Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
MARIA
I storm toward Beast’s office, my mind a mess. I know I should stop myself before I even think about taking another step, but I’m so mad, I can’t think straight.
Los Desperados are just another one of the cartel’s allies. Who isn’t, in this world? Are they all the same? All these criminals, all wrapped up in the same shit, playing at war when they’re out here supporting each other? I need to know just how deep this goes. I need Beast to look me in the eye, and tell me that they’re not allied with the cartel too. They might have put up a good front, pretending to go all-in on this war, but with Malo laid out from dirty drugs supplied by a Desperado member, I know I’m going to need more than that.
I kick open the door to Beast’s office, and step inside. He looks up, shocked, and I wonder if anyone has ever done that before.
“What the fuck is going on?” he growls, getting to his feet.
I slam the door shut behind me, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I want you to be straight with me, Beast,” I tell him. My anger driving me, my fear of him gone, for the moment. “I’m sick of being a pawn in this fucking game and not knowing where anyone’s loyalties lie. What is going on with the cartel? Are you working with Las Rosas Negras?”
A fury passes over his face that almost has me stopping dead in my tracks. He locks eyes with me.
“You really think I would spend a second allying with those bastards?” he demands, like he’s daring me to say it out loud.
“Well, Los Desperados did, and you’re working with them,” I point out. Shock—which seems genuine—passes over his face.
“What?” he demands.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” I fire back. “You must have known that?—”
“What makes you think that the Desperados are working with Las Rosas?” he asks me, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Because it was one of their members that gave Malo the crap that just nearly killed him,” I fire back. “And I’m also a hundred percent sure my father made it. Las Rosas Negras have him, nobody else has him under their control, so Los Desperados must have contact with them, too.”
“Fuck,” Beast shoots back, and he barely makes eye contact with me as he slips back down into his seat. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I am,” I reply. “So what the hell is going on? Did you know they were working with Las Rosas Negras?”
“No, I didn’t,” Beast replies, and I can’t tell if he’s being honest or not. I’m tired of this. I’m tired of being pushed and pulled this way and that, made to play my part in these little games without having a damn clue what is going on under the surface.
“You have to tell me everything you know, now,” I warn him. “Or I’m going to take everything I’ve seen straight to the sheriff.”
This, to my surprise, draws a laugh from Beast. He raises his eyebrows at me.
“You have any idea who the sheriff is?” he replies.
I shake my head slowly.
“He’s one of us,” he tells me. “You can take all of this to him, and it’s not going to mean a damn thing.”
I curl my hands into fists at my sides, trying to think of something else I can throw his way.
“Then I’ll… I’ll go to the DEA,” I threaten. “The FBI. I don’t care, I’ll?—”
“You can try,” he replies. “But you know as well as I do that if you don’t have us protecting you, the cartel is going to take you back. And I bet they’re going to have quite a welcome for you after you betrayed them, huh? You and your father?”
I stiffen. There’s nothing I can do to argue with that. He’s right. After the way I stabbed them in the back, I know Las Rosas Negras are going to be all too willing to take a shot at me given the chance. It’s a miracle my father is still alive, if he has made it this far, but, judging by the drugs Malo got his hands on, my dad is still working.
Beast jerks his head toward the seat opposite him, indicating I should sit down. I do as I’m told. The fury has started to abate now, to be replaced with something like fear. It’s been a hell of an emotional time, watching everything that happened with Malo, and then finding out people I thought were on our side are actually working against us.
“Sorry,” I mutter to Beast. “I shouldn’t have come in here so strong.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” he agrees. “You got some balls though, I’ll give you that. Not many people would risk walking in here and starting shit with me.”
He smirks at me, and I manage to smile back.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize again. I’m starting to remember just how scary this guy is—how lucky I am that he didn’t punish me worse for talking to him like that. Shit, I likely would have deserved it. He’s got enough on his plate right now without someone like me coming in, ready to fight over a situation I don’t have the full picture of yet.
“I had no idea that anyone in Los Desperados was working with Las Rosas Negras,” he tells me. “None of us did. We wouldn’t have gone near them if we’d had any idea. Whoever’s broken rank with them, it won’t be long ’til they get found out and have to pay for it.”
“And what then?” I ask. “What are you going to do about the shit they’ve already got out there?”
He grimaces. “I don’t know,” he admits. “But we’ll get a handle on it. Hopefully, whatever Malo managed to get was a test batch, and they haven’t started producing anything large-scale yet. If they have, though…”
He trails off. He knows as well as I do that the stuff Malo took will kill people. If that’s the impact it had on him, a seasoned user with access to people who could help him, it’s going to decimate the population of more casual users who don’t have a doctor on hand.
