by Jayna King
I held his gaze and kept my face expressionless. I wasn't going to play with him. Though I figured that he wouldn't hurt me in any way, I knew that he was a dangerous man, and I wasn't about to play his game, given that I didn't know the rules. I was better off smiling, looking pretty, and keeping my ears open.
The tequila flowed like water, and the servers brought out bottles of a Spanish red wine to go with our dinner. I sipped it, trying to make sure I didn't get drunk, and listened to Don Roberto tell us the story of how his family had come over to Mexico from Spain. The meal was delicious, with steak that melted in my mouth and had the most amazing smoky flavor. The cool breeze that moved across the patio made the temperature perfectly pleasant, and I realized that the notion of having a home that you could fill with family and friends was appealing to me. I'd never really thought about it before, but there was something magical and rewarding about the prospect of being settled down with Luke. For the first time, I was hopeful about the future.
Turning my attention back to the table, I saw Luke reaching over to pour another shot of tequila for Zeno. I knew we needed to get information from him, but I winced as I thought about the headache he'd have the next day if he didn't slow down.
When all of the dishes had been cleared away, Don Roberto stood up. "Shall we move poolside, gentlemen? I believe you have some companions waiting there for you." He offered me his arm, and I looked at Luke and waited for him to give me a nod before I took it.
We walked through a passageway that led from the front patio, through the house, to the back courtyard. The pool was lit up, its turquoise water pulling us toward the wrought iron enclosure. Don Roberto nodded to the man who held the gate open for us, and as we entered the pool area, I saw that the bar had been stocked with fixings for after dinner drinks. A bartender stood ready to take our orders, but my eyes were drawn to the women who were awaiting our arrival.
There were nine of them all together, each one lovelier than the last. All were dark-eyed Mexican beauties, and all but one stood in a line next to the bar, each one attired in a bathing suit that left little to the imagination. The lone exception, bathing suit clad also, sat at the bar, sipping a martini. It was the woman that Luke and I had seen in the pool earlier in the evening, and she was even more striking up close. Her short dark hair was wet and slicked back, and in the relative cool of the evening, her hard nipples protruded beneath the white material of her bathing suit. She didn't look anywhere but at Don Roberto.
"Gentlemen, these lovely ladies are here to cater to your every whim." He handed me off to Luke, and nodded at the woman sitting at the bar. She stood up and came over to join him immediately. She was taller than I'd realized, and the four-inch heels she wore made her tower over Don Roberto. He didn't seem to mind at all as he ran his hand over her bare ass, exposed by the revealing bathing suit.
I was grateful to be at Luke's side, and I clung to his hand as I watched Joker, Zeno, Sally, Nate, Jay, Johnson, and Chuck stare, wide-eyed, at the women lined up for their approval.
Luke leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Guess there goes any chance I had to talk to Zeno." He slipped a hand around my waist and bent to place a kiss on my bare shoulder. "Think we can duck out of this party and go back to our room? I have some filthy stuff I want to do to you."
I shivered at the touch of his lips and his very appealing suggestion. "Looks like everyone else is going to be occupied. I doubt they'll even know we're gone."
Luke took my hand and waved to Don Roberto, who scarcely even looked away from his stunning companion. He led me upstairs, and I could smell the fragrance of the fresh cut flowers before we even got inside the room. It was dark and lovely, the only light coming from the pool in the courtyard. Luke undressed me in the dark and I was happy to slip between the sheets with him.
Chapter 20 -- Luke
Thursday, September 26, 2013
I shielded my eyes from the bright sun, and I swallowed, wishing I'd thought to bring a bottle of water. Luis had offered to drive us to the building just outside the compound where the family aged their weed before releasing it for sale. Krystal had stayed behind to laze by the pool and read her book, and since the prospects were staying behind as well, I figured she'd be safe. I was hoping that I'd get the chance to talk to Zeno, alone.
