Page 100 of Cartel King

“No, they parked beside each other, hood to trunk, so he could speak to whoever. Now they know I’m taking Ellie to my house. I will, but I’ll take a detour to get there. I’m in Ellie’s SUV. If anybody else shows up at my gate, don’t let them in. Call the house and let the men know. It doesn’t matter if they recognize them or not. Only you and your cousins are allowed on the property.”

“Tío, this is serious if you don’t wantTíoMatías there.”

“Until I understand what’s going on, I don’t want anybody other than the five of you.”

“Should I tell Papa?”

“Later. Once we have a better understanding of what’s going on. I don’t want him to think he needs to leave your mama again tonight.”

“Okay. What do I tell Alejandro?”

“Nothing yet.”

“And if he gets a call?”

I know he means if Alejandro gets a call from his dad, but Pablo doesn’t want to say his uncle’s name again.

“He can answer honestly. He doesn’t know what’s going on. Just tell him I need you there now.”

“All right, we’ll be over there as soon as we can.”

It didn’t sound like he had me on speaker. I trust Alejandro implicitly, but I don’t want my nephew in a position of questioning his father or having to pick between us until I know whether he needs to choose.

I follow the car Andrés is supposedly in as we pass through the neighborhood gate. I go two blocks with Matías behind me. I take an unexpected left, leaving the unknown driver to go ahead of us, and Matías unprepared for my sudden detour. I speed, navigating through the surrounding neighborhood to ensure Matías doesn’t catch up with me. I’m certain the mystery driver already noticed we’re no longer behind them.

I can see the lights in my neighborhood as I turn the last corner. I glance in the rearview mirror and recognize Matías’s car coming up behind us. When I look ahead, I recognize the oncoming car as one from my fleet. They’re trying to box us in. I spin the SUV around as I go through an intersection, not bothering with the stop sign. I take the first right, just as Matías becomes visible behind the wheel.

“Watch behind us, Ellie.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

She’s said that playfully and seductively. I love that, but I hate it when I hear her say it out of fear.

“It’s all right,chiquita. Change of plans. We won’t go to my house.”

“Where’re we going instead?”

“Luis’s.”

“No, Enrique. Margherita looked tired today. We have to go somewhere else. I don’t want this around her, whatever’s going on. I don’t want her to be a target, too.”

“It’s not your decision, Ellie, even though I appreciate what you’re saying. We have protocols in place for things like this.”

She remains quiet as I concentrate on maneuvering. Both cars now follow me, and it won’t take long for them to realize the new destination. I just need to keep them behind me rather than either of them getting in front of me again. I’ll circle some more blocks, but I’ll take the most direct route I can.

A car pulling out of a driveway forces me to slow. When Matías’s car gets too close, I swerve around the one that just got in front of me. The driver blows his horn, pissed at what I’m certain he believes is erratic driving. I call it evasive maneuvering. I flick my gaze to the rearview mirror; I only see Matías’s vehicle. It makes me wonder if they already guessed where we’re headed and if the other car isn’t trying to get ahead of us.

“Enrique, up there.”

Ellie points to headlights that’re barely visible, but they’re at a street corner two blocks ahead of us. They aren’t moving, and there isn’t a stoplight there, only a stop sign.

“I see them,chiquita.”

I take another unexpected left turn. Ellie reaches back to pat Constantine who whimpers, not liking these unpredictable moves. I pray I don’t make him carsick. Dog vomit is the last thing we need to deal with right now, and I’d feel guilty.

As we turn onto a dark street, I turn off the headlights, hoping to be less noticeable if either of our pursuers realizes what road we’re on.

Ellie unfastens her seatbelt. I reach for her, but she pushes away my hand. She scrambles into the back seat beside Constantine. She keeps her head low as she urges the dog to sit in front of her as she kneels on the floor. She reaches to the side and folds down half of the back seat. She scrambles to reach her weapons bag.

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