Page 31 of Bad Blood
It has a cross hanging from it, the exact same one as Gabriel’s. My heart beats faster in my chest and knots form in my stomach. It can’t be true.
“Still don’t believe me? What do you want me to show you next? Their heads?” He laughs, picking up the items off the floor and I’m glad when they disappear back into the box.
“Looks like everyone was wrong. He isn’t untouchable after all and neither are you. I’d hate for you to share the same fate. So, do us both a favor and don’t cause me anymore problems. You no longer have Daddy or Gabriel to save you.” He slides the blind fold over my eyes. “Pleasant dreams, Mateo.”
I never thought I could hate the man more than I already did. I was truly in my own form of hell now and only I could get myself out. After a while, I doze back off, hoping when I wake up that the last events were nothing more than a nightmare. Opening my eyes to the same black cloth and being on the hard floor of the frigid, smelly warehouse told me it was very real. There are fast moving footsteps around me and one of the men talks with panic in his voice. The only words I can make out from the distance I am are that two men got shot outside the warehouse. “What about him?” One of them asked while getting closer. “Leave him. Whoever it is, they’re clearly here for him. They won’t hurt him. I say we go out the back, try to sneak up on whoever it is.”
“You don’t think it’s...”
“You crazy? The man is dead. You heard the boss and you saw the box.”
The other guy grows quiet for a moment. “You really think we don’t have to worry about Mateo.”
“Nah, I slipped something in his dinner right after his little shower. I didn’t want his whining to keep me up tonight.”
I heard their shoes move behind me and a door opens and closes. There is shouting and loud explosions coming from outside. The door opens again, and someone is breathing heavily above me. “It’s time for us to go, Mateo. I don’t think I can handle them putting on two funerals for me in the same month.” I smile at the sound of that voice and everything fades to black.
28
Gabriel
Istand outside the warehouse without a clear idea of how I would get inside. I’m hidden several feet away behind a grouping of trees. It’s been five days since Mateo has gone missing and this whole time his father has had his men coming after me. I can no longer show my face in any of the clubs I own, not that I liked to do it much anyway.
My brother Angel is more of a people person than I ever was. I am more of the hide in the shadows type and it benefited me, being a hitman. It sure as hell benefitted me now. I lift the binoculars to my eyes and there are now only two guys in clear view, guarding the gray double doors. Tree branches scratch and dig into my skin when I move in closer. I make sure they are both too caught up in their conversation to notice me lighting an explosive and tossing it as far away as I can from the warehouse.
The loud noise of the firebomb startles the men and they stop talking. They move their attention to the nearby explosion after jolting back against the doors. They are speaking in Spanish but not loud enough for me to understand what they’re saying. One keeps guard by the door and the other heads toward the burning vehicle nearby with cautious steps. I grab another bomb and light it, tossing it in the opposite direction from before, causing another diversion. The other man glances around, standing in alert. He shouts for the other guy but gets no response.
The moment he turns around to walk toward the burning debris, I run up behind him, pointing my gun at his head, pulling the trigger. He goes down after one shot. His lifeless body crashes to the ground. There are loud footsteps coming from my right and I turn my gun on the other man before he can reach for his. He holds his hands up in the air, begging me not to shoot. I show him no mercy, taking him out the same way I did the last guy, by putting a bullet in his head.
The sound of more footsteps are coming from behind the warehouse and I hurry inside the open doors. The sight in front of me has my head nearly exploding in fury. Mateo is lying on the floor with his wrists tied behind his back and more of the same type of rope wrapped around his ankles. He’s wearing a white tank that’s so dirty, it nearly matches his pair of black slacks.
He is trembling against the dirty pavement, with his eyes covered and a gag in his mouth. More men come from the back and I am too fast for both of them. I hurry up before I become too outnumbered. I reload my gun before placing it back in the holster, because I know we won’t be getting out of here without a fight. Mateo doesn’t appear to be awake when I lift his cold, limp body off the floor.
I carry him over my shoulder, running through the same doors I entered. There are men running behind us shooting but missing. I’m glad he isn’t awake to experience everything going on around us. The loud shots from a gun have me running faster and let me know there were more than three guards standing outside the warehouse. I’m usually not this sloppy. I normally have everything planned out perfectly so that no mistakes can be made, but there is no time for that now.
