Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

“It’s time,” Gomez Ramirez announced the moment Javier walked into his office.

“Time?” He knew exactly what his “boss” was talking about, but sometimes it was better to play dumb and let the man believe he was smarter than Javier.

“To get back what this family lost. It is what Manuel would have wanted. I should’ve done something years ago, but I didn’t.”

Javier was glad that Gomez hadn’t done that, but no way would he say that to the drug lord. It would give too much away, and he’d worked way too hard for that to happen. “You were busy fighting for what was yours.”

He referred to the war that’d raged when Manuel had been killed. The battle had taken years and the cost had been high, but eventually Gomez had wrested back control from a rival drug lord and staked his claim. Letting the world know he was not to be messed with. He was meaner than Manuel had ever been, so everyone had sat up and taken notice.

“Doesn’t matter. I could’ve done both. But I’ve waited long enough. There were a couple of times I was getting close to getting her, and then shit happened and we had to lay fucking low.”

Javier was well aware of the situations Gomez was referring to. He’d been immensely glad his boss had decided to back off. “You know it was necessary. After we lost Arturo & Associates, the heat was on us. Not to mention the raid on that warehouse where we kept our product. Fucking bites that we lost what would’ve given us a over five mil on the streets.”

There he was, playing dumb again when it wasn’t just drugs that’d been lost in the raid. A shipment of women that would’ve fetched Gomez more than the drugs. That was why he’d started dealing in human trafficking, the return was higher than what he’d been getting on drugs.

Gomez was getting greedy, and that greed was going to lead to his downfall.

If Javier could hang on a little longer, then the loss of every piece of his soul that’d been chipped away would be worth it.

“Fucking journalist. Can’t believe that fucking American made it look like he’d killed her then killed himself. But she wasn’t dead. How the fuck does that happen? We should make sure she’s gone though.”

Javier’s stomach dropped. The last thing he needed was for Gomez to look further into the supposed death of Teresa Carter and find out that it wasn’t Phillip who’d let her live, it had been him. That he’d been the one to make it look like a murder suicide. Sometimes Gomez was easy to manipulate. “It was a fucking mess to clean up. The asshole was supposed to wait for me. Those were your orders to him. If he hadn’t killed himself, I would’ve made sure he was dead. And as for the bitch, she’s not worth the pain. Besides, you know what you want to do. Once you get your property back, then you can deal with her, if you still want to.” Again, he was making out he had no idea who or what this property Gomez was talking about when he’d known all along who Gomez Ramirez was chasing.

“I should’ve sent you to eliminate the bitch, not clean things up. You wouldn’t have made any mistakes. There’s a reason you’re my right-hand man, Javier. I can always count on you to do what is necessary. We will recoup those losses from the warehouse. We will make even more. Trust me.” Gomez smiled, although it was more grimace than smile, considering the scar running from his top lip to the center of his cheek—a souvenir from his war for control. “And you’re right. I have the ultimate prize to collect now. I’ve left you in the dark long enough. It’s time I told you what we’re going to claim. Or I should say who?”

Javier leaned forward, pasting on an excited expression. At least he hoped he looked like he couldn’t wait to hear what Gomez was about to say. Somehow he didn’t think he’d be able to divert Gomez’s attention in a different direction this time. The clock had been ticking down, and it just hit zero.

He should’ve known it would come to this.

That the moment Gomez had narrowed in on their location, he’d be dogged in his approach to get them.

“Who is it?”

“My niece. I am going to reclaim my brother’s daughter.”