by M. N. Forgy
“Maybe I’m here for business.” He tilts his head to the side, watching me. Biting my inner cheek, I glare at him. His argument not making me trust him.
“Anahi! Work!”
I look over Bull’s shoulder finding Alvaro standing just outside the bar. Waiting for me.
Funny. Usually Alvaro would be over here playing alpha and all but pissing on my leg when another male is talking to me. Today he is standing far away.
“Anahi? Is that right?” he asks as I start to pass him, the way my name slips from his mouth stops me in my tracks. My eyes land on his lips, my insides wanting him so badly to say it again.
Masking my desire, I glare at him. If he is here for me he’s going to have to show it a lot more than he is. I can’t take the risk that he isn’t up for the challenge that Alvaro will bring. It will be ugly, and someone will get hurt or more than likely, killed. Probably me.
“I hope you didn’t come here for me, because you’re wasting your time,” I mutter, knowing me leaving here will only be in a body bag and not in the throes of romance.
Walking away I find a very angry Alvaro waiting for me. His face is blistering red, his chest rising and falling quickly.
I bite my inner cheek nervously, knowing I’m going to pay for talking to Bull.
Turning in my tracks I watch as Anahi walks away, a green bandana hanging out of her back pocket. The same insignia as the others.
Shaking my head, I try to gather my thoughts again, but I can’t. There’s something about that girl.
She’s a glass of sweet tea kicked up with a little rum.
She’s sweet looking, but has a mouth on her I’d like to devour. Those plump lips look like they were made to fit around my cock.
Alvaro grabs hold of her arm, pulling her roughly. My brows furrow and my hands ball into fists at the way he’s yanking her around like a goddamn rag doll.
A hand grabs at my arm, catching my attention.
“Easy brother, remember we don’t know what we’re walking into,” Bobby reminds as he watches the altercation. “You have to stop making other people’s problems your own.”
My head whips in his direction on its own accord, angry at his fucking tone.
“I would if every dick I pass didn’t treat women with disrespect. If their daddy didn’t have enough balls to teach them how to act around a lady…” I point at my chest, “I’m goin’ to be the motherfucker that delivers that beatin’. One they won’t soon forget either.”
He shakes his head, a smile tugging at his mouth.
“I have no doubt brother,” Bobby chuckles.
Looking back at the bar, I notice Anahi has gone inside and Alvaro is staring us down. I jut my chin at him and he smirks, tilting his head to the side in a cocky demeanor before turning around and going inside.
“That’s Alvaro, he’s in charge,” an unexpected voice informs me from behind us.
Bobby and I turn, finding Felix from Sin City Outlaws. His dirty blond hair pulled into a ponytail, his white shirt stained from the desert sand.
I smile and shake his hand. “Good to see ya, brother, when did you get in?” I ask.
“About an hour ago, this place gives a couple whore houses in Vegas look like five star establishments,” he criticizes, and I laugh.
“You here alone?” Bobby asks, raising a brow. Curious if any of the other men from Sin City Outlaws came with him.
“Yeah, it’s just me. We got our own shit going on back home to send too many men out right now,” Felix replies.
“Everything good?” I question, wondering if they need any help.
“We’re good, Zeek has it handled.” I nod, knowing Zeek is more than capable of being a respectable president of their club. He’s a dick, and I will always treat him lesser just because of the crap he pulled with our club. The only reason I let bygones be bygones, is because I want Lip to have his family.
“Be careful of that fucker Alvaro, he’s not right in the head,” Felix continues. Glancing back at the bar I nod in agreement. There is something about him, about this whole operation that doesn’t sit well with me.
“What’s his story?” Bobby asks, crossing his arms.
“His story?” Felix chuckles. “I don’t know much besides he’s a man of business. So you get the stuff?” Felix questions, getting to the point. Zeek sent him to take his half of the drugs, I almost forgot.
“No, I didn’t,” I reply gravely, placing my thumbs in my front pockets.
“Why?” Felix clips.
