“It’s . . . dios mio! You’re doing this on purpose. Aren’t you? Culo!” She stands up suddenly and splashes her drink straight in my face.
I blink a couple of times, taken aback, but I have the perfect comment to throw her over the edge. “Watching telenovelas to get ideas again?”
As dramatically as I saw in my head she opens her mouth widely, looking as pissed as a raging bull. “You are just as bad as father! I don’t even know why I try with you!”
She’s barely finished berating me when my alarm system beeps, signaling someone’s just walked onto my property. Gia draws her eyes together. “Are you expecting someone?”
Sliding my arm from under my chair, I pull out my custom made gold plated Colt and pull back my safety. I shake my head, while instructing her. “No, only you. There’s another hidden behind the plant. Go fetch it.”
Gia heads over to the corner of the patio and shifts it slightly, seeing my compartment I had custom built into the concrete and looks back to me. “0503,” I reply back so she can input the code.
“Aw, my birthday.” Gia smirks, entering the number and pulls out a Mexican Eagle.
Shuffling sounds come from downstairs and I motion with my hands for her to follow me. I mouth, without making a sound. “Stay quiet, and don’t say a word. Follow me, but stay behind me.”
Gia nods, showing me she understands.
Pushing open the door that leads from the patio into the house, I enter my home and look from left to right. My home is mainly open concept, but I don’t see anyone in my sights. Another sound coming from downstairs tells me whomever is here is below us. I swear and motion with my hand for us to move forward and Gia is right behind me as we walk to the top of the stairs and look downward.
“Mierda! I thought he would be here. Shit. He must’ve gone to the festival already.” I know the voice. It’s Gerardo, one of my Tenientes. He sounds very nervous, which makes me feel like I need to see what the fuck is going on.
“I was going to the festival, but Gia and I got to chatting.” I state, making my presence clear, holding my gun to my side. I head downstairs but know my sister has my back. Hell, we were taught this shit when we were six years old.
The first thing I set my eyes on is a circular pattern in different variations of red. But the victim isn’t Gerardo. No, it’s my cousin Juan.
“What the fuck happened?!” I ask walking toward him. I set my gun on the table and see his wound is still bleeding a good bit. Out of instinct I take off my shirt and press it against his wound. Even though my cousin screams in pain, I can’t stop. If I do, he could die. He could die now. “Gia call Lucinda. We need to see if she has an associate nearby. Tell her we’ll pay her triple!” I order out. Gia mumbles something in reply, but I’m too focused on Gerardo and Juan.
“We were in the city. It . . . it all happened so quickly,” Gerardo stammers out.
Juan begins to cough. It sounds like he’s choking and blood starts to come from his mouth, “C-call Eduardo. T-tell him A-amara is i-in Tamaulipas. H-he needs to g-get there b-before s-she’s k-killed.”
“Closest doc is ten minutes out,” Gia says in the background. Fuck. He doesn’t have ten minutes. I don’t even know if he has ten seconds.
“Why? Who is Amara?”
“R-reapers girl. Abducted l-last y-year and I f-found her. My c-contact f-flipped on m-me. The g-girl. You must get t-the girl.” Juan pleads with bloodshot eyes, continuing to choke on his own blood.
“Who did this to you? Juan! Tell me!” I cry out, watching the life slowly fading from him.
“G-get the g-girl. F-flag m-man, A-american. G-get her. She has a f-familia like y-yours, Dante. Give her f-familia p-peace.”
“Fuck the girl! Who did this to you?!” I roar, needing the name of whoever dared to harm my cousin.
“Tell M-margarita I l-love her,” My cousin says looking at me but suddenly his stare goes blank and I know he’s gone.
“Dios mio, Juan.” Gia sobs in the background, the shock finally going away.
“I’m sorry, Dante. I tried to get him here sooner, but he wanted to get the information about Amara.” Gerardo explains.
“Who the fuck is Amara and why does she matter so much!?” I snap, slamming my fist into my glass table in the dining room so hard it breaks from the impact.
“She is a woman who’s been missing for about a year, she’s part of our allies in Nevada. The Reapers MC. He found the man who’s been holding her, but the things he said to you don’t make much sense to me.”
“Gia, call Eduardo. Tell him Amara is with the flag man, who’s American in Tamaulipas. See if that makes sense to him.” After a few moments of silence I turn to my sister who’s shaking, focusing in on our dead cousin.
I approach her and grab her hands, looking into her dark eyes. “Gia. You need to call Eduardo. If Juan is right, he died for something and we must find the girl. I won’t have his death mean nothing.”
I’ll find the man or woman who did this to my cousin, and I’ll rip their fucking throat out the second I find them. To us familia is more important than anything else.
Chapter Two
“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above
