Chapter 38
“How’s he holding up?” Cortez asks me as I drive him to the meeting place.
“He’s fine,” I reply simply.
“Think he’ll be able to handle this?”
I hesitate, careful about how I frame my response. “I believe him when he says he’ll do what’s necessary. He seems to care about you.”
The last comment makes Cortez huff. “I don’t know about that.”
We sit in silence for a little bit as I turn thoughts over in my head. It’s not my business, and I’ve never made it a habit to talk to Cortez about any of his personal issues, but now I feel entangled in it.
“He made a comment about wanting this a long time ago, but being so removed from it in his adult life…” I pause, not wanting to say he doesn’t feel capable. “I don’t know. His role as a priest has to be conflicting.”
Cortez sighs, and I wonder if I’m pushing it too much. He’s not required to tell me anything, and considering he’s kept the existence of a son under wraps, he probably won’t say a lot about their relationship.
“I question myself all the time, wondering if I did the right thing,” he says, surprising me.
I keep quiet and hope he continues talking, if only for my own curiosity.
“I had every intention of bringing him into the fold. He was in it as much as he could be as a teenager. It’s hard to hide the lifestyle, ya know?
He never questioned it, because it was all he knew.
But.” He stops talking, looking out the passenger window.
“His sexuality?” I prompt, my heart in my throat as I wait for his response.
Cortez sucks his teeth, and I glance over at him to see his jaw is clenched.
“You know how this life is, Javier. He’d be a target. A victim.”
My instinct is to defend Carlo, but I can’t let on that I know him more than I should. “A target, sure, but do you think he’d allow himself to be a victim?”
“He’s different,” Cortez says. “He’s not like me. Or you, for that matter. He’s lived a different life. I’m not sure he’d be able to stand up for himself in the way he’d need to.”
“He did come up with the idea to get Johnny,” I offer.
“True,” he says after a few seconds. “Generally, I don’t care about what people do in their personal lives, as long as it doesn’t affect me. This is my son, though.”
The flare of hope I felt quickly fades. A lot of people say similar things. They don’t care what anyone does with their life as long as it’s not their kid. It’s still prejudice, but they convince themselves it’s not.
“But how does that affect you?”
The question is out before I can think better of it. Cortez’s head snaps in my direction, but I keep my eyes on the road.
“I just mean…” I don’t know how else to phrase it, but I know I shouldn’t question him, and definitely not about his son or his parenting.
“How does it affect me?” he questions, his tone stern.
“He’s my fucking son. You think I want to watch him—” he cuts himself off and takes a few seconds to breathe.
“I won’t watch him become a victim. He may not get it.
Nobody has to understand,” he bites, burning holes into the side of my face.
“But I will protect him even if that means pushing him away.”
I nod once, understanding seeping in. Cortez isn’t a vulnerable or emotional man.
He doesn’t talk about anything except work, so I only know the version of him that he’s shown me, and that’s a crime boss.
I’ve never known him as a father, but now I see what Carlo hasn’t.
His dad doesn’t hate that he’s gay because he hates gay people.
He hates that his son is gay because he’s afraid of what will happen to him.
“For what it’s worth,” I say. “I think Carlo would do anything for you, regardless of whether he understands why you’ve pushed him away.”
“I know,” Cortez says. “And I’m using that knowledge to get what I want.”
He doesn’t say it like he’s proud of it. If anything, he sounds regretful, but it’s also an admission to wanting his son to take his place.
As we approach the junkyard parking lot, I forget about their relationship issues, and start focusing on the work at hand.
“Think he’ll accept your offer?”
“Let’s go see.”
As we get out, I scan the area, making sure Aurelio actually came alone. He’s leaning against his black Cadillac, a toothpick in his mouth and one hand in his pocket.
I stay back, because I’m not in the family, so I’m not allowed to be privy to business conversations.
But I’m close enough to pull my gun and shoot him dead if he makes a move.
Cortez never gets too close to anyone deemed untrustworthy, and by the time they could pull a gun, the bullet from mine will already be flying.
