Chapter 9 Diego
NINE
DIEGO
The sunlight hitting my face as I woke up the next morning only served to remind me of the pleasant mindset Ruby had put me in after we talked.
I laid there, allowing my lips to curl up in a fashion I didn’t experience much lately.
That woman was a spitfire wrapped up in a delicious casing that I wanted to taste one of these days.
You know, after my gunshot wound healed itself up.
“Ugh,” I groaned.
The pain softly washed over me, like a dull headache taking over the brain, and I rolled onto my good side to reach for my bottle of water.
I dug a pill out of my bedside table and eased myself upright, ready for the pain medication to take away the reminder of the predicament I had found myself in.
I was ready for the day.
I was ready for the fight.
But I didn’t even get my legs swung over the edge of the bed before a text rolled through my phone.
Unknown: You’ve got until tonight to give us something. After that, your mother’s going to get a little visit from Santa.
My eyes widened and my hand trembled as my phone tumbled from my fingertips.
I leapt out of bed, rushing around and ignoring the pain my body was still in since the pain meds hadn’t quite kicked in.
I had no other choice. I was fresh out of options.
I had to do something to get on the club’s good side so I could feed something to the dogs to get them off Mom’s back.
And maybe, that would buy me enough time to figure out a way to leave the cartel for good.
“I have to prove myself to them,” I murmured.
Then, an idea hit me.
I have to get back to the bar.
I gathered my things and rushed out of the house, hoping the medication didn’t knock me on my ass in the middle of driving to The Dive.
I cruised all the way there, rehearsing in my head the things I’d say to the guys so they’d let me just a little bit closer.
I pulled into the parking lot and drew in a deep breath.
Hell, I even got out of my car and stood at the tinted glass double doors, looking inward as each of the guys turned to face me.
And after they had all crossed their arms over their chests at the mere sight of me, I took the first step.
I opened the door and strode on in.
I saw a few of them reach for the butt of their guns as I came closer.
In fact, Stone—the guy that I knew would be the hardest to win over—pulled his gun and pointed it right at me.
And the fact that Notch looked at him but didn’t say anything told me that the only friend I thought I had in this place wasn’t quite on my side this morning.
But I caught Ruby’s eyes and knew I had to give things a shot.
Because at this point, she was just as much in the crosshairs as my mother had become.
“What do you want?” a gruff voice asked.
“Simmer down, Texas,” Notch murmured.
I gave the behemoth man the old one-two with my eyes before I drew in a deep breath. “The cartel is threatening me if I don’t give them something tonight, and I have nowhere else to turn.”
Stone scoffed as he leveled his gun with my forehead. “And what makes you think we’d want to help you in any way?”
Don’t tell them about Mom. She’s got enough to deal with. “Because I’m out of options and I’m out of hope. I hear that’s when you guys operate best.”
Another guy scoffed. “I don’t believe him one damn bit.”
“Shut up, Puck,” Notch hissed.
They all looked over at him with quizzical and confused glances before all eyes returned to me.
Thank you, Notch. “Trust me, if I thought I had any other options, I wouldn’t be here. But I’m out of them. And if I don’t do something, I’m going to end up like—”
My eyes gravitated toward Notch and he nodded. “I think we should hear him out.”
“Of course, you do,” Stone growled.
Texas tilted his head. “What brought you here this morning in the first place?”
“Wrong question,” Puck said.
I shrugged. “He’s kind of right, you know.”
Stone narrowed his eyes. “Then, why don’t you enlighten us as to what kinds of questions we should be asking.”
But Notch answered for me. “The question we should ask him is what sort of information the cartel wants.”
“Or we can do it our way,” Stone said. “West!”
A guy rushed out from a back hallway. “Yeah, Stone?”
Stone continued to smirk at me. “Why don’t you tell Diego here what you’ve dug up on him?”
My eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
West cleared his throat. “We know about your family and how your brother was killed by the cartel.”
I winced as I stood there in front of a firing squad that wasn’t taking the shots I thought they would.
“You can stop now,” I said.
But the man didn’t. “We also know about your mother and her cancer diagnosis. We know about her treatments and how expensive they are, and we also know about—”
I gnashed my teeth together. “You leave my mother the fuck out of this, you hear me?”
Notch walked up to me. “If you want to be a client, you’re going to be treated like one. You don’t get to come in here, dump your shit on us, and then call the shots. Got it?”
I held my head high with pride. “You had no right. I keep those things out of the limelight for a reason. Even you know that.”
Then, Ruby’s voice followed the presence of her body as she slipped between myself and the only person I thought I could call a friend before her hands fell against my chest.
“Diego, look at me,” she said softly.
I pulled my gaze away from the guys and lost myself in her gorgeous eyes. “Yeah?”
She sighed as she rubbed my chest. “Just take some breaths. None of us are here to harm you unless you give us a reason. All right?”
Her touch relaxed me enough to start talking. “The cartel is coming for you guys. They’ve had their eyes on you for some time, probably because of the territory you reign over with your crew.”
“What are they looking for?” Notch asked.
I peeked over at him. “Your contacts. Your weapons distributors. They have no idea how you guys run the things you run without so much as a peep from the people of the city and they want your secrets so they can push you out.”
