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“Oh, it’s real,” Juarez said. “But I insist.” He handed the phone over and I took one more look at the picture, seeing the anger and fear in Claire and Ma’s eyes.
I glanced over at Kellan. He nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.
He knew what I was thinking.
With a quick flick of my wrist, I tossed the phone across the table, hitting Juarez square in the forehead. He let out a grunt of surprise as he tilted his head back, the phone flying over his head and onto the ground.
Before he or Jose had a chance to react, I launched myself over the table, grabbing the bottle and swinging it from my right, hitting Juarez in the side of the head, a dullthunksounding from the blow.
Within moments, I was on top of the fat man, slamming my fist into his face over and over, more and more red appearing on his nose and my hands. I raised my fist one more time, ready to deliver a fatal blow.
Right as I did, a gunshot sounded out. I looked up to see Juarez’s two goons, both approaching with guns. I turned, watching as Kellan withdrew a pistol of his own, my two guards arriving and doing the same.
One of the lackeys, the one that had reminded me of Juarez, pointed his gun at me.
“Stand. Stand or I shoot.”
Juarez groaned beneath me as I raised my palms.
I stood up slowly, the lackey’s gun still on me. Once I was up, the man cleared his throat and stepped over to Juarez.
“Adios, tio.” Before I knew what had happened, the goon pointed the gun at Juarez and pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession, three small red circles appearing on Juarez’s chest.
The boss was dead. I looked for Jose, but he’d fled the scene in the chaos.
Without a word, the shooter clicked the safety on his gun, tucking it into the back of his waistband. That done, he stepped over to the bottle of tequila, which was surprisingly still intact. He then approached the table, opening the bottle and pouring three shots. He passed one to me, one to Kellan, and kept one for himself, raising it into the air.
“My name is Miguel, and I am the nephew of the corpse over there. I will be your new cartel liaison, with the blessing of the jefes. Take this drink, and we will return to our deal of fifty-fifty. If, of course, that is still amenable to you both.”
Kellan and I shared a look of surprise, as if we were both imagining things. Kellan came to his senses, swiping up his shot and lifting it into the air.
“Slainte,” he said.
I did the same, tossing the tequila down the hatch. It was smooth as silk, hinted with lime.
“Excellente. Now, there is one more term to the agreement, before we can begin.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Miguel smiled. “Kill Jose. Save your women. You will find the van two businesses down and to the west. I will dispose of thisputoin the meantime. Then, we talk business.”
“Deal.”
Chapter 35
Claire
Mrs. O’Leary and I shared the same expression of shock, the same question no doubt on both of our minds.
Were those gunshots?
Didn’t matter. The van had stopped minutes ago, and we both needed to get moving. First step was to get the damn tape off our mouths. I looked around, trying to spot something that could be used.
“Mmm!” Mrs. O’Leary, seeming to be thinking the same thing that I was, nodded to my right.
I looked over to see a small hook intended for hanging tools. I eased my way over, turning and carefully slipping the hook under the tape, tilting my head back and pulling it off. It hurt like hell, both sides pulling at my face, but it did the job.
“Shit!” I took in a deep pull of air once the tape was off, turning to Mrs. O’Leary.