"Wait up, man," I called, as I hurried to catch up with him as he walked ahead of me on the dry, dusty road.
"Sorry," he said. "Didn't know you were walking, too."
He looked tired, and I figured that he hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep last night. The bloodshot eyes I'd seen before he put his sunglasses on told a story of too many tequila shots and not enough sleep.
"So how was last night?" I asked him.
"Great, from what I remember," he answered, laughing. "I probably should have stopped a few shots before I did, but what the hell. You only live once."
"Yeah, I could get used to living in digs like this," I told him, honestly. The hacienda was like a palace, and I wished that I didn't have the pressure of being an informant hanging over my head.
"I know what you mean," Zeno said. "But don't get too comfortable. These people will pretend that you're part of the family, but it's all business. Cross them and you'll regret it, believe me."
I was surprised, but I didn't want to let it show. Zeno had never spoken so many words all at once to me before. "What do you mean?" I asked, hoping that he'd continue to be talkative.
"Let's just say that I've seen shit go bad. It wasn't my idea to start doing business with these people again. If Joker has any sense, he'll make this deal a one-time thing, and we'll get our own growing operation up and running as soon as possible."
"Don Roberto and his men are really helping us out," I pointed out. "If it weren't for the weed they're about to sell us, we wouldn't be able to open the shop on time."
Zeno stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Luke, I like you, but you don't know the history here. The odds are that after this little trip, Joker's not gonna want to give up his trips down south to visit the senoritas. He's gonna want to jump right back into bed with Don Roberto, and then we'll fall back into our old business."
"So tell me the history, then," I said, frustrated. "I keep hearing hints about some shit that went down a long time ago, but no one will tell me what happened."
Zeno shook his head. "Some things are better left in the past, man. All I'm gonna say is that Moses and Joker got into some shit that was over their heads. Moses paid for it. I'm not gonna say any more, 'cause I loved Moses and I'm not gonna talk bad about a dead man."
Jesus, I was never gonna find out what happened. I decided to press him further. "Zeno, I think I have a right to know what I'm getting involved in."
He shook his head and thought for a minute. "You just gotta be careful, man. When there's someone you love, it makes you vulnerable — that's how they can hurt you. Moses didn't want to play their game anymore, and it cost him. I wasn't here when it happened, but when he came back from his last trip to Mexico — maybe a year or a year-and-a-half ago, he was a different man. He didn't tell me everything, but he told me enough that I'll never trust these fuckers. If you love Krystal, then I suggest you do the same." He walked ahead of me, and I knew that I'd learned everything I could from him, at least for now.
As we got closer to the building, the overpowering smell of marijuana nearly knocked me over. We went inside after Luis put in a digital passcode, and we walked inside a room that held a security guard and a bank of security monitors.
"Whoa," I said, surprised. "I didn't expect anything so high-tech in here. This just looks like an old barn from the outside."
Luis laughed. "Looks can be deceiving, amigo. If it looks like there's something worth stealing, then people will try to steal. We employ several different security tactics. Disguise is one of them."
He led us into a meeting room, and I — along with the other guys who'd never been there before — nearly laughed out loud. It was the ultima
te pot boardroom. There were containers of several different varieties of weed, along with rolling papers and pipes set out down the center of the table. Apparently, we were going to get to sample the merchandise.
We all got settled at the table, and Luis gestured to the weed in the center. “These are the varieties we have available in the quantities you desire. Your purchase is fairly small in the whole scheme of things, so we have a number of transportation options available to us. We can discuss those while you select your merchandise." He handed a cigarette lighter to Joker. "Help yourself."
"Don't mind if I do. Don Roberto's girls kept me up later than this old body is used to, and I could use a little pick-me-up." He picked up a pipe, packed the bowl, lit it, and took a good-sized hit before passing it to Nate, who was seated next to him.
