Page 134 of Shifting Hearts 1
Unexpectedly, she pipes up from the back, “Looking at my tits. Just like you. Now, are we going to die in a fiery crash? Or are we going to cross the border and take these goons out on your home turf? Just asking for a friend.”
The sass coming from her is making me so hard. I must adjust myself before I can pull the knife from his leg.
“You might think she has saved you, but I will deal with you later,” I hiss in the driver’s direction.
Letting her stew for a little while, I attempt to regain my composure.
I watch her in the side mirror and hear my uncle say, “This will be a first. I have never seen him back down like that.” He is warming up to her and his allegiance has clearly shifted.
A whimsical old man he is, having been married to his wife for thirty-eight years.
She leans closer and whispers loudly behind her hand, “I think that is because no one dares to challenge him.”
I whip my head around to pin her down with my infamous death stare, but she hardly reacts. She just leans back in her chair, pulls my jacket’s lapel up to her nose, and takes a deep whiff.
This is doing nothing to calm down my raging hard-on, and I subconsciously will the driver to drive faster.
We are too close to the border to be involved in a shoot-out, which means the unwelcome party behind me intends to follow us through somehow.
I see the border posts to Juárez before us and know I need to make a decision because we will have more control over them on our own turf. And who am I to deny them the pleasure of my company if they were foolish enough to try this trick?
The car before us goes through the checkpoint, past the man who has been in our pocket since the day he started working here.
That is what this cartel is all about. Family and family ties work together to keep everyone safe and prosperous.
This guy at the border is a distant cousin of one of the aunts who married into the family. He is just related enough to have his mother taken care of in the best frail care unit in Juárez.
And in return, he follows any and all instructions we give him. And I have a special instruction for him today.
I let the window wind down. “Mi amigo, how is your mother today?”
Even if it is a subtle reminder of the power we have over him, he is still grateful. “She is having a good day. The nurse sent me a text early this morning saying that she wanted me to come and visit after work. That rarely happens anymore.”
I nod, knowing exactly how hard it can be to see the parent you love slowly disappear while being alive.
“Well, that is good. Listen, seems we have lured a stray, and we would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know the names of the men in the second car behind me. Get a photo while you are at it, won’t you?”
He nods fervently and we drive through.
I instruct the driver to slow down so as not to lose our tail, and I call the driver in the car behind me to instruct him topass us. That way, I could get a closer look at the vehicle and its occupants before leading them to the Warehouse.
Everyone in the car is silent while I attend to business, and I glance back to see if our new guest is nervous.
Oddly enough, the look on her face is filled with exhilaration.Could she be excited?
My uncle shakes his head when he sees the same thing and gives me that look.
That look that says, 'You have met your match, and she is just as crazy as you are.'
If he only knew that wasn’t all we might have in common.
Juárez is a bustling metropolitan area, and I get a good look in the rear-view mirror at the men in the car behind me while we wait for a green light. There are three of them, and the two in front look very solemn as they try to avoid looking suspicious.
The text from our contact at the border comes through just as we turn into the area where the Warehouse is located.
“The passports were fakes. But he let them pass anyway. He said they were not good enough to be government, and he saw they were armed.” I say as I turn to look back to reassure my uncle when the message comes through on my phone.
At least we are not on any agency radar. We wouldn’t want to make it too easy for them to catch us, especially if we are going to war with the Alvarez cartel. We can’t let their plans stand, and as it is in the world these days, we might be their only opposition.
