Page 50 of Ghost
“I hate to admit it, but that’s a cage I wouldn’t mind riding in,” Jackyl states, adjusting himself.
“It’s fucking gorgeous,” Screamer agrees.
“The fucker’s here early,” Journey snaps. Cruz wasn’t supposed to arrive for another twenty minutes or so. “Let’s get inside.”
We follow our VP, and the sound of voices reaches my ears. There’s no shouting, so that’s a good sign. When we reach the larger room, Crow, Tracer, Poker, and Stunner are standing in a line, facing who I assume is Miguel. He’s got two men flanking him on either side as well.
“You’re late,” Crow barks. To anyone who doesn’t know him, they’d think him pissed, but he’s not. He simply wants to make sure that Cruz and his cronies know that he’s in charge.
“They’re early,” Journey states, nodding at the enemy.
“Yes, we are,” Cruz says matter-of-factly, his accent thick. “My men were getting rather anxious to get this over with, so we took a chance.” He shrugs. “You were here, so all is well.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Crow says casually as we join them across from Cruz. “All is not fucking well. Not even close.”
“Ah, yes, so your message said.” Cruz grins, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Something about Marble Falls being your territory, I believe. Please, explain.”
“As you said, Marble Falls belongs to the Soulless Kings,” Crow begins. “We don’t tolerate anyone trying to encroach.”
“My apologies. All you had to do was say so. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement that will be beneficial to us both.”
“Your apologies don’t mean shit,” Poker snarls. “This goes way beyond encroachment. You’re stealing our brand, selling it as your own, and killing people.”
“That is the drug business, is it not?” Cruz asks.
“Maybe it is in Sinaloa,” Crow says, and Cruz’s eyes flash fury. “Yes, we know where you’re from. We also know you’re trying to impress the cartel, but you can’t do that here. Not on our turf.”
Cruz glances at the man on his right. “Did you hear that Fernando? They have information on me.”
Fernando smiles sinisterly. “Seems like they do.”
“Should I be worried?”
Fernando shrugs. “I don’t believe so. We’ve got info on them as well.”
Not surprising, considering the note.
“I don’t care what you think you have,” Crow snarls. “I care about what you’re gonna do.”
“Oh?” Cruz crosses his arms over his chest like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “And what are we going to do?”
“You’re going to round up all the pills you’ve got floating around out there and leave Marble Falls. I’ll be generous and give you twenty-four hours.”
“Is that right?”
Crow looks from him to Journey and back again. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Before I agree to that, I think you might be interested in a few things.”
“Sure, why not? I’ll listen.”
Cruz takes a step forward. “You’re married to a one Addison McGill, and boy was she a hard one to win over considering she was the police chief’s daughter.” He turns to Journey. “You’re married to Wren Abbot. I was very pleased to read that her therapist believes she’s making great progress with those twelve pesky personalities. I can only imagine how tough that is for a girl like her.” He shifts his gaze to Jackyl. “And you, club doctor, are married to Leah, Wren’s friend. I like that. Keep your inner circle tight.” Jackyl stiffens as Cruz turns in the opposite direction and glares at me. “And then there’s you… Parker West, the wild card of the bunch. I’m not going to lie, I was worried about how things would play out with you. I mean, former undercover cop in Oregon, a long list of achievements during your years of service. Imagine my surprise when I learned that your sweet mother is battling Alzheimer’s. That’s rough, I know. My own abuela died from the disease… forgot to eat and wasted away. Such a sad thing. But enough about me… back to dear old Mom. It would be rather difficult for her to tell the difference between friend and foe, don’t you think? Considering how her memory sometimes plays tricks on her.”
“You’ve done your homework,” I say, my voice tight, every muscle tense. “So what?”
“So,” Cruz says, dragging the word out. “Do you really think a man like me only has these two men at his disposal?”
That’s all it takes for chaos to ensue.
