4
El Jefe
I bit down on my back molars so hard they probably cracked. That damn Yoli. She never kept her mouth shut. I only kept her around because she gave good head and I grew up with her. She was loyal to me, and that mattered more than her fucking sarcastic mouth.
“Did you hear her?” Quino asked. “Calling the new girl a puta?”
“No, but I read her lips. I don’t appreciate her possessiveness. Everybody knows I won’t claim anyone, especially not Yoli.” I rest my hands on my hips, watching Silvia go into the clubhouse with Letty.
I didn’t know what it was about this girl that had me intrigued. She was too young. I could be a dirty old man for a one-night stand, but I had my limits. Like I didn’t fuck minors.
I needed to find out her age, so I knew if she was off limits by my standards. She sure was beautiful, though. I liked her sass, too. But there was something else, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on that had me considering more with her.
“You know every time you bring a new girl into the club there’s drama. The pecking order starts, and nobody likes it, except you. You keep saying we don’t do drama, but you brought in drama.” Quino lit a cigarette and took a few puffs.
“What can I say? I like strays. Their back stories are some of the best.”
“What do you think her back story is? Maybe I shouldn’t ask. That’s just asking for trouble.”
“I'm sure it’s nothing we can’t handle. I don’t know why I get off on watching cat fights. The drama between the women is the best foreplay I’ve ever had.”
“You have an illness, brother. Should get that checked out.”
I snorted and slapped my hand on his back. “Naw, I’m good. Now, I’m off to find Javi. Silvia’s missing a leather purse and it’s important to her.”
“Interesting. And you’re going to fetch it for her like a little puppy?”
“Fuck you! I’m literally going to just ask a question. It’s not a big deal.” This guy. Not sure what his problem was with Silvia. We were only helping a scared woman get away from her ex.
Tomorrow, she would be on her way to Oregon. End of story.
“Not to you, but to Yoli and the other girls, it will be a damn big deal.”
“Jesus, man. When did you grow a pussy?”
“Maybe it’s from eating so much of it. You might want to cut back before you grow one!” He roared with laughter.
Not me, though. Didn’t find him funny one bit. I issued him the middle finger salute on my way to the prospects’ bunkhouse, where I’d likely find Javi.
The bunkhouse was a converted double wide trailer. We gutted the inside to make one large bedroom for four prospects, an eat-in kitchen, and a great room for the guys to hang out. It wasn’t fancy but it was comfortable and all they needed.
I went up the porch and entered the front door.
A woman’s voice came from the bedroom. Furrowing my brow, I followed the sound.
Prospects weren’t allowed to have chicks in the bunkhouse.
The rule wasn’t me being an asshole. They were prospects and they had to earn their privileges, like having sex.
Once they were patched in, they could have all the pussy they wanted.
I crept slowly toward the bedroom. The place was quiet, except for the woman’s voice. I didn’t want the floor to creak and alert them of my presence. Not sure where everyone was, but someone was definitely with a chick.
“That’s it, Vee. You’re doing it my love,” the woman said. She sounded older. Who was Vee?
“I’m doing it, Mommy!” A little girl squealed with delight. “Are you watching Tonio? Miguel?”
What the fuck? Those were two names I knew very fucking well.
I kicked open the door and caught Javi watching what looked like a home movie on his laptop.
“Prez! You startled me.” He flew off the bed and stood at attention.
I went straight for the laptop, perched next to a brown leather purse.
Rage exploded in me and I grabbed Javi by the neck, slamming him against the wall. “You took her purse!”
“I was going to give it back! I swear!” He gagged as I squeezed his vocal cords. “Just curious. I’m sorry.”
“Too late, motherfucker! I knew you couldn’t be trusted. I told Cactus he was wrong about you, but he thought you deserved a shot.”
The kid started to cry. “Please, Jefe. I’ll do better. Just don’t kill me.”
Giggling came from the video. The little girl on the pony. I remember when she was only five years old. Innocent and trusting. A sassy little spitfire with chocolate brown eyes. Never saw her again after her birthday. The one playing out on the video.
