Tug

by KJ Bell

  “Yes,” she answers, her voice laced with worry and fear.

  Her eyes widen when he takes her hand and holds it against his cheek affectionately. He kisses the back of her hand before letting it go. “Please, don’t be afraid. You’re safe here. Mr. Hunter has filled me in on your relationship with Mr. Montez, and I’m very displeased.”

  “I’m sorry, but it was a long time ago.” Her voice shakes with terror as she steps back. “I was very young and stupid, and I made a mistake.”

  Mr. Torrente gives her a warm and comforting smile. “Oh, my dear, you misunderstand me. I’m not displeased with you. I know how terrified you must have been.”

  Maria stares at him wordlessly. I can tell she’s confused. Her head turns to me, looking for explanation, but the story is Mr. Torrente’s to tell, so I say nothing and wait patiently.

  Her gaze shifts to Mr. Torrente again. “So, why am I here?”

  “I’m expecting a visitor,” Mr. Torrente offers.

  “Who is it?”

  “Mr. Montez.”

  Maria is at my side in a nanosecond, her arm locked with mine. “Tug, please, take me home.”

  Mt. Torrente crosses the room to join us. “Maria, I told you, you’re safe. We just need to clear the air with Mr. Montez, and then you are free to go. I swear to you.”

  “If he lets me leave,” she replies indignantly.

  “This is my home,” Mr. Torrente states firmly. “Do you think he will try anything without permission?”

  She shakes her head faintly, a smiling pulling at her lips. “No.”

  “Good. You have a lovely smile. You should do it more often.”

  A man storms into the room, Marco trailing closely behind him.

  “Mr. Torrente, what is going on? Why did you bring me here?”

  “I believe you know Maria, and this is her boyfriend, Mr. Hunter. They have a lot to say about you.”

  The man’s eyes meet mine, his lip snarling as he moves his gaze to Maria. His oversized Dickies hang down to his knees, his plaid boxers exposed. He sports a Golden State Warriors jersey. Tats cover all visible skin from head to toe with prison-influenced ink. The two-carat diamonds in his ears and his arrogant confidence are obnoxious. If I didn’t know him to be one of Torrente’s main guys, I would assume he’s nothing more than a typical ’hood rat wannabe.

  “She wants to save her skin, so whatever she told you is a lie,” he says, turning to Mr. Torrente. His voice tries hard to remain steady, but he fails to hide his fear. He knows he’s in deep shit. His boss wouldn’t bring him to Mexico if it wasn’t serious.

  “You’re correct. Mr. Hunter attempted to convince me you skimmed from me, which I knew was a lie, but then he provided me with some information that interested me a great deal.”

  “It’s all lies.” Eduardo throws his hands out. “I would never steal from you, boss.”

  Mr. Torrente picks up a glass and hurls it across the room. It hits the wall, shattering into a million pieces. Maria nestles close to me. I hold her trembling body in my arms and whisper reassurances as we watch the altercation between Torrente and Montez unfold.

  “Oh, but you did steal from me.” Torrente’s voice is dark, filled with spite and a threat of retaliation.

  Eduardo backs up, shaking his head adamantly. “No, I paid you every dime, sir. They’re lying.”

  “What you stole was not money or drugs, and it can never be repaid.”

  “This is crazy. I didn’t do shit,” Eduardo yells, his finger pointed at Maria. “This bitch is lying.”

  Torrente rubs his chin as he closes the space between Eduardo and himself. “Do you have children, Mr. Montez?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Shame. I have three of them. One boy and two girls. They’re my world. The two youngest live here with me and my wife, and my oldest, well, sadly, I have not seen her in many years.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Eduardo’s voice shakes as Torrente fills his personal space.

  “Do you know what makes me angry, Mr. Montez?”

  Eduardo turns his head slightly. “No.”

  “When somebody fucks with my family.”

  “Of course. I would never do that.” Eduardo’s Adam’s apple bulges as he swallows his fear. The two men are toe to toe, the energy between them hostile and tense.

