“No.”
“And you didn’t file any charges for Marie?”
“No.”
Chris pulled a picture of Dominic out of his folder and showed it to Richard. “Is this your son?”
“Yes, that’s Dominic.” Richard’s voice was wary.
“How do you know Salazar is trying to recruit him?” Chris asked.
“A man showed up at our house right after Dominic graduated from college. He said he wanted Dominic to go for an interview. I believe Dominic went because he came home with a Porsche. I know the interview was with Salazar . . . I can feel it.”
“Why do you think Salazar wants your son?”
“I don’t know.” Richard shook his head. “Payback? I left him so he wants my only son? I don’t know.” He rubbed his face, letting out a sigh.
“Has your son discussed the interview with you? Has he said anything?”
“Not really. Just that he was offered a job, but he didn’t take it.”
Matt decided to ask a few questions. “Mr. Bennett, as far as you know, your son is not working for Antonio Salazar?”
“No, he works for an insurance company—I can’t remember the name of it off the top of my head.”
“Have you heard of Austogen Pharmaceutical?”
“Yes.” Richard’s jaw clenched. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Chris answered, shooting Matt a warning look.
Matt changed the course of the conversation. “Your son graduated with his Bachelor’s degree this past May?”
“Yes.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty-two. He’ll be twenty-three in November.”
It was surprising someone so young was being groomed to take over a drug business. And why Dominic? Matt’s mind wandered to Brianna. Brianna told him that her mother died shortly after she was born.
“Do you know if Salazar remarried?” Matt asked.
“No idea. I never saw him again after that night.”
“We need specifics,” Chris said. “When did he kill Christina? We’ll want to check our unsolved murders and see if we can tie him to her death.”
“Let’s see,” Richard mused. “We moved into the house in March of 1993, so it was right before then—February of 1993.”
“One last question. Would Dominic be willing to come in and talk with us?”
Richard shook his head. “It’s one thing for me to cross Salazar. I don’t want Dominic punished for my mistakes. I want him out of this.”
“I understand. If Salazar contacts him again, we’ll need to know.”
“Sir, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have some information you need to be aware of.”
Salazar turned and saw Ben standing in the doorway. It must be something about Brianna. Anytime Ben voluntarily offered information, it was about her. Choosing him to be her bodyguard couldn’t have worked out any better. Ben was completely infatuated with Brianna and would risk his life for hers, without hesitation. Salazar paid Ben five million dollars a year to be at his beck and call all day, every day. And Salazar had made it perfectly clear that should anything happen to Brianna, Ben’s mother and sister would be punished for it. What Salazar didn’t intend was for Ben’s jealousy to be such a virtue. Anytime Brianna so much as looked at another man, Ben made sure Salazar knew about it.
Salazar motioned for Ben to enter the study.
“Brianna went over to Matt’s house again tonight,” Ben said.
Salazar answered carefully, “They’re working on a case together.”
“I know,” Ben hesitated, but then continued, “I think there might be something going on between them.” Ben sounded nervous.
“You’re making a heavy accusation. Remember what happened the last time. If you think there’s something going on, you’d better be sure.” Not that Salazar minded having Derek killed, but he was a professional baseball player, and the murder received a lot of media attention. Although Matt wasn’t in the limelight, he was an attorney at a powerful firm where Brianna worked. Someone might notice the similarities.
“I don’t have any proof yet,” Ben hesitated. “It’s a feeling I get when they’re together,” he admitted.
“Have you ever seen anything that should concern me?” Salazar asked as calmly as possible. Ben had good intuition. There was probably some truth to what he said. However, Salazar didn’t like how Ben was carefully wording things. It made him question his judgment.
“What do you mean, sir?” Ben asked.
Ben knew Salazar well enough to know exactly what he meant. No one ever came to Salazar simply on a hunch. Proof was always required. No mistakes. Ben needed a little reminder. Salazar allowed his emotions to course through his body, building and burning.
