Page 39 of Blood Spilled
“And if I did?”
“Have you lost your fucking mind? Do you have some death wish? Do you think your little pet will save you if something were to happen? You think he would fight for your life? If so, think again.” He shoves past me and I close the door behind us.
“You're going to act like you wouldn't have done the same? Like you haven't done the same?”
“Yeah and you should learn from my mistakes. We all know what a mess that was. I got lucky.”
“He saved my fucking life while risking his own. He didn’t know If I was going to let him live after that. I had to see him.”
He sighs loudly. “You said it yourself, never go in without a plan and never go without backup.”
I scoff. “You hate Santiago. Why would you back me up?”
Gabriel narrows his eyes on me, folding his arms. “Because you're my brother and I owe you one, remember? Also, if you see something in this man, maybe he isn't as evil as we were all made to believe. I know you, Angelo. There's a reason you fell for him the way you did.”
“What makes you think I fell for him? How do you know I didn't want to hurt him one last time, huh? Or maybe I went there to kill him.”
He laughs, taking a seat on the nearby couch. “You forget I was where you were once. I know a thing or two about falling for the enemy and not being able to kill the person you were supposed to kill.”
“You don't know shit. I know you didn't come here just to scold me. What is the real reason you’re here?”
He sighs, placing his hands on his knees. “We have a few problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
“Santiago was recently sold to a popular drug dealer who is very involved in one of the big mobs nearby. I'm not a hundred percent sure it's him, but I have my guesses. This man has apparently wanted Santiago for a while now. Santiago’s mother already agreed to give him over as long as everything went according to plan and he helped her make sure it did. Looks like he got tired of waiting and made a better deal with Santiago's brothers. They wanted to tarnish her plans, willing to hand him over right away for less in return. The thing is this guy plans to collect what he believes belongs to him and soon.”
“All right, so we kill the asshole.”
He shakes his head. “We don't know who it is yet and need to make sure we have the right guy. We think it's Manivela.”
My face grows hot with anger. “That asshole who had my drugs switched out? I thought you took care of him.”
“We thought so too. Turns out the man we were led to was a fake. He has been using this man to represent him in order to keep his identity safe. We don't even know where he is. He's a sneaky bastard. I don't even think Santiago's mother has met him in person. Most people have no idea what this guy looks like.Besides, he's not our only problem. As much as I want to catch this guy, my main concern is Mateo.”
“Why? What's happened to Mateo?”
“Nothing yet, but we want to keep it that way. Santiago's mother has some other big time guy working with her. Apparently, he's her new lover. They plan to take back what belongs to Santiago. Half of what Mateo has, and legally it’s his to take.”
“You think Santiago will agree to this now?”
“He is still the same man after all, and it doesn't matter if he does … well, we both know it doesn't matter. They will make him want it.”
I agree with everything he said except the part about Santiago being the same man. He isn't the same man. At least when I look at him, I no longer saw that part of him. I take a seat next to Gabriel, glancing at the fire. “What do you suggest we do?”
“There's a party tomorrow night to celebrate Santiago's return. I think you should go.”
“Wait a minute. You just gave me shit for not staying away and now you want me to attend a huge party where he will be surrounded?”
“Yes. You and I both know you can get in and out of places unnoticed. It's a Castaneda trait and you will have back up outside in case anything goes wrong.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Talk to Santiago. Make sure he's on our side. Make sure he doesn't want this. This will be easier with his help. We need to know his mother's plans. We need to know what she wants, and we need to know who she's working with. We also need him to stay there for now. They can't suspect anything. They have to think he's on their side. There will be a lot of people at that party. I have a friend who's been invited. He will get Santiago where heneeds to be and when he's there, he will message you letting you know. You must wait for the message.”
I nod. “And if this little plan of yours doesn't work?”
“Then we will have to do shit the messy way.”