  “Do you know what hurts more than being deported and being forced to leave your little girl?”

  Montez shakes his head, his eyes glowing frightfully as he tries to hold his ground.

  “Finding her twenty years later and learning some animal stole her virginity, let his friends gang-rape her, and laughed while she was beaten by a group of street bitches. Finding out someone you trust put your little girl through that makes me extremely angry. Angry enough to forgive a two-hundred-thousand-dollar debt.”

  Eduardo puts his hands up in front of him. “I didn’t …”

  “Shut up!” Torrente shouts, and spits in Eduardo’s face.

  The irony in Eduardo cowering is satisfying. The terror of all the women he’s ever made fear him is being delivered tenfold.

  “Is Javier your son?”

  Eduardo shrugs. “I don’t know.”

  “But you knew Maria had a kid. And you knew you raped her many times. Didn’t you wonder?”

  “No. I didn’t rape her.”

  “Are you calling her a liar again?”

  Eduardo backs up. “The kid could be anyone’s. This whore slept with all my boys.”

  “What did you call my daughter, Mr. Montez?”

  “Your daughter … I … didn’t know.”

  “No, but your ignorance isn’t relevant.” Torrente snaps his fingers at Marco. “Get him out of my sight.”

  “I made you a lot of money — please!” Watching Eduardo beg is deeply rewarding.

  Torrente tips his head toward the outside door. Two large men, dressed head to toe in black, unmarked swat team fatigues appear next to Marco. They grip Eduardo by the arm and shoulder, and drag him across the tile to the door. His high priced sneakers digging into the floor can’t save him. He’s not nearly strong enough to escape, although he tries with everything in him, thrashing and kicking.

  “No, damn it! I made you a rich man. You can’t do this. I’ll do anything. Anything you want. I’ll make you pay for this. Do you hear me? You’re going to regret this.”

  His threats, and his desperate begging for his life has no effect on Torrente, who watches him be removed with an ice-cold distance that makes me shiver. He’s a dead man walking, and while it’s wrong, I don’t feel a speck of remorse. I’ve made arrangements with Mr. Torrente for a private meeting with Montez before we leave, and I’m anxious for it to happen. I have my own fury to unleash.

  Maria stares at her father with something close to hatred. He moves slowly across the floor and stands in front of her. Their gazes clash like fire and ice. He reaches up and strokes her cheek with the back of his fingers.

  She smacks his hand away. “I don’t believe you’re my father.”

  A look of pain creeps over his features, and then he smiles. “I can prove it. Come with me.”

  Her eyes dart to me, and I squeeze her hand. “It’s okay,” I say reassuringly. We follow Mr. Torrente into the foyer. He points at the painting of the woman with her newborn baby that I admired on my first visit here. Maria covers her quivering lips with her fingers and steps close to the painting. I stay at her side watching her.

  Moments pass and the sadness in her glassy eyes as she studies the painting squeezes my lungs. They feel like they’re about collapse, and it’s hard to breathe. I can’t do anything to stop the pain she’s feeling. When the helplessness is nearly too much to bear, a slow smile spreads across her face, and I exhale.

  “It’s my mama.”

  I nod.

  “She was so beautiful,” Torrente says, his voice catching. He clears his throat and adds, “I loved her so much, as I did you.”

  Maria wipes her cheeks
and shakes her head. “No. You abandoned us. My mother died, and you never came for me.”

  His brow wrinkles and he reaches out to touch her, but she pulls her hand back.

  “I didn’t know,” he defends himself.

  “My grandfather called you.”

  He inhales through his nose in an effort to control his temper. “I assure you, Franco never contacted me,” he says, his voice low and controlled.

  “You lie! You left my mother high and dry with a toddler to take care of.”

  A noise rumbles in his throat, and he shifts on his feet. “I do not lie. Ever! Let me make that clear. I didn’t have a choice to leave your mother. I got deported. Your mother wanted to bring you to Mexico to be with me, but I couldn’t allow that to happen.”

