could feel how close danger was lurking.

  “The next flight leaves for New Mexico in forty-five minutes with a half an hour stop-over in San Antonio,” Rebecca, the check-in attendant announced almost robotically while reading off her screen.

  “I only need to get to San Antonio. Any seats?”

  “It must be your lucky day. We had a small church group cancel due to apparent illness, so I have nine seats available as of four hours ago.”

  Divine intervention.

  “I’ll take one.”

  “I need a ticket to San Antonio,” a voice at the next counter caught my attention.

  He was solo. Just like me.

  Only a small carry-on bag. Just like me.

  And he seemed a little too on edge. Just like me.

  “Excuse me,” Rebecca called to get my attention. “I just need your ID.”

  “Of course,” I muttered while searching my wallet and keeping one eye trained on the man next to me. He too handed over his driver’s license, and we both stood waiting for our tickets to process.

  His attendant, quick to get back to the steaming cup of coffee behind her was quicker. “Thank you Mr. Ruiz. Enjoy your flight.” She smiled at the senior Baja cartel member who wore a permanent scowl.

  “Thank you, Mr. Anderson. Enjoy your flight,” Rebecca relayed virtually the same farewell.

  This day just continued to get better and better. While Jair Ruiz wandered over to the window overlooking the stationed planes to make a phone call, I messaged Gabriel.

  Me: Where is the new border crossing for Baja?

  Gabriel: South of San Antonio at Nuevo Laredo.

  Gabriel: Why?

  It was best not to tell.

  I tapped my cell against my palm, contemplating the next move. My window of opportunity was closing. Once off the plane, I would have to move fast. Jair Ruiz being on the same flight as me was a blessing. He would lead me straight to her.

  We landed a few hours later and just like on the plane, I remained behind Ruiz at all times. He didn’t seem suspicious and never once indicated he knew of my involvement. There was a lull between flights resulting in minimal foot traffic through the airport and an abundance of cabs at the ready. Ruiz took the first in line and I the second. We headed south, bypassing the city and continuing until the green grass met the brown desert and then beyond. Outside the city of San Antonio, stuck under the blazing sun, was a tourist trap of a place that the locals would have maybe even called a small town. There were three motels, a car rental, a small line of boutique junk shops and a supermarket.

  Ruiz’s cab indicated right and then pulled into the parking lot of Hortz’s Motel.

  “Stop here.” My driver claimed a carpark in the supermarket lot adjacent to the shit-hole accommodation. Paying the fare, I watched while Ruiz visited reception for his room key. Nina had to be around here somewhere, but she wasn’t going to be my first visit. The sun was going down, and the sky was turning pink. I had to get this show back on track before the night’s end.

  When Ruiz finally emerged, he meandered across the motel lot and up the external stairs. His indifference had me concerned I’d been led to the wrong place. But what piqued my interest was the addition of a black briefcase that he definitely did not have on leaving the airport.

  Perhaps Nina hadn’t left San Antonio city. Perhaps she was already in the hands of Baja foot soldiers, and Ruiz would be playing catch-up later. He was halfway along the balcony when he unlocked the door to the room and disappeared inside.

  I would wait until the sun went down before I made my move.

  By morning, Nina would be mine.

  The door was ajar, steam from the shower billowed through the gap. Pocketing the knife I used to jimmy the lock to break in, I studied the arrangement of weapons on the coffee table. Neatly displayed in a line was one Beretta, a small revolver, a clip point knife, zip-ties, and a fiber wire for choking. On the floor was the briefcase, opened and empty, albeit some colored photos of Nina.

  He had been watching her for some time, including days and times I had also been on her tail.

  My jaw tightened, teeth hurting from the pressure.

  The weapons.

  The photos.

  The stalking.

  He was going to hurt her in the most heinous of ways and that alone made my blood boil. My jaw twitched in agitation, eyes scanning the weapons deciding the order in which I would use them on the son of a bitch.

  The water turned off, and I waited, breathing slow and deep to contain the rage.

  The door opened, and the light from the bath lit up the bedroom. Ruiz stepped out, naked and searching for the towel he’d left on the bed.

  “Put it on,” I ordered, throwing the towel, startling him. He caught it with one hand but made no effort to cover himself. Instead, he paused. He watched. He seemed to study me as if trying to fit puzzle pieces together.

  His eyes flicked to the coffee table and back to the Beretta in my hand.

  “Put. It. On,” I instructed again. He did as he was told, a snicker marring his already ugly face, then raised his eyebrows in question.

  “You look somewhat familiar,” he observed, calm and collected despite having his own weapon pointed at him.

