Chapter Seventeen
San Juan
A Business Complex
Monday Afternoon
Well, wasn’t this a fine mess they’d gotten themselves into now? After the two gun-happy mob accomplices got into the back seat with the other wise guy, Gene was forced to drive them toward the center of town.
And he wasn’t happy about it.
Oh, they didn’t have a gun pointed at him, but instead, the man behind Ethan had it pointed at his lover’s back through the seat.
He’d been warned, too.
If he did any ‘funny business’, Ethan was going to be Swiss cheese.
His words.
Seriously.
Someone watched way too many stupid, mob-man movies in his downtime.
For now, Gene needed to stay calm, and hopefully, as long as he did, Ethan would be okay. They took both of their guns, and now, they were basically sitting ducks.
Gene was beginning to wish they never left Philadelphia, because they let their guard down here. So much for spending more time vacationing than watching their asses.
That came back to haunt them.
“Now, we’re going to walk into the boss’s place of employment, and act like gentlemen. Do I make myself clear?” the big guy behind Gene said.
He wasn’t playing with a mob stooge.
Not when Ethan’s life depended on it.
“Absolutely. We’ve been very cooperative, so keep that in mind. If you hurt him, I’m going to be your worst nightmare,” Gene promised. “Trust and believe that.”
The man laughed.
“Look at you playing good partner.”
Oh, he had no idea.
“Okay, boys, let’s escort them in.”
As they all got out, Gene checked out the parking lot, and there were no cars there.
This wasn’t going to end the way these wise guys thought. They weren’t marching them into a building with absolutely no people around.
Fuck.
That.
“EJ, are you okay?” he asked.
His partner laughed.
“I was thinking about how Greyson said we get our asses into a mess. This makes me want to go back to Arizona and never vacation again.”
Oh, he was thinking exactly the same thing he was. That was good because they were getting their guns back.
The two big guys behind them were armed, and the one in the middle had their guns and badges. So, it was time to play.
“Yeah, same. Vacations suck,” he said, moving fast, tucking the gunman’s arm under his, and slamming the back of his head against the man’s nose.
He dropped the gun, and Gene caught it.
Meanwhile, Ethan slammed his fist back, getting the other guy in the balls, so he could disarm him. When the gun was in his hand, they both pointed them at the face of the guy who had their sidearms.
“Jesus,” he muttered, when their fingers went to the triggers, and they each had the nose of the absconded Glocks on his cheekbones.
“Name,” Gene said.
The man didn’t hesitate.
That was probably the smartest thing he’d done all day.
“Julio,” he said.
Gene took their guns and with their free hands, they each tucked them back onto their hip beside their badges.
“Now, Julio, I’m going to tell you two things. Abducting Feds is a felony, and right now, you three can be taken to jail, along with your boss.”
They swallowed.
“OR you can walk in like gentlemen, take us to your boss, and stop acting like assholes. The second thing you need to remember is that we aren’t from here. We aren’t the Feds that work out of this office. You vastly underestimated what the streets of Philadelphia and DC are like.”
The man swallowed.
The man on the ground moaned.
“His balls will be fine, and Spanky here will get medical attention after we’re done. I doubt that’s the first time someone broke his nose—especially with that ugly-ass mug.”
The man just stood there.
“Now, start walking, and I swear to fucking God, that if you act a fool, you’re getting shot. This is now a self-defense situation, and the two of us will put holes in you to prove a goddamn point!”
The men got the picture.
They started walking, and inside the building, the secretary gasped.
“The boss wanted to see us,” Gene said. “Sit your ass down, or you’re joining us.”
She did as they said.
The men walked toward a door, and once at it, they opened it. Inside, there was a businessman behind a desk, and boy, did he look surprised.
No.
Shock.
There.
“Jesus Christ!” he said, standing.
Ethan pointed his gun at him.
“Sit. We’re not playing around.”
The man sat, and Gene and Ethan shoved the wise guys back out of the office, and locked the door.
“Get medical attention,” Gene said before focusing on the man behind the desk.
It was time to talk.
“Hey, Rodrigo,” he stated, tucking the absconded gun into his pants. “You wanted to see us?” he asked. “Maybe next time, just walk up to us on the street,” he stated.
The man sat there.
“I see I sent incompetence to bring in well-trained Feds.”
Gene laughed.
“You researched the office, and heard they are a bunch of idiots, huh?” he asked.
The man nodded.
“Well, they are. We’re not from here, and we do this day in and day out. Now, can we be civil?”
Rodrigo nodded.
