Chapter Twenty
Carlos
The next day…
We landed in Mexico City early in the morning.
The wait at the airport in San Diego hadn’t been long. We all got on the plane within an hour. First class was as nice as we hoped. But for the ticket price, it had better be nice. Selena and I did go to sleep in comfort. The seats were like those recliner lazy boy chairs.
We woke up in less than four hours and had a meal. For plane food, it was top notch, as Henry put.
Henry and Rain did a 4 hour shift each to watch over us. I slept better knowing this but I highly doubted that anyone on this flight would harm us. In our line of work, you always had to be careful though.
We landed and then after deboarding, Rain went to get the rental SUV.
He pulled up out front and shook his head as he had to get out and open the doors himself.
We could all see that he missed Spartacus.
“Spoiled aren’t you, darling?” Henry quipped.
“Da, sweet Doodlebug. I miss Spartacus for sure.”
“Doodle…” Henry halted. “Where on earth did you learn that word?”
“It’s a Southern thing,” I cut in.
Rain smirked as he got some of the suitcases into the back. “I’m just clever like that.”
Henry put in the rest and snarked, “Or so you believe.”
During the ride, Henry, Selena and I took out our phones to brush up on the area of Catemaco.
To make sure we learned whatever we could about the place.
I knew some as I had researched it off and on since I learned that was where the kids had been taken.
However, Rainmaker knew it better than any of us.
So he would be our tour guide, so to speak.
After three hours, we finally arrived at the Hotel Playa Cristal.
It was almost right on the lake. When we checked in, that was when our two guards played their parts.
It had been hilarious, of course. They both did a lot of hip bracing with their hands while saying some effeminate and outrageous things.
It took all we had, not to laugh loudly, but Selena and I just kept grinning. The clerk and bellboy did the same.
Now, Henry paced back and forth in the room as he looked agitated. “I just feel naked without my gun.”
Rain made a gagging sound. “Please do not give me mental images of that.” He had come back into our room through the adjoining door after changing his clothes to a more casual look.
“I suppose I could hit any attacker with a lamp,” Henry threatened.
“Just hang on there, cupcake.” Rain grinned at him. “The lamps are screwed into the tables, if you hadn't noticed. So maybe use a wine bottle.” He pointed at the bar.
“Great idea, Honey Buns,” Henry quipped back.
“Ohhh, someone has been to Google recently,” Rain teased as he laughed.
After a buzz sounded, he looked down at his phone and read the text.
“My guy is ready. I described the guns that were the closest to what you three asked for, but beggars can’t be choosers.
” He looked over at Henry. “Keep them safe, Sir Real.” He looked over at me and Selena.
“You got my number. Call if there’s trouble.
I mean besides Sir Scaredycat freaking out on you. ”
Henry glared at him. “I have no fear, Rainmaker. You can tease me all you want but do NOT accuse me of being afraid.”
Rain actually paused and stared at the bodyguard who made his living by protection. “Da, I can understand that. I am sorry.” He then proceeded out the door without looking back.
I raised my brows. Rain had actually apologized to Henry? I glanced over at Selena.
Nodding, she looked stunned as well.
We both looked over at Henry.
He kept staring at the now closed door. “What the bloody hell?” he asked no one in particular.
“I wouldn’t think about it too much, Sir Henry,” Selena spoke up. “You heard of the phrase once in a blue moon, si?”
I agreed with her, “He is not a man who is sincere very often, mi amigo.”
Henry swung his shock filled green eyes over to us. “Yeah. He is probably just setting me up to look stupid anyway.”
We shook our heads as we both smiled.
We partook in the fruit basket and had bottled water. Mostly, we were just biding our time.
Henry prowled from the window to the door as he did not let up on keeping watch.
I checked my phone often.
Selena tapped my arm and asked, “No word?”
“No,” I replied. I had texted my contact here in Catemaco, but I worried it had been too long since I last spoke to her.
Yes, her. During the drive here, I had explained to Selena, Rain and Henry about this person.
An older woman who had been a housekeeper at a house across the street from where the kids were.
She had been the one to tell me that two women had the kids.
And yes, I did pay her. But she seemed to be exactly who she said she was.
She had sent me several photos of the kids at various ages.
None of them were close up as she couldn’t seem to get too close to them.
