“Okay, so I did it semi-legally. That doesn’t change anything.”
Leaning all the way back against my seat, I closed my eyes, releasing a small laugh. “You are such a pompous dick.”
“Right, let it all out, amada. I’m cocky, arrogant, and an asshole.”
“You forgot a few.”
“You’re right, I’m also filthy fucking rich, handsome, and have a big cock. What else did I miss?”
“Let’s just stick with you being an asshole.”
“Well, that’s one way to say thank you,” he replied dryly.
“You’re right—thank you, Mateo, for using my friends as bait and switch without telling me, sending them into the lion’s den, and continuously—”
“Continuously making the choices you won’t?” he interrupted. “You said you’d do anything for this sick, vile excuse of a woman to stop, yet you throw a tantrum when things don’t go exactly how you want. Nothing is going to happen to your friends. If you don’t believe me, maybe you should at least begin believing them, considering this was their plan. They came to me this morning.”
Well, that certainly shut me up.
“Guess we’re having our first argument.”
“I don’t argue; I’m always right.”
I ignored that last statement and focused on the view outside my window. I tried to see both sides of things, but it was hard when I felt my way was the right way.
“What are we going to do when we get there?” I asked when he finally took an exit.
He didn’t answer until we’d maneuvered through a sleeping part of the city.
“We’re going to make sure that every day she breathes brings her unbearable misery.”
Chapter Nineteen
If you wanted to be off the grid and hidden away, where did you go?
Apparently, it was either a bunker underneath the ground, or someplace in the middle of the deep, dark woods, hours away from civilization.
Mateo turned off the desolate road we’d been on for the past twelve minutes, onto a long gravel drive. We traveled down it until we could no longer see the main path.
Eventually, a large split level log cabin began to take shape.
In the wide open, plain as day to see, was Elias’ dark blue Bentley.
Mateo pulled up behind it and cut the engine.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“The same place we’re going.” He leaned across me and popped open the glove box, pulling out a shiny black gun.
“You remember how to use one of these?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?”
He took the safety off and pressed it into my hand before getting out.
I scrambled to follow him, cursing my damn outfit as my movement was restricted.
Mateo waited for me to round the car, offering me his hand. The second I took it, he began walking. I had to take two steps in my heels for every stride he completed in order to keep up with him.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He stopped walking and released a quiet breath. Turning towards me, he gripped the back of my neck and pulled me into him.
“You know she’s in there,” he bluntly responded. “If you’re not ready for this, you don’t have to go in, but I need to.”
Staring up at him, I felt a trickle of guilt for how I’d reacted in the car. It wasn’t just my life this affected, or she’d hurt. He’d been hurt too.
“I can do this. I think I need to do it, too.”
“We’ll go together then,” he said, pressing a soft kiss on my lips.
When he stepped away again, he captured my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze just as we reached the front door. He opened it right up, waltzing us inside like we lived here.
We didn’t have to go any further to see the party had already started.
One man’s body lay at the bottom of the stairs with two bullet holes in the back of his head, face down in a puddle of blood.
Another looked as if she had been tossed right over the banister. Her right leg was twisted around to the left side of her body.
We walked forward and found ourselves staring into an open concept living, kitchen, and dining room.
Melody and Peyton both looked up as we entered, seemingly fine. In the center of the living room, two people sat on a coffee table. Elias and Sergio stood sentry.
“You two okay?” I asked my friends, still moving forward.
“We’re fine,” Peyton answered, watching me cautiously, expecting me to blow up on them. That could wait; right now, my attention was elsewhere.
I faltered for just a second; Mateo silently forced me to keep going.
Swallowing the nerves threatening to make me vomit every ounce of champagne I’d had, I let myself focus on the anger and the pain to drown out the crushing anxiety.
I let his hand go and slowly rounded the table. Nothing mattered but the voluptuous woman with long chocolate hair and shiny olive skin.
She turned her head and I found myself staring into eyes similar to mine, so familiar and, at one time, comforting.
“And there she is,” she said with more than a little amusement, looking me over from head to toe. “You grew up to be so beautiful.”
“Shame, isn’t it?” I retorted, knowing if she’d had her way I wouldn’t have gotten to grow up at all.
“Eva was a bit prettier. Do tell, how is my sweet girl?”
“Happy to be free of you, I assume,” I casually responded.
This woman was wacked in the head; I wasn’t going to let her have a field day with mine.
I dropped my gaze to her ruby red lips that were slowly tilting up into a smile. The rush of crippling heartbreak or onslaught of hysteria I feared would assault me in this moment never came.
I wanted to jam the barrel of my gun down her throat and finger fuck the trigger. I couldn’t do that, though. I couldn’t leave any permanent blemishes, and she needed to be alive if I wanted to follow through with Mateo’s plan.
Glancing at the barely conscious man beside her, I knew this was the boy toy I’d heard about—Brock, her pathetic little henchman.