Unable to control himself any longer, Salazar grabbed Ben by the throat, slamming him against the wall. “Do you think I’m a fucking idiot, Ben?”
“No sir,” Ben squeaked, gasping for air.
“Then tell me what the fuck is going on between my daughter and Matt!”
“I don’t know sir, but they seem a little too friendly sometimes.” Salazar released his hold on Ben who collapsed to the ground grabbing his neck.
“Friendly how?” Why was Ben being so evasive? He was the one who willingly came here.
Ben gasped for air. The look on his face said enough—Salazar realized exactly how friendly they were.
“I want confirmation,” Salazar demanded.
Ben hesitated.
Salazar knelt, placing his hand on Ben’s shoulder. His grip tightened and his eyes narrowed.
“Of course, sir, I’ll get confirmation.” Ben replied in a raspy voice. Salazar released his hold. Ben scrambled from the room as fast as he could.
Salazar picked up his glass and threw it across the room. “Whore. Just like her mother. Well, I won’t let her. I won’t let her cheat on Dominic the way Christina cheated on me.” He walked over and punched the wall, screaming. Then he composed himself and went to the phone.
Salazar called Phillip and told him about the situation with Brianna. “I know we’ve done a quick background check on Matt Fueller, but I’ve ordered a more extensive family background check since Brianna is working directly with him. I want you to personally handle this matter. Find something that I can use against Matt. And find it quickly. Are we clear?”
***
The next day, Salazar was still plagued by the idea that Brianna wasn’t being faithful to Dominic. Salazar knew he had to do something to ensure her full cooperation. However, he couldn’t deal with that right now. He needed to focus on Dominic and the journey they were about to embark on together.
So far, Dominic had worked at the pharmaceutical company. He also trained in firearms, driving, explosives, and hand-to-hand combat. Chemistry and logistics were next on the agenda. Everything was coming along nicely. There was only one problem—elimination. Salazar should’ve realized this was going to be a big hurdle. Being raised in America with Marie as a mother, made the task infinitely more difficult.
Salazar grew up hearing about people being murdered on a daily basis. It was something that, although his parents tried to shelter him from, he knew it happened, and his life was altered as a result. The goal was to expose Dominic to a few safe eliminations to desensitize him. Then, once the situation presented itself, Salazar was sure Dominic would rise to the occasion.
Dominic entered Salazar’s study and took a seat opposite him. There was something different about Dominic today—he almost looked scared. Good. Fear heightened one’s senses, and in this business, that was a good thing. The enemy seemed to strike when you least expected it.
After making some small talk, Salazar knew it was time to break the news to Dominic and tell him what they were about to do. There was no easy way to say it. The last time Salazar mentioned killing someone, Dominic retreated. There was still too much morality inside him. Salazar needed to get Dominic past his morals and harness some aggression. Otherwise, Domini
c would never make it in this business.
“As you are well aware, it was my father’s wish that I run this business and keep it in the family.” Dominic nodded his head. Salazar continued, “He also told me to avenge his death. My father and mother were killed by a man named Juan Chavez. Chavez is a cartel leader in Colombia—he has been for decades. I’ve been tracking him, waiting for the perfect moment to kill him. It always seems that I’m a moment too late, or something comes up that changes the circumstances. It’s imperative I kill his blood successors as well. I just found out that Chavez still has one successor left—an illegitimate son I wasn’t aware of. I received information that this son will be in Mexico tonight. I plan to go there and eliminate the threat.”
Dominic was as still as a stone. Salazar waited patiently for him to say something. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to travel into Mexico?”
He was probably alluding to all of the violence that occurred there lately since the arrest of Javier Fuentes—the leader of the Fuentes Family. Things were still a mess, with several people claiming control, and no one really having it. “This is one deed I entrust to no one else. I want you to go with me.”
“You want me to go?” Dominic asked, stunned.
“Yes. We leave in a few hours.”
“I don’t know that I am ready for something like this,” Dominic said.