No one could, she had told me at the time.
The people on that street knew better than to approach the kids or the house they lived in.
I didn’t have my cell phone anymore so I had no images to show them.
Rain had questioned me about where the house had been. I remembered the name of Revolucion. Which means revolution in English. It had been unusual to say the least.
Finally, Rain came back to the room and he had a backpack with him. Sitting on the sofa, he raised the pack up. “Everything is so cheap here,” he told us.
“Cheap as in not good quality?” Henry asked him. “Or cheap as in getting a great deal?”
“Both. These weapons are good quality but they cost me half of what I would pay in the States. But I could only get us a small amount of ammunition. Let’s hope we do not have to face a huge battle.”
“That is how Mexico is. Low prices but you have to really watch for inferior products,” I informed them.
Selena nodded. “An American making blue collar wages could live like a king here. But they might have to live in a bright pink stucco house that has holes in the walls.”
“Paradise for a penny,” Henry said. “Wealth on a dime. All paid for by the demons of our time.”
“Blin, Henry!” Rain exclaimed. “Waxing poetic? Damn, what a Sir Prize.”
Henry actually chuckled as he shrugged. “I have my finer moments.”
Rain refrained from insulting him this time.
I already figured Rainmaker out, back when we spent that month together while I was on the mend. He joked to keep from being bored as he once told me. But now I noted that he saved his serious self for his real work as a tracker and a guard.
“As soon as we weapon up,” Rain told us all. “Change into your clothes, not the fancy wear as we do not need to stand out. Then we will head over to this house.”
“You found new information, did you not?” Selena asked.
Nodding, he replied, “I stopped by to talk to a man who has groceries delivered all over town. He knew of this house and yes, he knew of the kids. They do live a 5 Revul.”
I sat forward as my heart beat a little faster and asked, “The twins?”
He again gave us a nod. “Around the right age. A girl and a boy about fourteen or so. They have lived here all of their lives, he said.”
“Did he divulge who had them?” I asked.
“He did. Two old women.” He stood and pushed his fingers through his hair. “They keep to themselves and they go by the names of Everia and Cora Garcia.”
I bolted up from the barstool I sat on. “What did you just say?”
Selena stared at me.” You know these women?”
“I don’t personally, but…” I sighed and went over to grab the .45 pistol that I assumed was mine. “They aren’t Garcias. They are Castillos.”
Selena gasped as she looked up at me.
I nodded at her. “Santiago’s cousins.”
“If he gave them to relatives….how could we not find them?” Selena asked me.
“They aren’t from this area and they aren’t using their legal names,” I explained. “But they also go by the most common Spanish name in the whole fucking world.”
“We can’t take the SUV,” Rain told us. “It would stand out like a gleaming golden carriage in this town. So, I paid the grocer for his van. It runs well enough. It wouldn’t be noticed and it will hold us all. We need to go there tonight.”
“No planning, scoping the place out or anything smart, Rainmaker?” Henry griped.
“We have to do this before tomorrow night, that’s when the festival starts. If we wait, the traffic will be moving like fucking molasses and we will be stuck. And we have to do it under the cover of night.”
Selena loaded her gun and said, “Si, we pack up the SUV with our stuff. Then we grab the kids and do this. Come back here and use the SUV to get the hell out of town.”
“Oh and I forgot.” Rain stood from the sofa and reached into his jacket to pull out a small pack. He handed it to Selena. “Don’t say I never bought you anything.”
She unrolled it and gasped. “Blades! Hell yes!”
“Thought you would be happy. The weapon guy was mystified that I wanted them as he was telling me that guns were better.”
“He wouldn’t think so if he ever saw Selena’s moves,” Henry stated.
“I thought the same thing when he said it.” Rain grinned. “Badass and deadly moves.”
I looked at him then over at her. “Mierda Selena, you have a fan club.”
She laughed. Then couldn’t seem to stop herself from mimicking my flipping hair move. “I told ya I was sickass cool, didn’t I?”
My two friends laughed.
I tisked at her. “Stealing my moves and my friends? Chingar.”
She came over and grabbed my collar with both hands to say, “It’s only fair as you stole my heart.” Then she tugged me close and kissed me hard.
The room went silent around us.
