by K. A. Ware
That foreign feeling of a smile started playing on my lips again. I guess it was my turn to regale stories of bloodshed.
Vic directed me into a dingy apartment complex. We crawled through the parking lot as she searched for the right building Ricardo had told her Jade lived in.
She tapped a fingernail on the window. "This is the one, pull in here."
I did as instructed and pulled into the empty space. Turning off the engine, I turned to look at her. The last rays of sunlight were filtered out by the dark tint of my windows, blanketing us in a dim glow.
"So what's the plan?" As a rule, I never went into a situation without an exit strategy. There was no telling what we would find.
She shrugged. "I'm going to get her to tell me where Javi is."
"But how are you going to do that?"
Vic arched a brow at me, and I knew she was about to say something that was going to either make me want to beat my head against a wall or climb all over her. "I'm going to go knock on the door."
Beat my head against a wall it is.
"And if that doesn't work?"
"Then I'll figure it out."
"Do you usually do this kind of thing by yourself? And don't say you're not alone because I'm here, you know what I mean."
Her eyes flicked to the phone in her hand. "Not typically. Luis is usually with me, but for whatever reason, he's been busy since you got here."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. I didn't have to speak for her to know what I was thinking.
"It's not that, he has some shit going on with his dad. Luis would never betray me, ever."
I let the subject drop for the time being but made a mental note to take a closer look at her cousin.
Reaching into her pocket, Vic pulled out a set of brass knuckles and slipped them onto her fingers and flexed her hands. It was the single sexiest thing I'd ever witnessed. They were scratched and scuffed, clearly well used and fit across her knuckles perfectly.
We climbed out of the car and approached the ground level apartment. To the right, stairs led up to the second and third-floor units on either side. If things got complicated, those five units could hold potential witnesses.
She motioned for me to stay back as she drew closer to the door. Leaning against the jam, she rapped on the peeling door with one steel knuckle duster.
"Open up, it's Vic!" she called out in a booming voice that seems unnatural falling from her perfect lips. Her tone carried a dangerous and sharp edge that contrasted with her small stature.
I heard the rusty slide of at least three deadbolts before the door cracked open just an inch or two and revealed one bloodshot eye through the crack.
"What do you want?" A female voice called out from behind the door.
A tick formed in Vic's jaw. "Where is Javi?"
"Fuck you!" the woman growled.
Briefly, I let my eyes fall closed. I'd known Victoria Mendoza for less than 48 hours, and even I knew that was the wrong answer.
Vic let out a short laugh, her eyes sliding to me for a split second before she leaned back and kicked the door, hard. The flimsy chain snapped, and the door swung open, knocking over the woman that had been standing behind it. Vic wasted no time stalking it into the apartment and looming over the woman.
I scanned my surroundings, peering out into the parking lot for witnesses. Vic was being reckless. Anyone could've seen her bust into the apartment. Aggravation crept up my neck as I stepped inside the apartment and gently shut the door with a click.
I took in the room; it was a mess of littered garbage and junk. The dated and stained brown carpeting coupled with the stained yellow walls had me wrinkling my nose in disgust. Tin foil, spoons, needles and lighters were on proud display on the chipped coffee table, and the pungent odor of heroin hung heavy in the air.
When the woman, who had scrambled to her feet, caught sight of me entering the room, her eyes got wide, darting from side to side like she couldn't decide where to focus her attention.
"What you brought back up so you wouldn't have to get your hands dirty?" She sneered.
Vic glanced briefly at me over her shoulder, and Jade took the opportunity to lunge for her. I took a step forward to intervene, but Vic had anticipated the move and twisted, moving around her and taking the woman's left arm in both hands. She wrenched it behind her back, causing her to lose balance and fall to her knees. Vic leaned down and spoke into Jade's ear, I watched, captivated, as those fucking lips I wanted to be wrapped around my cock began to move.
