AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prisoner-Raphael Lake
In the basement of the Diablos clubhouse, I wait for Augustus Luna to dole out whatever punishment he deems fit for what he sees as a colossal fuckup. Had the Bakersfield job actually gone down as terribly as he thinks it did, if the job wasactuallya job worth anything, then yes, I would agree with him.
However, it didn't go down how he thinks it did and it wasn't a real job.
No. It was a motherfucking mass murder. It was us, once again being required to do what this piece of shit is too spineless to do; hand over a death sentence to an unsuspecting and innocent human.
Times 56.
56 women and children, boys and girls, toddlers, and teenagers. Innocent, pure, untainted. Not anymore though, are they? Doesn't matter if they were touched or not, they are already destroyed. Their souls will never be the same. They were taken from their families, and their loved ones, against their will. They were abused, stripped of basic human rights, and sold like cattle.
No, they will never be the same. And as long as people like my father breathe, this will just keep happening. That's why we are fighting so fucking hard. That's why we won't quit, even if it's a death sentence. We may only be Bay Area gangsters with more collective trauma than anyone has a right to have, but that trauma, the pain, the scars, the fuckingfire….
It's all because of him and hewillpay for it all.
It's that thought, and that thought alone, that keeps me rooted to the spot, prepared to do anything necessary to survive, to keep my chosen family, my brothers,and her, alive and safe. Prepared to do anything in order to mete out the justice that is so fucking well deserved.
"Debería matarte!" Gus snarls as he continues to pace in front of our lineup. "Todos ustedes," he adds, sending a scathing glare at each of us. I fight to suppress a scoff.Fucking try old man.
Maddox is to my right, Nyx is on his other side with Stone at the far end. Lined up by hierarchy, which is complete and utter bullshit. I'm not sure if it's Nyxon's huge size that has Gus thinking he is more important than Stone or the fact that Stone's parents were basically exiled from the Circle well before their deaths. Gus has always looked down on him,always. Stone used to think it was because he is the only man in our group that is fully white. I've assured him it's not a race thing.
Gus is an equal opportunist. His hate knows no skin tone, religion, or gender.
"Tell me again,¿cómo?" he demands. Swallowing thickly, I force myself to stay calm. To not rage out, to not kill him here and now. If I lose my head, I might lose our perfectly crafted story. We've already been over this at least twenty times. We've even shown him the Diesel station footage.
Doesn't matter. What Augustus Luna wants, he gets.
"Everything was complet—" I begin, before being abruptly cut off with a barkedno.
"You weren't eventhere,boy. I don't want to hear it from you, I want to hear it fromthem,"he growls, shoving a meaty finger in Nyx and Stone's direction.
Nyx doesn't even miss a beat, picking up literally where I had left off, and again, I have to swallow down my response. This time, I both want to laugh at his sarcasm and cringe, already knowing it won't go unpunished. I do neither, considering my father is standing directly in front of me, albeit a few inches lower, but watching my face all the same.
"—ly normal," Nyx begins, his voice thick with irritation and sarcasm. "Pickup was perfect, inventory checked out, trade-off was smooth. The meeting with Diaz was fine. Everything was perfect. Viper and Crusher drove the haul, we drove right behind them the entire way. Never lost sight of the rig, never lost contact with them. We arrived at the predetermined stopping point to refuel. Viper and Crusher we're supposed to switch drivers. We were supposed to stay back and watch the perimeter which we—"
"Failed at!" Gus bellows, stomping his angry self toward the guys. "Fallaste.Obviously. Otherwise, those men would not have gotten the jump on you.¿Quiénes eran? ¿De dónde vienen?"
"We don't know who they are nor do we know where they came from," Nyx snaps, completely glossing over the rest of Gus's argument. "We were under attack within minutes from the time Viper and Crusher disappeared into the bar. We tried to get in touch with them without losing a visual of the cargo. We were going to give them ten minutes before getting out and taking over the haul. But after 8 minutes of them not answering, we found ourselves under attack. 4 men came out ofnowhere, fully concealed, and sprayed our SUV with bullets. We were able to take them all out. Then a fifth player showed up and seconds later, the rig exploded."
Gus stands before Nyx, a man who is notably at least a foot taller and 40 pounds of pure muscle heavier, and doesn't balk or waiver even the slightest. That's just my father though. He always thinks he's the biggest man in any room. I'm not sure if it's a good quality or not, honestly. After what feels like forever, he gives a slight nod and turns to look at Stone.
Maddox twitches next to me and I know exactly why. He's thinking the same thing that I am.That was too fucking easy.
He didn't punish Nyxon for his aggression or for snapping. He just accepted his excuse and tone and moved the fuck on.
It's not right and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Andyou?"Gus sneers, finally finding someone in the room that's physically smaller than him. I see how Gus's chest instantly puffs out as though he's feeling like a motherfucking invincible beast in front of Stone. Maddox sees it too and I hear him audibly gulp down his comment. Thank fucking God.
Stone, being the badass man that he is, doesn't flinch or barely fucking blink, even when Gus bares down on him. Little does Gus know, Stone has weathered much fucking worse than Augustus Luna. Even if I don't know all of the details of Stone's trauma and the abuse he suffered as a kid, I know it was fuckin horrific and that my brave ass brother fucking survived.
"The cameras were on the entire time, we never lost a full visual, until the explosion. One of the men who attacked us shot out one of the cameras but I was able to find another angle. The blast and corresponding fire, however, damaged everything. The surrounding parking lots did not have cameras but I was able to hack into traffic cams. The additional views did not offer any additional information, other than the attackers came from an SUV on the opposite side of the rig."
Again, Gus considers Stone for another moment before jerking a nod, turning on his heel, and walking toward the bar in the corner of the cinderblock room. We each chance a questioning look at each other while he's turned away and varying looks of apprehension and nerves are evident on each of my brother's faces. I want to say something. I want to say a lot of fucking things.
For one, I want to fucking scream at my father for his idiocy in bombing Matteo fucking Grossi's compound and essentially starting a war with the Italian Mafia. I want to rage at the fact that he essentially got rid of all four of us, to do so. I want to demand answers and I want to force him to tell me what he's fucking playing at right now.
But I can't do any of that. I can't ask, demand or yell.
