Page 14 of Cartel King

“I’d like that. Tomorrow?” Do I sound too eager?

“Tomorrow.”

We go our separate ways once we’re ready. We avoided talking about work, and we said little more about our families. It’s fine with me since I don’t want to be evasive or lie. I like him too much to do that, and that’s a real problem.

Chapter Four

Enrique

“Me importa un culo.Ese culicagadoque te den.” I don’t give a shit. That ass shit can get fucked.

I’m fucking pissed.Culicagadodoesn’t translate well. It means ass shit—slang that combines two of the most versatile words in any language. But I mean someone who doesn’t know enough to be running their mouth. That would be Sean O’Rourke.Cabroncete.Little fucker.

“Enrique, you know that. I know that. We all know that. But it doesn’t change how Sean’s figured out our cypher or that he’s now got our offshore bank account behind so many firewalls and passwords I’m not sure it still exists.”

Luis’s voice remains calm, but his expression tells me he’s as pissed as I am. I’m at his place along with his son and our nephews. Margherita’s upstairs napping. It’s the only reason we’re meeting right now. As important as this is, I wouldn’t pull my brother away from his wife the first morning he’s home after being back in Colombia for six weeks.

“Tío,let them keep the account in Belize. It doesn’t have much in it despite what they think. Unless they withdraw cash—which means they find someone they trust to do that or one of them goes down there—and there’s little chance of that—they’ll have to do a wire transfer. I’ll keep an eye on any and all money leaving the country.”

Jorge’s our CPA. He doesn’t just track our profits and losses, he’s also a forensic accountant. Each of the Four Families has one. Jorge is superior to the rest. The other families think they have the best, but we actually do. Jorge’s more discreet with how he manages our money, even if the O’Rourkes believe they’ve secretly stockpiled more than any of us know.

Jorge’s brother Joaquin heads up our intel gathering and is a hacking genius. No one bought his way into MIT. He’s cultivated an image of being the most blasé of their generation, but it’s because he’s painfully shy. He’s a complete introvert who’s learned to navigate an extroverted world. His couldn’t-give-a-fuck attitude masks his aversion to being in crowds or making small talk. It lets him avoid those situations.

Since he’s such a home body and is the most inquisitive of all my nephews, he creates computer programs that run circles around the other families. He built one that allows Jorge to monitor international transactions, especially any connected to Latin America. That means any large transactions get flagged. He’ll let me know the moment anything pings.

No one brings drugs in or out of this hemisphere without my consent.

That makes me think of Ellie—Elodie. She has no idea who or what I am. To her, I’m just Enrique. She doesn’t know my last name, so I’m sure she hasn’t looked me up. If she had, she wouldn’t come near me. If her dog knew what a threat I pose to her, he’d have chewed me apart by now. I shouldn’t spend time with her, but she intrigues me.

I joined Luis down in Colombia for two weeks, but I’ve been in New Jersey the rest of the time. I’ve admitted to no one that part of the reason I’ve stayed up here is to be with Ellie. I keep thinking of her like that. We’ve been going for walks and out on the water for more than a month now, and I treasure every minute of it.

I’ve seen her all but three days in the past month. The only reason I missed those days was because I had a couple of my men make some poor decisions. They needed reminders they worked for me not the other way around. Once I was sure they couldn’t forget, I made sure they couldn’t breathe again.

I consider what Jorge said about the sheltered account in Belize and what to do about the O’Rourkes.

“Fine. But I don’t want too much moving out of that account before we act. I don’t want them thinking it took us long to discover what they’re doing.”

“I can be in Bogotá tomorrow and out to the labs by tomorrow night. I can check on everything.Tío—” Alejandro looks at Luis, not me. “—you didn’t have time to go out there again. I can find their labs and get photos or video. No one will be any the wiser.”

Despite Alejandro being the biggest of all of us, he’s a fucking phantom. Even in daylight, the man moves with such stealth it’s unnerving. He’s been that way since he was a toddler. He’d disappear before anyone realized he was on his feet. Used to scare the shit out of my sister and brother-in-law. It’s why they stopped after one.

“Let me think about it. In the meantime,manito, what happened with Miguel?”

“Thatcabrónthought he could set up his own import company. He didn’t expect me to stop by.” Asshole.

Miguel Rojas is one of the most notorious murderers in Colombia and has been in prison for twenty-nine years and is facing life in there. He worked for my uncle and was the one who was supposed to carry out the hit that killed my father.TíoHumberto—that fucking flaming sack of shit—wanted what his older brother had and what I have now. The role ofjefede jefes—boss of bosses. I heard about the plot, so I made sure Miguel went away. For the first twenty years, he was an ideal inmate. I’d say jump, and he’d ask how high. But a few years ago, he found hishuevosagain.

Every time he does, I kick him in the balls. Calling them eggs makes much more sense, considering how fragile they are. I make sure Miguel remembers I’ll take him down to his knees if he reaches too far. Right now, “import company” means he’s bringing drugs into the prison without my permission. I’m not getting my cut, and he bragged about that. Luis went down there to shut his operation down.

“How’d you make the connection between him and the O’Rourkes?” That’s at the heart of this, and what I need to know.

“This shit he was selling is as dirty as what we send in, but the formula was different. I traced it back to Bolivia. That’s when things slowed down and why I was out of touch the last two weeks. Fucking no reception in that part of the jungle.”

The first two weeks Luis was down there, he was wrapping up some deals we made with rivals. Those deals meant they pay us a tariff to importandexport, and we let them live. He spent two more weeks in the prison with Miguel. He checks in and out of prisons in Colombia like they’re Hiltons. Sometimes he gets himself busted, and sometimes, he just walks in and pays for a cell. Depends on who he’s visiting and what he needs to do.

He’s known asel Espíritu Santo—the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit—because everyone knows if he’s coming for you, your soul’s about to leave your body.

This time, he wanted to teach more than just Miguel a lesson. No one crosses me without facing me or someone in my family. After neutralizing Miguel, Luis went into the Amazon for some recon. That’s where Alejandro will pick up from.

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