by Sonja B
“That might be wise, Axl. You don’t know who all were loyal to Rocco or who Romano’s wife might have seduced to her side.” Adam adds.
Screams from the outside of the door have us jumping from our seats. We barrel out the office, down the hallway. When we get to the living room, I stop in my tracks as I fall to my knees. Felix stands before us, his face beaten and swollen, covered in blood. Drool and blood have dried on the corners of his mouth. His clothes are ripped with blood stains.
“Felix!” Adam screams, racing towards him.
Felix collapses in his arms when he gets to him. Granny and Papa grab a hysterical Ladybug and take her from the room. Monica stands off to the side, sobbing. What the fuck happened to my little brother?!
Finally gaining strength, I stand, making my way to him. “What the fuck happened, Felix?!” I ask, trying not to break.
“He got her, he got her.” Felix murmurs, before passing out.
“Juan? Juan got Keirra?!” Monica shrieks.
My phone starts to ring just as I was about to speak. I pull it out; its Romano. Hitting answer, I put it on speaker. “I can’t talk right now! Something happened with Felix, and it’s not good!”
“What the fuck happened?!” He barks from the other side.
“That mother fucker Juan beat him up and took Keirra,” I reply, trying not to choke on my words. I never thought things would come to this.
Romano is quiet on the other end before saying, “I’m on my way! Lorenzo and Maxillo are coming with me. You need to end this mother fucker, Axl. If your enemy can get to your family, then you are not protecting them. My men…your men, the rest of your men, will be on standby until you’re ready for them.” The phone goes silent.
I drop my phone, looking down at my little brother. Romano was right. If my enemy or my family’s enemies could get to them, then I was not protecting them. I yell out, as reality hits me.
“Baby, he’s going to be okay. Let’s get him to his room so I can check him out.” Monica advises.
Adam and I both stand, grabbing Felix’s arms and legs in our arms. Felix’s head dangles, as we carry him to his room. Why is this shit happening?! Why couldn’t that mother fucker Juan just accept Keirra didn’t want his ass anymore? Now people will have to die because of him.
Monica starts to check him out after we get him on the bed. “From the sounds of his breath, he has some cracked ribs. He’ll need stitches to his face. His left wrist is sprained. He has a large hematoma at the front of his head like he was kicked.” She starts to cut away his shirt. Bruises cover his chest. “Adam, can you run to our room and bring my backpack in here?!” Adam nods, as he scurries away.
“Baby, is he going to be okay?” I ask with worry.
“Yeah, Axl, he’ll be okay, but where the hell is Keirra? That mother fucker beat up my brother and apparently left him for dead and took my sister!”
I close my eyes at her words. She had every reason to be upset, hell I was too. Look at my little brother laid out with dried blood and swelling to his face! Adam rushes back into the room, handing Monica her backpack. She opens it, pulling out IV’s and other shit. She snatches a tourniquet, tying it around Felix’s left arm. When she finds a good vein, she cleans the area with an alcohol swab then inserts the IV. Next, she attaches the tube and a bag of fluids, before undoing the tourniquet. She attaches another bag of medicine with a name I never heard of. “What is that, Monica?” I question.
“Something for the pain, but with my limited supplies, it won’t last long, so you better find Keirra before it wears off because when he comes to and she’s not here, he’s going to tear this city up looking for her.”
I lower my head, as I exhale deeply. “I’m going to find her, baby, I promise. Just take care of Felix, okay?” She sadly nods.
I give her a quick peck on the lips, before leaving Felix’s room with Adam on my heels, as we head back to the living room. When I enter, Romano, Lorenzo, and Maxillo have already arrived. Granny is cleaning up spots of Felix’s blood from the floor.
“How is Felix?” Lorenzo asks with concern.
I knew he honestly cared about Felix’s wellbeing. Lorenzo knew how I felt about my brothers and family. He’s been with me during everything Romano and Rocco put me through, and through the years, we have developed a friendship.
“He’ll be fine. Monica is taking care of him now.” I tell him.
