Chapter 17
Alonzo
I stand in the alleyway behind the government building. As soon as the night shift guard arrives, I slip on a black mask and approach the fence behind the building.
Even though it’s almost midnight, the small city is buzzing with life. Many college students start their weekends on Thursday nights because they don’t have Friday classes. The crowded streets worked out for me because I blended into a group of college students right before slipping into the alleyway.
Like they always do, the two security guards chat by the front entrance of the government building. The night breeze carries the echo of their conversation. They’re talking about college football, which is just about to start.
Knowing how much this town loves football, I estimate that my nine minute window of opportunity just increased by another five minutes.
Quietly, I scale the chain-link fence behind the government building, keeping an eye on the two guards. They’re about thirty feet away, so they shouldn’t hear me if I’m extremely quiet. Besides, their conversation is so loud that their voices drown out any noise I make.
There are headlights and cameras overhead, so I need to make sure to stay in the shadows. Even if the cameras capture my movement, they won’t know I’m here unless they go back and check the footage. But I won’t give them a reason to do that. I’ll be in and out undetected.
When I finally jump over the fence, I crouch to reduce my height and glance at the guards. They’re still in full conversation about the upcoming football game. Good.
If I’m right, I should have about twelve minutes before the night shift guard comes back here to his office. I need to find the prosecutor’s documents and get the hell out of here before that happens.
Slowly, I make my way to the backdoor and unlock it with the copy of the prosecutor’s keycard. The lock beeps twice before the door clicks open.
Inside, everything is nearly dark except for dim ceiling lights placed a few feet apart. There are desks throughout the floor and a few closed offices along the left wall. I bet what I’m looking for is in one of those offices.
Still crouching, I look at the names on the doors until I find the one that belongs to the prosecutor I’m looking for. I use the keycard to unlock the office door and walk inside, closing it behind me.
Ten minutes left?
Now that I know I’m out of sight, I rise to my full height and search her desk. I shuffle through the papers on her desk, flashing them with my phone’s flashlight.
Nothing .
I move everything back to how I found it and look around the room. Two filing cabinets are by the door, but they have locks on. If I’m lucky, they’ll be unlocked.
Locked. They are locked. That’s okay. I can open them.
I take out a small lock pick kit and work on the lock, opening it after a few minutes.
Seven minutes left?
I search the hanging folders but can’t find what I’m looking for. If it’s not here, then where the fuck am I going to find it?
Just as I’m about to slide the cabinet shut, I spot a folder tucked all the way to the back of the drawer. It’s almost as if it’s been secretly hidden away. The label reads THE DEN .
I place the folder on the desk and open it. The first page has a photo of the club and mentions Jacob as the owner. It’s exactly what I need. Unfortunately, there’s no time to read through the documents.
I page through each document and snap a quick photo with my phone. I’ll have to read them later.
Four minutes left?
After taking the last photo, I put the folder back into the filing cabinet and look at the desk again to ensure everything is back in its proper place. I scan the office multiple times until I’m satisfied with how everything looks.
“Time to get the fuck out of here,” I whisper under my breath.
I exit the office. Everything is still as quiet as it was when I came in. Crouching, I make my way to the back door and peek outside.
Everything is quiet out here as well. Then I hear them.
The two security guards are still chatting. The wind carries their coarse laughter.
I climb the back fence into the alley behind the building. When I’m halfway out of the alley, I remove the black mask and walk to the sidewalk, blending with a group of drunk college students.
My heart pumps with the adrenaline of a successful mission. God, I missed this job.
???
“Fuck!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
I pace along the side of the road.
With a sigh, I stop and look up at the night sky. The moon is shining brightly, illuminating the patch of dirt in front of me and making the ground look a pale gray. Beyond the dirt lies Texas wilderness that slopes into a steep cliff.
I glance at my phone again, at the photos of the documents I took ten minutes ago. My fingers squeeze tightly around the phone when I read her name on the screen. I still can’t believe it. This has to be a joke.
“Fuck!”
A few minutes ago, I was high off the adrenaline of a successful job and couldn’t wait until I got home to look at the documents, so I took a peek while driving.
The documents discuss Jacob and The Den. They list names of men I haven’t met but who I assume are reapers in high positions. Some documents also mention Ben, but they list Jacob as a higher priority.
With one eye on the road, I flicked through the photos and read some more. There were pages and pages of suspected drug operations linked to the reapers and The Den. But it was all speculation with no evidence.
Then I saw her name in one of the documents, and my blood turned cold. Alex .
My chest tightened, and it became hard to breathe. He’s forcing her to sell drugs, I thought. If he gets her arrested, I will end him .
I pulled to the side of the road and read the rest of the documents. By then, I was nearly outside town, on the quiet road that leads to my cabin. I sat in my car, skimming through documents, trying to figure out what the prosecutor knows about Alex.
Jacob isn’t forcing Alex to sell drugs. She is the informant, the rat Jacob is looking for.
According to the documents, she told the authorities about two drug deals conducted by the reapers, including the one that got one of Jacob’s men arrested. For some reason, Alex hasn’t revealed anything new over the past couple of months and even broke contact with law enforcement.
After I read this, I stumbled out of the car. Confused.
That’s how I ended up here, pacing on the side of the road, trying to decide what the fuck I should do next. If I turn her over to Jacob, I know exactly what he will do to her. Small men like him don’t like their power being questioned. He will do monstrous things to her before killing her.
In the many years I worked for Nuestra Casa , there were only a handful of times when I struggled to perform my duties. But I ultimately did them because that’s what the job demanded. I couldn’t let my reputation as a ruthless enforcer slide.
But this is different.
This…
My mind goes back to this morning, with Alex sitting on my lap. And later with her lying on my desk with her legs spread open for me. Her taste in my mouth…
How am I supposed to hand her over if I haven’t made her mine yet? I haven’t had my fill.
“This girl,” I say under my breath.
I lean against the side of my car and look up at the moon again. It goes against the reputation I’ve built, but I’m going to keep this a secret for a while longer. At least until I’ve had my fun with her.