Seeing how far he took things, I now knew there was nothing anyone could have done to help Maricio. He didn’t see the world in its reality. To him, everyone and everything was against him. He had to fight in order to live.
It killed me inside. I wanted to be there for him. I wanted him to see life and Javi the way I did. Except there wasn’t anything I could do. Maricio was too consumed by his thoughts and the drugs only fed into it. Fighting him to see reality was a losing battle.
After finishing my bath, I dried off and dressed for bed. In baggy pajama pants and a light t-shirt, I was comfortable. When I left the room, Javi was on the bed staring up at the ceiling. He was shirtless and laying over the covers in just sweatpants. His scar seemed to glisten under the night light. I wondered if sometimes it still hurt him or if it was ghost pains of the memories. How did he get through each day when every time he looked in the mirror he saw a reminder of the man who stabbed him in the back?
“Thinkin’ awfully hard over there,” I commented as I made my way over to him and slid into the bed beside him.
“A man does not amass the power I have without thinking things through.”
His tone was strained, as if the stress was really getting to him.
“What is on your mind, Javi?”
He sighed and turned to me. His face was pained, making his scar stand out even more. “When we find him, I think you should find your closure, but walk away before you cross a line there’s no coming back from.”
“No!” I shrieked. The panic filled me. “I need this. I need to know he’s met the same fate as my daughter.”
Javi studied me. “Do you know what the punishment is in America for murder?”
“I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life in prison if it means my brother breathes no more. He took my daughter from me. He doesn’t get to live while she died.”
“He’s not going to live, Mari. Mark my words. But if something goes wrong, you’re tangled in a world you can’t simply walk away from.”
“So, what? You’re giving me a choice to walk away?”
“I’m giving you a chance to have a life.”
His words were like a kick to my teeth. What life? I had no life. I sat up and looked at him. “And what if I don’t want it? Without Yesnia, I have nothing. I have no life, I have no future, and I have no choices.”
“I just want you to be aware of what is going to happen and make the right decision for yourself. Can you live with taking his life?”
I nodded. I knew what would happen and with every fiber of my being, I knew what I needed to do in order to find peace. “He took my baby girl, my love. I want to end him.” I paused blowing out a deep breath. “I need to end him. I need to see it, feel it, and know it without a shadow of a doubt so that I can sleep at night knowing my daughter, our daughter, had justice.”
“Oh, justice will be served. I just want you to be able to live with yourself.”
It tugged at me that he cared how I would feel after Maricio was killed. I vowed to my baby girl when she was tiny that I would protect her. I had failed her. Maricio knew if he hurt her there would be no going back for us. He crossed the line and I wouldn’t be turning back now. This was for my peace of mind and retribution for my daughter. There was nothing that drove me more than the love I had for Yesnia.
“Does it bother you the things you’ve had to do?” I asked, wondering where this was coming from. Why did he suddenly care about how I would feel after? What did my feelings matter? Did his past haunt him?
“Me?” He pointed to his chest. “No. Not a damn thing bothers me, except the man I once considered family spilled my child’s blood in my driveway. I didn’t protect her. I failed my daughter and that eats at me. Nothing else even touches the pain I feel for letting her down. Have I taken a life? Yes. Fuck, there were times I didn’t even know what the hit was ordered for. It was a job, I did it, and I didn’t lose sleep over it.”
“Maricio deserves what he’s going to get,” I told him, believing it with my very soul.
Javi rolled to his side facing me. “Love your conviction.”
I rubbed the side of his face. “You’ve lived a hard life, Javier Almanza.”
“Yeah, and so have you. Mari Belle Dominguez, you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known. Strong enough to handle my world. Powerful enough to bring a man like me to his knees. Change the way I think. Make me want to believe in shit like forgiveness and second chances. Beautiful enough to have me rethink everything I’ve ever done.”
“Is that so?” I leaned into him with my breaths coming quicker.