When Aurelio pushes away from the car, I reach for the gun in my holster, unsnapping the clip that’s holding it in place. He looks me up and down before turning his attention back to Cortez and removing his hand from his pocket.
He’s not holding anything, but I stay ready.
Aurelio’s voice rises only once, and I hear enough to know he’s questioning the need to dispose of so many people in the family. Cortez begins gesturing, talking to him calmly, probably explaining how this is a good thing for him.
We stand out here for nearly forty minutes, the sun beating down on us, but Aurelio seems to at least be hearing him out, though there’s a lot of backstabbing in this life, so he could very well be listening to details just to go tell his boss later.
I watch Cortez back away, nodding his head, and I know we’re about to leave. I keep my eye on Aurelio while Cortez gets in the car. When he drives off, I get in the car and start it up.
“So?”
“He won’t say anything. He wants it too much.”
“So when does it happen?”
“A lot of them will be together this weekend at a wedding. Aurelio will make sure he’s out of town.”
“An after party massacre?”
“Something like that. Could end up killing more people than necessary.”
When I get back on the main road, I speak up again. “Johnny reached out to Carlo again.”
“What?” he exclaims. “Why the fuck am I just now hearing about this?”
“I didn’t want to get you upset before your meeting with Aurelio. It just happened this morning.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants to meet up with him. He asked for today, but I told him to put it off.”
Cortez nods, his brows furrowed. “That fucking snake. He’s hiding from me but reaching out to Carlo. I can’t believe he’s willing to stoop this fucking low.”
“Carlo came up with an idea. He wants to get Johnny over to the rectory by his church. He shouldn’t think it’s unusual to need to meet there, and probably wouldn’t expect anything to happen so close to St. Joseph’s.”
Cortez nods. “Okay. Not bad.”
“There’s a cemetery nearby for easy disposal.”
“Good, good,” he says.
“The bad news is it’ll have to be this weekend.”
“When?”
“Saturday.”
“Fuck. That’s when the wedding is.”
“We may have to split up.”
Cortez shakes his head. “I don’t want Carlo to be alone.”
“I’ll be with him,” I say quickly and without question. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing. “But I want to be at the wedding too,” I add. “Maybe they’ll happen at two different times.”
He’s quiet for a minute. “I want to be there to confront Johnny, but I don’t know how to swing both.”
“We don’t know a time yet for Johnny. I can talk to Carlo about when to tell him to go over. He mentioned it would have to be late enough so that nobody is at the church. Maybe it’ll be after the wedding party.”
“Hmm.”
“I also thought maybe I need to take Carlo to a range. He might need some lessons.”
“He learned when he was a kid.”
My brows lift. “Oh?”
“Yeah. I always took him every weekend. He shouldn’t have forgotten too much. But a refresher wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
I nod and make another turn into town.
“Javier,” Cortez says, his tone serious. “If it comes down to it.”
I’m already shaking my head. “Don’t.”
“Listen to me,” he spits, leaving no room for argument.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen. It may not go the way we want it to, but I want you to save my son.
Keep him safe. If I go, he’ll need someone, and you’re the one I trust the most. Don’t leave his side.
Help him if and when he needs it. Tell everyone who will listen that this is what I want.
I want him at the top. Make sure there’s no pushback, and if there is, end it. You hear me?”
I’m still shaking my head, but I say, “Yes. But Cortez, you’re not going anywhere.” I look at him. “Nobody’s ready for that just yet.”
He claps my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “You’ll be okay. Carlo will keep you on.”
I know he’s not naive enough to think I’m only referring to concern over my job, but I don’t expect him to be vulnerable now. He knows exactly what I mean, and that’s why he’s not going to touch it.
The problem is, while I understand his stance as a father and wanting to make sure his son stays alive, I couldn’t imagine Cortez dying. I want them both alive for my own selfish reasons, and I’ll sacrifice myself if it means keeping them both on this earth.
“Turn right here,” Cortez says, gesturing to an alleyway between two buildings. “I’m meeting with—”
Glass explodes inward milliseconds after a loud bang, and it doesn’t take long for me to realize a bullet has just traveled through the passenger window and out the windshield.