“Thank God!” Lorenzo says, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Axl, son, what do you want us to do? You’re the new boss, so we follow your lead.” Romano inquires, as he steps closer to me. “I’m with you on this.” He places his hand on my shoulder.
I stroke my tapered beard, before saying, “Let’s go to my office. I need to check something on my computer.”
The four of them follow me to my office. Once inside, I go straight to my computer and turn it on. I sit in my chair, as it boots up. What the others didn’t know was the pre-wedding gifts I gave them actually had trackers in them. I ordered the jewelry weeks prior to Monica and me eloping. I intended to give them as gifts of love and appreciation. Since they came in the day before we got married, it worked out for me to give them as pre-wedding gifts. Call me insane, but I had them custom made for shit like this. I never thought I would have to use it, though. They were just for precautionary measures, but now I’m fucking glad I got them.
Adam sits in the chair he was sitting in before everything went to shit. Romano takes a seat to the right of my desk, as Lorenzo and Maxillo continue to stand.
When the computer is ready, I click on an icon to find what I’m looking for. After entering my password, I scroll past the other names till I get to the one I’m looking for, then click on it. The word ‘searching’ comes across the screen. Seconds later, a map of the city appears on the screen with a blinking red dot. I zoom in on the location. This idiot, he has her at his strip club, The RX. It’s in the seedy part of the city and smack dab in the middle of Los Diablos territory. Next, I open the file Felix had previously sent with Juan’s background. I click on his mugshot and enlarge it. I wanted to get a good look at the mother fucker who was going to die tonight.
I turn the laptop around so the others could see his picture. “This is the son of a bitch, right here. I got an address to one of his clubs, we’re going there. I need to pick up some supplies before we go.” Romano, Lorenzo, and Maxillo study me with questioning eyes, but I don’t elaborate any further, as I write down the address, then close the laptop. Adam smiles big at me because he knows exactly where we’re going. “Let’s go.”
Forty-five minutes later, we were pulling up to the warehouse. Adam sat next to me in my Barracuda while Romano, Lorenzo, and Maxillo parked next to us in Romano’s blacked-out Yukon.
“What is this, Axl?” Romano asks when we’re all out the vehicles.
“My sanctuary,” I reply, as I enter the code, then open the door.
“Holy shit,” I hear Lorenzo exclaim, entering behind me, as he takes in the view of the warehouse. “Damn, my feelings are hurt. Why haven’t you brought me here, Axl!”
Romano steps in front of me, peering at all the training equipment and sparring mats. “How do I not know about this place? I know of everything you own, and this is not listed.”
“I guess you don’t have eyes everywhere like you used to threaten me with,” I smirk at his busted expression, as I walk past him, heading to my weapons room. “Adam, come grab what you need!”
After entering the code to unlock the door, I twist the knob and step in. The lights automatically come on, illuminating my arsenal that hung on the walls. I grab my custom-made shoulder holster from the wall. Taking off my jacket and laying it on the counter, I put on the holster and adjust it. Once it’s situated, I make a beeline to my case, unlocking then opening it. Inside are my two Whetstone T Commander Combat knives and chrome Beretta 92FS. I only pulled these out if I was gearing up for a hit, and right now, they will serve their purpose. Carefully, I pi
ck up the knives one by one and place them in their sheaths on the holster. Next, I check the Beretta to make sure it's locked and loaded, before adding it to the holster too. With my weapons in place, I put my jacket back on to conceal them. These sons of bitches were going to personally meet The Snatcher of Souls tonight.
I see Adam has chosen his weapons of choice. Two 9mm handguns sit under his arms in his shoulder holster. He nods at me as he, too, puts his jacket back on. “Are you ready, little brother?”
“Hell, yeah!”
“If shit goes left, I want you to stay behind me, but you pick off every one of those mother fuckers who get in the way, okay?”
“Got it,” Adam replies. The look on his face lets me know he’s not going to stay behind me. He’s going to take out anyone he thinks put their hands on Felix, and I didn’t blame him.
I eye him before saying, “Stay safe, Adam.”
“You too, Axl,” He states, then gives me a bro hug.
