Chapter 28 #2
The living room isn’t visible, but Jorge cocks an eyebrow as if to ask if this is really what I want to do.
I can’t observe, but I can still listen to what’s going on.
The injured man howls in pain. Part of me wants to slam the bedroom door shut and go curl in the farthest corner, but I refuse to cower.
I know I’m safe where I am, and I want to know what happens to these men.
I nod.
“No, no, El Tigre. No more. I can’t take any more.”
“You carechimba. That was only one finger I stuck my knife in. You still have three more to go. I’ll dig out every vein and piece of flesh I can before cutting off the skin.
I’ll leave just bones sticking out your stumpy little hand unless you answer my questions.
Who the fuck ordered this?” Face of a vagina.
“I don’t know. Only Manuel knows the details. The rest of us just follow his orders.”
“If you’re that low on the ladder, what made you think you could touch Senorita Aguilar?”
“I—OW!”
He howls again. The screams of pain I hear are unlike anything else. I know this isn’t about getting information from the man. This is purely about punishment. Clearly, he didn’t answer fast enough. He should’ve expected Pablo’s question.
“El Tigre, please. Por favor. I can’t take any more.”
“You’ll take as much as I fucking give you. You’ll do it with a goddamn fucking smile if I tell you to.”
I know Pablo rarely takes the Lord’s name in vain, so he must really be on the edge right now, even if his voice doesn’t waver at all.
“I have a temper, El Tigre, and I didn’t control it. I let it get the better of me, and I took it out on the senorita.”
The man bellows again. I can only assume Pablo jabbed the knife into another finger.
The tormented bellows continue, and I hear a hand hitting flesh over and over.
It won’t be long before the man bleeds to death.
Pablo’s making sure Stumpy knows just how I felt when he struck me.
It goes quiet, and I assume Stumpy is unconscious, if not dead.
“Who sent you, Manuel?”
That must be Cabrón Uno’s name. There’s no sound but Pablo’s voice now. The silence fills the house for a moment before I hear Manuel’s response.
“My jefe.”
“You’ll have to be more specific than that.”
“A jefe in Boston.”
I watch for Jorge’s response. A muscle in his jaw ticks. He must know exactly who this man refers to.
“So, it was Felipe Iglesias.”
There’s a gagging sound for a moment then Manuel’s voice drifts to me.
“I don’t know why el jefe wants Senorita Aguilar. I’m not high enough in the organization to ask those types of questions. I say ‘Sí, jefe’ and do what I’m told.”
“Get your phone out. Unlock it. Call Felipe on speakerphone. Tell him the job is done.”
There was a lull for a moment while I assume Manuel dialed. Now I hear the phone ringing.
“??Qué tal, pendejo?!” What’s up, asshole?
I know, given the context, pendejo can be an insult or a casual term between friends. Seems it’s the latter. Manuel being on such friendly terms with Felipe won’t be good for his health.
“Jefe, the job is done. We have Senorita Aguilar, and she’s spoken to el hombre. He told her he’s keeping her safe, that Pablo knows no harm will come to her.”
The man. I guess Manuel doesn’t even know the name of the guy I spoke to.
“Did the puta believe you?” Bitch.
I cringe. This man in Boston won’t be alive much longer. Adding profanity to his list of crimes against me won’t endear him to Pablo.
“Yeah, she hasn’t put up any arguments. She asked to speak to El Tigre, but no one’s allowed her near a phone except for that one call.”
“Bueno, you’re to meet el hombre at the warehouse. You remember the address, right?”
“Sí, lo sé.” Yes, I know.
“Then hand her off to him and collect the money. Come straight back to Boston.”
“Sí, jefe. I’ll call you again when we’re on our way.”
“Bueno.”
It gets quiet again until I hear Pablo’s voice, so the call must have ended.
“End them. I’m taking Senorita Aguilar home.”
The muted gunshots still ring in my ears. They sound so loud within the house, but there’ve been no sirens approaching, so the silencers clearly work. The neighbors haven’t called the cops.
Jorge ushers me out of the bedroom and toward the front door. Tres J’s encircle me, keeping me from seeing what happened. As we head outside, I hear Pablo giving orders to pull SUVs into the garage and to take the bodies, that his men know where to dispose of them.
It’s not until I’m in his arms again in the SUV that my heart stops pounding. We finally have a proper kiss, and it’s like he breathes life back into me. The other men are in the vehicle with us, so we keep it pretty tame. Pablo’s gaze runs over me, and I place my hand on his heart.
“I’m okay, I swear. Other than the one slap and pulling my hair, really nothing else happened to me.”
“How can you say that when I know you got tased?”
“I did, but other than my body still aching, I don’t think anything adverse happened from that.”
I feel like utter shit and have the entire time, but allowing myself to consider that wouldn’t make my situation any better.
While I was alone with those men, I needed to be as attentive as I could be.
Now that Pablo’s here, I feel like the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders, that his are broad enough to handle everything.
I rest my head against his chest, and he wraps his arms around me.
I know if we were in a town car alone with the privacy glass up, I’d be sitting on his lap.
Hell, I’d be sitting on his dick right now.
His hands run up and down my back and over my arm as he continues to hold me.
He keeps his voice down, but I’m certain Javier and Joaquin can probably hear him since they’re sitting behind us.
“Chiquita, I’m taking you to my parents’ house. Then I have to leave.”