Chapter 18
Constantine
It took me two days to find Mario Rivera.
It’s not an uncommon name. It’s so common that I had to search for Alfonzo Valente.
I knew if I found him, then I’d find Mario.
Alfonzo was much easier to locate, especially since there were newspaper articles about him, tied to specific crimes the police couldn’t pin on him.
Still, nothing on record shows where he lives, where he has offices, if he has any, or where his regular hangouts are.
The last person I want to ask is Enzo. Not only because he’d probably stop me, but this is my belated Christmas present to him.
Once he finds out what they did to Enrique, I know he’ll want them dead, and I’ll be the person to deliver justice to my boyfriend.
When Enzo said he had a job later that night with Mario, instead of continuing to search for Mario and Alfonzo, I followed Enzo.
I follow him from a distance as he makes his way toward the harbor and some warehouses that are closed for the night. One of them is probably owned by Alfonzo.
Enzo pulls over and parks his car, and I stop a distance away, so he doesn’t see me. I’d already turned my headlights off once we reached more secluded areas.
There are other cars around me, so at least I’m not sticking out like a sore thumb. Then I wait.
After about an hour, a bunch of men exit the warehouse. They stop underneath a single streetlight and chat for a bit. I lift my binoculars, hoping I’ll see Mario. If he’s not there or if he’s exited a different part of the building, then I’m screwed.
But he is there, shaking Enzo’s hand before walking away alone. He lights a smoke, then gets into a black SUV and drives off. When he passes me, I duck and then quickly start my car. I make a U-turn and follow him.
There’s still a lot of traffic, even so late in the evening, but that’s Chicago for you. It allows me to drive closer to him so I don’t lose him and have to start all over again.
We make our way through Lincoln Park, which is beautiful all year, but especially in the spring and summer months. You must be wealthy to live around here.
Mario pulls into an alley and drives into a standalone garage of a large home that appears to have been built during the Victorian era. He has to come back outside to get into his house, right?
This is it. This is the opportunity I need. I haven’t made a lot of plans yet, but I’ve made sure I’m ready just in case an opportunity presents itself. And it does. Luck is on my side tonight, unless he has a family. If so, I’ll have to abort.
I quickly open my glove box, grab the syringe filled with a large dose of ketamine, and exit my car with my backpack in tow.
I don’t take my time, needing to get to him as soon as he opens the door to his home, ensuring the alarm is off.
This plan could lead to a lot of mistakes, but I’m not going to let this fortuitous event slip away.
I’m coming up behind him as soon as he opens the back door and turns off his alarm system by remote.
I rush him, instantly plunging the syringe into his neck, but he’s a big man.
A strong man. He’s quick to act and defend himself.
He grabs my arm and flips me over his shoulder and onto my back.
The empty syringe falls out of my hand and rolls onto the floor while the wind is completely knocked out of my lungs.
I’m dazed for a moment, but I don’t have time to recover before Mario kicks me in my gut.
Again, I’m out of breath. My entire body is clenched so tightly that I can’t get any oxygen in.
The pain radiates throughout my body as I heave, trying to throw up, but like I can’t get anything in, nothing comes out.
“Who are you? Who sent you?” he yells. Then he freezes. “You! I know you!”
He reaches down and grabs my coat to lift me onto my feet before he punches my face. I can’t do anything because I’m still recovering from the kick to the stomach.
I see blackness, then dancing lights behind my eyes. The next thing I know, I’m on my back again, holding my aching face. The panic tries to take over again, making it doubly hard to breathe. I whimper and curl into myself, getting ready for a beating. But nothing happens.
I crack my eyes open to find Mario on the ground, barely moving.
Finally.
I started to worry that it didn’t take effect. That high dose should’ve worked faster. I make a note to use more for bigger men.
I shakily sit up onto my knees and take a few slow, deep breaths. I hurt everywhere, but it’s not nearly as bad as when Enzo beat me that night, maybe because I was more prepared for it this time.
I crawl over to him and check for weapons.
There are two guns that I carefully remove and set aside before I try to stand.
I’m a bit wobbly, but I get it together enough to grab my backpack where I’d dropped it and close the back door.
Hopefully, no one witnessed what just went down.
It’s fairly secluded, so I think it’s okay.
After pulling out duct tape and zip ties, I walk around the house to find a spot to wrap him up for Enzo. That’s when I notice his Christmas tree is still up. “Perfect,” I mutter. I used to hate them, but now I’m excited to give Enzo his gift.
I set my things down on the floor, then head back to Mario, who’s completely out of it. I grab him by his armpits from behind and drag his body toward the tree in his living room.
It takes a lot of work to wrap the duct tape around his body to bind his arms together behind his back. He groans and tries to move, but he can’t do anything. He’s my puppet. Once I’m happy that he can’t break out of it, I zip tie his wrists together, then his ankles.
“Glpmpn tdhwpqa wetemanoal,” Mario slurs. He’s been trying to talk to me the entire time, but I can’t understand one word. His dark brown eyes are wide, and looking around, but he has no power against me.
Now that he’s secure, I remove my coat. I look down at the man trying to get loose as I finger the cross resting on my chest. Mario’s definitely way too out of it to get loose.