“Alright, let’s head out, time is not on our side,” I tell him, breaking the hug. When we exit the room, I close the door then re-enter the code to lock it. The others are looking at different training equipment when we return.
“We’re ready,” I shout, getting their attention. I point to Romano. “We’ll take your Yukon so we all can ride in one vehicle. I’ll drive. I need to get Keirra before Felix wakes up, or all hell is going to break loose!”
Romano nods, before turning to Maxillo, then jerking his head in my direction. Maxillo takes the keys out of his pocket and tosses them to me. I catch them, then head to the exit.
Thirty minutes later, we’re driving into the rough side of town. Buildings are covered in graffiti, trash litters the streets, and the local thugs are posted up on every corner. The GPS comes on overhead, telling me to make a right at the next corner, and when I do, in front of us was The RX. The bright sign at the top of the building glows with the silhouette of a woman and the name of the club. It’s the only building on the block that has not been tagged. Men stand outside, smoking cigarettes and conversing with each other. Luckily, there seems to be some kind of dress code because they’re in suits, which will give us an advantage of blending in.
I parked on the side of the building close to the door, with the Yukon facing the street. If we needed a quick getaway, the SUV would be close by.
“Is everybody ready? Make sure to take the safety off your guns.” I turn in my seat, eyeing all of them, as they do what I said, before my eyes lock in on Romano in the passenger seat. “I think you should wait here till we’re finished.”
Anger laces his face. “I will do no such thing! If you think I’m going to let you go in there without me, then you’re fucking thought wrong!” He seethes.
“Look, you’re not in the best physical health, and I don’t have time to be covering your ass!” I growl back.
“Fuck you! I don’t need you to cover my ass! I’ve been doing this shit way longer than you, son! You might think you’re the Snatcher of Souls, but let me tell you something I am the original Snatcher of Souls. What I had you doing…hits, yeah, my father had me doing the same fucking thing, and back then, I was known as the Snatcher of Souls! Like father, like fucking son!” He bellows, staring me down. I look at him with a shocked expression from his admission.
“Shit,” Adam says from behind us.
“That’s a story for another time, so right now, get the fuck out of this SUV and lead your men!” Romano commands, before he opens his door, then gets out.
I look back at the others who look just as surprised as I do. “Fuck it,” I say, while getting out. The others follow suit. I glare at Romano, who now has on his battle face.
“So, how do you want to do this, Axl?” Lorenzo asks, adjusting his jacket.
“We’re walking in that mother fucker and clearinghouse,” I reply, as I head to the front of the building.
Music can be heard blaring through the door. There was no security at the door to pat us down, so our entry was smooth. Once inside, I scan the place, it wasn’t as big as it seemed from the outside. Mostly empty tables and chairs form a horseshoe around the stage that had a stripper sliding down the pole. A bar sits on both sides of the club. One looks like it hadn’t been used in ages, and the other had one guy sitting, nursing a drink. Barely clothed strippers were either flirting or giving lap dances to the few men that sat at the tables. Then, in the far-right dark corner, there’s the VIP section, I see a frightened Keirra sitting next to Juan who’s getting a lap dance. Three other men and two women are sitting on the couches next to them partying it up. There’s a table filled with champagne and glasses sitting in front of them. A large guy who I’m assuming is supposed to be security stand off to the side.
“Maxillo, I want you to cover the door. I don’t want anyone entering or leaving this mother fucker until I’m done. Lorenzo, keep an eye on strippers and their customers.” I command.
“I’m on it,” Lorenzo says, going toward tables.
“You got it, boss,” Maxillo responds, before walking back to the door then stands in front of it.
I stalk towards the VIP section with the others behind me. Keirra’s eyes widen when we get close. I shake my head at her to not say a word.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for Juan Rios.” I casually say.
The guard steps in front of me, placing his hand on my chest. “You need to step the fuck back.”