I seethed with hatred. My blood boiled. Emotions I’d buried a long time ago rushed to the surface.
“I’ll kill you for this betrayal.” I saw red as I shook the kid in front of me, my nails digging into his flesh. “What you should’ve done is bring me the purse. Not snoop through it and watch something that isn’t meant for you!”
The video continued to play. Giggles and childlike gibberish burned my ears. And then she squealed with glee, “Andy’s here!”
I dropped the pathetic loser onto the floor and stumbled back, until I landed on his bed. My lungs couldn’t expand. I couldn’t breathe.
“Play with me, Andy!”
Then I heard my voice. “Anything the birthday girl wants, she gets.”
“Yay, yay, yay!” She clapped and giggled, so damn cute.
I buried my face in my hands to hide the tears. The little fucker ran out of the room before I could catch him. He was lucky I was paralyzed by agonizing pain and unable to finish the job of killing him.
“Jefe!” Quino shouted. “Jefe, are you in here!” Boots running on the hardwoods pounded in my head.
I squeezed the palms of my hands into my eyes. Why would the universe bring Vee Avila into my life seventeen years later? It was pure evil.
“Oh, Jesus,” Quino said on a gasp. “I thought something happened to you when I saw Javi running like the Reaper was after him.”
“I want him dead!”
“What? Why?”
“He had the purse and went through it.” I lifted the brown bag in my hand.
“Well, shit, Prez. That’s no reason to kill the kid.”
I turned the laptop around so he could see the screen. “He was watching this.”
“Is that the Avila brothers?”
“Yes.” Bile spurted into my throat. I choked it back. Showing weakness wasn’t okay with me.
“No fucking way. Why did Silvia have it?”
“Because she’s their baby sister.” I pointed at the little girl on the pony with me walking beside her, making sure she didn’t fall off. “She obviously didn’t recognize me, just like I didn’t recognize her.”
“Why would you? She looks nothing like the five-year-old in the video.” Quino squatted for a better look at the screen. “She was a darn cute kid.”
“Where’s Javi?”
“Brother, you don’t want to take out your rage on Javi. It was a stupid mistake.”
“He intentionally watched a video that wasn’t his. How am I supposed to trust him after this? What if he went digging?”
“I see your point.” Quino scratched his chin. “We could just cut him loose. Ban him from joining the club.”
“He knew better, Q. Nobody fucks with the Kings. It’s our goddamn motto.”
“Such a waste of air.” Quino stood back up. “I know what will help you. A threesome and a bottle of tequila.”
“Not interested.”
“What do you mean, not interested? Women and booze are the only things that help you feel better. You need to push down the memories before they control you.” He closed the laptop and took the memory stick.” What do you want me to do with it? Destroy it?”
I snatched it out of his hand and stuck it into my pocket. “No. Make sure Javi is off the property. Take his burner phone and destroy it. Anything he has that belongs to the club, confiscate it. Then warn him if he ever goes against us, he and his mother are as good as dead.”
“Got it. Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see her right now.” I wanted to spend time with her but shouldn’t. She was an Avila and fifteen years younger than me. On the bright side, she was old enough for me to fuck. But after finding out who she was, I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole.
“Are you going to tell her how you’re both connected?”
“Always gotta ask the hard questions, don’t you?” Of course, he did because if he didn’t, I might go off the rails. I was slightly impulsive with most things in my life. If it wasn’t for Q, I’d probably be locked up and serving a life sentence.
“Just doing my job, Prez.” He winked and left the room. “Don’t leave without bringing someone with you!”
I raised both hands and flipped him off.
“I know you’re flipping me off right now,” he hollered, then slammed the front door behind him.
Damn, did he have eyes in the back of his head? Nah, he just knew me that well.
What good would it do to tell Silvia who I was to her? She probably didn’t remember me. All it would do was resurrect old pain for both of us. Tonio was dead, anyway.
But Miguel was alive and kicking.
Wait a second…
Silvia had called herself a runaway bride. She was afraid of being found and what he, presumably Miguel, might do when he caught her.