“Of course you are. It’s simple. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sending some men in to capture him and bring him back to me. That way I won’t be entering a hostile environment myself. We will be traveling to Cabo by private jet. Be ready to leave at eleven o’clock.”
***
Dominic couldn’t think of anything to say, so he got up and left the room. His stomach felt like worms were crawling inside of it, and he thought he was going to vomit. He needed to calm down. Even though he blocked it from his mind, he knew sooner or later, he would be involved with killing someone. But he’d never even seen a dead person before. At least he wouldn’t be the one pulling the trigger, but he’d still be witnessing, and consenting, to a murder. He wasn’t ready for something like this.
Thankfully the victim wasn’t an innocent bystander. This person was also involved with a drug cartel, so he, too, must’ve killed before. How bad could it be to kill a killer? Did that justify the murder at all? Dominic decided not to think about it. He had to block it from his mind before he drove himself insane with guilt.
The thought of saying no to Salazar crossed his mind. But if he said no, Dominic was afraid he would be the one eliminated—he already knew too much to be allowed to walk away. The only thing to do was to go along with it, and pray for the best.
***
When Dominic boarded the jet at Palomar Airport, he was surprised to see Nick, the Chief Security Officer, on board. Nick and Salazar were deep in conversation, so Dominic sat without acknowledging anyone. Pulling out his phone, Dominic searched through his apps until he found a game he wanted to play.
“Yes, but the Fernando Brothers are really beginning to irritate me,” Salazar snarled. “They sent out a shipment after I specifically told them not to. They can’t be trusted.”
Dominic turned the volume up on his phone, hoping to drown out Salazar’s conversation.
“What are our options at this point?” Nick asked. “We can’t take out the Brothers. You know as well as I do that the Alejandro Family will take over their territory and we can’t have that. Alejandro is getting too big as it is.”
“Fuentes’ arrest has thrown things out of balance. I think it’s time we bring in one of our own and set up another organization.”
“Exactly what do you mean?” Nick asked.
“Eduardo is next up. Let’s bring him in, have him kill the Brothers, and take over their territory. We can give him enough money to keep the organization going. This way we avoid the Alejandro Family from taking over, we get rid of the Brothers, and we honor our deal with Eduardo.”
“It won’t be that simple. There will be a lot of bloodshed if we do this,” Nick said.
“Why would I care? Besides, we need to keep the DEA busy and off of our backs.”
Dominic wondered if Salazar’s solution to everything was murder.
“Let me think it over,” Nick said. “I didn’t expect to have a place for Eduardo yet. It seems a little soon. We need to be careful with him.”
“He can’t do any worse than those idiots you placed in Phoenix. What were they thinking—to rape an eighteen-year-old and then kill her? If they needed to get rid of her, they should have done it in Cuidad Juarez, or at least covered up their tracks a little better.”
“I’ve already taken care of them.”
Dominic’s hands shook. He couldn’t sit there, playing some stupid game, when two men stood a few feet from him talking about rape and murder. Leaning back in the seat, Dominic closed his eyes. What had he gotten himself into?
Salazar continued, “Have you taken care of the new police chief in Rosarito? I can’t believe he’s being so bold. Declaring war with the drug cartels is simply asking to be killed,” he laughed.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be out of office by tomorrow afternoon,” Nick said.
“Are we doing this one quietly?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Nick laughed. “I have one of the local gangs on it. They’re going to have an old fashioned shoot-out at the station.”
“And what about the people who interrupted my shipment last week?”
“Just finished identifying the men, twelve in all. I have another gang on that one. They’re tracking them down. They’ll be given an acid bath, dismembered, and left in a prominent location. The message will be loud and clear.”
Dominic’s mom was right—he didn’t have any idea what he was getting himself into. Salazar was a monster, and Dominic was already in too deep to get out. Yet, this was just the beginning.
“Good. Make sure you stay on top of the shipment leaving next week from Colombia—it’s a large one and I don’t want anything to happen to it.”
