Loving a Bad Boy (39 page)

Roberto and Carlos snapped to attention at
Francisco’s’ words.

“
He cheated on me!” Maria
cried as though she were the first woman to ever experience marital
infidelity. “My brother told me of this cousin who'd had the
operations, and that he was the lover of my husband,” she
whimpered.

All in all, Julio thought it was a brilliant
performance. The tears might have been a little over the top. But
he was really impressed with her brother Manuel's fortitude. The
dude had to know he was caught, and yet he stood ramrod straight in
front of them. Truly the face of an assassin, Julio thought,
remembering that family’s particular talent.

“
No!” her father yelled
from his chair, trying to break free of the tight grip security had
on his shoulder. “She is not making sense. Please forgive her, she
is unwell,” he yelled still in denial over his nephew.

There was nothing wrong with Maria. She was
a woman who felt vindicated by playing a role in her husband’s
demise. Unfortunately, she used the organization to do it, and they
were not a forgiving group.

“
Your son and daughter
stole from the organization.” The words fell into the silence of
the room.

Fear flashed across Maria’s face. Her eyes
pleaded with Carlos to save her. He hung his head. She turned to
her father-in-law, who avoided her gaze. Face impassive, she stared
at her brother who stood next to her.

“
Manuel, you were right.
Carlos and his father are gutless with no honor. I should never
have married him. Pity you did not kill him earlier tonight when
you had the chance.” Her words were stated plainly with no
inflection. The bland tone made the statement more
damning.

“
There was never a chance
of anyone being killed tonight, at least not yet.” Francisco looked
at her until she lowered her gaze. “I am not a marriage counselor,
nor is this about your marriage. This is about theft and betrayal.”
He looked at Manuel. “Who helped you steal the weapons?”

Manuel's jaw clenched in defiance.

Francisco tapped the table top with his
fingertips. “If you think your family is safe from me, think again.
There will be no Maderas’ left on the face of the earth within
twenty-four hours, if you do not speak now and speak
truthfully.”

Julio clicked on the small tape recorder
from his briefcase, and placed it on the table. That was one detail
Francisco had insisted on in the elevator.

The younger man slumped forward and slowly
began to explain how they'd set up the theft. A small part of the
strategy’s data came from Ramos; Roberto’s repetition with the
routes was noted, and most surprising was the mention of Ghost.

Julio was probably the only one who noticed
the tic in Francisco’s cheek at the mention of his erstwhile
comrade. Francisco posed question after question to the man until
there was a clear vision on the holes in the operation. When all of
his questions had been answered, Francisco leaned back in his
chair. “Julio?”

Julio shouldn’t have been surprised that
Francisco called upon him next to question these four, but since
they hadn’t discussed it, he was. After all, Francisco had been
upfront about Julio’s position in the organization.

Julio opened his briefcase, and removed the
sheath containing his thin blade and a small blue colored jar while
gathering his thoughts. After placing the items in his coat pocket
he turned and stared at each person standing before the table.
There were a few things that didn’t add up.

“
Manuel, you have worked
for the Cartel since your late teens. Your family has been loyal
and served as enforcers for generations. Yet, you betray not only
the Cartel but your family as well. That is not something anyone
does lightly. Tell me…what made you do it?”

A look of surprise crossed Manuel’s face.
“I…I was angry that nothing was done to avenge my sister.”

Julio wasn’t buying it. “No, she’s been
married to Carlos for over ten years. He’s cheated on her with
various people for eight of those. Why did you betray your oath?
Why now?”

Manuel’s jaw tightened.

Julio chuckled. “If you think I won’t
destroy you and everyone and thing you care about, you’re wrong.”
Julio nodded to Miguel, who walked over and stripped off Manuel’s
shirt. “You see, someone convinced you to turn against everything
you’d been taught.” Miguel stepped behind Manuel, grabbed his arms
behind his back and pulled them up high.

“
No! Stop Julio. What are
you doing?” Maria screamed.

“
I’m having a conversation
with your brother.”