Sally rolled a joint with another kind of weed, and I took the bowl when Nate handed it to me. I took a small hit, wanting to avoid the mistake I'd made with our Arizona weed. I wanted to try all six of the varieties we had in front of us, and I didn't want to get completely stoned — as least not right then.
Joker exhaled after trying the last sample, and I could tell by the look of his eyes that he was feeling no pain. It occurred to me that we weren't necessarily in the best shape to handle business negotiations, but I assumed that Joker had enough experience — both with weed and with Luis — to get the job done.
"So how you gonna get this to us?" he asked
"For the quantity you require, I would send it through in an ordinary car. We have several people at the border who are always happy to see us, and they'll take a payoff and the driver will be on his way. It gets more complicated with larger amounts, but your shipment should be fairly simple."
Sally laughed, way harder than he should have, and I figured the bud was hitting him. "I thought it would be some elaborate plan, but you're just gonna fuckin' drive it across the border?"
"Si," Luis said with a smile. "And have you decided on the variety you want."
I had a strong opinion. "The sativa's the best, by far," I said, hoping the others would agree.
They did, and we agreed that we'd see Luis' man in Denver in less than a week. We'd give him cash, and he'd hand over the weed. Easy and safe. I figured that we were about wrapped up, when Luis leaned back in his seat and looked around the room. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I had an uneasy feeling about it.
"So we are in agreement. We will provide you with the supply you need to stock your store, and you will pay us lots of cash. It is a good deal, yes?"
It was a weird question, and he was clearly building up to something. We looked at one another, and I shrugged my shoulders and waited for one of the more experienced members to answer.
"Yeah," Joker answered, through eyes that weren't entirely open. "We're good man. Thanks."
Luis' expression didn't change, but I could sense that although the Savage Sons had concluded our business, what really mattered to him hadn't been addressed yet.
"What if I could provide you with the product you need, at a substantially lower cost, perhaps even at no cost to you?" he asked, his tone of voice trying to imply that our answer really was of no consequence to him, but I didn't believe it for a second.
"Well, shit," Joker said, looking around the table at us. "I like the sound of that."
Now, I knew I was a rookie at dealings like this one, but I knew for goddamn sure that nothing was free. Don Roberto might pretend to treat us like welcome guests in his family's home, but it was a business deal, pure and simple. This was about the bottom line, and if Luis was willing to let the weed go for free, it was only because he had something much more valuable that he wanted to sell us.
Zeno looked down at the table, deep in thought, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. I would have paid good money to know what he was thinking.
Sally leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "What's the catch, señor?"
"In the past, we have done much business with the Savage Sons, and it was a partnership that was beneficial to us both, no?" He waited for nods from Joker and Sally before he continued. "Since you no longer require the ingredients you used for your methamphetamine production, we have had to find other buyers. That has been an arduous process, but we have been able to do it. But we had negotiated to provide some other commodities for you as well, and those … well, those have been harder to move."
I had no fucking clue what he was talking about.
Luis looked at Joker, ignoring the rest of us for the moment. "Don Roberto would like to discuss additional business opportunities with you, and as a sign of good faith, he is willing to provide this shipment of marijuana to you at no charge."
I looked around the table. Joker and Sally were looking at one another, as if they were communicating without words. Zeno's gaze remained fixed on the table, and Nate looked at Jay and shrugged his shoulders, apparently as confused as the rest of the newcomers.
I decided to ask the obvious question. "What are we talking about here?" Zeno looked up at me and shook his head. If I'd had to guess what he was thinking, it would have been along the lines of "I told you so."
Luis raised a single eyebrow, looked at me, and turned to Joker. "I apologize if I have brought up a topic that wasn't public knowledge. Should we reconvene this meeting with a smaller group?"
"No." Zeno's voice startled everyone. "We make decisions as a group. There won't be any back-door deals made. If you're not willing to bring it out into the open, then it's not gonna happen."
