Page 12 of Bone

“I know. I’m angry at myself,” said Parker. “I want in on this, Bone. I want to help kill those men.” Bone nodded.

“In time,” he said, wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve. “In time, we’ll all go. Right now, I’m going to get my girl healthy.” His mother smiled at him, the others realizing what he’d said as well.

“Go sit with her, Ty,” said Riley. “She’d going to need to know that you’re there, and you won’t leave her. Let us get her healed. You make sure she stays.” He nodded, kissing Riley’s cheek. He hugged his mother, kissing her, then hugged and kissed Mama Irene. As he walked past each of the men he knew so well, he squeezed their arm. Standing in front of Parker, he pulled the big man in for a man-hug, slapping his back.

“If you hadn’t been there, she’d be gone. Or worse. I owe her life to you.” Parker nodded, swallowing a fresh wave of tears. Bone stood at the doorway, watching as Max and Noa sat beside Londyn. Each man had a hand on a piece of her flesh, just letting her know she was protected. As they looked up, the tears in their eyes nearly broke Bone in two.

Max stood first, bending to gently kiss her forehead. Bone took his seat, touching the top of one hand. Noa stared at her deformed face and then looked up at Bone.

“I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I’ll protect her, or I’ll kill them. I’d prefer the latter, but I’d be honored with the former.” Noa stood and left the room, Kelsey waiting to hug her compassionate husband. Londyn moaned, whispering the words ‘no’ and ‘stop.’

“It’s okay, honey. It’s me. It’s Bone. I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. You’re going to be alright. We’re going to get you well, and then you and I are gonna have dinner and go for long walks.” He didn’t even realize he was crying as she fell back asleep. He felt the familiar hands of his brothers on his shoulders and turned, burying his face between them.

HG and Hoot looked at one another, shedding tears for their brother’s pain, and nodded. Cisco Perez had just fucked with the devil.

CHAPTER SIX

“Cisco Perez isn’t just some low-life gang leader in the barrios of Houston,” said Hiro. “His father was one of the most prolific Mexican gang leaders in the U.S. He and Londyn’s father, Hector Vacarro, came to the U.S. together. They settled in Houston and quickly started to demand protection money from the local businesses. Hector at least set himself up as an honest businessman, but Perez saw no need to cover up anything.

“Six years ago, Perez and Vacarro got into a huge disagreement, and it ended in a gunfight with both men dead. According to the Houston police, it was a simple disagreement, but the feds didn’t buy it and came in behind them. Thirty-seven members of the Houston PD were fired over the entire mess. They’d been taking payments, goods, and services from the men for years to look the other way.”

“What were they fighting over?” asked HG.

“Londyn. Witnesses said that years before, Hector promised Perez that their children would marry, making their bond as strong as blood. But Londyn knew nothing about it until her fifteenth birthday. She convinced her father to let her go to college, and he agreed, much to the anger of the Perez men. When she said she was going on to dental school, her father demanded she come home. He was getting pressure from Perez to turn her over to his son.

“Fortunately, Londyn refused. She got her own loans and went off to dental school. A friend of hers, a Maria Castillo, called to tell her what happened with her father and told her not to return to Houston. She got the message loud and clear. Trying to pay off her loans, she took the job at Charity and moved into that shithole apartment.”

“Fucking hell,” muttered Hex. “All she was trying to do was have a life. What do we know about Cisco Perez?”

“That’s another hornet’s nest,” said Sly. “Since the death of Londyn’s father, he took over as head of his gang and businesses as well. He’s slowly built an empire in Houston, killing rival gangs in all areas of the city. He has connections with traffickers and drug lords in Mexico, Central America, and South America. I’m not talking about the little guy. He’s been seen with Cortez, Rojas, and others.”

“Damn, he makes interesting friends,” said Cam. “Are the feds following him?”

“Oh, not just the feds, my friend. He’s got Homeland, Border Patrol, ATF, and the CIA following him. They think he was the one who brought Messina into the country from South America. He’s on everyone’s radar,” said Sly. “But you need to know this. He’s no fucking joke. Perez is brutal and takes delight in it, as we’ve seen. It doesn’t matter if it’s men, women, or children. He enjoys the torture and pain. He has those around him so scared, they refuse to testify.”

“Why? I mean, they’d offer protection,” said Luke.

“They did offer protection,” said Sly, “to six people. Two women, four men. They were all put in protective custody in secure locations. The women were found beaten to death, nearly every bone in their bodies broken after they’d been gang-raped by at least a dozen men. The men were tortured, dismembered, and burned. In all of these cases, their bodies were left outside businesses that were seen as non-compliant.”

“Jesus, we’re dealing with a psychopath,” said Luke.

“Bonafide,” nodded Sly. “If he knows that Londyn is in this area, he won’t leave. Which will be good for us. We can find him, track him, and take him down.”

“I want to do more than that,” said Max, looking at the younger men. “I know I’m not part of leadership, but I want to take him and everything he’s touched down. I want the barrio burned to the ground. I want the gangs dead. I want it all gone.”

“Max, why?”

“Why?” scowled Max. “Have you not looked at the little girl in the hospital bed. That’s what she looks like to me. A little girl. They beat her as they were raping her. You heard Riley and Gabi. Her hips were dislocated because they spread her legs and sat on them while someone else raped her. What kind of fucking animal does that?

“Now, we can do this in phases or all at once. But I want him destroyed and everything that he’s touched. If he’s got his hands in trafficking, we would have eventually encountered him anyway. I want to destroy him.” The men all stared at Max, a look that even made them feel some small amount of fear.

“We hear you, Max. And we agree,” said Luke, looking at the other men. “We’re going to bring Perez down all the way. But first, the most important thing is to get Londyn well. No one leaves this compound without a partner. Preferred are groups of three. Get a photo of Perez to the bike shop, café, salon, and Gwen’s studio. Put a man in the café and salon during business hours.”

“On it,” said Sly. “I’m also going to send the photo to the cousins and the church ladies. They’re usually in the know of everything happening around here.”

“Alright, let’s figure out where they are before Bone decides he’s going off on his own.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

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