“I’m placing the new PRS tracker in the shipment to make sure we don’t have any unnecessary stops along the way. If there are any unauthorized delays, we’ll know who the mole is. The DEA won’t see a thing coming.”
Dominic closed his eyes. His head pounded. What was he going to do? This couldn’t be his life. Death, murder, rape. No, he refused to turn out like Salazar.
***
Once they landed, Salazar and Dominic were escorted to a heavily guarded compound. Additional men were inside, with a massive number of weapons. Salazar went over the plan with everyone, down to the last detail. He acted like a military general barking out instructions, only he wore an expensive designer suit instead of a uniform.
Since Salazar spoke in Spanish, Dominic couldn’t keep up with the conversation. Instead, Dominic stood in a corner and avoided eye contact with the men dressed in army gear, holding machine guns. Dominic kept his hands in his pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.
Nick placed several duffel bags on the table. Salazar explained that the bags contained hundred dollar bills, totaling over a million dollars each. The men stared greedily at the money. Salazar dismissed them and they left, ready to earn their reward.
Dominic was relieved he didn’t have to go on the hunt. All he had to do was wait for the men to bring Stephan back to the compound. Salazar, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still. He paced about the room, making no attempt to conceal how impatient he was for the execution. Dominic knew this was the last person Salazar had to kill before he could destroy Juan Chavez. Once Juan Chavez was gone, then Salazar’s promise to his family would be complete.
The seconds on the clock ticked by.
The sound of car engines roared outside the compound. Car doors slammed and voices rang out. Salazar glanced at Dominic and smiled as he picked up the machete lying on the coffee table. Dominic huddled back in the corner, trying to stay hidden in the shadows and out
of everyone’s way. He prayed they killed Stephan quickly—there was no way he could watch Stephan be tortured to death.
The front door burst open and the men stormed inside the compound, dragging their prisoner. Dominic peered at Stephan. He expected to see a middle-aged man who looked like a drug dealer—shabbily dressed, long dark hair, tattoos, dirty. Anything to make what they were about to do easier. What Dominic saw shattered all expectations. Stephan was a young man, about his own age, dressed in a neatly pressed suit. Perhaps they captured the wrong person? Stephan looked too normal.
The men threw Stephan in front of Salazar and told him to get on his knees. Stephan’s hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was bound. Searching Stephan’s eyes, Dominic saw sheer terror. Dominic’s stomach churned, and he quickly glanced away.
An odd sound cut through the mayhem. Salazar’s shoulders shook. As silence spread through the room, Dominic realized Salazar was laughing—only the sound was inhuman. Dominic stood frozen.
“The last Chavez heir,” Salazar began. His voice reeked with acid. “You almost got away. I didn’t know you existed until your whore of a mother let it slip when she was with one of my men.”
Salazar’s eyes narrowed and his lips curled.
Stephan yelled something through the cloth around his mouth, but Salazar just stood there smiling.
“After all these years, I’m only one step away from avenging my parents’ deaths.”
A man ran into the room, letting them know they only had fifteen minutes to get to the jet because men were already looking for Stephan.
“Pity I can’t enjoy your death more. I was so hoping to make a night of it.” Salazar took the machete and examined it. “I wonder if you’ll beg for mercy like your mother did?” Salazar lowered the machete next to Stephan’s head, then, with one swift blow, he cut his ear off and blood gushed out, along with a horrific scream. Stephan fell to the floor. Salazar put his foot on top of Stephan’s head, holding it still while Stephan moaned in agony.
Turning to Dominic, Salazar said, “Come here.” Dominic moved from the shadows and walked toward Salazar. “I want you to have the honor of helping avenge my parents’ deaths. Without you, my father’s wish wouldn’t be possible. Take the machete.” Stephan’s eyes radiated pure hatred. “Take this,” Salazar pushed the machete toward Dominic, “and kill him.”
The Power to See Page 15