“When I arranged for you to be taken, I wanted you to hurt.”
His honesty both surprised me and calmed me. It was nice to get in his head for a moment. While I knew my initial kidnapping was a punishment, as things had shifted between us, I wasn’t sure where his head or his heart was about us.
“Then when I saw your pain, felt it. Well, it didn’t make me feel good like I thought. It went against what my instincts said.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “What did your instincts say to do?”
“Protect you.”
He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine.
“Treasure you.”
I kissed him back.
“Care for you. Take care of you.”
I felt his words warm deep in my belly.
“I had this anger towards you. I felt like your loyalty was with him.”
I pulled back and locked my eyes to his. “And now?”
He smiled. It was the first time I felt him genuinely relax since our reunion. “Now, I see your loyalty is where it belongs.”
I didn’t understand. “My loyalty is not to you, Javi,” I told him honestly. I wouldn’t lie to him, even if it pushed him to hurt me. My loyalty would never be to any man, any cartel, or anyone other than where it already was.
“No, Mari, your loyalty is with your daughter, our daughter. And I have to tell you, mi cielo, it’s sexy as hell.”
I brushed my lips against his. He opened his mouth to which I took the opportunity to take his bottom lip in my mouth and suck. His hands came up and cupped my head, holding me to him as his tongue darted into my mouth, exploring and seeking. I moaned as our tongues danced inside my mouth.
“You could make me believe in love again,” he muttered.
“Don’t, Javi,” I warned. “Be in the moment, but don’t ask for more. I don’t know who I am without Yesnia. I make no promises for who I’ll be when this is over.”
And that was the root of all my problems. Without my daughter, without being her mother, who was I? What was left of me? I needed to get lost tonight. I needed to not think of what came next.
Arching my back, I pressed my t-shirt covered breasts into him. He lifted my leg, wrapping it around his hip so that I could feel his erection grow between us. As he devoured my mouth hungrily, I adjusted so my core was against him. Javi’s hands moved to my hips where he began to control my grinds. The added pressure only built up inside me more.
I broke away from our kiss, needing to breathe as I continued to climb, chasing my orgasm.
His hands slid down my pajama pants. Twisting me so that he found his way down to my panties, and his fingers found my clit. The little pressure was exactly in the right spot to send me shooting over the edge. His lips crashed to mine as he slid my pants and panties down. I worked his sweatpants off. He was already shirtless in the bed when I came from the bathroom. Skin to skin, he laid over me. I arched under him as he slid inside me. Slowly he moved in and out of me in languid thrusts. It was a delicious torture. I got lost in him as he got lost in me. The world stopped as our orgasms washed through us both in tandem.
Tonight, I could sleep sated and knowing tomorrow I would face my brother. In twenty-four hours, I would have retribution for my daughter. Tomorrow, Javi would give me peace in my turmoil.
For tonight, I would sleep in the arms of the only man I had ever loved.
; Chapter Twelve
Javier
We arrived in Dyersburg to get the most recent update from Vipers Creed. Spook met us just outside of town with an envelope. Since they kept their town under control and I respected their business, I followed his rules and requests. The only one being that I kept my organization out of his territory. I happily obliged because I understood his stance and respected him. With the information in hand, we continued an hour south to the place Maricio was last located.
It was a dive cottage. He was renting by the night through one of those online room share type of sites. Of course, he rented it under an alias. Between Spook and his Vipers, alongside my organization, everything was in place. As I pulled up, the Vipers’ man on Maricio would take off, giving up his post since his job was done.
Aurelio was on standby to send in clean up when it was done. This was a matter I felt needed to be handled personally. I wouldn’t assign it to one of my men. I needed to see this one through for myself.
Mari looked to me when we pulled up to the house. Her eyes were full of pain and loss, but not fear. Good, she had to be fearless and hard for what would come next.