Was she being forced to marry someone she didn’t love?
The fucking plot thickened.
At twenty-two, Silvia was an adult. I should treat her like one. Give her the choice and opportunity to decide what she wanted to do.
I took out my phone and pulled up my security app.
She wasn’t in Letty’s room or any of the other rooms. Not in the kitchen or any of the bathrooms. Yes, I had cameras in the bathroom.
I wasn’t a sick fuck who watched chicks on the toilets.
But I had to have eyes everywhere in the building, in case someone tried to betray the club, including me. Cameras protected all of us.
Finally, I found her in the bar with Letty and Blanca.
The three of them seemed to be getting along fine.
Silvia stirred a cocktail straw in her orange-fruity-looking drink.
She took a sip and stirred some more. Another sip and swirled the straw like she was making a design. The sight of her was hypnotizing.
This girl was dangerous.
I needed to stay away from her, but I didn’t know if I could, now that I knew her age, and who her brother was.
To be fair, she hadn’t done anything to hurt me. Her fucking brothers were the evil ones straight down to their core. She had to know how truly awful they were.
Or she didn’t have a clue. Maybe she’d been abused by Miguel. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d treated her like a piece of shit like everyone else in his circle.
I turned off my phone before I didn’t have the strength to resist Silvia Avila.
A ride would be good. I could get lost on the open road, check out the property. Stop at the Cocky Cactus for a drink or ten, and some entertainment. After getting my fill, I’d return to the clubhouse tonight. Sometime after Silvia had gone to bed.
“Hey, boss.” Slay was leaning against the porch rail. “Going somewhere?”
“For fuck’s sake, I’m a grown fucking man.” I stomped down the steps and went to my hog.
“You are. But you know the code. Never let a brother ride solo.” He straddled his seat and put his dark shades on. I hadn’t even heard him drive up, but that was Slay, stealthy and suave.
“How long have you been waiting?” I shielded my eyes from the sun, which was still high in the sky and brighter than when I got to the bunkhouse. Once the clouds cleared out, the day had heated up. Sweat instantly beaded above my brow.
“Not long.”
I cocked my head at him. “Did Quino send you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Guess not. I need tacos so let’s grab some at the taqueria, then hit the Cactus.” If I couldn’t be in the clubhouse with a club girl because of Silvia, I might as well watch some pole dancing to take my mind off the Avila brothers and GQ’s accident.
“Sounds good to me, Boss.” Slay started his hog and revved his engine.
Show off. He was an obnoxious turd, but I knew he was just trying to distract me. Quino must’ve told him I wasn’t in a good place.
I pulled away from the bunkhouse first. Slay gave me the space I needed and stayed behind me. I respected the hell out of him. He read people well and never forced himself on anyone. He was the best enforcer and friend.
With the warm wind blowing in my face, my restless spirit quieted. I was king of the world out here, my world, anyway.
We were isolated from all the major cities in California. San Diablo was a small town next to Butte Valley, which was considered high desert at an elevation of over four thousand feet. We were dry and hot, the perfect weather for almond and walnut orchards, olives and kiwi.
We had some fruit and nut trees on our land, along with an organic garden that was a square five acres. It was massive. Mama Virgie, my mother, had the idea of making it a co-op to serve impoverished local families. Butte Valley wasn’t a rich area.
Each week, families had a specific day and time they could pick what they needed at no cost to them.
When we had extra meat, we’d give them some.
The same with eggs. We raised our own poultry, too.
I wanted the club to be as self-sufficient as possible, so we didn’t have to depend on the government for anything.
Tequila managed it with Mama Virgie, along with his taqueria: Tequila’s Taqueria. Those two fed a lot of people in my territory. Nobody went hungry on our watch.
Behind the clubhouse was Butte Valley National Grasslands a few miles off in the distance. When this forty-acre property was put on the market, I snatched it up. It was the best damn purchase of my life.
I didn’t need anything more than my club and tacos.
And maybe a sweet, young thang named Silvia to warm me at night.
Never gonna happen, though. I was sending her on her way tomorrow, and that’d be that.