Her chest heaved as she tried to break free
from Pete. “He told you, he did it for me.”

“
Yeah I heard that, but I
think there’s more.” Julio pulled the thin long blade from its
sheath and looked sideways at Manuel. “Who were you working
for?”

Tight lipped he said. “I told you.”

Julio nodded, stepped forward and
meticulously carved a large “C” that spread the width and length of
Manuel’s chest, down to the belly button. It wasn’t that deep; it
didn’t need to be for what Julio had in mind.

Mauel winced but otherwise didn’t make a
sound. Julio wiped the blade clean and returned it to its jacket.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled the blue jar, opened it and
sniffed. It had no smell but he could set a scene along with the
best of them. He retrieved a plastic glove from his briefcase and
put it on his right hand.

Beads of blood welled up along the outline
of the large C. He glanced at the sweat rolling down Manuel’s face
as he dug into the jar. As an assassin, Manuel was familiar with
the poison poised to be smeared across his chest.

“
What is that? What are
you doing?” Maria asked, her voice frantic.

He held up his fingers, showing her the
cream colored gel. “An ointment from research. It’s been improved,
and will help move things along faster.”

“
Nooooo!” She screamed.
“I’ll tell you. Just don’t.”

Julio’s finger was poised over the mark, he
looked at her. “Talk.”

“
It was Peter. Peter
Santiago. He hates your grandfather and your mother and plans to
destroy the Organization.” Her declaration froze everyone in the
room. His grandfather was dead, but his mother? No one touched his
mother.

“
Why does he hate her?”
Julio asked in a quiet voice. A riot of emotions filled him at the
notion that his mother had been targeted. That was never supposed
to happen.

“
Your mother set up his
brother to be killed by her father when he refused to marry her.
He’s your uncle.”

Julio cast aside the blasphemous family
remark and focused on what he considered the problem. “He used you?
Manuel to get to my mother? Is that why you asked when she’d
return? Why you wanted Gerald to visit with her?”

She hung her head and nodded.

“
Why now? Why would he
attack the Cartel now after all these years?” His mind raced,
filling in blanks, discarding scenarios, searching for the missing
links.

“
You just surfaced three
years ago. Everybody knows Francisco is training you to take over.
The idea of his brother’s son running the organization that killed
him…well he didn’t want that.”

Julio stared at her. She’d been involved
with this before he came along. Before her husband cheated with
Ramos. There was something he was missing. Then he remembered.

Julio strolled over to Manuel and smeared
the ointment along the lines of the bleeding C. The man jerked at
the contact. The poison would seep in through the cut and fuck up
his nervous system. Over time it would destroy his major organs and
cause his heart to stop. It was specifically created to assist in
gaining information through torture. If they hadn’t targeted his
mother, he would’ve simply deepened the cuts on Manuel’s chest,
instead of killing him.

“
Stop, I told you what you
wanted to know. Why are you…? Why are you doing that?” Maria’s
voice caught as her brother’s body went taut and then spasmed from
the poison.

Julio tipped Manuel’s face up with his
finger. “Did you shoot Tex?”

Manuel’s eyes widened. The truth was there
plain as day. Julio needed to hear the words. He reared back and
punched Manuel in the stomach.

The man bent over, gagging.

Julio nodded to Miguel who pulled Manuel
straight up. “Did you shoot Tex?” he asked through clenched
teeth.

Chest heaving, eyes closed, Manuel released
a soft, “yes.”

Julio nodded. “Did you trash my place?”

“
No.” Manuel grimaced. “He
brought in some guys from up north who were looking to get back at
you for something. I was supposed to take him out but he moved and
I only clipped him.”

“
What about the condo on
the fifth floor?”

“
No,” he hissed through
drawn lips. “The same men who trashed your place.”

“
Have you met my uncle?”
Julio sneered at the title.

“
Yes,” Manuel took in sips
of air and arched his back.

Julio looked at Maria when he asked the next
question. “Where is he?”

“
I don’t know.”