“Is this the guy who did it?”
Mateo came to stand beside me, not sparing my mother the glance she so desperately wanted.
“This is him,” he replied, pressing his gun to the man’s kneecap.
I stepped back when he pulled the trigger to spare my ears from some of the after effect.
He woke up, screaming and falling to the floor, grabbing at the bullet wound.
“Are you ready to finish this?” I asked Mateo, reaching out and grabbing my mother by the back of her head.
“I’m ready to win this.” He smiled and nodded in the direction of the foyer, telling me to lead the way.
“Come on, mother, we’re going on a trip.” I lifted her off the table and forced her to walk forward, keeping my gun pressed into her back.
Even in her current predicament, she walked like a queen. Unfortunately for her, there could only be one, and that title belonged to me.
I watched them dismantle his body day by day over the course of two weeks.
Sergio and I took turns hosing him down when Mateo or Elias would finish.
The first day, they took off his right hand. Mateo took the see-saw and worked it back and forth, burying it deep into the flesh and sawing down through the bone.
Elias cauterized the massive wound with a blow-torch, burning Brock’s new stub to a crisp.
The second day was his left hand. The fourth, Mateo simply flipped out a pocket knife and sliced off the man’s ear, shoving it inside his mouth when he continued to scream.
They finished him off together, peeling the flesh from his body with razor blades.
It meant spending long nights away from my gorgeous man, but the mind-blowing sex afterwards made up for it.
When all was said and done, Elias wanted to hang Brock from the plaza bridge. Mateo and I thought that might be
a bit too much—no one would want to flock to Vice City with that route of advertising. Instead, he was left for the gators to chow down on.
By the end of the second week, Melody and I were well prepared with our arsenal of tools, donning simple sundresses, and ready to work magic on my ‘mother’.
“Suck in all the fresh air you can,” I warned, heeding my own advice before I opened the door.
Stepping into the white walled room, I curled my lip at the filthy bedpan and empty cans of Alma dog food.
“Elena, how nice—” A coughing fit interrupted whatever she was going to say.
“You do know I know you being sick is bullshit, right? We have cameras in here.”
I shook my head and sat my makeup bag and jug of water down.
“How much time do we have?” Melody asked, looking down at her wrists.
“Two hours. Let’s try to do it in less.”
“Is this really how you’re going to treat your mother?” Rihannon intoned.
“Oh, honey, you’re not my mother. You’re just some deluded crazy bitch who killed my father, sister, and hurt way too many people.”
She opened her mouth to spit out something cruel, no doubt, but Melody was there, pressing a wad of duct tape across her lips.
“You good?” she asked, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine. Ket’s just get this over with.”
With a nod, we spent the next bit of time prepping Rihannon for her new life.
I dumped a half gallon of water on her head to attempt to clean her hair, and to give Melody a blank canvas to work her facial magic. She sputtered as it rolled down her face and over her nose.
When we were done, we stood back and admired our efforts.
“Much better,” Melody enthused, and I had to agree.
“Do you want me to go get them? Give you a moment?”
“Please,” I smiled, thanking her for everything. It wasn’t every day you found friends like mine, willing to help.
As soon as she was gone, I ripped the tape off my mother’s face, taking a bit of peach fuzz with it.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked, actually sounding worried for once.
“Well, if I tell you, it’ll ruin the surprise.” I turned and began to gather up the things we’d used; it would all need to be pitched now.
“You feel nothing for me, Elena? Look at me—I’m your mother.”
Pausing, I turned back around and sighed.
“This fake emotion thing you’re doing is pitiful. Did you feel anything for my father, your own brother, when you shoved his corpse into an empty oil drum to rot? What about Eva, your other daughter? The one you terrified so badly she drove her car off a cliff to make you think she was dead?
“That wasn’t enough for you, because you killed her anyway. What about my fiancé’s sister? Molly? I could go on and on. You’ve hurt a lot of people, and have only thought of yourself.”
“I didn’t—”
“You did,” I swiftly cut her off. “You’re the only person dumb enough to hurt those I love. The people I would bleed for. I loved you once to mama, before I knew the truth.”
Hearing the metal door slam and the sound of multiple voices, I finished what I was doing and prepared to never have to see her again.
“I admit you were smart; I had no idea you were the Ace. But when I look at you, I don’t see a strong woman or my mother. I see a sick individual who hid behind other people while they did all her dirty work.”
Advancing towards her, I stopped and leaned down, making us eye level.
”You don’t look all that powerful sitting here in this chair,” I smiled, leaning a little closer. “I know you want this empire, but you can’t have it. Where you’re going, every single day of your life is guaranteed to be a living hell. You’re going to become a doped up whore, just like you turned my sister into.”
Moving some of her hair to the side, I whispered the name ‘Malignant’ and kissed her cheek, covering her protests up with another strip of duct tape.