“I’m going to send the Desperados a strong fucking message for screwing with Malo,” he tells me, and I can hear from the tone in his voice that he is dead serious.
I nod. “What else can we do?”
“Not much, since they’re not on our territory,” he replies. “But we’ll cut off contact with them. I don’t know how many of them might have given in to the cartel, but I’m not going to risk them finding out any more than they already have about us, or what’s going on here.”
“And what about my father?” I ask him, my voice dropping slightly. I know he’s unlikely to be prioritizing this right now, but I want to know that my father is still on his mind—I need to know that he hasn’t forgotten about him, no matter how much else is going on.
Beast’s face softens for a moment. He can tell I’m serious about this, and I’m only this dedicated to the cause because I see it as the only way to get my father out of the mess he’s currently in. I’m doing this out of love, not out some hatred for a group I barely know anything about. Sure, I know the cartel has done a lot of bad things, caused a lot of suffering, but I just want my father back. My life back.
“You know we’re doing everything we can to get your father out of there,” he tells me.
I nod curtly. “It just… it doesn’t feel like enough,” I confess.
He lets out a sigh. “I understand that,” he replies. He’s been amazingly patient with me, considering what I’ve just thrown at him. Maybe he realizes that I’m more of an asset than they thought, since they saw me pull Malo back from the brink. Or maybe he’s just a decent guy underneath all of that, and I should be a little more open to it.
“You need to do one thing for me, though, all right?” he remarks, raising his eyebrows at me. I tense. I don’t know how much more I’ve got in me.
I nod, slowly, hoping he can’t see the hesitation on my face.
“I need you to take care of Bella.”
I stare at him for a moment, not sure I’ve heard him entirely right.
“Take care of Bella?”
He nods. “While she’s pregnant,” he replies. “Her mother… she’s doing better, but she’s not in any place where she can be the help I know Bella needs with the pregnancy. She needs a woman to talk to, someone she can be open with about everything that’s going on. Harley does her best, but she’s got enough on her mind as it is.”
“Yeah, I think I can manage that,” I reply. “I don’t have much in the way of medical training, but?—”
“It’s not so much about that, though I’d appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her in that respect too,” he replies, smiling. There’s a warmth to him when he talks about Bella, as though it opens up some other side of him that he normally does his best to keep cut off. I like this side of Beast a lot better, and I guess agreeing to all of this is the smartest way I can keep on the right side of him.
“So more than just someone to vent to?” I ask. “When she’s having a hard time?”
“Someone she can share it all with,” he replies. “That’s what I want from her. That, and….”
He pauses, staring at me, his eyes suddenly hardening. “Someone who can take care of her if it comes down to that.”
“Take care of her?”
“Protect her,” he replies bluntly. “I’ve heard you’re a good shot. And I need someone who can keep an eye on her, keep everything under control. They’re not going to expect someone like you to be ready to fight, so you’ll have the element of surprise. If it comes to it.”
“If it comes to it,” I echo after him, trying not to let the weight of his words hit me too hard. This was Beast’s girlfriend, after all. And his baby. A baby. If I fuck up…
No, I’m not going to fuck it up. He’s right, I am a damn good shot, and I’m not going to let anything happen to Bella, especially if getting my father back depends on her safety.
“Yeah, I can handle that,” I reply. “You give me a gun, and I’ll do everything I can to look out for Bella. You have my word on that.”
“Then I’ll do everything I can to get your father out of there safe,” he replies, and he stretches his hand out to me. “Do we have a deal?”
I take his hand and shake it as firmly as I can. I still can’t believe I’m making deals with motorcycle gang bosses like this, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, and he’s trusted me with his girl, with his baby. That has to count for something.
I just have to make certain I don’t do anything to fuck this up.
I get to my feet.
“Sorry for just busting in here,” I tell him with a sheepish look, and he chuckles.
“You’ve got some fucking balls on you, I’ll give you that,” he remarks, getting to his feet and pushing open the door for me. “Now, get out of here. Go check on Malo. He’s going to need someone to look after him.”
I nod, and just before I leave, Beast speaks again.
“You think he’s going to be all right?” he asks. He does his best to keep his voice casual, but I can tell from the furrow in his brow that he’s genuinely concerned. He might play tough as nails most of the time, but it’s obvious he cares about the Kings. Malo especially. Probably senses how vulnerable he is, because of his addiction.
“I think so,” I reply. “We’ll need to see what the long-term effects of the drug are. His memory’s pretty foggy right now, but other than that, he looks to be healing up all right.”
“Good,” Beast mutters, and he waves me off, back to keep an eye on Malo again. As I head out to see him, I feel a little more certain of myself than when I walked in. I know there is still a whole hell of a lot up in the air, but at least I have a better idea of where I stand.
For now, at least.