Inhaling a large breath, I explain. “This whole thing goes a little deeper than a drug trade. I am more than convinced this gang is part of the one that took out one of my members before.” I shake my head, looking at the desert floor.
“I can understand that, I’ll do what I can on our side to make sure everything goes over smoothly,” Felix offers. They must be hurtin’ for drugs if he’s this gracious with his time.
Turning, I look the bar over, noticing a lot of people entering and leaving within a short amount of time.
“What are they selling exactly, do we know?” I ask, hoping he has more info than he thinks he does.
“Mostly heroin, they mule it over from Mexico. Their men used to meet us half way at a drop location. That was before Zeek decided to get his dick wet by the enemy,” Felix retorts, clearly not happy with his president’s choice of pussy.
“We need to get our hands on a weasel,” Bobby chimes in.
“I agree,” Felix adds, reminding me we’re here for more than just the girl.
“We need something to connect this with Augustus’ crew,” I state.
Alvaro is just a piece of this. If I take him out they will just regroup and become a bigger problem. I need to take the entire gang out, once and for all.
A smart car pulls up, a geeky young guy stepping out. He lifts the hood to his hoodie, covering his head and hiding most of his face before entering the bar. He looks out of place in such a beat down area and by his body language I’d say paranoid.
Minutes later the same nerdy looking boy walks out, his hand in his pocket. I watch as he pulls out something, inspecting it before looking over his shoulder and stuffing it back in his jeans.
“Did you see that?” I point to the boy.
“So?” Bobby frowns, not understanding what I’m getting at.
“So, they’re dealing out of the bar. Let’s grab him, find out who is dealing it and what exactly he has,” I order.
Bobby pulls his .45 from his waistband and jogs over there.
“What’s going on?” Kane asks, just now showing up.
“So nice of you to join us, son.” I raise a brow. “We are taking that kid in for intel.”
“On it,” Kane huffs, pulling his piece from his holster and following after Bobby.
Crossing my arms, I glance at Felix, before watching my men stop the smart car and tear the kid out from behind the driver’s seat.
“How is Zeek?” I ask, making small talk.
“Still fucking a sheriff,” he replies dryly and I can’t help but laugh. “Got her knocked up, and we’ve been losing suppliers from all over because of it.”
I shake my head, kicking at the loose dirt. “You can’t help who ya fall for brother,” I advise and he scoffs. I smirk, one day he is going to find a woman and she is going to break that motherfucker. I can’t wait to hear about it either.
Kane on one side, Bobby on the other, they haul the kid up to me, his feet dragging in the sand as blood drips down his nose, his eyes rolling in his head.
“He’s a tough little fucker,” Bobby huffs out of breath.
“Take him to one of our rooms,” I step aside, letting them take the lead.
“We’ll take him to Kane’s room, it’s closer,” Bobby suggests. Sounding like a fucking teenager as always.
“Man, my sister is in there,” Kane grunts, trying to hold the weight of the guy.
I can’t put my finger on Kane and his sister. I swore he was
fucking her by the way he looks at her, maybe he is.
I step up to the room, a smirk on my face.
“Well, she’s about to get a front row seat to what her big brother dabbles in,” Bobby jabs back and Kane frowns, his brows pulling together.
“Bobby is right; we don’t need everyone around here seeing us. This is work, and this is exactly why club law states no women on the road unless they are the job,” I bark, my tone now serious.
“Fine!” he growls, his teeth gritted.
“I think it’s sweet you want to protect your sister son, but you can’t protect her from the truth,” I state plainly. I tried to do that before, protecting someone from what really goes on in my everyday life. I agree that we do need to keep some shit to ourselves, but when it comes to the ones we love most, they should know what kind of danger lurks around them.
Playing in the dark, you’re bound to find a couple other monsters in there playing around too.
Juggling the guy’s arm, Kane wrestles out the key and hands it to Felix.
Quickly he opens the door and Bobby pushes the boy into the room. He tries to catch himself but falls to his knees.