I glance down at his hand, then back at him. Before he can react, I grab his wrist, twisting it back until I hear the bones crack, then elbow him to the side of his head. He drops to one knee, as he howls out in pain. Juan and his men go for their guns, but Adam and Romano draw theirs first. The guy who was sitting at the bar tries to make a dash for the door, but Maxillo cuts him off with a hit to the head from the butt of his gun, knocking him out. The music stops, as Lorenzo has both his guns raised, one aiming at the DJ, who he signals to come out the booth, the other on the strippers and the men.
I stare at the big man with blood running from his nose, as he whimpers in pain. Without a second thought, I knee him in the face, his head snaps back, as his eyes roll to the back of his head. I let go of his wrist, as his body falls to the floor.
“Now, as I was saying, I’m looking for Juan Rios.” I restate, fixing my jacket.
“And who the fuck are you, puta (bitch)?” The guy with the Los Diablos tat on his neck asks. Yeah, he was definitely going down next for his lack of respect.
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m someone who is looking to do business with him. I think we may have mutual interests that could benefit both parties.”
The guy regards me, before he starts laughing, the others join in. “Do you hear this white boy?! Mutual interests! Get the fuck out of here, culero (asshole). Juan’s not here!”
I lay on a devious smile, before saying, “You must be his bitch…oh, I’m sorry, his puta.” The laughter stops, as this little mother fucker jumps up in my face. I had to give it to him, he had some balls to stand before me after I just laid out their security.
“I ain’t nobody’s bitch! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get the fuck up outta here, before you end up being carried out in a body bag!”
I chuckle, before I head butt his ass, knocking him to the ground. The women scream, and Juan curses under his breath.
“Now, I was trying to be nice, but this little bitch had to be disrespectful,” I say, as I grab the pussy by his hair, lifting him from the floor. I lock my arm around his neck to keep him in place. “Keirra, come over here.”
Juan grabs her wrist, halting her movement. “Fuck you! She’s not going anywhere!”
I tilt my head to the side, feeling when the switch has flipped. A flashback of my father grabbing my mother’s wrist like that plays in my mind. The Snatcher of Souls has arrived.
Reaching into my jacket, I pull my knife from its sheath. Not saying a word, I begin to run it across the man’s stomach, not enough to kill him, just enough to make him sc
ream out in pain to feed my blood lust. Juan’s eyes grow big, as he watches. I can see the anger building in him.
“Javiar, fuck! Let my brother go, mother fucker, or you’ll wish you were dead when I’m done with you.” He threatens.
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Your brother…wow, isn’t that something, because you fucked my brother up pretty good tonight, and now it only seems fitting that I do the same to yours!” Taking the knife, I run it down his chest, cutting through his shirt, slicing into his flesh. He howls out in pain, but I don’t stop, as I slowly drag the knife back up his chest. His screams, along with the oozing blood from the gashes, have the others turning their heads. I smile.
“Do you know who I am?! I’m Los Diablos! You just wrote you and your family’s fucking death certificates!” He booms, pointing to me.
“And do you know who the fuck I am?! I am The Snatcher of Souls, mother fucker!” I hiss back. Juan’s eyes bulge with recognition. “Good, you’ve heard of me, so you know this won’t end well for your brother. Now let her fucking go!”
Juan keeps his grasp on Keirra, trying to call my bluff. The old saying ‘I can show you better than I can tell you’ runs through my mind, as I close my eyes. I lean closer to his brother’s ear and whisper ‘may your soul rest in peace’, before cutting him deep across his stomach. His innards fall out, as he hollers. Juan screams out his name, but I tune his ass out, as I take my knife and stab him in straight in his heart, putting him out of his misery. I let his lifeless body fall to the ground, as I stare at Juan’s tear-streaked face.
“Keirra, come over here.” I calmly restate.
Juan still doesn’t let go of her wrist. “Like I said before, fuck you! This is my bitch and I’ll die before I let another mother fucker take her from…”
Before he can finish, a lone shot is heard, hitting him right between the eyes. His mouth falls open, as he slumps to the side. I turn, pulling my gun with the others, only to see Felix barely standing upright with his Desert Eagle in his hand. Keirra springs from her seat and rushes to him.