Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
MALO
I follow Beast and the other men out of the building, toward the single scout who seems to have been sent out to greet us. I glance over at Sin, who exchanges a doubtful look with me. He can tell as much as I can that there is something up here, and he doesn’t like it any more than I do.
The weight of this is pressing down hard on me, and I’m trying to keep my pace steady as I prepare to take on whatever comes next. I have to be ready to fight, I know that. It’s just the core contingent here, the Kings who’ve been with Beast for years, the guys he trusts most in the world. He’s got the people closest to him right here by his side, and he’s going to do everything he can to make sure this first battle goes well.
Though, as I glance around, I realize that the cartel has only sent one man. Though it might seem like a bad idea, just to send a single emissary, it’s a signal of their strength; they know that we’re going to have to shut the fuck up and listen to him, even though he’s not so much as carrying a weapon right now. They’re commanding our attention, whether we like it or not, and I don’t like the thought of what this means for us.
“Who the fuck are you?” Beast bellows, cutting through the silence in the air around us for the first time. The man grins and takes a step forward, out of the shadows, and my shoulders tense as soon as I lay eyes on him.
Fenix.
I know of him, though this is the first time I’ve met him face-to-face. He’s got a reputation as El Serpiente’s closest confidante. If that man can have anything close to what’s called a friend, then this is him, which is why I assume he’s the one who’s been sent out to speak with us right now.
“You know who I am,” he says in a haughty, taunting tone. There’s a bristle of anger around the group. None of us like hearing Beast talked to like that. He deserves respect, but it’s never going to come from the cartel.
“Your name,” Beast growls. “Now.”
Fenix glances around all of us, clearly calculating his chances of getting away with just denying the request, but, when he sees our glowering faces, he thinks better of it. He rolls his shoulders back, and locks his eyes on Beast.
“Fenix,” he replies. “I work for El Serpiente. And I’m here to offer you a deal.”
A deal? A murmur runs through our small group when he says those words. This could be good—a sign that the cartel is already willing to back down and give us what we want—or it could be really, really bad.
“I’m listening,” Beast replies, which surprises me. Working with the cartel? Surely, he’d never even entertain the idea. But, as I glance over at him, I can see that fire in his eyes, the fury that tells me he’s not going to let them take control that easily.
Fenix flicks his tongue over his lips, grins, and takes another step forward. Sin reaches for his gun, as do the others around us. Beast lifts a hand, calming us, silently telling us that he has this under control.
I pray to God he does. Because if this goes south…
I push the thought down. I can’t even let that cross my mind.
“Here’s the deal,” Fenix begins. He’s clearly enjoying having our attention like this, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me that we were handing over the stage to him so easily. He looks confident, as though he knows we’re going to take this, before the words have even left his mouth.
“We’ll leave Houston,” he continues. “Take all of Las Rosas Negras out of the city. Wipe every trace of us off the map. If…”
He pauses for dramatic effect. He’s enjoying this, I can see it written all over his face. This is some kind of game to him.
“If you can get your man in the sheriff’s department to look the other way on our, uh, importing business,” he finishes up. I grit my teeth when I hear those words come out of his mouth. Importing? Is that what he wants to call it? Talking about all of this as though he’s moving some bootleg TVs over the border, and not actual people?
My mind fills with the memory of what I saw in that barn when I followed Chuy out of the village that one fateful day, the smell of blood in the air, the cries for help from the women and children bound to the walls like animals, like cattle. That’s what he’s asking us to look the other way on. And if he thinks Rebel is going to pretend like he doesn’t see that, he’s got another thing coming. Let alone Beast…
“Get him to drop any investigation, and make sure there are no other agencies looking to pick it up after that,” he continues. “It’s done. Nobody pursuing it. That’s what we want in exchange for getting out of Houston.”
He lets the words hang in the air for a long moment. I glance over at Beast, expecting him to laugh in his face. After all the shit the cartel has put us through, put Bella and Harley through, he’s not even going to entertain this idea, is he?
But, to my surprise, he tilts his head back. He doesn’t move his gaze from Fenix as he speaks again. “I need some time to consider that.”
I stare at him, gob smacked. No way am I hearing him right—no fucking way. Because the Beast that I know would never let these assholes dictate how this is going to go to him, not a chance in hell.
