Page 68 of Cartel Viper
Javi reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He unlocks it with a code, and I realize he probably doesn’t have biometrics set up in case someone captures him. A retinal scan and a fingerprint won’t do any good. He taps the screen a few times before he puts the call on speaker.
“Javier, what’s going on?”
“Pablo, you’re on speaker. I have a DEA agent in front of me with bullets in both kneecaps. I need you to find his address and send men over to it. It might be in Albany. Have them video call me before they shoot the dog. Thecarechimbadoesn’t want to talk. He’s the one who led the raid to get Madeline.”
Pussy face. Juan taught Laura and me that when I was twelve. His mother found out and threatened to take achanclato his backside. She made him clean all the bathrooms and peel any and every vegetable they ate for a month. I’d seen Margherita angry at her sons before, but she was livid. I really thought she would go after him with the wood-sole sandal. She apologized profusely to my parents, who took it in stride. However, they didn’t allow Juan to hang out with Laura that entire month his mom punished him.
“¡Está bien!” All right.
“Wait! No!”
There’s no way Javi or Pablo would follow through on Javi’s empty threat. Neither would hurt the animal, but Jacob’s so attached to the dog he’ll protect Yeller like a mother bear with its cubs.
“I’ll talk. Just leave my dog alone.” He glances down at his watch. “It’s already too late. Killing my dog won’t undo what’s already done by now. You’re going to kill me anyway, so I have nothing to hide now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Javier
What the fuck is he talking about?
I won’t show my confusion or how this rattles me. I cock my left eyebrow instead as I shift the barrel of my gun to aim at the center of his chest.
“You want to know so bad, but you refuse to ask. Tough shit because I refuse to tell.”
“Javi, I thought of something.”
I barely hear Maddy’s whisper as her chest brushes against my back. The feel of any part of her touching me reassures me, but it reminds me at the same time she’s in the middle of a volatile situation. Could Jacob mean more men will be here? Will there be an aerial strike?
I turn my head a fraction of an inch, but she leans closer.
“He has a sixteen-year-old son no one is supposed to know is his. I’ve seen them both barefoot. The guy inherited Jacob’s webbed toes. It’s a paternal hereditary trait. I don’t know about cartels, but the mob’s initiation is pretty loose, apparently. They swear their oath after a needle pricks their right index finger. For the O’Sheehans, it requires killing someone. Timmy’s supposedto join officially this month. It wouldn’t surprise me if Drew tests him and marks a senior rival. If Drew already knows I’m with you, then he’ll pick someone in your family. Timmy’s more boy than man. If he can’t get the right target, he might be desperate enough to go after someone he thinks is easy.”
“My mom or aunts.”
“Yeah.”
“They’re far less forgiving than the men in my family. That kid’s fucked. Jorge?”
“Yeah, I’m callingTíoEnrique right now.”
I remain focused on Jacob, but I hear my brother speaking to our uncle and filling him in on everything. In the near quiet, I hear a whirring sound from above. Jacob laughs as I spot the drone.
“Get Maddy inside!”
I put a bullet through Jacob’s forehead as I step backward, forcing Maddy to do the same lest I step on her. I don’t turn around, but I know my brothers and Maddy do. They’ll shield her as I watch the drone. It could just be surveillance, but I doubt it. I suspect it carries explosives or bullets.
I watch Tómas have the wherewithal to grab José and drag him away from Miguel. He’s only saving theputa de madre—motherfucker—because he knows I have questions. It’s not because he cares about his former brother-in-law. A bullet strikes the ground where José knelt only seconds ago. While Jorge, Joaquin, and I guide Maddy through open French doors to a family room, Tómas and José lure the drone away.
“What the hell?” Jorge peeks through a window.
“Did it follow them?” I try to see past this shoulder.
“Yeah. But will there be more?”
We can only guess the answer to that, and we all assume it’s yes.
“Your sanctuary’s completely compromised.”