I carried a grin with me all the way to the door. Some people just didn’t deserve forgiveness. She was one of them.
Epilogue-One
Holding my hands out in front of me, I laughed, almost losing my balance.
“Where is it?”
“You’re almost there,” Mateo chuckled, keeping his hands over my eyes.
I took three more steps and then collided with what could only be a car.
Mateo dropped his hands and stepped back, allowing me a moment to fully take in the stunning sixty-nine SS Camaro right in front of me.
“When did you get this?”
“Peyton found it for me before our honeymoon. Had it all set up and delivered last night.”
I shook my head, trying not to cry.
“You mentioned you and your father going to look at one. I thought it’d make a good wedding gift.”
“God, Mateo, shut up,” I huffed, swiping my eyes, trying not to ruin my makeup. “I thought the dogs were my wedding gifts?” I peeked over my shoulder when he came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist.
“This can be a ‘just because’ gift, then. Am I allowed to give those?”
I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you—not because of the car, but because you’re you.”
“I love you too, anjo.” He pressed his lips to mine, kissing me deeply.
When he pulled back, he ran the pad of his thumb over my lips and smirked.
“I thought you’d like to drive it, and I know of this diner on the edge of town with greasy burgers and a fantastic restroom.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I think I need to see this bathroom, and I’d never turn down a good burger.”
He reached in his pocket and retrieved the key, dangling it in front of my face.
“So, why are we still standing here?”
Epilogue-Two
Another year older, but I’d never felt younger.
I sat in an iron wicker chair, stroking the stubble on my chin with my thumb and surveying my backyard.
A BBQ was in full swing, thanks to my lovely wife, and I actually felt content with having way too many motherfuckers in my house.
I watched my Elena, sitting on the edge of the pool with a hotdog in her hand, laughing with her two friends.
My mother was lounging with a margarita in her hand; my father was manning the grill. A few of my falcons sat around conversing at ease, their wives and children nearby.
This, at the end of the day, made everything worth it. The drugs, the killings, the whores…it was all to build this lifestyle and take care of my family.
I could remember clear as day sitting here not so long ago, initiating all I’d worked towards.
I sat in an iron wicker chair, stroking the stubble on my chin with my thumb and studying the two women in front of me.
My brother Elias and our cousin Sergio joined me at the round patio table, indulging in Cobb salads and silently watching the show.
The two women were beautiful, like most of my whores.
It was almost a shame what they had resorted to, selling what had once been supple bodies for money to married men and tourists who made empty promises, and leaving them with nothing but soreness between their legs. The one on the left was actually a regular my father used—Eva Rias, the perfect pawn.
That wasn’t my problem, though. It was, however, a large problem for her, because my mother was no longer tolerant of her presence.
“And neither of you have any idea what this book looks like?”
They shook their heads in unison.
“Speak up.”
“N-no, Patrón, of course not,” the one on the right answered.
I’d asked this question three times, giving each of them ample opportunity to tell the truth. Neither did. And I knew this because the man I’d sent to fuck them was one of my Falcons.
He’d recorded them f
rom the time they sucked his dick as a team to the time they agreed to be informants if he got them out of the city.
They’d claimed to know the location of a book that held invaluable information.
I wished I could say their deaths wouldn’t be personal, but that would be a lie. I didn’t take kindly to anyone threatening my family, my empire, or my money. I also didn’t tolerate duplicity. Loyalty was of utmost importance.
I nodded, pretending I believed them, flashing the charming smile that always put people at ease.
The whore on the left fixed her attention on the file I had sitting on the table. She quickly diverted her gaze when she realized I was watching her for that very reason.
“She’s divine isn’t she?” I picked up the large black and white photograph of Elena Rias.
“Yes,” she said softly, refusing to show her true feelings on the matter.
I knew she had some—it was her twin sister, after all, and very soon she would be my wife.
I placed the photo back in the folder and flipped it closed. Whores should never have the privilege of gazing upon queens.
“Well, since you’re here…” I stood and let her imagination figure out the rest.
Without shame, hesitation, or question, she dropped her knees to the terracotta and reached for my belt buckle. As soon as her nimble fingers grasped the leather, I brought my arm from behind my back, pressed the barrel of my gun to her forehead, and pulled the trigger before she could scream. My dick twitched as the light left her eyes.
Like a puppet that had been lifted up just to have its strings cut, her body slumped to the ground. Blood formed a shallow puddle around her head.
Her companion screamed and took off like a newborn calf, trying to scramble across the stained concrete in heels.
“Why do you let them run?” Sergio shook his head in amusement.
“Sometimes I like them to believe they have a chance of survival. Makes it more fun,” I replied, reclaiming my chair.
A hand on my shoulder pulled me back to the present.
“You’re daydreaming, eh?” Elias laughed, handing me a beer and sitting down in his usual chair.
Old Money Roulette: Complete Trilogy Page 29