The Beast that I know, I remind myself, is clever. And if he’s playing along with this right now, it’s because he thinks there’s something to be gotten out of this offer. It might not be clear to me now, but he thinks bigger than I do. He sees the bigger picture, knows more than I ever could. And, while this doesn’t make a single lick of fucking sense to me, I have to trust him.
God knows he’s given me the benefit of the doubt more times than I would care to count.
“It’s one fucking hell of an ask,” he adds, and the venom is his voice, for a split second, is clear. Fenix eyes him. The air feels thick with tension, as though any of us might go for our guns at any moment. I grit my teeth, scanning the space behind him. I still don’t trust that the cartel hasn’t got a stack of men here ready to pounce on us the moment they get the chance, sending in their guy first to try and throw us off the scent of anything more serious.
“Not much to get us out of your hair,” he replies, raising his eyebrows pointedly. “Think about it. You never have to deal with us again. That doesn’t sound good to you?”
Beast doesn’t break eye contact with Fenix for a moment. I can tell all the horrors the cartel has inflicted on the people close to him are playing through his mind, all the shit they’ve done to the Kings, to the people we’ve set out to protect. For them to send someone here and ask for this shit, it’s fucking insulting, and they know it. They know what they’re doing, and they know Beast is never, in a million years, going to agree.
But we also know, clear as day, that the cartel has some serious firepower to their name, and we don’t know exactly how far that might stretch. The Desperados have already been exposed as their allies. Who else might be playing their corner? Who can we trust?
“I want time,” Beast tells him, meeting his gaze steadily.
Fenix pauses, then shrugs. “Twenty-four hours,” he replies. “It’s a short-time offer. Make your mind up by then, Beast.”
He turns and walks off, and there is a deafening silence around the compound. It’s as though everyone is holding their breath, waiting for Beast to say something, to explain what the fuck is going on and why he just seems to have entertained an offer laid down by the cartel.
Beast stares straight ahead until Fenix is out of sight, and then, he brakes into action. He turns to Sin.
“Get one of our men,” he orders. “Tell him to get on Fenix’s tail, now. I want to know where he’s staying and if he’s brought anyone else out here with him. We need to know what we’re dealing with here.”
“On it, boss,” Sin replies, and he dives back inside the house. I hear him calling for Q, he’s perfect for the job, silent on his feet and as mysterious as they come.
Beast glances around to the rest of us, and gestures inside. “We need to strategize,” he bellows. “War room. Now.”
We follow him inside, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Of course he’s not going to let them get away with it that easily, not after everything they’ve done. These are the people responsible for the violation of his daughter, the people who’ve rained down holy hell on so many in this city. They need to be brought into line, once and for all.
Q takes off into the night, with strict orders to get back to us with anything and everything he sees or hears. He’s young, but there’s a determination in his eyes that tells me he takes this seriously. I pause for a moment, wondering what he’s seen, everything he’s been through to bring him here, but I brush that aside. If Beast trusts him that’s good enough for me. We’ve all been through some shit to land us here in the first place. What matters is that we keep our focus, and keep moving forward, no matter how tough it gets.
In the war room, Beast plants his hands on the table. I can see the anger, fully unleashed now, at the offer they’ve given to him.
“They really think they can come in here and just tell us how it’s going to be,” he mutters, shaking his head. “After all they’ve done… what do they take us for?”
“They think we’re weak,” Thor cuts in. “And that’s a good thing. That means they’re not ready for us to make a hit against them.”
“Good point,” Beast agrees. “As soon as we get the info on where Fenix is hiding out, we’ll make a move. I want to hit them now, while they think we’re considering their offer.”
He spits those words out, as though the very thought of them disgusts him. I can tell it’s getting to him. He must know as well as I do that Rebel would never agree to this, even if he somehow would. Rebel knows what they deal in, trafficking isn’t something he abides, and he’ll break from the pack if it means doing what’s right. It’s what makes him such a good sheriff, even if he pretends to hate the position.
I feel a smile spreading over my face as we begin to put a plan of attack together. I know we still have a hell of a lot to do, a hell of a lot to take on, but right now, none of that bothers me. I am ready to handle it, whatever they throw our way.