In the envelope I received from Vipers was a key to the home. On the most recent update sent to me via text message twelve minutes ago, I knew Maricio was high. The man Spook put on him followed him to score the drugs and then back to the house.
From there, Aurelio hacked the security system the owner had put in when the shack became a rental. While the place wasn’t kept up, the people who owned it still kept an eye on things. They may not put their money into upgrades, but they did put the dollars into security for which I was thankful. On my phone, I watched Maricio snoring while passed out on the couch. Knowing I had the upper hand, I pulled right up in the driveway.
Our computer guy had set up the repeat on the security system so there would be no footage of what was about to occur.
We were in the clear as I used the key to enter the home. Maricio was on the couch with his head rolled to the side.
He was out for the count.
I locked the door behind us as Mari took in her brother. Disgust and hatred immediately formed in her eyes.
Moving to stand in front of him, I pulled the dagger from my side. Throwing knives. Custom blades we all carried in a pouch clipped to our sides. It was the Almanza Cartel signature.
I relished the weight of the metal in my hand.
I looked to Mari, she looked to me. There was no hesitation from her.
I lifted the knife. I flung it.
My intended target was Maricio’s crotch. It landed square between his legs. Based on the bulge I could see, I landed the knife in the tip of his cock.
His eyes flew open and he jumped from the seat screaming in pain. The movement made his cock jerk, settling the blade deeper.
“Javi!” he yelled as he became cognizant of who stood before him. His eyes moved to Mari.
“You’re blitzed,” she said, taking in the sweat pouring down his neck and his dilated pupils.
His eyes couldn’t focus as he tried to look at his sister. “Mari, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get free so I could come back for you.” He seemed genuine, but it was too little, too late.
She stepped up to him as blood poured down his legs. “Come back for me? Why the hell would you think coming back for me was smart? You killed my daughter!” Tears ran down her face.
“Don’t say that, Mari. Don’t say such hateful things.”
“Hateful things?” she screamed. “It’s the damn truth.”
He lifted his hand, swiftly striking her in the face. Obviously, in his fucked up state of mind he forgot I was there. I moved and pushed him to the couch where I straddled him. I felt the warm liquid of his blood saturate my pants. He pushed at my chest, but I didn’t budge.
“You fucked with the wrong family,” I said as I held my forearm to his neck.
He looked at me and smiled. “I did a damn good job fuckin’ up your face.”
Mari moved to me and I felt her take my secondary knife from my side.
“She won’t let you kill me,” he taunted me confidently. “Mari won’t cross me. Mamá lives in my head. She told me she won’t let Mari betray me. So try as much as you want, my sister won’t let you end me.”
“You’re fucked in the head, Maricio,” I told him, realizing he was far from right in his mind.
It was Mari who surprised me the most as she began to laugh. “You’re right, Maricio.”
I didn’t let up the pressure on him as she moved closer. I wouldn’t let him have the edge to hurt her.
“See, Javi, you can’t break us. Your daughter had my name. Dominguez,” he teased me. “The Dominguez family is no match for you. We are strong. We are loyal.”
Mari stood over her brother looking him in the eyes. For a moment, I wondered if this was too much for her.
“Mari, you can wait outside,” I offered. “I’ll take care of it.”
Maricio laughed. “She’s not going to leave me. I’m the only family she has left.”
“She has me!” I corrected him. My anger reached an all-time high. I had to fight back my urge to twist the knife. I wanted to choke him. I wanted to squeeze the last breath from his body. But I needed to make sure Mari found her closure before I could end him.
“You’re shit on a shoe, Javi. Everyone’s golden boy, but to me, to Mari, and to Yesnia, you’re shit on a shoe.”
I took my knee and pressed the knife in his cock deeper.
Mari got close. I worried as Maricio reached out and grabbed her wrist, the one holding the knife.
“Be strong, Mari,” he coaxed, trying to turn her hand on me. I twisted, cutting off his airway. He released her hand to grab at my forearm.
Mari looked to me.