  Maria shakes her head. “You’re so full of shit. She was a U. S. citizen. You could have married her and stayed in the States.”

  His expression shifts to one I know well—regret. “I was stubborn. I had nothing then, no money, no place to live. I wanted you to have a better life, a chance for a decent education. I didn’t want you to grow up as I did, hustling on the streets of Tijuana.”

  She takes a step closer to him, looking him straight in the eye. “That’s exactly where I ended up.”

  He grips her arms, and it takes everything in me to hold my ground. I don’t think he’ll hurt her, but there’s a twinge of doubt in the back of my mind.

  “I swear to you, I didn’t know. I spoke with your mother when you were ten years old. I finally reached a point where I could give you both the life you deserved. She was ashamed of who I had become and told me you had a decent life. She begged me to stay away, and I thought it was best if I didn’t interfere. I tried to do the right thing.”

  Maria rips her arms free. I can tell by her expression she’s conflicted but believes him. Her hands fly up in the air. “What do you want from me?”

  His smile is genuine as he reaches for her hand. She pulls it away.

  “I want whatever you want.”

  Her gaze moves to the floor. “I don’t want anything from you. Like my mama, I’m ashamed of you. You’re a drug pusher. You poison children.”

  He takes a lock of her hair and rubs it between his fingertips, examining it like it holds memories he feels were taken from him. Her shoulders shake, but she doesn’t move away from him. Torrente heaves a deep sigh.

  “You don’t have to agree with my profession, and I doubt you’ll ever fully understand why I ended up where I am. There are always going to be drugs to push, Maria. Where I grew up, there are two sides. Rich or poor, but pushers all the same — if not drugs and women, then fucking knockoff cartoon goods or cheap jewelry. There is no middle ground here in Mexico, and I was tired and beat down. Living in poverty was going to kill me if I didn’t find a way to claw my way up. When you’re desperate, you’ll do just about anything to survive.”

  I know Maria relates to that more than she feels comfortable with, but I can tell by the anger in her eyes it doesn’t change how she feels about her father. “Unless you’re willing to walk completely away from this lifestyle, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  His frown holds so much conflict. “You don’t simply just retire from this life. You must understand that I cannot do that. You have a brother and a sister who would like to meet you.”

  “That’s not enough.”

  “I love my family, and I keep my work separate. All I can ask is that you consider meeting your siblings.”

  “This is too much. I need some time to think about all of this.” Her voice cracks and her gaze stays on the floor.

  “Of course,” he says, but I see the dread in his eyes. “Take all the time you need.”

  “What is going to happen to Eduardo?” she says, pulling her eyes from the floor to look at her father.

  “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  “No,” Maria answers hesitantly, like a part of her actually does want to know.

  Torrente takes one of her hands and holds it between both of his. This time she doesn’t yank it away, and he smiles. “You’re safe. No one will bother you. You have my word.”

  “I need to get back to Javier.” She pulls her hand away and walks out of the room without another glance at her father.

  I nod a silent apology to Mr. Torrente. I know he hoped for more.

  We shake hands, and he says, “You’re a good man, Mr. Hunter. It took balls to come see me. I owe you a great deal.”

  “You’ve already repaid me, Mr. Torrente.”

  “You may have your five minutes with Montez now.”

  As much as I want to, I refuse. “I don’t think that’s what she needs right now.”

  “You’re a better man than I am. Be good to my little girl,” he says with a warning in his tone.

  “I will, sir.”

  Driving away from her father’s house, Maria’s hand trembles in mine.

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  A small sob escapes her lips. “I think I preferred not knowing who my father was.”

  “He’s just a man.”

  She snaps her head around to me. “And a psycho drug-pushing killer.”

  I smile. “Well, there’s that, too.”

  She tries to hold back a laugh but it bursts through her pursed lips. “This is crazy.”

  I can’t disagree with her, but I want to comfort her. “I don’t know if what we ever think of our parents is right. I thought my mom was Betty fuckin’ Crocker, and she turned out to be a psycho killer herself. At least your father was honest with you.”