"As you wish," Luis said. "I'll give you a few minutes to talk among yourselves. I'll return shortly." He left the room, closed the door, and we all looked at Joker.
"Quit lookin' at me like that, son," he said to me. "You look like you expect to hear me tell you I want to get into the human sacrifice business, for shit's sake." He sighed. "You all know that when we were dealing meth, we ran hookers, too. Moses and I had talked to Don Roberto a year or so ago about bringing up some of his girls to work for us."
Sally grinned. "Like the girls we had last night? Holy shit, you'd make a fortune if you could sell that pussy."
"That's the fuckin' idea, man. You saw those girls. Why would you want shitty crank-head gash when you can get Grade A señorita? And those girls will do anything you want. We'll make a fucking fortune."
I looked around the table, hoping like hell that someone would disagree with Joker and Sally. When Nate, Jay, and Zeno remained silent, I felt like I had to speak up. "This isn't what I signed up for, man," I said to Joker. I looked around the room. "Isn't the idea to get a legit business up and running so we don't have to look over our shoulders anymore?"
Sally and Joker looked at one another.
"It's not like we're gonna cook meth anymore," Sally said after a moment. "People want pussy, and they're willing to pay for it. I know I wouldn't mind having those bitches hanging around the clubhouse. I may die an early death, but I'll be happy getting there."
"At the risk of pointing out the obvious, prostitution is illegal, you know," I said, frustrated and a little worried that the rest of the guys were gonna think I was a pussy for not wanting to get involved in running girls again. The problem was that I knew that the feds were watching us. I knew that Moses had been an informant. Not another person in the room knew what I did, and there was no way I could tell them, not without exposing myself.
Joker looked around the room and settled on Nate. "What do you think, son? You enjoy your señorita last night?"
Nate smiled, and there was a twist to his grin that I didn't like the look of. "I enjoyed both of them," he answered. "I think we could make more money than we know what to do with. I'm in," he said.
"Right on, man," Joker said, giving Nate a high five. "Who else is in for the pussy?" He looked around the table, and Sally and Nate both raised their hands. Zeno and I looked at one another without making a move. Joker raised his hand, followed by Jay. "We have a majority."
What the fuck? Was this r
eally about to happen this fast. I looked at Zeno in desperation, hoping that he'd say something to stop this fucked up mess.
"We should vote this in church," he said. "This is a big decision, and it's fucking stupid to make it without thinking it through. We have a chance to run a business that makes us money, and won't end up with us being killed by a DEA agent."
It felt like Moses' ghost had just entered the room. I remembered what Sable had said, how heartbroken she had been at his funeral, and I hoped like hell that Joker's love for Moses would cause him to slow down and make a decision that didn't involve his dick.
He looked at me.
"I agree with Zeno," I said. "Can we tell Luis that we'll think about it?"
Joker nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell him that we'll let his guy know when he delivers our weed. We can vote about it in church, like Zeno wants, and decide as a group."
I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
Chapter 21 -- Krystal
The warm sun felt so good on my body, and I lifted my sunglasses and shifted my triangle bikini top to try to gauge how much sun I'd gotten. I wanted to look brown from head to toe, but I knew that the strong Mexican sun would burn me to a crisp if I wasn't careful. I'd been worried about Luke's leaving me alone, but he'd talked Chuck into hanging out with me, which made me feel much safer. Also, I knew that I could get to the Beretta in my pool bag in no time flat. I might look relaxed, but that didn't mean I was unaware of my surroundings.
I giggled as I heard Chuck snore on the lounge chair just across the sparkling blue pool.
He must have heard me, because he spoke without opening his eyes. "You know, when Chuck Norris takes a nap, it causes an eclipse."
I busted out laughing. His Chuck Norris jokes were so stupid, but they made me laugh every time. I checked the time on my cell phone, and I realized that I should probably get showered and dressed.
"They should be back in about an hour," I called to Chuck across the pool. "I'm going to get cleaned up."