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Gerardo laughed at the food and ate some bacon. “Good friend, man,” he said.
I poured him some coffee when it finished. “My Don spoke to me about your organization,” I said, steering the conversation to business.
Gerardo sipped the coffee. “Yeah? Did he?”
“The Don told me that your organization isn’t happy that I interrupted your deal with Vlas.”
Gerardo frowned. “Not what I heard.”
“Tell me what you heard.”
“You made a good offer, man,” Gerardo said. “Vlas was hard to work with, kept making demands, changing terms, pushing timelines back. My boss was getting fucking sick of him, man, and when you came along offering to buy him out, my boss was like, yeah, fuck it. Let’s fucking go for it, right? You Italians, man, you’re a bunch of violent bastards, but at least you pay on time and don’t fuck around on the details.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That sounds about right.”
“So I don’t know what your Don is hearing or whatever, but I’m telling you, man, this is a good thing. My boss is happy, he just wants to set shit up with you and get paid, you know?”
“That works for me,” I said. “I need to get approval from my Don, but I’m ready to start taking shipments from your people, and the price still stands.”
“Good man, good. Well, shit, this was an easy meeting.” Gerardo grinned at me.
Aida leaned toward the two of us and spoke up. “But Dante’s forgetting something,” she said.
Gerardo turned to her. “What’s that, girl?”
“He’s forgetting why we’re here. We want Vlas, and we want him right now. If you want any of this to move forward, we need his location. We can’t be doing big deals with any cartel with an enemy still at our back.”
Gerardo looked shocked that she spoke like that then turned to stare at me. “This bitch for real?” he asked.
I put both my hands on the bar top and leaned toward him. “Yes, she’s for real,” I said. “And if you call her a bitch again, I’ll cut your throat out. Understood?”
Gerardo gaped at me then burst out laughing. “Fuck, man, you Italians. Like I said, violent bastards. But all right, all right. She’s your girl, I respect it.”
“We need Vlas’s location,” I said. “You want anything to happen with me and my family, I need to know where Vlas is.”
“I hear you.” He sipped his coffee, playing for time, a little smile on his lips again. “Here’s the thing, man. I know you’ve been making offers out on the street for Vlas, you hear me? I know he’s worth a lot to you. And now you want me to just give him up. Seems stupid, right?”
“I’ll offer you fifty grand,” I said. “That’s the friends and family price.”
He laughed. “I can’t take your money,” he said. “I take your money and my boss asks for a cut of it. I can’t do that shit, you hear me?”
“Fine,” I said, nodding. “What do you want then?”
Gerardo’s eyes moved over to Aida. His gaze drifted down her body, lingered on her breasts, and he licked his lips. “Let me get a taste of your girl,” he said. “Just right here, right now. Ten minutes, that’ll be more than enough.”
I moved fast. I reached out across the bar while he still stared at Aida, grabbed him by the hair, and jerked his head forward. I slammed it down onto the top of the bar as hard as I could. I heard his nose crunch against the wood as it snapped and broke, blood pouring from his nostrils. He stumbled back off his stool, let out a scream, one hand trying to staunch the blood, the other reaching for something in his back waistband.
“I wouldn’t,” Steven said, up on his feet, his Glock pressed against Gerardo’s head. “I wouldn’t move a muscle, you little prick.”
Gerardo let out a growl but raised his hands. “What the fuck is wrong with you, man?” he said as blood dripped down his face and onto his shirt. “What the fuck is with you? I was just fucking around, you fucking bitch.”
I walked around the bar and pulled my own gun from my waistband. I held it easily in my hand. I could see Aida’s eyes were wide, and I couldn’t tell if she was afraid or excited. I thought it might be both, and the thought brought a smile to my lips.
“Listen to me,” I said, my voice low. “If you ever insult Aida again, I will kill you. I should kill you now, but you’re still useful. So you’re going to tell me where Vlas is, and in exchange, I’m going to let you leave here alive.”
“Puto, you fucking pendejo,” he said and spit on the ground. “Fuck you. I’m not giving you shit, bitch. You just started a fucking war, bitch.”
