Page 7 of Sold Blood
"He's good, happy even. You don't have to worry about him."
"I never did. I always knew Mateo was stronger than my father gave him credit for."
"Where are your men?"
I raise an eyebrow. "What men?"
"Your guards. You Juventinos used to never leave the house without them. Unless your name is Mateo Juventino, of course. The boy acts like he’s invincible sometimes."
I laugh. "Sounds like stubbornness runs in the family. I was never fond of the family security myself or any at all for that matter. If someone wants me dead, a few men with guns won't stop them. After what happened with Joey, I don’t exactly trust anyone at the moment. It’s ironic, because Joey is nothing like my brother and me. He always has two men with him when hehandles business, and I even made him take a third this last time. Didn't want to take any chances after a few men who tried to take us down a few years ago started showing back up. What good that did.”
"Send me all the info you have on these men and anything else you may find in the car later. And about the guys who went after you a few years ago, do you know who they are? If not, I want descriptions and locations of where they were last seen. Make sure your men check the location the car was at as well since you aren't there to do it. Sometimes we miss things when we are too focused on other things, like the man we love going missing."
"I’ll try to get you everything I can. It could very well have been those men from a few years ago or the one man who kept showing up randomly in our clubs, the one with a scar on his left cheek. So far, he appears to be the only one who got away and we still don’t know who sent him. And how the hell do you know it was me alone who checked the car?"
"You forget, I know you well. You're not the type of guy who has someone else handle matters so personal. This is something that had to be done by you. It's not something you trust someone else to do properly."
"Unless it's you."
He sighs, rubbing his temple. "I'll do my best to bring Joey home to you. You know I will, but I can't make any promises."
"I know and I know you owe me no favors either."
"Maybe not, but I may need one from you someday and I don't expect a no when that day comes."
I scoff. "Since when does the amazing Carlos ever need anyone else?"
His face tenses, and he doesn't meet my eyes. "Just get me any information you can, and from now on use only this phone to contact me." He hands me a brand new out of package burner phone. "Anything else you want to tell me before we part ways?"
"There was footage of the man I told you about before in the back of the club lurking around the building. He wore the same coat and hat every time. Not only were we able to get a good look at the scar on his face when we zoomed in, but he had a spider tattoo on the back of his hand and some sort of ring." I hand him a picture of the ring from the footage. It is clear enough to make out the unique design with a blue stone in the center. "I know this isn't much, but it's what we have as of now and I figured anything helps, even the small stuff."
He nods, folding the picture and stuffing it in his pocket. I hand him an envelope with more pictures and names of the security guys who were with Joey yesterday, including the driver. "Also, I won't need to message you the info you need later since I have it all on me now. It’s better if none of this can be traced. A wise man told me that once." I shoot him a wink.
He smiles, taking the envelope from me. "So you do listen to me after all. We will be in touch soon. Will you stay in town or be going back to Kansas, Dorothy?"
I roll my eyes at the nickname. "I won't be going anywhere until I find out more about this drug dealer and the kind of operation he runs. I would ask to come with you, but I know what you will say if I do."
"That I work better alone?"
"Exactly."
"I do and this is too personal for you, could cause you to make too many mistakes. Not to mention these guys more than likely know who you are and will see you coming. I don't need you linked to me in any way. You are better off staying here, finding out what you can. I promise you; I will do everything it takes to bring him home."
"I know you will. You've always been a man of your word."
"And I always will be. Joey is lucky to have someone like you who cares about him as much as you do, and as long as we dothis right, you will have a chance to tell him how much you love him again soon."
Four
Joey
I open my eyes to a pitch black, cold room. My hands and ankles are bound together by thick pieces of rope. I try to scream, but my throat is so raw, nothing more than a small screeching sound makes it past my lips. My teeth chatter and I shiver, realizing I'm only wearing a pair of black briefs and an under shirt. Someone had removed my other clothes and taken my shoes.
I slam my feet against the cold cement floor in frustration, not able to fully remember where I was before this. I think I was on my way to meet Isaiah, but my mind keeps going blank every time I reach my last memory of walking out the door of one of the clubs we run together. Then I remember my driver Daniel telling me, "Sorry."
The rest is a giant blur. My aching head tells me I may have been knocked out by a hard blow to it. When I reach for the back of my hair, there is something wet and sticky matted betweenmy thick strands. I stare at my fingers and my heart races from a sudden panic at my blood covered skin confirming my worst fears. Wherever I am, I doubt my abductors plan on me getting out alive.
They were ruthless and not careful. They didn’t care if they hurt me in the process while getting me here. They aren’t planning on a ransom or negotiation. Something else is happening here and there are a million different scenarios going through my mind. I think back to the car that had hit Isaiah ten years ago and the men who’d attacked us two years ago. Is it all related somehow?
