Page 90 of Bad Men

I could almost see the wheels spinning behind Davien’s eyes, the thoughts and ideas blending together. I thought maybe I was getting through to him.

“You’d have to take Alejandro out first,” he decided at last. “Once he’s out of the picture, the rest will be easy enough. We gather men, anyone sick of Eduardo’s shit — and believe me, there are plenty — and we take his empire down one brick at a time. Just think about it.”

I told myself I wouldn’t, but it wove around me, wrapping me up in the possibilities. It continued to plague me all the way down Mia’s street. Davien was right about one thing, Eduardo wasn’t fit to be a leader. He may have been once, but age and paranoia was making him reckless and dangerous. It was those under his rule who suffered.

Things had always seemed bad growing up. I was raised in the belly of the beast, at the knee of a killer. I never knew anything else. The world had always been bleak and hopeless with people in power finding ways to grind others under their heels. The system was what killed my father and ruined my mother. The system was what kept Mia away from us. Even Davien and I were part of the problem. We were aiding in the destruction of those we cared about, and for what?

But I couldn’t. It wasn’t just a matter of storming into Eduardo’s fortress and blowing his brains out. An enforcer knew how to plan, how to execute every step and second of his task. I would need to remove Eduardo of his guards, especially Alejandro. That would be a mission in itself; he would not be easy to take out. I wasn’t worried about the others, but once I had Alejandro out of the picture, I would have to systematically rid of the other leaders and their guards and seconds. I would have to do all of that without getting caught, without drawing attention from the police or the crews. It would be taking the seat after the fact that would be the most challenging. I would need men and power, and lots of it. I would need years. A plan that intricate and meticulous couldn’t be rushed.

“Hey, check it out.”

I blinked out of my plotting and focused on the familiar outline of Mia’s family home. Two figures stood on the path leading up to his front steps. I recognized Luis. He stood clutching a ratty lunch bag and facing off with a portly man in a green and white striped t-shirt. The two seemed to be in a heated argument, one that had a red tinge clawing up the other man’s plump face. Luis held on to his calm, but even I could see the tight grip of his knuckles around the worn cloth of his bag. The bigger man was edging closer, dominating the space around Luis with every low hiss of his words.

“What do you think that’s about?” Dav asked, watching the scene unfold with a hand on the door handle.

“Don’t know,” I answered.

“Should I break it up?”

I snorted. “Do you think Luis will thank you for interrupting?”

Dav grunted a sound of agreement but unlatched the door. It popped open with a soft click, and he was unfolding himself from the seat. I followed after a shake of my head.

Both men turned at the sound of our car doors slamming closed. The bigger man blinked the sweat out of his eyes and squinted across the road at us. Luis didn’t need to. He took one look at us and frowned in annoyance.

“Everything okay here?” Dav crossed the empty road and ambled over to join the other two.

The man wasn’t from this part of the neighborhood. True he didn’t belong on the north end with all the rich people either, but he definitely belonged somewhere in the middle. I pegged him middle class with shady dealing to pay for the gold Rolex on his wrist and the genuine leather loafers bulging around his feet. If that wasn’t enough, he had a waterfall of gold chains hooped in layers around his thick neck. A few looked to be caught in the oily curls poking out between the V of his top where the three buttons hadn’t been fastened. When he raised an arm to swipe at the beads of sweat collecting across his brow, the sun glinted off the chunky rings on his even chunkier fingers and the gold band braided around his wrist.

“You guys cops or something?” he barked in a deep drawl.

“Or something,” I muttered.

His small, hazel eyes took us in, first Dav, then me. It seemed to be enough to assure him we weren’t law enforcement because he turned back to Luis as if we weren’t a threat to him.

“I want my money, Luis,” he said. “Tomorrow, or I’m coming back and talking to Marie.”

Luis’s nostrils flared at the mention of his wife’s name. “Leave her out of this.”

The man shook his head. “Tomorrow.”

He started to turn in the direction of a sleek, blue Cadillac parked a few spaces ahead of us, ready to amble off only to be brought up short by a slick sidestep from Dav.

“What’s your name?” Dav asked.

Over his surprise, the man scowled at him. “What’s it to you?”

Dav drew in a breath. “Well,” he blew it out slowly, “Luis and Marie are under our protection, which means you lay a hand on either of them and you will be dealing with us.”

The man scoffed. “You don’t scare me. Do you know who I am?”

“Do you know who I am?” I countered, lacing each word carefully with venom.

He squinted at me. The fact that he remained oblivious solidified my theory that he wasn’t from our part of the woods.

“Nero Diaz and this is my city,” I told him. “You’re on my turf. Whatever business you have here, concludes today.”

One beefy shoulder hoisted up in a shrug. “Sure. Just pay me my twenty large and I’ll be on my way.”

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