My only focus is getting Mateo out safely and we still weren’t there yet. His body weighs heavily on mine as I make my way through the alley, searching for a way back to the boat. The warehouse is sitting on a small secluded island and there is only one way off. I am now worried it’s no longer an option when they have me completely surrounded. I set Mateo down and his body lands harder on the ground than I planned. He shifts and wiggles against it, still blind folded and gagged, with his hands and ankles tied.
I reach for my gun and make my way around the tree, taking out one man after another the moment they get close enough. I ignore the loud moans and whines coming from behind me, reloading my gun. It’s a good thing I’m a much better shot than they are. Santiago was always a weak man, with even weaker men working for him. They lack the training and speed I have. When the last body hits the ground, I lift Mateo up again, and he is no longer laying lifeless against me. Even though his struggles are weak, it’s still enough to slow me down. He can’t hear my voice over the noise surrounding us. I take a smoke bomb from my pouch and toss it behind us, buying us more time to get away from anyone else who may be coming. “We are almost there,mi juguete. Just a little bit longer. Be still for me.”
He goes limp again in my arms, probably passing out from the fumes. I lift the bandana from my neck to protect my nose and mouth from the smoke and hurry toward the water. I search frantically for the boat I came in. When I don’t see it anywhere, I know I must be on the wrong side of the island. That’s when I see it. A larger boat floating in the distance and a small row boat resting in the sand, with a man stepping out of it. I lift my gun only to lower it when I recognize my brother’s face. “Be cool, man, it’s me. I got your message. Is that him? He must be really special for you to go through all this.”
I grunt, moving toward the boat and gently set Mateo inside, laying him out on the floor. He shivers and curls into the fetal position. I tug off my jacket to lay it over his body. Even though I’m exhausted and hurting everywhere, I help my brother push the metal boat into the water. We climb in and paddle our way to the larger boat sitting still in the water. I glance down at Mateo and the sun gleams down over his swollen cheek, and more anger fills me. I was already fuming from watching him laying on that cold, cement floor. My heart sank further while I stood there watching him struggle and whimper until the coast was clear.
“I sure hope that is the boat we are getting away in, and not this one,” I say, watching the boat appear larger the closer we get.
Angel laughs. “Come on, hermano. I am sure you know me better than that. What else would it be there for?”
From the distance I can see men running through the trees, stomping through the sand, heavily loaded with guns. My brother looks my way. “I would’ve thought you’d come better prepared than this. This boy really is special, huh? No one goes through all this trouble for a quick lay.”
He was right and I didn’t like admitting that out loud, so I don’t. Instead, I move Mateo’s head onto my lap, stroking his hair. “How about you save me the commentary and just get us to the damn boat?”
When we finally reach it, I get in first and let my brother hand me a still limp Mateo. He starts to wake again when I bring him fully on board. “Shhhh,” I whisper, brushing my lips against his ear. The metallic taste of blood is strong on my mouth. It only settles him a little. It will take a bit longer until the drugs are fully out of his system. No telling how much they gave him.
I want so badly to make Santiago pay for this and I will make sure it is a nice long, sweet torture. I know just the person to give it to him. I glance over to my brother, climbing in the boat behind us. He has been after Santiago for a long time. I always knew the day he finally got his hands on him would be the worst day of the son of a bitch’s life, and also the best day of my brother’s. Mateo wiggles in my arms and Angel passes me a cold bottle of water. “Here, give him some of this and maybe even splash some on his face.”
I yank off the gag and toss it on the ground. Mateo parts his lips when I press the bottle to them, letting the water slowly fall into his mouth. He starts to move some more and loud shouting comes from around us. I spot two men approaching us in a small raft. My brother runs to the front of the yacht. “I think it’s time to go brother. Take care of him and try to get him to wake up while I get us the fuck out of here.”
I run my fingers through Mateo’s sweat and blood covered hair, trying to coerce him awake. But he doesn’t do more than shift against me, releasing more groans. “I don’t know anything,” he murmurs. “I swear I don’t.”