  “We don’t know each other.”

  “Maybe not. But we have mutual acquaintances. Acquaintances who warned me to expect you.”

  “Likewise. Why are you following Nina Cross?”

  “Who?” he asked feigning confusion.

  I flicked the safety and Ruiz squared his shoulders. “I’m not in the mood to be tested. You’re going to die tonight anyway. How you respond to me will determine how you die. So… where is Nina Cross?”

  “What do you want with her?” It was a deflection.

  “I’m here t
o see she stays alive.”

  He scoffed. “She was never in any real danger.”

  It was my turn to scoff. “Oh?” I pointed the Beretta at the line-up of weapons and back to Ruiz’s face. “Sure looks like you had quite the night planned.”

  “Oh, this. No, you see, you have it all wrong.” He moved behind the coffee table and selected the knife. “You see these,” running the blade over the palm of his hand, “these were meant for you.”

  “Like I said, your face looked familiar when I saw you at the counter booking your flight. I knew Nina was on the previous one. I made a phone call and arranged for this…” he glanced at his array of weapons, “…to be dropped at reception if my instincts were correct.”

  “My battle isn’t with you.”

  He laughed. Mocking. “Of course it is. I’m Baja, you’re Los Santos. We both want the same thing. And we both need to use the same person to get what we want.”

  “Like I said. My battle isn’t with you, you just happen to be in my way. Where is Nina Cross?”

  “She’s close. I have men watching her.”

  “Not good enough.”

  He paused for effect before continuing, “The money didn’t belong to Los Santos to begin with.” Again he was deflecting, this time, however, he seemed outraged, drawing on years of bloody wars and unresolved feuds. “The Baja Californian cartel has every right to it.”

  “So you take Nina across the border. You get your money. And then what?”

  “You wanna know what we do with the girl?”

  When I didn’t respond, he took that as a sign to continue.

  “What happens to her after we get the money is none of my concern or interest. I have one job. Get her alive and well across the border to complete the transaction. Will she make it safely back?” His eyes took on a wicked gleam. “Probably not. She’s a very pretty girl.”

  That was all I needed to hear for my finger to squeeze the trigger. The noise, even with a silencer, bounced off the walls and as the bullet pierced Ruiz’s thigh, the room was filled with an agonized groan. He dropped to one knee, one hand on the bed balancing him, the other covering the wound.

  “Where is Nina Cross?”

  He shook his head wearing a small smirk refusing to give up the game so early in.

  When he refused to answer, I picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor when he fell. Its blade shone in the light from the bathroom, Gabriel’s words about branding our enemy tempting me.

  “Where is she?”

  Again, silence.

  Moving forward, I gripped Ruiz’s hair to tilt his face back. I held the blade high, placing the tip against his forehead. He watched, swallowing hard but still defiant. Adding pressure, he tried to pull away, a pained grunt escaping through clenched teeth. He seethed, breathing deep while the blade cut through the skin and tore through flesh, blood trickling into his eyes while the initials LS were carved above his brows.

  His face had considerably paled, despite the streaks of red cascading down his cheeks.

  “Where is she?” I repeated in case the pain had him forgetting the reason we were even conversing.

  Ruiz spat out the blood that had pooled between his lips, a spray of red decorating my shoes. My reaction was swift, my fist connecting with his nose. A sickening crack and a distressed groan followed. He fell backward, his head smashing against the wooden door frame of the bathroom.

  “On your knees,” I ordered. My voice was practically a growl, the urgency to get to Nina before any foot soldiers did was paramount.

  Ruiz rolled back and forth, struggling to orientate himself.

  “Get. On. Your. Fucking. Knees.”

  There were blood stains on the carpet and down his torso. It ran like a fountain from his nose, the wound on his forehead tearing further when he winced in pain.

  Finally, with an exhaustive effort, Ruiz was on both knees swaying as he tried to maintain some balance.

  “Hands behind your back.” He did as he was told knowing he wouldn’t have much of a choice.

  Using the zip-ties, I secured his hands until the plastic dug deep into the skin.

  Kneeling in front, I wiped the knife’s blade clean on the bed’s comforter before holding it against Ruiz’s lower abdomen.

  “I will gut you right here if don’t answer me…” my voice was low and unnervingly calm, “…and I’ll make you watch while I rip you apart and pull out your intestines and organs while your heart still beats. Tell me where the fuck I can find Nina Cross?”

  “This isn’t your battle,” was all he could say before I plunged the knife in above his hip bone. He roared in agony, blood spurting from the wound. I held still, allowing him one last chance before I fulfilled my promise.”