Julio punched him again. “Wrong answer.
Where is he?” Instead of watching Manuel, he watched Maria. Her
eyes filled, and tears rolled down her cheek unchecked with each
grunt or groan her brother made.

Manuel moaned and some spit blood out his
mouth. “I don’t know.” He said between breaths. “He travels a lot.
Has meetings.” He grimaced before speaking. “I never knew where he
lived.”

“
Where is he Maria?” Julio
asked leaving Manuel and stepping in front of her.

She shook her head, the loose knot of hair
at the back of her head fell free. “I…I don’t know.”

Full of loathing, Julio looked at her. “My
mother had a lot of respect for you. She said that you had gone
through a lot as a young girl and was very strong.”

Maria tried to smile but failed.

“
She said you had fallen
in love with a guy who wasn’t in the Cartel and your father forbade
you to see him. Something about you seeing him anyway, got
pregnant, lost the baby and then your father married you off to
Carlos.”

Her head had shot up during his narration.
The mask she’d been wearing fell and she didn’t try to hide it.

Julio smirked. Cold-hearted Maria the bitch,
he could deal with. “You hated the Cartel for that. Blamed the
organization for the lost of your child and your lover. I think
your father killed him.” He looked down at Manuel. “Or did he make
your brother do it?”

“
I do not hate the
Organization.” For someone who had been crying buckets a second
ago, she sounded remarkably coherent.

Julio nodded as he processed more
information. “Good to know. But your child is alive. Does Santiago
hold the child as a hostage? Is that why you betrayed your
family?”

“
I did not betray my
family,” she yelled.

Julio tilted his head with a mock frown.
“You think we will allow them to live after this?”

Eyes wide, her mouth opened and closed.
“They have done nothing…It is your mother he wants. And you. Why
must everyone be sacrificed because your mother wanted someone who
belonged to another?” Her eyes flicked over Carlos and Ramon.

Julio welcomed the darkness that fueled the
rage that had been boiling inside as a long lost friend. For the
first time, he owned and accepted it as a part of who he was. His
thoughts cleared. His course of action had never been more certain.
They would both die for their actions to the Cartel and toward
those he protected. He intended to reinforce his grandfather’s
edict that his family was not to be trifled with.

He clasped his hands behind his back and
grinned. “Santiago is the father of your child. He’s the man you
fell in love with, the man your father sent your brother to kill.
Except Manuel didn’t kill him, perhaps because of the baby. And
that’s what set this whole thing in motion.”

Maria shook her head. “He was not the father
of my child.”

“
So there was a child?”
Her mouth opened, before she snapped it shut.

Julio moved to Manuel and stared at him. “A
man betrays all he knows. Is willing to die. Why would you do that
Manuel, hmm? For family? Possibly? But for a man who thinks his
brother died unfairly, never.” Julio moved close to Manuel’s ear.
“My mom was seventeen and a virgin when she met Santiago. He
seduced her, never mentioned he was engaged. If he had left it
alone, he’d probably still be alive. But he couldn’t control his
fiancé.” Julio glanced at Maria who stared at him with hate-filled
eyes.

“
His fiancé constantly
threatened my mom, and well, you’re a father, you figure it out.”
Manuel’s eyes widened, he looked at Maria whose face looked
similarly stricken.

“
Wha…what do you mean? I’m
not a father.” Manuel’s voice lacked conviction.

“
Yeah you are. The one
problem with this whole scheme is you didn’t know my grandfather.
He never would have left anyone alive in Santiago’s family who
could’ve staged something like this. He’d have had triggers in
place even now. He wiped out his first wife’s entire family because
of what they did to her. He was a practical man.”

“
Yes he was,” Francisco
said, proudly.

Julio waved his hand in dismissal. “There is
no Santiago running this. You and Maria contrived this whole thing.
Maria stole information from Roberto and passed it onto you. With
Roberto’s files you were able to contact someone who worked with
Ghost, and throw a monkey wrench in the deal. Were you hoping we’d
come in, kill Roberto and Carlos, so Maria would be free?” Julio
asked with a touch of sarcasm.