Chapter 3 Diego
THREE
DIEGO
“Hold still, sir, you’re losing a lot of blood.”
“There’s no exit wound. Do we have anything to pack this with?”
“Dude, you have got to stop moving. Where are those tweezers!?”
I didn’t remember much after collapsing.
I flashed in and out as the pain allowed me and caught bits of the conversation in the process.
The bullet didn’t hit any major arteries, but it also didn’t come out.
I felt the warmth of my own blood staining my clothes and it constricted the fabric against me.
I tried to breathe a sigh of relief when someone ripped my shirt off me.
But breathing was becoming laborious.
“I need some help in here!”
I turned my head toward the woman barking at everyone and her eyes were the first thing I witnessed.
She had these honey-pot eyes that matched the hair that kept falling into her face.
Her hands felt soft against my skin, warm with life and determination, like the kind her eyes dripped with.
Her plump lips downturned into a frown as my eyes fluttered closed, but not before I admired the rosy tint of her cheeks.
And damn it, the freckles scattered across her nose were downright sexy as hell.
She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
“Sir, you gotta keep your eyes open for me. Sir? Sir!”
She tapped against my cheek and the softness of her hand caused me to gasp. It had been so long since any woman touched me in a way that might help, and I yearned for more of her.
“Can you guys back the hell up now? I got it.”
I opened my eyes long enough to gaze around me and I saw a bunch of dudes hovering over her. They stared at me like I was some sort of freak and I wanted to wring all of their necks.
“I said, back off!” the girl shrieked.
“I think someone should call Notch,” a man murmured.
I parted my lips to speak. “No-Not-ch—”
The woman shook her head. “Don’t you concern yourself with them. They’re just being literal assholes right now. Stay focused on me.”
My vision tunneled with the pain as she worked the bullet out of my shoulder. I cried out, choking on my own blood as I coughed droplets onto the hardwood bar floor. The pain sucked me under, threatening to drown me as she removed the bullet and held it up in the air for me to see.
But when she sterilized a sewing needle in front of me, I passed the hell back out.
Knock, knock, knock.
Notch furrowed his brow. “Who the hell is that?”
I peered over my shoulder. “Bah, don’t worry, they’ll go away.”
Notch checked his watch. “Sebastian’s supposed to be here. You called him already, right?”
I nodded. “Yep. Called him twice and left messages. He’s probably caught up at work.”
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I sighed as I tossed my half-eaten slice of pizza onto my paper plate.
I excused myself from my back porch while Notch continued to down his beer before he reached for another one.
Sebastian knew he needed to be here. I mean, the three of us got together every Saturday evening for pizza and beer just to catch up with one another.
But the incessant knocking coupled with Sebastian not answering his phone worried me.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“I’m coming! Aye, I’m fucking coming!” I exclaimed.
I reached for the doorknob and ripped it open, readying myself to sink my teeth into whoever the hell thought they could bother me at fucking nine o’clock at night. But when I saw the police standing on my porch, I froze.
Oh, shit. They know. Someone in the cartel has ratted me out and—
“Are you Diego Hernandez?”
Notch called out from the porch. “Who’s at the door!?”
I nodded. “Yes, I am. Is something the matter, officer?”
The two of them looked at one another before the female officer picked up the slack. “So, your brother is Sebastian Hernandez?”
“Hey!” Notch yelled as he came back inside, “what the hell’s going on out here?”
My stomach dropped to my toes. “Yeah, I am. Why? What’s happened?”
Notch came up to my side. “Can I help you, officers?”
The woman looked over at him. “Are you family?”
Notch furrowed his brow. “What?”
I grabbed his shoulder to steady myself. “Yeah, he is. He’s my, uh, my other brother.”
The man officer crooked an eyebrow. “You two don’t look much—”
“Where is my brother?” I asked curtly.
The woman’s eyes grew somber. “There’s been an accident, Mr. Hernandez.”
And when I didn’t respond, Notch took the reins. “What kind of accident?”
The conversation faded into the background as my eyes watered.
I leaned against the doorframe for support as tears silently poured down my cheeks.
No. It couldn’t be. There was no way in hell Sebastian was dead.
I mean, all he had to do was make a few drop-offs!
Pick up some cash and deposit it in the bank!
It wasn’t as if he were doing anything dangerous.
Then, the man said it. “If it makes you feel any better, the other people in the head-on collision are all right.”
His words snapped me out of my trance. “A head-on collision? Where?”
The female officer sighed. “Outside of the bar he was driving away from.”
I furrowed my brow. “What are you saying?”
Notch squeezed my shoulder. “Take a breath, Diego.”
But I shrugged him off. “What? Are you telling me that my brother was drunk? My brother who has never had a drop of alcohol in his life somehow stumbled into a bar, drank himself stupid, and then decided to—”
“Diego!” Notch exclaimed.
“What!?” I roared.
And when I whipped my head toward him to stare him down, his stare pulled me back into a rational state of mind.
The cartel had done this, that much I knew for certain.
The cartel made it look this way, and I knew I’d never get any answers.
Plus, giving the police any other information to go poking around would only result in my death as well.
Notch didn’t know any of this shit, but I did. And I knew this was an evening I’d never forget so long as the cartel let me stay alive.
“But he doesn't drink,” I whispered.
The female officer sighed. “I’m so very sorry for your loss, but we need you to come with us. We need confirmation on his identity.”
Yep. I’d never forget this night so long as I fucking lived.