“He’s already given his stepdaughter to the Lopezes, and since that union hasn’t produced a child, he is looking for other alternatives.”
“Why come for Liz, though? It’s been over twenty-five years since they’ve had contact.” Part of me didn’t understand what Wreck was trying to say through the shadows. However, there was a tiny part that could see it all crystal clear. I didn’t want to be right.
No one was taking my wife away from me. I’d promised her she wouldn’t stand alone, and if it came to that, I’d stand in front of her. Surveying the room, I already knew who would stand with me.
Wreck didn’t look away from me as he delivered the next bomb. “He won’t recognize your marriage. All he has to do is claim Aunt E is Pulse’s mother, and she’ll have status.”
“How the fuck do you know all this shit?” Pretty never showed his genuine emotions, but the man was livid. His chest was pumping so fast, I thought he was going to hyperventilate in church.
“It’s common sense.” Wreck shrugged.
“No, it’s not.” Op bridged his fingers, cracking his knuckles. “Are you saying El Sombra Roja wants Aunt E to have status so that he can sell Flo and Buster to the Lopezes?”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Dead chimed in. “Why?”
“That one’s easy. Krait probably told him about the kids.” Cyph took a long gulp from his energy drink. When he set the can down, every eye was on him. “What?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Flo had JR.”
“Why would he still want to merge with the Lopezes?” Grizz looked confused. “Wouldn’t it be easier to eliminate them and take over their territory?”
“You’re talking about a cartel war. It’s the capos in the middle that hold the most power. They would have to be removed for the entire system to collapse.” I had a few men in my military unit who had joined to escape the cartel. They liked to get drunk, commiserating with each other over the secrets they kept.
“Like that movie,” someone quipped. A few brothers shook their heads at the stupidity.
Sabre chuckled. “I’d like to see him try. Grace is tired of the cartel. She thinks once they’re gone, we’re all going to live a nice, quiet life together as one enormous family.” The tension broke as laughter filled the room.
“He picked that building for a reason. Did Gerry tell him what happened?” Count speculated.
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not chasing him. He’s going to show, or he’s going to leave.” There was another round of laughter. “I think we should set a trap for him.”
“How the fuck are we going to do that?” Grizz must have showered. His hair was wet, but he nervously threw it into the bun he always wore.
“Paint,” Sabre laughed, shifting back into his chair with a smirk. “You, me, Thunder, and a few volunteers are going to paint the banquet center. Grace won’t show as long as there are fumes, but he won’t know that. He’ll just see all the activity and assume she’s there, or at least I hope he will. If not, the worst that will happen is we’ll be done with that project.”
“What if you let Gerry go? He’ll run to the cartel, telling them where we’ll be,” I supplied, my voice echoing in the room’s stillness.
Sabre snapped his fingers. “He might be good for something after all.”
Chapter 15
Setting the Trap
Thunder
I followed Grizz as we walked through the door that led to the cells in the basement. Sabre didn’t need to say it out loud. No one wanted to risk their relationship over Gerry’s blood. It was easier to let him find his own fate.
Sabre stopped in front of Gerry’s cell, hanging his arms through the bars. Grizz shifted to the other side of him, and I got my first look. Gerry was lying on the bed, staring into space. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the three of us. Sabre waited, his posture relaxed, but this was a front.
I didn’t feel like playing these dumbass games. I wanted to get back upstairs and make sure Liz was all right. When I’d left for church, the girls had surrounded her, lying on our bed, with the kids between them. It should have been me consoling my wife, and I was stuck down here. Turning around, I checked on the kid instead.
Kyle wasn’t a prisoner, and we hadn’t bothered locking his cell. He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and I didn’t want to wake him. Scrub must have hooked up an IV before he left because the tubing was sticking out of the kid’s arm. As I stared at him, his eyes slit open. “Hi,” he whispered to me before taking in the backs of the other men.
“Hi.” I winced at how loud my voice was. “How are you holding up?”
He tried to shrug, but he was so thin, he winced at the movement. “I’m grateful for the help.”
I didn’t want to spin sunshine and rainbows up his ass. We didn’t know this kid, and while he wanted to be clean today, tomorrow could be another story. Ishouldn’t have been so pessimistic, but I’d seen some shit, especially through my drug-running years, and until this kid proved himself, I was going to treat him like any other prospect. “Where are you from?”
“Sunset Farms.”