Page 55 of Velvet Deception

I tried to envision taking charge of the situation. I imagined how I could approach them and demand they talk to me, tell me what was going on.

Doing so would out me even more. I couldn’t hide after showing my face again, but what the hell was the difference now? They’d be able to trace me to Sofia’s house.

Shit.Ramon would be there soon.

I couldn’t let him just show up there. Or Sofia. They couldn’t go home and be vulnerable with Cartel members knowing their residence.

The thought of making them relocate—days before Christmas—broke my heart, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world to adjust. Itwouldbe the end of my world if they were hurt or dead.

Not on my watch.

Never on my watch.

I had to make this quick. If this was to be the moment I’d take charge and control this situation, to get answers, I had to do it now so I could make the next decision with all the possible information I could have. If I had to move Sofia and Ramon, I would.

Tailing after the car the Cartel members drove was almost too easy. Soon enough, they pulled over at an abandoned city park. I stopped Sofia’s car a ways back, and then I approached, careful to stay out of sight. Several men stood around talking, and I had to be smart about this. There were too many of them for me to face just by myself. I could try to eavesdrop, though.

The closest I could get was hunching behind a junky car left to rot. This wasn’t the best part of the city, so as I spied, I kept a careful eye on my surroundings.

They stood too far away for me to hear anything. The name of a neighborhood popped up in their conversation, but I couldn’t tell what they’d said about it. I wasn’t sure how to get closer and not risk them spotting me.

When I leaned up to peer through the windows of the car I hid behind, to mark where they were and if anyone was scouting out the area, I held my breath and stared.

Antonio.

His name smacked me in the face. Recognition hit hard, and I had no doubt who he was. His name came too quickly, and I didn’t doubt that short, bald man’s face matched it.

Antonio.

I definitely knew him.

Unlike my encounter with Manny, I didn’t have to even think about who Antonio was. I must have dealt with him a lot to be this instantly familiar with him.

ButwhoAntonio was failed to register. He was someone in my past, but I didn’t know why.

He wasn’t a friend. That detail also hit me swiftly. Just seeing his smirking face triggered me to recall not a fact about him, but a feeling. A strong reaction. I had, somehow and in some way, been conditioned to dislike him.

He wasn’t a friend, but a foe. Yet, I couldn’t use that information for much.

Did I have an issue with only him?

Did I get along with others in the Cartel?Manny had smiled and been friendly.

Is there something specific about Antonio?

They all teamed up, getting into cars again, and I glanced at the time on my watch before I got back to Sofia’s car.

Fuck it all.I had to get moving if I wanted to pick up Ramon on time. I sighed and hustled to it, driving carefully and making sure no one was following me.

Is he even safe at school?If they had followed me from the house to the school, nowhere was safe anymore.

I could take them to a hotel.I didn’t have money, but Sofia could afford it and I would pay her back. I would compensate her for this expense. Hell, after I figured out who I was and where the danger lay, I could get a job and provide for them for good.

I parked at the school and walked out to the pickup area, seeking out the teacher I’d met this morning. When we dropped off Ramon, Sofia introduced me and explained I would be picking up Ramon while she was still at work.

“Oh! Diego.” The kind old woman smiled at me. “You just missed him. He went with Juan and his abuela since she could come do the dismissal pickup after all.”

“Oh. Huh. Okay.”

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