Chapter 15 #2
“Fuck, yeah, but that ain’t what I wanna talk about.” He narrows his eyes, and I see the outlaw in him. “So, stop stalling.”
“It’s complicated.” Sure, I’m stalling, but we’re talking about going against the Mexican cartel.
“I’m used to complicated, babe. I’m an outlaw biker, remember?”
“So, you’re attracted to me and wanted more?”
“Quit changing the subject.”
Maybe I could work this around and save Eduardo and myself.
“Eduardo is my brother.”
“What?” Diesel drops to the couch next to me. “Your brother?”
“My twin brother.”
“No shit! But you don’t look . . .”
“We’re fraternal twins, which means we’re not identical. We just look like any other brother and sister. Eduardo has my father’s darker coloring, while I take after my mother’s side of the family.”
Diesel looks at me closer. “You’ve got the same eyes though.”
“Our one redeeming feature.”
“I’ve only met him a few times, but you’re nothing like him. He’s kind of a—”
“Screw-up? Deadbeat? Pain in the ass?”
“All of the above, but the bottom line is he works for Benito, who heads the cartel. He’s ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
I’ve gone this far, might as well seal the deal.
“Six months ago, Eduardo called me in the middle of the night practically crying in desperation. He begged me to meet him at a dive bar in Imperial Beach, and to bring money because he was in deep trouble. I brought whatever money I had, and when I got there . . .”
“What happened when you got there?”
“I went into the back door of the deserted club like Eduardo instructed.” I rub my sweaty palms on the t-shirt.
“There were three men with Eduardo. One of them was Benito. I gave them the money, but it wasn’t enough.
Eduardo tried to bargain with them. There was yelling and screaming back and forth, but in the end, I was the collateral. ”
“Shit, your brother sold you to the cartel.”
“Pretty much.” I bite my lower lip. “They grabbed me and bundled me into a van waiting in the alley. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I thought they were just threatening him, but the van doors slammed shut, and I was headed for Rosarito.”
“That is fucked-up.”
“It showed how desperate he’d become. His gambling and drug habit put him in huge debt with the cartel, and I was payment.”
“Fuck, babe, I don’t wanna ask what you had to do.”
“Probably not what you’re thinking.” I draw in another deep breath. “They housed me in a barracks-like building with twenty-four-hour guards.”
“Go on.” His calm demeanor freaks me out.
“Once a week, I would strap drugs to my body, travel over the border to Imperial Beach, exchange the drugs for money and head back to Rosarito.”
“And when you were in the States, couldn’t you contact someone or try to get away?”
“They’d send me with someone from the cartel. Usually someone who looked my age, making us seem like just another couple.”
“I can’t believe he kept you prisoner for six months, or that you never got caught goin’ over the border.”
“It helped that the cartel has dirty cops and guards at the border on their payroll, plus in the right clothes, I made myself look like a teenager.” I sweep my hand over myself. “Not really that hard. We had all the proper documents, and no one ever stopped us.”
“Fuck!” He slams his hand against the sofa. “The next time I see that bastard, Benito, he’s over.”
I grab his arm. “You don’t understand. You can’t beat these people. They control everything and everyone here in Mexico and in the States.”
“Nah, you’re wrong, babe. The Bastards have gained just as much power in Tijuana.”
“In Tijuana maybe, but their reach is far beyond this city.”
Diesel pushes off the couch. “I need a fuckin’ drink.” He turns to me. “You want another water?”
I nod, and a few minutes later, he returns with a half tumbler of whiskey for him and another bottle of water for me.
“Amazing and fucked-up at the same time.”
“Because of Benito’s connections, most times we didn’t even have to wait in line. Then, on the other side, someone would pick us up and take us to the drop-off point.”
“Not surprising with all the cash they throw around.”
“Eduardo promised it would only be a month or two, but a few months stretched into six. I found out later that Eduardo had been working for Benito for months to pay off other debts, but when it all got out of hand, they grabbed me.”
“Your brother knew that night in Imperial Beach that they were gonna grab you.”
“Yes.” I lower my head, ashamed for Eduardo. “He played on my guilt to get me down there, knowing what would happen.”
“I’ve done some bad shit in my life, but that is fucked-up.”
“People with addictions do desperate things. He’s stolen from our mother too, and if you can steal from your own mother, you must be desperate, right?”
“Or just selfish.” He twists his lips. “How many people did Benito have doin’ this?”
“At least ten other men and women, all indentured to the cartel in one way or another. They start recruiting kids in poor villages with the promise of a better life, but, of course, they just become slaves of the cartel. Some of the others were there like me because of debts owed by family members. The cartel rules by intimidation and a corrupt government.”
“Shit!”
“The living conditions were barren but clean, and we were fed only enough to survive and stay healthy.”
“That’s why you were so skinny when you first came here.”
“The isolation and lack of freedom were crippling.”
“Easy way to move product for free, and if you get caught, there’s no blowback on them.”
“For some of the others, it was a step up from their impoverished villages in Mexico and South America. We don’t realize how lucky we are in the States until you hear the stories of other people.
Their children go for days without food or proper healthcare, and they would do anything just to survive—including running drugs for the cartel. ”
“We’ve seen it here in Tijuana. That’s why we try to employ as many locals as possible.”
“The cartel rules through power and intimidation. It’s very debilitating, and after a while, it plays with your mind. That’s why I freaked out when I saw Benito with you and the other Bastards. I thought for sure he’d found out I was here, and that you guys would lead him to me.”
“Nah, he was here for a completely different reason.” Diesel sips at the whiskey.
He reaches out for my hand, but I shy away from his touch. I have too much to accomplish to fall into a situation that would never work.
“I can help you, babe.”
“No, I don’t think you can.”
I purposely keep Eduardo holding my passport to myself, because I don’t want Diesel interfering with my brother in any way and messing up my last chance to get my passport.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him sitting right next to you. I totally freaked out, and it must’ve brought on a panic attack.” My throat closes up, and I brace my hands against my knees. “I can’t go back. I won’t go back.”
Diesel gulps the rest of the whiskey, then pushes off the couch and paces in front of it. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.”
“I can’t stay here knowing he might’ve seen me. I mean it.” I hop off the couch, and he blocks my path. “I’ll fight you and die before I’ll go back.”
He rests his hands on my shoulders, and I shrug him away, pushing him off.
Diesel huffs out a breath. “I’m not gonna let him hurt you.” He holds out his hand, but I hesitate.
Maxie told me the Royal Bastards have developed power in Tijuana, but it’s nothing compared to the countrywide hold the cartel has on the city and its people. Their reach stretches to the police and even elected officials.
Diesel steps closer, and the scent of whiskey and male surrounds me. How easy this would be if we were just two people learning about each other instead of an outlaw biker doing business with the very people hunting me.
“Sometimes you have to accept help.” He takes my hand, then wraps his other arm tight around my waist.
“How can I accept help from you when you’re doing business with Benito?” My anxiety triggers, but I’m too close to his body to break free. “Let me go.” I ball my fists and pound his rock-hard chest and shoulders.
“Not a chance.”