Payback

'No, my love, everything is fine. Now stop asking me questions.'

Esperanza got up from the bed and walked toward Diego. She stood behind him and put her arms around his waist. 'I thought that you were going to take me to dinner, Diego?'

'We are still going.'

Esperanza moved to Diego’s side. 'Don’t you like the way I am dressed, Diego?'

'You look lovely,' Diego told her, but still hadn’t looked in her direction.

'I knew it,' Esperanza said angrily. 'You don’t like it.'

'I did not say that.'

'You didn’t have to, I can tell by the way you said it. You hate it.'

'I did not say that, Esperanza. I said that you look lovely. Like a goddess.'

'You lie, Diego. So I will take it off,' Esperanza said and walked away from Diego undressing. He turned to watch her. 'This is how you like me to dress, isn’t it Diego? You love to see me naked, don’t you Diego?' she said and lay across the bed.

'Yes, my love. I love you when you are naked,' he said and his cell phone rang. Diego took a deep breath and looked at Esperanza, who had begun to play with herself for his amusement. 'Excuse me, my love,' he said and answered the phone. 'Hello.'

'Diego Estabon.'

'Yes, who is this?'

'We have your father,' the digitally disguised voice said. 'And if you ever want him to see him alive again you will do exactly what we tell you. Any deviation from our instructions will cause your father great pain before he dies.'

'Who is this?' Diego demanded to know.

'Who I am is not important, who we have is.'

'What do you want?'

'You have two days to get five million dollars. Have the money ready by eight o’clock. You’ll receive further instructions.'

'I want to talk to my father right now,' Diego insisted.

'Diego,' Gomez said to his son. 'Do what these people say, Diego, and give them what they ask.'

'Remember, five million dollars in two days or your father dies,' the digital voice said and disconnected the line.

Diego hung up the phone and immediately called his father’s house and his cell phone, but got no answer. There were at least five men at Gomez’s house at all times, had the kidnappers killed them all and took Gomez?

'Is everything alright?' Esperanza asked.

'Shut up.' Diego went to the door an opened it. Three of his men were sitting outside. 'I want you to go to my father’s house and call me when you get there.'

'Yes, Papi,' the man said and left.

Diego closed the door. This can’t be happening. He sat down on the bed and buried his head in his hands.

'What is wrong, Diego?' Esperanza asked and put her hand on his shoulder, but Diego pushed her away.

'I told you to shut up or get out.'

'But, Diego, I just want to help.'

Diego quickly got up from the bed and grabbed her dress from the floor. Then he returned to the bed and grabbed Esperanza by the hand. Diego dragged her to the door, opened it, threw the dress into the hall, and Esperanza behind it.

Diego slammed the door and returned to the bed. He needed Gomez alive if his plan was to work. It wouldn’t be enough to hand them Mike Black. When Black was arrested for those drug related murders and they started looking for a supplier, Diego would hand them Gomez and he would disappear.

He had never forgiven Gomez for not doing enough to get him out of jail and out of the country after the incident with Black. 'You need to be taught a lesson to not to involve yourself in matters that don’t concern you.' He could still hear Gomez saying to him at the time. 'Maybe jail will make a man of you,' Gomez told him. He had always hated Gomez for treating him like a child. No matter what he did it would never measure up to Gomez.

In the end, Gomez did get his case heard before a sympathetic judge, got the drug charge thrown out and provided him protection, even status while he was in prison. Diego swore that he would pay him back.

If this had happened at any other time, he might have told the kidnappers to kill Gomez and hung up the phone, but not now. Now he needed Gomez alive.

Chapter Forty-two

Melinda parked her car outside of Cuisine and turned off the engine. She sat there for a moment thinking about how everything had gone wrong. How could things have gotten so fucked up? Melinda asked herself. The answer was simple, maybe you’re not as smart as you think you are.

Melinda thought she had D-Train wrapped around her little finger. She felt the stinging in her cheek and knew that wasn’t true. Melinda got out of the car and went inside. I’ma make damn sure his ass pays for that.

Not much had changed at Cuisine since the last time she was there. Same band, still playing the same kind of music. Melinda thought back to all the times when she would walk in the club with Black and the band would break into The Girl from Ipanema. She wondered aloud if that was still his favorite song.

Melinda took a seat at the bar, knowing that it would be a waste of time to ask for Freeze. Everybody would just act like they never heard of him. Melinda looked around for somebody that she knew, there were a lot of new faces. The bartender came and asked her what she was drinking. 'Double Black Russian.'

When the bartender returned with her drink, Melinda sipped and enjoyed the show while she continued to look for somebody she knew or for Freeze to come out of the office. She looked at the door to the office and the man standing by it. Maybe she could use her charm to get him to let her back there, but she knew better. That’s when she saw a familiar face coming toward her. Melinda couldn’t remember her name, all she remembered was that she used to fuck Freeze, but she knew her face.

As the woman got closer she smiled. 'Melinda?'

'Hi,' Melinda said faking surprise.

'How are doin? I haven’t seen you in a long time.'

'Yeah, I haven’t been here in years,' Melinda said causally. 'I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your name.'

'Alexia.'

'That’s right, Alexia. I see a lot of new faces, but other than that, not much has changed.'

'Well, there have been a few changes since you were here last, but you’re right, not much has changed.'

'I heard Freeze is running the place now.'

'He does.'

'Is he here? I’d love to say hello.'

'He was in the office. If he’s still here, I’ll let him know that you want to holla at him,' Alexia said.

'Don’t go to any trouble. It ain’t that deep,' Melinda lied.

'It’s no trouble at all,' Alexia said, tired of making small talk. She couldn’t stand Melinda when she used to come to the club. Always thought she was better than everybody just cause she was fuckin’ Black. She thought as she walked off.

By the time Melinda finished her drink Alexia was back. 'Come with me,' she told Melinda and started