There’s one final touch before I call Enzo. I dig into my backpack and pull out a thick red ribbon. I tie it loosely around Mario’s throat and make a huge bow in the front.
“He’s going to love it,” I say.
Before I grab my phone, it buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it out, and a smile stretches across my face. I love how in sync Enzo and I are, like he just knows I’ve done something special for him. He’ll be mad at first, but once he understands the truth, he’ll be so happy.
Enny: I thought you were stopping by tonight.
God, I love how he wants me there with him. I press the phone against my heart that’s filled with so much love.
Me: I was, but I was busy getting you a Christmas present.
Enny: Aw, Little Bird. You don’t have to get me anything.
Me: I do. It’s important. Meet me here.
I type out the address and hit send, then wait for his blowup.
Enny: Con… What the fuck did you just do?
Me: Come by. Tonight.
Enny: No. Tell me what the fuck is going on.
Me: Please. I know we haven’t known each other long,
but I’m asking you to trust me. I’ll tell you everything
when you get here.
Waiting for him to respond feels like an eternity. Will he not come? I can always go to him, but then I’ll lose the impact of the gift.
Enny: Fine. But this better be good.
Me: It is.
It takes Enzo nearly an hour to get here, but I wait patiently. I don’t bother giving Mario another dose. If he screams, I can tape his mouth shut, but he’s still barely making sense when he tries to talk.
Snot runs down his face, and he’s drooling, so I grab some tissues from his bathroom and wipe it off for him. Even though he killed Enrique, we should all die with dignity.
There’s a sudden pounding on the front door. I stand and rush to answer it. Enzo scowls at me and blows on by as he enters the foyer. “Where is he? What’d you do with him?”
I try not to be hurt by his words and his not trusting me, but it still stings. I have to remind myself that he has no idea what’s going on, and I didn’t help by keeping this all a secret.
“He’s in the living room tied up under his Christmas tree,” I reply.
Enzo rushes into the large room and finds Mario drugged out of his mind.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Why, Con? Why?”
“He killed Enrique,” I say simply. “He’s your Christmas present.”
He freezes as he turns to face me, his eyes explode wide, and his jaw drops.
“What? How the hell do you know this?” Then denial creeps in, and he starts to pace in front of the prone man.
“No. Impossible. He would never do that to me. He wouldn’t kill Enrique, especially without Alfonzo’s approval. ”
“He would, and he did.”
Enzo stops in his tracks and fists his hands tightly at his side, not looking at me. “How do you know this?”
“I overheard them at the fight. Remember my reaction when it was over? That wasn’t just me getting triggered.
I was having an anxiety attack when I overheard them speaking.
They were hidden between cars, talking about you.
They don’t know what to do with you because you keep pushing to find answers about Enrique. ”
His eyes land on mine, and they start to water. I can tell he believes me, but he isn’t ready to admit it yet. You can see the doubt creep into his soulful black eyes. “But… why? It… doesn’t make sense.”
“It does. Enrique was dating Carmen, who’s the daughter of Alfonzo’s enemy. It’s causing more of a strain between the two warring families. Alfonzo ordered Mario to take out Enrique to protect his business.”
I take a risk to my very being and walk over to Enzo, where he knelt in front of Mario.
He’s angry and intense right now. Although I trust him, I also know he can seriously hurt me.
That perpetual fear of getting hit always lingers in the back of my mind from years of abuse.
It doesn’t help that my stomach and face still hurt.
I run my fingers through his silky hair.
“I don’t know much about the criminal underground world, but I know men like Alfonzo will protect his business above all else.
Everyone is expendable.” I kneel next to him, and since he hasn’t lashed out at me yet, I press my lips to his cheek.
“They planned to kill you, too, Enny. They see you as a threat. A pesky little fly buzzing around and demanding answers. I’m not lying to you. ”
He takes a deep breath and drops his head. “Do you think… Do you think maybe you heard it wrong because of the anxiety?”
I sigh. Enzo’s not trying to hurt me, but I need him to believe me.
To trust me. “No, I heard everything clearly. My anxiety settled down when I heard that they were talking about you. I wish I’d remembered to pull out my phone and record them, but I was too hyper-focused.
If you want, we can sit and wait until the ketamine wears off and he can speak for himself.
He’ll probably lie, but I hope you believe me. ”
I sit in front of him so he can look at the truth on my face.
He’s still bruised, but not nearly as much as when I first saw him.
Still, I hate that he’s battered and bruised.
I don’t care that he chooses to fight and does it for money.
He should never be in pain or suffer. “I love you. I would do nothing to harm you or put you at risk unless it’s necessary.
This is necessary.” I finger back his fallen bangs again.
“I told you I would burn the fucking world to protect you. Just as you worry about me, I will always worry about you. While I may not be as big or strong as you, I have my ways.”
Enzo leans forward and presses his forehead against mine. “This fucking sucks.”
“I know, Angel. I’m so sorry. They deserve to die for what they’ve done to you. You know I don’t kill out of anger or vengeance, but I will for you.”
He straightens upright and looks down at Mario, watching us with glazed eyes.
Then, he reaches over and tugs on the end of the bow to pull it loose.
Tears start to slide down his face, but there’s no anger in his eyes.
At least not yet. He must process this new information.
He must come to terms with the fact that he’s been betrayed by his family.