“Coffee?” he asked.
Gene nodded.
“Sure. Thank you for offering.”
The man made them coffee from the fancy espresso machine not far away. When he handed them little white cups, they looked ridiculous.
Who handed a bear of a man a tiny cup like this?
This wasn’t coffee.
This was a sip.
“Thank you,” Ethan said, as he took the cup and sipped from it.
Rodrigo sat down.
“I see one of you has manners.”
Gene laughed.
“You’d think. He’s more the deadly one. That your guy only got his balls knocked into next week was a lucky thing. He likes breaking bones. How do you feel about that?” he asked, segueing into the dead bodies.
Rodrigo laid it all out on the table, but didn’t answer his question.
“My name came up.”
Gene laughed.
“Oh, well, yeah, it did. Bodies are turning up, and it looks like they’re tortured. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that?” Gene asked.
The man sighed.
“Why is it when you’re the mob, everyone thinks you’re violent?” he asked.
Oh, that was priceless.
Especially since the man had them ABDUCTED off the street next to a crime scene.
“Listen, cut to the chase. Are you behind this?” he asked.
The man shook his head.
“I think we’re being framed.”
That befuddled him, because he wasn’t sure who the ‘we’ was in this situation.
“And I don’t like it. Am I an angel? No, but I’m not the Devil either,” Rodrigo said.
Ethan was watching him, and the man didn’t appear to be lying.
“I’m not killing cops or anyone for that matter. My partner and I are legitimately running businesses.”
Blackhawk was curious.
“Esmeralda is your business partner?” he asked, taking a wild stab at it.
Gene glanced over.
Where did he get that one from?
That was the big question.
“Yes,” Rodrigo said. “Someone is trying to frame her,” he said. “Essie, come out.”
When the bathroom door opened, in came a woman all in black. She had sharp dagger nails, midnight black hair, and more tattoos than Ethan.
She was also delicately boned, and barely five foot two.
This woman wasn’t lifting dead bodies or breaking their bones.
That was for sure.
“Someone is framing me,” she said. “I don’t know who, but all I know is I’m not doing what’s being done. I wanted to come to you both and talk to you, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.”
Rodrigo pushed his chair back, and she sat in his lap, wrapping his arm around her back.
“So you’re a couple?” Gene asked.
They both nodded.
“I own a stake in Papi’s,” he admitted. “When Jaden found out I was having a relationship with his woman, he fired her, and she moved on to open her own business.”
And that made sense.
“So you didn’t kill him, but you were banging his lady behind his back?”
Esmeralda sighed.
“We weren’t official. Jaden was a good guy, but he liked to do things dirty.”
What was this?
That had their attention.
“Like?” Gene asked.
Surprisingly, she told them.
“He ran guns,” she said.
Oh, damn.
Well, that would definitely get someone killed, now wouldn’t it?
Gene let them talk because sometimes, when people talked, they said more than they thought they did.
“It’s likely what got him killed.”
Gene was curious.
“And who was he running guns to?” he asked, trying to get all the information he could.
She shrugged.
“I don’t know, but I think that’s why I’m being framed. I think I know too much. I’m in danger.”
Rodrigo was to the point.
“We need your help.”
Gene laughed.
“My dude, this is, once more, a walk up to us and have a conversation without guns being involved.”
The man sighed.
“I don’t care about me. I’m worried about her. I can hold my own.”
Ethan was to the point.
“You should be worried. Two Feds disarmed your men, and walked right in here. If you’re counting on them to protect you, I’ve got bad news.”
Yeah, he could see that.
“Just help her. She’s innocent.”
They’d help both of them, regardless, because they didn’t have proof that either of them was guilty. What they did know was that this was way too focused on Esmeralda to be legit.
They’d felt that from the get-go.
“I’m going to show Ms. Barada some pictures,” Gene said. “I need to ask her questions.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
Getting up from her man’s lap, she walked around the desk, and he handed her the phone. On it, Gene had pulled up the symbols that were written on the body.
She laughed.
Only, they didn’t know what was funny.
“What’s the amusement about?” Gene asked, genuinely curious about her reaction.
Esmeralda pointed at the pictures.
“None of these mean anything. All the symbols are random, and they were likely found on the internet. This isn’t Sanse, Paganism, or Voodoo. None of this shit is powerful.”
She pulled up her sleeve, and when she did, they saw the tattoos there. On them, there were squiggles, lines, and symbols NOT found on the bodies.
As far as they could see, nothing matched what she was currently sporting as her own personal sigils.
As if reading their minds, she shared.