"I don't need anyone to back me up. I can take care of you all on my own and make sure no one ever finds the body. You'll just be another junkie whore that people remember from time to time but never miss enough to look for. Another degenerate lost to the needle."
A surge of desire coursed through my veins watching her expressionless face as she locked eyes with me. As fucked up as it was, witnessing her cold brutality did something to awaken the beast inside me. It was like her tarnished soul was speaking to mine in a way I'd never experienced. I caught a brief crack in her stony expression as an emotion I couldn't quite place crossed her face. It was there and gone before I could blink, but if I wasn't mistaken, it left a glint in her eye that wasn't there before.
Maybe she's more like me than I thought.
Vic jerked Jade to her feet by her twisted arm, causing the woman to cry out. The sound was like a serenade to the monster, coercing him out of the shadows. I wanted nothing more than to jump in and see the fear shining in her eyes, but Vic had the situation under control, and there was no need for my intervention.
Jade, now on her feet, flailed and cracked Vic in the mouth with one bony hand. The hit, while wild and untrained, had drawn blood. The junkie looked astonished at what she'd done and stumbled back against the wall as Vic's lips parted in a vicious smile. Blood stained her teeth, and her eyes blazed, making her look almost demonic.
"That wasn't a very good idea, Jade."
She grabbed the woman by her upper arms and squeezed hard. I watched as her skin gave way and the points of Vic's sharp nails sank into her flesh, drawing blood of her own. Jade screamed out in pain, but she didn't let up.
"Tell me where the fuck he is!" She screamed inches from the woman's face.
Releasing one of her arms Vic drew back a fist and slammed it against the woman's cheek. The sound of bone crunching under brass knuckles echoed, and blood bloomed from the fresh cut, dribbling down her face and mixing with her tears as she sobbed.
"Where is he?" She demanded again. She gave her a hard shake, causing her head to flop back-and-forth.
Jade whimpered. A pathetic sound for a pathetic soul. "I don't know."
"Bullshit!" Vic hissed.
"He hasn't been around!" she cried.
"But you know where I can find him, so stop fucking around and tell me."
"What do you want with him?"
"None of your business. Do I need to put a fucking gun between your eyes to get you to talk?" Vic released one of her arms and reached behind her for the gun she kept in her waistband.
"Okay, okay! His uncle Mario runs a garage Custom something on 92nd and Foster, he might know where he is."
"Might?"
"I don't know! Javi owes me money; I haven't seen him in a week. If anyone knows where he is, it'll be Mario."
Vic released her and stepped back. "See that wasn't so hard."
"Are we done?" Jade sniffled. Her earlier bravado absent.
"Almost." Vic drew back a fist and slammed it into the side of the woman's face. She fell to the ground, limp and unmoving.
Vic stepped over the unconscious woman and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"That took longer than I thought, let's go."
Chapter Ten
VIC
Antonio broke the silence first as we climbed back in the car. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
More than I'll ever admit.
When Santiago died something in me had snapped. Li
ke a dog being let off the leash, I'd run headlong towards the fight and found that I liked it. Too much. I was in a dark place then, and after the 12th Street Boys were taken care of, I finally surfaced from the depths to find that I didn't know who I was anymore. I'd always been tough, never one to back down from a fight, but I'd become someone that sought out the burn of pain.
"I did what I had to do."
Antonio cranked the engine and pulled out of the parking space. "Do you just never just answer a question?"
Not wanting to delve into my psyche, I deflected. "Do you?"
He grunted, his version of an eye roll. "Where am I going?"
"Turn left; I know what shop she was talking about."
"Are we going to formulate a plan this time? I don't like walking into a situation blind."
My hackles rose at his accusatory tone. "It worked, didn't it?"
Pulling my phone out of my pocket I found Ricardo's contact information.
Antonio's eyes darted from the road to where I sat in the passenger seat. "Who are you calling?"
I ignored his question and listened as the phone rang twice before the low rumble of Ricardo's voice came over the line. "Vic, what's up? You find Jade?"
