Page 45 of Sold Blood
“I thought we already knew that?”
“We knew he wasn’t any of the guys who claimed to be him, but what we didn’t realize is he’s been right in front of our faces all along. You see this whole time we’ve been searching for a man.”
My eyes grow wide and freeze where I stand. “Are you saying Santana is a woman?”
He nods, scooting closer to the edge of the couch. “Supposedly, The Gatekeeper got orders directly from Santana and he’s been seen meeting with Veronica many times. Shortly after being seen together, people get taken, killed or business deals get made. Not to mention her husband is not who she says he is either. He isn’t just an ordinary banker she married to stop living in her parents' shadows. He’s a well-known money launderer. They are merely business partners and I don’t think the pregnancy is real either.”
“Where is the bitch now?”
“That’s the thing, just like Santana, she has dropped off the face of the earth. No one has seen her since the delivery truck was found on the side of the highway and a lot of businesses and lives were affected by the auction not going well. Ivan was killed and men didn’t get their purchases and the other cartel didn’t get their money. Not to mention their whole operation has been tampered with, forcing them to start over from scratch.”
“I wish I could bring myself to care, but I’m really having a hard time giving a shit about their little fucking operation. I don’t regret what we did, and I wouldn’t take it back if I could. Even if it means they'll be coming for me soon."
"They may be coming for all of us soon. Miguel hasn't exactly held up his end of the bargain. He was supposed to be the one running the deliveries at the depot, but he handed the job to someone else. Since that person can't be accounted for, it falls back on Miguel. There were also a few men who escaped the Auction and saw Joey taking down a lot of the men there."
"So what do you suggest we do? I'm assuming you came here with a plan in mind."
"I did. Mateo has sent a few of his men to different clubs and they will be waiting for Veronica's men now that we know what they look like and hopefully we can get one of them to reveal where she is."
"And if we can't?"
"I think you know as well as I do that someone always talks eventually. Especially the people who don't want any harm coming to their family. People like Joey's driver, Daniel. He was found this morning at a pharmacy not far away from here, picking up medicine for his sick kid. He doesn't seem to know very much though, only confirming what we already know about Santana being in Mexico and how he was the one who hiredDaniel to take Joey by offering him the best medical care for his kid."
"Shit. No wonder Isaiah came alone. He can't even trust the men who work for him."
"There is one I can trust, and I've made him aware of what's going on," Isaiah says from behind me. "He said they will probably search for us there soon and he'll be ready for them when they do. He reminds me a lot of his sons."
Gabriel and I both go quiet, not taking our eyes off Isaiah. I try to find my words, but they come out a jumbled mess. Luckily my brother is able to ask what I can't. "What do you mean? How do you know you can trust him?"
"Because I know you both trust him too and if it wasn't for him, Angel would have never made it out of that shed."
My mouth opens and closes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying…this whole fucking time you've been working together, and this is how you plan to tell me?"
Gabriel's eyes shift between us and his eyes grow big with the realization of who we are talking about. "You know where Marcus is?"
Isaiah nods. "Your dad is Joey's and my business partner. We wouldn't have come this far without him. He didn't think it was safe for any of you to know where he was."
"So he thought continuing to live some other life would help keep us from harm? What fucking good that's done."
"I can't speak for Marcus, but in a way I can see where he's coming from. I stayed away for the same reason he did and if I never came back, y'all wouldn't be put in the bind you are now. All I did was bring my problems home, putting everyone here in more danger. Danger that could have been prevented if I stayed away,” Isaiah adds.
"Mateo and Miguel are happy to have you home again even if it means we have to all fight to keep you here. We would have donethe same for our dad, it's what family does. Why do you think Carlos didn't turn you away?"
Isaiah stares between Gabriel and me. "Only I'm not Carlos' family."
"No, you're more than that. Carlos has never taken down a whole trafficking ring for any of us before," he says with a loud chuckle.
I roll my eyes. "I don't think you have to worry about anyone taking your ass. They would immediately turn around and bring you back."
"I hate to break up your little family tiff, but none of this is exactly helping us get closer to taking down my bitch of an ex and her little friends who will be coming for us next," Joey says standing at the end of the hallway dressed in a baggy shirt and pants that are too big to stay up on their own. "We can't hide away in this house forever. Maybe in order to bring Santana out of hiding, we need to be the ones who come out first."
"What if we don't see her coming? We don't even know who all to look out for. It took us this long to figure out who Veronica's new alias is. Who knows how long it will take to figure out who all her business partners are," I say, not sure putting a bigger target on our back is the best option.
"From what I've seen so far these men aren't very good at keeping secrets and know how to stand out," Joey adds.
"It's a good thing some of us know how to go unnoticed," Isaiah's gaze shifts between Gabriel and I. "Joey and I can be the ones to put up the flag."
"Then I guess it's all been decided, huh? The best way to finish what we started is to first set out the bait. Looks like those flashy suits of yours weren't a complete waste of money after all," I mutter toward Isaiah.