Our kiss, as usual, was hotter than hot. I admit, no woman had ever kissed me with such power and charisma. Selena had the right to do so as well, as she owned my heart and soul. We clung to each other like our lives depended on it.
After another minute or so, Henry exclaimed, “Blimey! Get a room, you two.”
“This is their room, Sir T. Fieable,” Rain replied.
Breaking apart, Selena and I laughed breathlessly.
“Let’s get this done,” I stated as the kiss empowered me to believe we could conquer anything. I gently swiped her just kissed lips with my fingers as I silently swore that I would be marrying this woman as soon as I could.
A half hour later…
After we exited the van, we split up. Selena and I at the back. Rainmaker and Henry would be covering the front and sides of the old house. It was in poor shape as parts of it had slumped and there were cracks throughout the stucco. However, many of the homes looked like that.
We moved almost silently and stopped at the fence.
A young woman sat on a bench with what had to be the twins. Of all the luck, here they were. The real issue was how could we approach them without them calling out.
I texted Rain and Henry to let them know that we had spotted them. I raised my head. “You are female,” I whispered to Selena. “You won't scare them.”
Nodding, she studied the area, then tucked her gun into her waistband. Climbing through a large hole in the fence, she entered the yard.
I remained hidden and watched the scene.
The twins were listening to the story the woman was reading to them in English, not Spanish.
Suddenly, as Selena moved close, they all looked up.
The young woman gasped and gathered the kids close with an arm around each one.
Selena knelt down and quietly spoke to them.
I couldn’t hear what she said, but I could see their faces. The teen boy looked exactly like Alex did at this age and the girl looked like Gabby. Tears filled my eyes at this startling fact.
Surprisingly, the young woman stood, took the teen’s hands and led them to the hole in the fence.
Selena kept looking around as she followed.
I did not have time to wonder why they agreed to come with her so quickly. I texted Rain, ‘Get the van ready. We are bringing them.’
When the small group saw me, they halted and stared at me with wide, fearful eyes.
“He is your Uncle Carlos,” Selena told them.
“H-he’s a Castillo?” the boy asked.
I nodded. “I’m not a bad Castillo, Alex.”
He stared at me and asked, “You aren’t like Alvaro?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Alv—”
Gunshots rang out from the front of the house.
“Get down!” Selena placed her arm over the kids to protect them.
I kept looking around to be sure no one was approaching us. Or shooting at us. Then after a few minutes, my phone beeped. I took it out and read Rain’s text, ‘They are down. It is safe now.’ I raised my head and gave Selena a nod. “We can go now.”
She nodded and they all stood.
When we came around the corner, we rushed the kids to the van.
The young woman helped them in and Selena guarded the door.
Henry gave me a hand wave as he stood guarding the driver’s side of the van.
I looked around.
Rain knelt over someone on the ground by the front patio.
I walked over and as I got close, I saw who laid there. Miguel Castillo. He was dead for sure. Next to him was Alvaro. These two men were my cousins. Both of them were bad seeds just like my father.
Alvaro's chest was bloody as he looked up at me and scoffed. “You are alive?”
I knelt and gave him a nod. “And you are dead.”
“Your father...” He spat up blood and couldn’t seem to talk.
I cocked my head at him. “He is dead too.”
He laughed and then coughed as he died.
I shook my head as I stood and looked over at Rain. “You guys did good here. Taking them out so quickly.”
Rain shook his head and motioned to the front patio. “Wasn’t us… It was them.”
Looking over, I gasped when I saw them.
Approaching me were two more Castillos, also my cousins. Luis and Ignacio.
They smiled at me as they looked happy to see me and reached their hands out.
I shook each of their hands. They had always been good guys in a bad world. I made them promise me years back that they would look after Gabriela in my absence…My forced absence.
“I am so glad to see you alive. We waited for this day,” Ignacio told me. “We never knew what happened to you.”
Luis nodded as he said, “Alvaro forced us to leave you there at the hospital. He had men watching us.”
Ignacio then added, “He planned for your death, so that you could never take over.”
“I don’t want that spot. I never did,” I told them. “But I do want this. For the kids to finally be reunited with their mother.”
“I have been in contact with her,” Ignacio informed me. “I told her we would bring them when it was safe.”
“And now it is.” Luis nodded.