  “I just want to go home and hug my little boy.”

  I smile, wanting to hug her little boy, also.

  We pull into the driveway at my brother’s house. The hairs on my neck rise and my blood runs ablaze when I spot Harrison’s car. Maria’s fingers brush softly over my knuckles in an attempt to ease my anger, but it doesn’t work. I throw the car in park and leap from the car. Maria’s footsteps are right behind me as I burst through the door. She’s shouting at me to calm down.

  Tori comes into the room and skids to a stop.

  “What the fuck is he doing here?” I yell.

  Tori holds her hands out in front of her. “Calm down. They’re out back, talking.”

  I run a hand through my hair, gritting my teeth.

  Tori looks at Maria. “Javier’s upstairs with Drew. I can handle this if you want to go up. I’m sure you missed him.”

  Maria lifts on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Please stay calm.”

  I nod once but refuse to look at her, knowing there’s no way that’s going to happen. I have a ton of stored rage I never got to take out on Eduardo and Harrison is about to get the brunt of it.

  Maria leaves, and Tori puts a hand on my arm. “Don’t go out there.”

  “He shouldn’t be here.”

  “He made a mistake, and he feels awful about it. They’re trying to figure it out, and it’s honestly not right for us to get involved.”

  “Figure it out, Tor? He cheated on her — with a prostitute, no less.”

  I don’t like the look on her face, because I know what’s coming.

  “We made a mistake once, and they forgave us.”

  “What happened with us is nothing like what Harrison did. You and Brady weren’t together. We had actual feelings for each other.”

  I storm toward the back door, my fists twitching and my vision blurring with rage.

  “Tug, it’s none of our business,” Tori shouts from behind me.

  Harrison’s eyes flash with fear as I rip him from the chair by his shirt. Liv screams at me to let him go, but the anger shooting through me blocks her out. I shove him toward the door. “Get out of here, and stay the fuck away from Liv.”

  “I want him here!” Liv protests, her voice small.

  Harrison holds his hands up. “I love her, man. I’ve been miserable without her.”

  “Do you think I give a shit what you’ve
been through? What about her? Do you know how much she cried and how she blames herself?” I spin around and face Liv. “Don’t believe him. He’ll do it again.”

  “Go away, Tug. I don’t need you to protect me.”

  Her words slice through me, making me angrier. This asshole breaks her heart and now she’s turning on her family. “You damn sure do!”

  I watch her face twist, and suddenly I’m the dick in this situation. Fucking Harrison — a flash of his dimples, and Liv falls apart.

  “Harrison, would you go up to my room and wait for me?” Liv says so sweetly that I want to shake her and make her realize what a mistake she’s making.

  He bows his head and leaves.

  My entire body vibrates as anger floods my veins. “How can you take him back?”

  Tears spill from her eyes. “I love him.”

  I run both my hands over the top of my head and squeeze the back of my neck. Her words are painful to hear, but I know what it’s like to feel so strongly for someone you’d forgive any wrongdoing.

  “I’ll never be able to trust him,” I say, knowing it isn’t what she wants to hear.

  “I know. It’s going to take me a long time as well, and he knows that.”

  “So, what, is he moving back in here?” Her gaze shifts to the floor. “What?”

  “No, he’s not. Tori doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Drew to get attached to him again until he’s proven himself.”

  “She’s right,” I say, still bitter.

  Liv nods with a nervous smile. “She is. That’s why I’m moving in with him. He has an apartment in Pacific Beach.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Her arms wrap around my waist, and she squeezes me tightly enough to knock the breath out of me. She lets go, and the smile on her face is the brightest I’ve seen in months.

  “I love you so much, Tuggy. You’re an amazing brother, and I love that you look out for me, but I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in a long while. My friends are all there. It’s time I get back to having a life. After Mom, I shut myself off from everyone, grew up too fast, and turned into a robot. Harrison made a horrible mistake, but I can’t deny I’d been pushing him that direction for a while.”