Kicking the door closed behind us, I stare down at the man. He’s older looking in the light, he’s no kid. Just a man clinging to his youth wearing a Pokémon hoodie. Only reason I know it’s Pokémon is because Bobby is always playing the shit.
“What did you buy?” I cut to the chase.
“W-what?” he plays dumb, pissing me off. Pulling my nine millimeter from my pants, I rest it under my elbow before rubbing it up the side of my face.
“What. Did. You. Buy?” I repeat, slowly this time.
“Are you the police or something?” he looks between us all, confused.
“Do we look like fucking pigs to you?” Bobby snaps, kicking the guy in the gut. He groans, falling forward in a fit of coughs. Bobby doesn’t do well with cops, and surely not being called one.
I squat. Lifting his chin with the barrel of my gun. “We can do this the hard way or easy way, son. Just tell me what you bought.”
“Black Pearl. I bought a gram of Black Pearl!” he blurts out, tears rolling out of his eyes like a fuckin’ faucet. “It’s my first time, I swear,” he continues, but he lies. The marks on his arms suggest that.
I stand, inhaling a breath. Black tar, it’s known to be made out of Mexico and pushed through the border. It’s cheap shit, but you can move it fast on the streets.
“Who you get it from?” I continue, waiting for him to spill Alvaro’s name.
“I can’t man, they’ll kill me!” he cries, shaking his head as he looks down.
I look up at the ceiling, my hand patting my cut for my smokes.
“Oh, let’s not play that game now. You already told us what you bought, that’s already snitchin’. You might as well just tell us what we want to know or we’ll make you,” I reply coolly. Finding my cigarettes, I pull one out and light it while watching the guy ponder over his choices. I can see it, he is thinking about trying to take us and escape, that’s the normal motive of everyone we take for intel.
“Don’t,” I clip. His teary eyes find mine, his face trying to mask his fear. “Don’t think about trying to run or kicking one of us in the nuts. Not unless you want us to put a bullet in your arm.” I tilt my head to the side and Felix cocks his gun, pointing it at the guy. I smile; glad to see him and I are on the same page.
“I’m not askin’ again,” I warn. He sobs, his hands sinking into the stained carpet.
“Do it,” I nod at Felix. He steps forward, aiming.
“The girl! I got it from the girl!”
My eyes flash with surprise as Bobby and Kane both look in my direction. I saw another girl go into the bar earlier, maybe it was her he’s talking about but something tells me it’s not.
“Anahi?” I ask, my eyes narrowing to watch him closely looking for signs he’s lying.
“I guess,” he shrugs. “She has the dark hair and the lion necklace. I was told anyone with the green bandana could get me my fix, but the girl with the lion necklace has the best shit, man. They call her Alvaro’s mascata,” he continues, snot bubbling from his nose.
“What the fuck does that mean? Mascata?” I shrug, irritated with all of this.
The man child shakes his head, looking down at the ground. “I don’t know, man. I swear to God, that’s all I know,” he pleads, whining for me to understand.
“It means pet,” a female voice sounds from behind us. Gun drawn I turn, aiming in the direction of the voice only to find Simone, Kane’s sister. Her dark hair pulled up in a shitty ponytail, only a white towel covering her middle half. My brow raises. She’s a looker alright. I wonder how pissed Kane would be if I fucked his sister?
“What the fuck, Simone!?” Kane bellows, his eyes flaring with jealousy he stomps over to her. He grabs her upper arm, tugging her back toward the bathroom. He isn’t coming off like a protective brother, he’s coming off like a lover. I wonder if they’re even brother and sister. Would Kane lie to me like that?
“What?” She struggles against his hold, acting oblivious as to why Kane would be angry.
“Really? You come out here like that? In front of my Prez, Simone?” he clips, dragging her behind him. She argues with him, a string of Spanish I cannot understand, but assume is her cussing him out as Kane pushes her back in the bathroom and slams the door.
Sliding both his hands through his hair, he sighs loudly and strides back to us.