For a moment, I wondered if she would turn the knife on me. I hadn’t been kind. I had uprooted her life in the same way her brother had. Maybe this would be the end for us all. I wouldn’t stop her. If she chose to turn on me, I would help her push the blade into my heart. The fight in me had changed. My goal in life wasn’t about me or my organization anymore. It was all for my daughter and her mother.
Mari’s hand came up with the blade. With her eyes locked to his, she pierced Maricio’s neck. Blood poured out as his eyes grew wide in shock.
“You ended my daughter. I end you,” she explained as she twisted the knife into his artery.
“I’m your brother, Mari,” he croaked out the words.
“You weren’t my brother the day you took me from my home when I was eighteen. You were my captor.” Mari twisted the blade and more blood spurted out as I moved to pin Maricio’s arms. “When you took my daughter hostage, when you put a gun to her, the Dominguez family was no more. When you pulled the trigger, you were dead to me. Now,” she muttered, twisting the blade again, “you die to the world.”
With a final twist, she backed away to watch Maricio fight for his life.
I stood, but kept his hands contained. With the drugs in his system, he couldn’t put up as much of a fight. They made him weak, not only in his mind but physically.
“Javi, I want to be the one,” Mari whispered to me. “Let him bleed out.”
I nodded and continued my hold on Maricio. Mari stepped back up to him as he continued to bleed and fight the high.
“I told you, Maricio. I told you if you ever harmed her I would end you myself. Javi gave me that gift.”
Maricio fought to focus. “Fuck you. Javi didn’t give you a gift. He’s shit.”
“I’ll see you in Hell,” I told him, bringing his attention back to me.
“You turn the world against me,” he muttered getting weaker.
“No, you turned the world against yourself,” I fired back, wanting him to give up fighting for life.
“Mamá,” he muttered. “Forgive me, Mamá. I love you. I miss you.” He turned his head to Mari, causing more blood to gush out. “You know I didn’t kill her, right? You
know where I shot her, she wouldn’t die. I thought about it for days, weeks. I read her obituary, but it can’t be real. I didn’t shoot her in the head. She had a chance to live. Yesnia’s death was Javi’s fault. He didn’t get her to a doctor in time. That’s not on me.”
Mari looked to me and I shook my head without replying. Yes, it was on me that she lay in pain bleeding out in my driveway. Maricio betrayed her and for that he would pay with his life today. Regardless of where he shot her, the bullet pierced her skin by his choices and today was retribution for his actions.
“Mamá,” he wailed. “I’m getting dizzy. Mamá, I need you to make it stop hurting. Forgive me.”
Mari shook from head to toe as the weight of what was happening settled on her.
“Forgive me,” Maricio repeated.
I wasn’t sure who he meant the words for as his eyes rolled back in his head. It took a bit, but in time the blood continued to drain from him and his pulse slowed until finally it stopped.
“It’s over,” I told Mari, letting go of Maricio and turning to hold her.
“It’s never over,” she whispered. “It’s never over because I’ll never be the same without her.”
She collapsed into my arms. Holding her close, I sighed. It was over. For me, there was no more looking for Mari, wondering what had gone so wrong that she stayed with him. There would be no more waiting for a chance to end Maricio.
It was done.
And the shit felt good, damn good.
Leading Mari out of the house, I sent the message to Aurelio to send our people in. Within an hour, everything would be cleaned and no one would be the wiser. I would be buying the property in a cash short sale under a holding company so that no one would even question what happened here. It was all arranged.
With his blood on my pants, they stuck to my legs. In the car, Mari trembled looking at her hands that were covered in her brother’s blood.
“Let’s get out of here.”
She nodded but didn’t speak. Heading to a safe house of an associate, I got her inside to clean up. She seemed numb, so I guided her to the bathroom where I started the water and undressed her. Getting under the water and rinsing the blood took a bit, but when I finally got the traces off her she calmed down.
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