Page 64 of Fighting for Julia
Apparently, Alfredo remembered he was a fearless Escobar because he opened the glove compartment and handed Miguel and Julia a pair of Sig Sauer P365s, along with rounds of ammunition. They checked the chambers and found the handguns loaded with ten rounds. Miguel glanced out the windshield. They were out of Tijuana.
“Ready, Jules?”
She nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Miguel threw back the side panel, and they opened fire on the Jalisco motorcycle gang. Alfredo rolled down his window and fired several shots. The Jalisco gang, taken by surprise, gathered their wits and returned fire. The van swerved as Juan avoided a direct hit. Miguel and Julia lost their balance but quickly recovered and continued the firefight.
“I’m out!” Julia yelled.
“Take my gun!”
She grabbed it and shot a gang member who’d come dangerously close to the open side panel. As soon as Miguel loaded his Sig Sauer, he fired it at another motorcycle. The driver slumped over, and the bike careened out of control.
More gang members joined the attack. They set up a roadblock and fired straight at the van. A bullet shattered the windshield and whizzed past Miguel’s head. Other bullets pinged off the van.
“What do I do?” cried Juan. “They’re blocking the road!”
“Don’t stop, Juan,” Miguel ordered. “Step on the gas and run right through them.”
Juan obeyed. Julia could have sworn he closed his eyes as they barreled through the blockade. Several gang members leaped out of the way. Julia and Miguel gripped the seats in front of them to keep from being thrown from the van upon impact. The sound of metal striking metal deafened them. Once past the mangled motorcycles, Julia and Miguel shot the men lying dazed on the side of the road. The remaining members of the Jalisco gang decided not to pursue the fleeing van.
Alfredo turned around to face Miguel. “We did it. We stopped them.” His voice rang with a fierce satisfaction.
“Sí. But we have to disappear fast before they have time to regroup.”
“Agreed. We have a safe house fifty miles southeast. Head there, Juan.”
Juan pressed the gas pedal, and the van shot forward.
To Alfredo’s surprise, Miguel offered his Sig Sauer. “Here.”
Alfredo stared at the gun. Then he lifted his eyes to meet Miguel’s honest and open gaze. “No. Keep it. You are no longer a prisoner but a guest like my cousin.” He addressed Juan. “We do not hurt him. He is our guest.”
“Sí, Alfredo.”
Pride swelled in Julia as she settled in Miguel’s arms. No doubt they’d either be dead or prisoners of the Jalisco cartel if Miguel hadn’t sensed the danger posed to them. His instincts, his honor, continually amazed her. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Miguel, I’m in love with you. I want to be yourwife more than anything else in this world. You’re my man. My heart is yours. Forever.”
His arms tightened around her. He tilted her chin and claimed her mouth in a deep kiss. “I’m in love with you, too, Jules. I want to be your husband more than anything else in this world. You know you’re my woman. And my heart…my heart is yours. Forever.”
Their quiet confession of love resembled vows. Promises. Promises Julia intended to keep with every fiber of her being.
It took almost an hour to reach a whitewashed wood, single-story home in the middle of rows and rows of lush green mango trees. Brown-skinned children of various ages, dressed in play clothes, ran alongside the van. They smiled, beautiful, innocent smiles, and waved at Alfredo and Juan.
“Our uncle, Alejandro Escobar, owns many acres of mango groves, as far as the eye can see. This is how he makes his living,” Alfredo explained.
The implication was clear. Alejandro Escobar wasn’t part of his father’s illegal enterprise.
“Where’syourfather, Alfredo?”
“Dead.”
Julia winced. “Was his death related to the family business?”
“Sí.”
“So, why does Uncle Alejandro get a free pass, and our fathers are dead?”
“Because he’s the youngest of six sons. After Felipe killed your father, the General gave Alejandro a choice. He was educated in the States, like Uncle Julio and my father, and when he returned to Mexico with a degree in Agribusiness and Economics, our grandfather allowed him to pursue his own dreams.”