The boys look at me, waiting for my next call. I jut my head over my shoulder, conveying to let the guy loose.
Bobby hits him upside the head with his gun, the sound of skull and metal making a gruesome noise.
The guy falls forward, face planting into the carpet with force.
“Put him in the car, and drive it around back,” I order.
“You want me to burn it?” Felix questions, placing his gun in the waistband of his jeans.
My eyes widen, surprised at how far he would go to cover his tracks. The Sin City Outlaws are a savage bunch. I don’t know whether to give him a pat on the back or a slap upside the head.
“What? No! He’s too chicken shit to talk, he’s just a junkie. All he cares about is drugs,” I shake my head in telling.
“Got it,” Felix nods, grabbing the limp body and throwing it over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
“Make sure nobody sees you though,” I point at him. Kane follows him out to keep watch. Last thing I need is Alvaro seeing it and thinking I’m stepping on his territory.
As soon as they leave, Bobby strides up beside me, rubbing his hand back and forth through his mop of hair.
I sigh thoughtfully. Alvaro’s pet. What does that even mean? Like BDSM?
“You’ll have to get close to Anahi if you want to figure out their operation,” Bobby breaks my line of thought, saying what I already know. “It has to be you, I can tell the way that girl looks at you that she’s hard up for ya’.” Bobby throws it out there, not sugar coating it. I wasn’t sure if it was just me looking into it too much when she looked at me a second longer than necessary, but apparently not.
“I know,” I mumble, looking around for something hard to drink and coming up empty.
If this operation is related to the one in LA, I have half a mind to burn this fucking town to the ground and drive off with their drugs, their woman, and my middle finger flying high.
Grabbing two beers I pop the tops off them and place them on the bar, masking a smile for the two cowboys as they take their drinks. If I’m friendly, the tips are better. Common sense I know, but you can only pretend to like creepy men hitting on you for so long in a day.
Turning to place the cash in the register, Natalia is in the way. Her black sports bra matching her black ripped shorts. Her arms crossed, pushing up her tits. Her hips propped up against the register and her ass sticking out.
She looks like one of the hookers that comes and goes around here.
“What now?” I roll my eyes, pushing her out of the way.
“How much did Alvaro give you?” she asks, a brow raised.
I eyeball her, she knows not to discuss this out here in the open.
“Huh? How much?” She steps in my way, her eyes wide.
I shake my head at her, conveying we are not doing this here. Stepping past her to assist the next customer she snatches my wrist, her fake nails digging into my skin. I grit my teeth, my nostrils flaring.
My eyes fall to her hand and I swallow hard. Anger bubbling close to the surface. I try to breathe through the anger, knowing if I lash out at her she’ll run back to Alvaro and I’ll be the one paying in the end.
“Natalia, you need to let go of me right now,” I state calmly, despite my racing heart.
“Or what?” she giggles.
My eyes snap to hers, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Now,” I warn, not sure what I will do if she doesn’t let go of me.
She giggles, her nails digging into my skin deeper. “Tell me how much and I will,” she taunts. “I’m the one that sucks his dick, yet I’m the one that gets short shifted in making the income.”
I narrow my brows as anger strangles my rational thinking.
“You might suck his dick, but you suck at dealing. Or maybe because you’re always stashing money that is supposed to go to him is why you’re shorthanded. If the load is light then we’re all in danger,” I bite out, tired of her childish games. She’s desperate for money, but aren’t we all. Still, if the cash returning back to my uncle is light, him and his cavalry will be over the border in a blink of an eye and end us all. He’s told us many times and I believe him. I won’t risk that, and I will not give Natalia any mercy when it comes to my income.
She tightens her grip, pulling herself closer to me. “You know, for a Cartel brat, you’re soft.”
Before I can catch myself my free hand grabs the empty beer bottle from the counter and I crash it against the sink, placing it against her neck in one swift move. The bar goes quiet, and I can feel all eyes on me as I stare at the panicked face of Natalia.