"Yeah, I found her alright. She said I should check with Javi's uncle Mario over at Portland Customs; you got a line on him?"
He whistled long and loud. "Vic, you better bring backup with you if you're headed over there. Mario ain't no joke, he's way old school, and has the prison tats to prove it."
"I've got backup, don't worry about that. Tell me what you know about his set up."
"He's got about five guys working for him. They have a restoration business that's legit, but they chop cars out the back. Like I said, he's old school, so I don't think there's an alarm system you're going to have to worry about, and if there is, it won't be high tech. I think he lives in the apartment above the garage, but that's about all I know."
"That's all good info, thanks, Ricardo."
"Anytime, Vic. Stay safe."
I disconnected the call and looked to Antonio who was back to his stoic state.
"What'd you find out?"
"Apparently, this Mario guy is some big bad OG."
"OG?"
"Do you not get cable in that ivory tower of yours? An OG is an original gangster, like a hardcore banger that's been through the shit. He's not going to give up Javi easily."
"Do you know what he looks like or are we going in blind?"
I smirked, pulling up an app on my phone. "Javi's in his early twenties, and he's an egotistical prick, which means he probably doesn't take a shit without posting about it."
"Like social media? You think you're going to find his uncle online?"
I continued scrolling through pictures. "Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mario might not have a Facebook page, but you bet your ass Javi does and there's bound to be a pic—BINGO!"
Holding up my phone in triumph, I flashed the picture of an older man in coveralls with his arm around Javi's shoulders.
"We know what this guy looks like, but do we know if he's got people with him?"
"Ricardo said he only has five guys that work for him, it's after nine now, chances are he's alone."
Antonio's jaw visibly clenched and I watched as his knuckles turned white under the pressure of his grip on the steering wheel. "I don't like taking chances."
"Really? I took you for a fly by the seat of your pants kinda guy. I'd never have guessed you like shit planned out, who knew."
"Spare me the sarcasm, princess."
"What did you call me?"
He merged onto I-84 and hit the gas, shifting hard. "What? I thought we were exchanging nicknames; you don't like yours?"
I couldn't be sure in the moonlight, but I thought I caught sight of a genuine smile. "Did you just make a joke?"
He gave me a warning look out of the corner of his eye. "Don't get used to it."
"Mario," I sing-songed through the open bay door as I stalked into the garage.
Antonio was hot on my heels as I slid my brass knuckles back onto the fingers of my right hand. I squeezed my hand into a fist, feeling the comfort of the cool metal seep into my skin. They were my favorite weapon, my favorite way to inflict pain, my favorite way to prove I was not someone to fuck with.
Passing one of Mario's projects, I let my fist glide against the freshly painted hotrod, the sound of metal on metal like music to my ears. Something clattered to the ground towards the back of the garage, the sound ricocheting off the walls. I cut my eyes to Antonio who nodded once and veered off, headed for the back exit while I pushed forward directly for whoever was trying to hide from us. Briefly, I wondered when Antonio and I had become so in sync, but another bang diverted my attention back to my prey.
The sounds of our footfalls on the concrete floor echoed around us, my heavily booted feet, and the subtle tapping of Antonio's fancy dress shoes. I swung around a stack of pallets, looking first to my right and seeing Antonio coming around a stack of boxes on the other side of the garage.
His eyes grew wide, and he called out. "Behind you!"
I spun around just in time to see Mario holding a large wrench in his hand. Before I had time to react, he came surging forward at me. Fear or lack of practice made him clumsy. He swung wide, and I easily ducked it before barreling into his soft middle and sending both of us to the floor. The wrench clattered to the ground somewhere out of my line of sight, but I didn't need it. I was quick to right myself to my knees and delivered two swift punches to his face. Mario was momentarily dazed by the force my trusty brass-knuckled packed. I got to my feet just as Antonio approached from behind.
Antonio apparently didn't appreciate being left out of the action, because he barreled past me and dragged Mario to his feet.