Stone holstered his gun. “What else do they know?”
I drew in a deep breath. “They know that you guys are getting your weapons from a contact in Mexico.”
Puck furrowed his brow. “Wait, you mean the guy that—”
I finished his statement. “Fell off the map with you guys? Yeah, they took that contact over. That’s why you haven’t heard from them at all. But now what they’re trying to do is cut you guys out of the deal so there’s no middleman to pay in the process.”
Notch nodded. “They want to be the direct supplier for our buyers here in the States.”
Texas shook his head. “But you’re certain they don’t know who exactly we sell to?”
I puffed out my cheeks with a sigh. “Yes, I’m certain. Their plan is to take over all of the business you guys do, but there’s still that piece of the puzzle they’re missing.”
Puck scoffed. “Which is why you’re here.”
I didn’t answer him as Texas cleared his throat. “That makes a lot of sense, you guys.”
Notch sighed. “That also explains the lack of phone calls from a few specific people.”
Stone growled. “Shut the hell up, you two.”
Texas rolled his eyes. “We know as well as he does that this doesn’t mean shit.”
Stone clicked his tongue. “He could still be a spy for the cartel. As far as we know, they’ve sent him here to sniff out the last piece of the puzzle and he’s trying to get on our good side by giving us the answers we’ve been seeking for a while now.”
Notch looked me up and down. “He’s got a point. Why would you come to us for any sort of help when you’re in bed with the cartel? Why wouldn’t you go somewhere else?”
My eyes searched his face. “If you really have to ask that question, then we’re not the friends I thought we were.”
Ruby’s hand slipped from my chest, and she turned to face the guys.
“Look, if he had gone to the hospital instead of coming here, then the doctors and the police would know this shit before you guys. They would’ve asked Diego all sorts of questions that he wouldn’t be able to answer, and then that would’ve put the police on everyone’s scent until further notice.
He did you guys a solid by coming here and seeking out Notch to fix him instead of going to the emergency room.
I think that merits some sort of trust.”
A stone-faced man stepped out of the shadows and Notch eyed him warily. “Bronx… don’t.”
But I watched the man stare me down. “If you have the cartel on tap, why not go to one of their doctors? Surely they pay off plenty.”
I shrugged. “I knew I didn’t have much time. I was injured by my handlers on orders from the Boss himself, and I needed help before I bled out. The Dive was closer than the hospital, and I knew that at the very least police wouldn’t be involved.”
Ruby held out her arms. “See?”
Notch crooked an eyebrow. “What aren’t you telling us?”
The room fell silent as all eyes locked onto me, and that was when I knew I had to tell them.
So, I drew in a deep breath. “Yesterday after I got home to sleep, the goons came by my house again. They threatened my mother, as well as you and Ruby.”
“What?” Ruby asked breathlessly.
“Shit,” Stone murmured.
Puck charged through the crowd. “You sucked my sister into this!? You’re going to fucking pay for that, you stupid motherfucker!”
The man lunged at me, and it took both Notch and Texas to hold him back.
I stumbled backward, catching myself against a table as Ruby stared at me with tears in her eyes.
I felt useless. I felt like the Angel of Death.
And as my guardian angel stared at me with bewildered and guarded eyes, Notch squeezed my shoulder.
“What have they threatened your mother with?” he asked.
But Stone interrupted our conversation. “Fine. If the cartel is coming after us and they already have their eyes on our own, then we need to figure out what the fuck our plan is.”
My eyes danced between Notch’s. “Death.”
He clenched his jaw. “We need a lockdown.”
Stone nodded. “Actually, that’s what I was thinking. All right, everyone! Listen up! Starting now, everyone is officially on lockdown at the clubhouse! No one in except our own, and no one out without a partner. Understood?”
Everyone nodded their heads before Stone turned to face me.
“I mean you, too.”
My eyebrows rose. “What?”
Puck snickered. “You can’t be fucking serious. He’s the reason we’re in this mess!”
Bronx shook his head. “If you were listening, the cartel was coming after us long before Diego stumbled into our lives. They’re a threat with or without him.”
I sighed. “Unfortunately, he’s right. But I still don’t know why you want me with you guys.”
Stone walked up to me and loomed over me with his shadow. “Because it’s better to keep enemies close than it is friends.”
I relented. “Okay, I understand that. I’ll lockdown with you guys in this clubhouse or whatever.
But I can’t stop watching my mom. She’s helpless in that hospital room, and it wouldn’t take much once the cartel gets to her to kill her.
She’s weak. Some days, she’s barely conscious. She’s not protected and—”
Notch gripped my upper arm. “We’ll get someone to watch your mother.”
Stone’s nostrils flared. “Yeah. No use in some innocent mother dying because her sons are idiots.”
I snarled. “Don’t you dare talk about my dead brother that way when he’s not here to defend himself.”
Stone leveled his eyes with me. “So long as I have to protect you, I’ll say whatever the fuck I want. And if you don’t like it, I’ve got a magazine of bullets with your fucking name on them.”
And as much as I wanted to slug the man and break his jaw, I knew he was right.