  “The battle is indeed mine. Now, you give me a bullshit line like that again and this blade right here will start slicing. Where is she?”

  This time, he sobbed. These were tears of a man who now, close to death, wondered if his devotion to the Baja cartel had been worth it. He was dead anyway. How he died would be determined by his answer.

  “She’s across the road at the Flamingo Motel.”

  “The Flamingo?”

  “Yes.” I had seen it. It was the one colored exactly like the bird itself.

  “Do you have any other Baja men after her?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many?”

  “Same as you. Baja are everywhere.”

  I pulled the blade free, and again he gasped and groaned as more blood escaped the wound. I rose to my feet and began stowing the weapons. I had no connections this far down before the border, and I didn’t want to engage with Los Santos more than I had too.

  Ruiz watched, knowing I had since lost interest in him.

  “Why don’t you just kill me now?”

  “Oh no.” I laughed, hooking the Beretta through my belt. “I have something far better in mind.”

  I held his gaze while I made the call. Only two rings and Gabriel answered.

  “Brother,” he greeted sounding a little distracted. “I’m a little… pre-occupied.” I could tell by his tone he was smiling, and in the background, I heard a woman giggle.

  “Any Santos men in the San Antonio area?”

  “I have men everywhere. You should know that by now. Why?”

  “You interested in a Baja?”

  “What? Who?” That had got his attention. “Get the fuck off me,” he spat at the woman. My captive’s eyes pleaded with mine, begging not to have it end this way.

  Too fucking late.

  “I have Jair Ruiz.”

  The motel was the smallest in the area and my chances of finding Nina were high. The walkway lined the stretch off rooms easily allowing access. Those rooms that were not occupied looked the same. The curtains were pulled to the side allowing zero privacy, the beds neatly made. On the first floor only one looked different to the others. There was movement on the inside, and I watched through the sheer lace curtains as a woman fast walked between the bathroom and bed, loading her bag. It was Nina, and she was ready to leave this godforsaken town.

  I went to knock, but the door opened before my knuckles even touched the wood.

  Wide-eyed, she staggered back in shock. Hitting the edge of the bed, she fell onto the mattress, a Glock pointing straight at me. She looked tired, panicked as she tried to make me out with the sun behind me.

  “Nina,” I greeted, my voice low, practically a growl.

  “What are you doing here?” Her trembling voice mirrored her trembling hand. Not a good combination when a weapon was involved.

  “I’m here for you.”

  She frowned slightly as if she was expecting to see someone else. “Jair Ruiz?”

  If I didn’t lie, the game was up. She was under the illusion Jair Ruiz, who was now in the hands of Los Santos, was her savior. She didn’t know he had been leading her into a trap. She didn’t know that he was going to leave her for dead once they got what they wanted. She didn’t
know that I was almost like them.

  The only difference was, I would never let anything happen to her. Nina would be returned safely, even if it cost my own life.

  There was a flush creeping up her cheeks, and I wanted so bad to taste her pleasure again. Instead, she came to her senses, straightening her gun wielding arm.

  “Yes,” I lied. For now, I was Jair Ruiz.

  “You’re the man Evan sent to look out for me?”

  I nodded.

  Now she looked pissed. “Where were you last night when two men paid me a visit?”

  “What two men?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t make introductions. They stood at that window staring in at me.”

  Baja or Santos soldiers. “Did they do anything else?”

  “Other than terrorizing me, no.”

  I should have coaxed Nina’s whereabouts from Ruiz earlier. These men were making a sport out of terrorizing her. I had stayed awake the entire night watching her door from the other side of the complex. Whoever had visited did so when I was with Ruiz.

  “Do you know who they are?” She looked hopeful.

  “I have an idea.”

  “Were they here to kill me?”

  “Yes.” She needed to know the danger.

  “Right,” Nina began, resolute. She stood, trying to edge around me. “I’m leaving. No need to follow me. I need someone who’s present when the shit hits the fan or not at all.”

  I caught her elbow and spun her around to face me. “You don’t stand a chance against these people, Nina. Don’t be foolish.”

  “You were nowhere to be seen last night.”

  I had you in my sights.

  “I think I can do an all right job at keeping myself alive. Besides which, as soon as they realize I have zero to offer them, they’ll leave me alone.”

  “But you do.”

  “Correction. I’m nothing to them. Garcia was my partner for all of a year. He spoke nothing of Los Santos or Baja cartel, and he certainly never brought up Evan Jacobs name. There’s no way I am involved in any of their dealings.”