"The fuck you thinking?" He growled angrily. Grabbing two fistfuls of the older man's coveralls and shoving him into the stack of pallets, knocking several to the ground.
"We just came here to talk, but that shit you just pulled cost you your fucking life. Hope it was worth it." Antonio continued, getting in a few solid punches of his own.
"Antonio!" I demanded, my hand stretching out to stop him. The muscles in his shoulder were drawn tight under his fancy button down. The look of rage in his eye when he glanced back at me caused a shiver of fear to run up my spine as a pulse of desire bloomed between my legs. I swallowed hard in an attempt to tamp down my sudden lust.
"We need him alive," I reminded him. "He's no good to us dead; he knows where Javi is."
"Fine." He straightened and threw the man's limp body to the ground. He wasn't unconscious, but he was close enough to it not to pose an immediate threat.
"Find somewhere to tie him up; I'll go close up shop. We don't need any visitors," I called over my shoulder as I made my way back toward the front of the shop. I needed a minute away from him; there was just something about the feral nature of his anger that made me want to see what he could unleash on me when we were wearing a whole hell of a lot less.
Once the doors and my libido were locked up tight, I headed back. Antonio had found zip ties and was securing Mario's wrists to some sort of work table.
Antonio glanced up as I approached. "We alone?"
Nodding, I made my way over to where Mario was trussed up and landed a vicious kick to his knee. "You going to tell us what we want to know?"
He spat on the floor at my feet. "Fuck you, puta!"
I smiled sweetly and flicked my switchblade open. A flicker of fear crossed his face, he was quick to hide it, but I saw. Dropping to my knees, I brought the blade to rest at the base of his throat.
"Okay then, I gave you a chance to do this the easy way, but apparently your stubborn ass wants to make things more interesting. Don't worry; I'm nothing if not accommodating."
Increasing the pressure ever so slowly until the tip of my blade broke the skin and a trickle of blood fell, staining the white collar of his shirt. I felt more than heard Antonio shifting behind
me.
Funny, I took him for more of a patient man.
Bringing the knife down, I followed the trail of blood, slicing his shirt down the middle until his fleshy chest and stomach were exposed. I let him sit there for a minute wondering what I was going to do next. The most effective part of torturing information out of someone was always the anticipation of what would come next.
I paced around the immediate area, looking for something that would inflict enough pain to gain me the information I needed but still leave him alive.
At least for the time being.
"What are you doing?" Antonio asked.
I opened and slammed another set of drawers. "Looking for something convincing."
"I have a gun and fists just itching to make contact with this fucker's face again. What more do you need?"
I had to force myself not to roll my eyes at him. Even though my back was turned, I had a feeling he would sense my attitude. Finally, I spotted just the thing.
"This," I said making my way back to the two men and waiving the blow torch at him.
Spotting my new toy, Mario started to struggle against his bindings. The sight of him practically wetting himself had a laugh bubbling up in my throat.
"Jesus, it's like a mini Carlo," Antonio mumbled.
That caught my attention. It wasn't often I heard the King of the DeLuca Clan's name spoken out loud. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
Ignoring his frustration at my tactics, I approached Mario once more.
"I'm going to ask you one last time before things get uncomfortable, where is Javi?"
"I don't know where he is," Mario grunted as he continued to struggle, kicking out at my feet.
I quickly sidestepped his flailing legs and moved to stand above him, a foot on either side of his hips where he wouldn't be able to knock me off balance.
"You might not know where he is right now, but you know how to find him," I said staring him down.
Flicking on the blow torch, I adjusted the flame until it burned bright blue, bringing a smirk to my lips. I would get the information I needed, one way or another. Antonio had grown quiet, glancing over to where he stood a few feet away. He'd taken up a rigid stance, arms crossed over his chest, legs braced apart, but what caught my attention were his eyes. They burned bright, the intensity of his stare bore into me. He looked hungry, for what, I wasn't sure.