AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who are you having followed, Alejandro?” he asks, voice hesitant when my jaw ticks. “Is there something I should know?”
“None of your concern at the moment.” I’m looking at him through narrowed eyes, hand on the blade’s handle. At once, his hands go up in a peaceful motion because he knows better than to question me. It’s not something I accept from my own mother. He has his position because my brother and Daniel have responsibilities that come first: to take care of family. Those that I consider my family. And while I’ve known him for years and trust him, I keep him around because he follows orders without questions. However, one wrong step out of line, and I’ll slit his throat without remorse. “Your curiosity isn’t needed. If and when I decide to explain, it will be at my discretion. Watch yourself, Salazar. Understood?”
“Yes, Patron. No disrespect meant.”
“Fresco, it’s just a warning. Remember your place.” Pushing my chair back, I stand and begin to undo the buttons of my linen shirt, letting it slip down my arms before placing it over the back of my desk chair. And while I gather my weapon of choice and the two accompanying bullets, Chiquito is up and over to my office door, opening and standing just outside the entrance.
No words are spoken as I exit.
None are needed as I stride toward the backyard with him a few steps behind.
I welcome the change in energy flowing through me as I get closer to my guest. My skin—every muscle in my body—vibrates as the blood in my veins thickens. It’s a yearning, a certain need that I’ve developed over the years. Since the day I took my first life.
Because there’s something therapeutic about the act.
How meticulous yet artistic the demise of each prey can be. How beautiful the first slice of my knife against pliant flesh feels. How the cries of forgiveness bring forth a calm that nothing else has provided as of yet.
It’s my vice. A release.
Laughter meets my ears the closer we get to the covered lanai where Marin is sitting. He doesn’t see me, but my men take notice. The amusement falls from their faces as the idiot, a man with a mouth bigger than his body, continues to spew bullshit on a topic I couldn’t give two shits about.
Holding a finger to my lips, I shake my head at my soldiers. The action takes less than five seconds, and they return to normal as if nothing’s happened.
“You need any help at your post, Señor Marin?” the guy to his right asks, and my guest’s head turns. He doesn’t see me when I enter and take a seat in the vacant chair at the head of this seating arrangement. His cockiness will be his downfall. Trusting my men will be the last stupid decision he makes.
“Are you asking for personal reasons?”
“Maybe.”
“At the moment, I could use a few good men to protect my product. Too many thieves in this business...you should know.” He chuckles, completely ignorant of how silent those around him have become. The man isn’t drunk, but it seems that after a few beers, he becomes mouthy, a little too boisterous over his mediocre accomplishments. “I mean, look at Alejandro and his family. A coffee farmer’s son one day and the next, the boss of bosses. He’s feared and wanted by our government, but untouchable due to global connections. You have to be one shrewd animal to go from a culicagado to this level of berraco.”
“Is that so?”
Marin’s head snaps in the direction of my voice and his face drains of color, but it’s his eyes that amuse me. The expression in them—the fear and awe as he flicks between my face and the large tattoo of a hydra that takes up the majority of my upper body from pecs to the waistband of my pants.
The large creature, a mixture of dragon and snake with seven heads, is intimidating—bold, with each separate body curling around a long staff while baring their teeth. All accept one. Their master. He’s wise and untouchable, and this is the perfect representation of my fearlessness and the danger I pose to others.
That while many work for me…
They dirty their hands for me…
I’ll always remain on top. Their boss.
“Parce, please continue with your assessment.” He swallows hard, beads of sweat now across his brow, and I smile. I’m amused by how quickly he lost the false bravado in my presence. “It’s always good to know how the public perceives me.”
“Alejandro, it’s good to see...fuck!”
“Answer only what the patron asks,” Chiquito hisses, hand wrapped around Marin’s neck from behind. He’s squeezing tight. Tight enough that his face becomes red and his lips a noticeably light shade of blue.
I wait for a beat or two before nodding at my right-hand. “Release him.”
“As you wish, sir.” Salazar steps back but doesn’t move from position. A man is covering each of the idiot’s sides and all avenues of escape while I sit directly across. A small rattan center table is all that separates us.
“It’s a lovely day out, isn’t it?” There are varying responses from my men. Some say yes, some say it looks like it might rain, and the one to my guest’s right shrugs indifferently with it’s okay. They all answer, but Marin. Another one with mierda for manners. “Do I need to repeat my question, Santiago?”
“No.”
Nothing else, and I let out a rough exhale. “Put him on his knees.”
