Page 3 of Blood Ties
I clench my fists to my sides as my eyes narrow in on the empty black duffel bags. "Fuck," I say, slamming my closed hands against the empty van. "How the hell does this happen? Who would be brave enough to steal from me?"
Marco shrugs, stepping away from the van and I grab him by the front of his shirt before he gets too far. I slam him against the van's door, fury burning through me. "You were supposed to make sure the merchandise was delivered successfully. I put you in charge, thinking you could handle the task, but apparently I was wrong."
Sweat drips from his brow. "I'm sorry, boss. I don't know what happened. I lost track of the van and by the time I figured out it was stolen, it was too late."
I drop him to the ground so hard he loses balance and lands on his ass. "You're going to fix this. You will make this right. You'regoing to find out what happened to my product and bring me the men who stole from me."
"How?"
"I don't know how, but if you don't make this right, you're going to be scratching your way out of the fucking ground."
"Yes, boss…consider it done."
"Good." I straighten my suit, taking a step back and that's when I see something shining in the corner of the van. It's a brass shell. I pull one of my gloves out of my pocket and lean over the back of the van, slowly picking up the shell. It's not from any gun I own. Spinning it between my fingers, I examine it further.
"Is everything okay, boss?" Marco stands over me, tilting his head with his gaze on the shell. "Did you find that in here?"
"Yes. Do you know who it belongs to?"
He shakes his head, getting a closer look. "No, boss. It's not one of mine. I can ask Able if he knows anything about it."
"Yes, ask him and every man who's been in this van. It had to come from somewhere."
Loud footsteps come from behind me. "Miguel, we have a problem."
I turn around to face Able, my right hand man. "A different one from this?" I gesture to the van, clutching the shell tightly in my palm.
"Yes, boss. It's...one of the clubs. It never opened today and it wasn't until we stopped by that we found out why.”
My eyes widen, pulse beating loudly in my ears. "What do you mean it didn't open today? Why didn't it open? Where are Nicholas and Pedro?"
Able swallows hard, unable to meet my eyes. "Dead. We found them—what was left of them—scattered around the club. We searched the whole place before the cops came. Whoever did it was long gone before we got there. They left nothing behindexcept for this." He holds up a Ziploc bag with a brass shell in it. I grit my teeth, squeezing the other one in the palm of my hand.
He sighs, lowering his hand. "It's strange, because neither man was shot. Whoever killed them used a knife. The security guard was strangled with his own belt and one of the dancers…I think it's better you don't know. The men who did this weren't amateurs."
I take the bag from his hand and toss in the other shell. It is an exact clone of the other. They sit side by side like a perfect matching set. "No, they know exactly what they are doing. This is a message. The question is from who and why leave bullet casings behind?"
My phone rings in my pocket and Isaiah's name flashes on the screen. I press the phone tightly to my ear, releasing a drawn out sigh, preparing myself for more bad news. I doubt my son is calling to invite me over for coffee. We were never huge talkers, and our relationship is still a bit shaky. "Hola?"
"Did I catch you at a bad time, old man?"
I roll my eyes. "Were you expecting to?"
Loud sighs come from the other end of the phone. "I don't know what to expect after all that's happened in the past year. We had a few problems recently. One of the casinos caught fire and one of our planes never went out for delivery. The pilot was found dead, hanging from his guts. The drugs were missing and the only thing they found was…"
I cut him off. "A brass shell?"
"Uh...yeah...how'd you know?"
"I think we may have the same problem."
"Do you think…how would they know?"
I huff out a breath. "Things weren't done very quietly and surely plenty of evidence was left behind. Vengeance and revenge come with a price, mijo. Looks like we are finally payingit. You don't start a fight with a sex trafficking ring and expect them to forget."
"You think we left someone alive who should have died with the rest of those assholes?"
"I think you didn't leave without notice for sure. They won't stop coming until they get what they want."
