Cartel B!tch: Almanza Crime Family Duet

by Chelsea Camaron

  When Maricio and I left Juarez, I was panicked. At the border, the officer even eyed me suspiciously and asked if I was okay. I wanted to scream that no I was anything but okay, but everything was such a mess already. We made it to Las Cruces where I was locked in Maricio’s bedroom. I slept most of the day there. My mind was exhausted from trying to process what little Maricio had said. The worry over Javi ate at me but I had no way to reach him. When Maricio came to bring me food, I tried to rush through the door. He stopped me and threw me to the bed. Maricio was too strong.

  I had not a single doubt in my mind that Maricio would hurt me. He had hit me. He had crossed every line that my mother raised him not to cross. Women were supposed to be cherished, taken care of, not tossed around, beaten, and held captive. Somehow though, my brother justified this in his mind to make it okay for him to treat me like a possession not a person. I had to stay smart. I couldn’t overpower him, I knew this. All that I had was my mind. No matter what I still had my head.

  So I decided to take a different tactic. Instead, I spent four days listening to the noises outside of the room and looking out the window. Maricio didn’t leave which made my escape more of a challenge. On day four, while I heard him snoring on the couch, I took a chance.

  What I didn’t anticipate was alarms on the windows. When I slid the window up, I didn’t know it sent an alert to Maricio. As I shimmed the screen off and hoisted my body through the frame, I didn’t pay attention. If I had, I would have known my brother was coming around the side of the house with fury in his eyes.

  My gaze was on the house next door. While I hadn’t seen cars come or go, I did catch a pattern of lights that turned on at dinner time and off around midnight. To me, this meant people and people meant a way to reach Javi. I had to tell him about the baby. Inside, I hated him for the arrangement, but I couldn’t keep our baby a secret. He deserved to know.

  Except, I never made it to that house to find those people. Maricio caught me, threw me over his shoulder and brought me back inside. After her beat me unconscious I woke up chained to his bed. When I came to, the pain throughout my body and especially my face was almost too much to handle. When I realized the chain was around my wrist, I freaked out. I wasn’t expecting it and I really didn’t know what I would do next. I have enough room on the chain to make it to the bucket he has left me to use for a toilet and that was it. Every two days, he would unchain me, take me to the shower and stand in the stall with me while I washed.

  I had no privacy.

  I had no dignity.

  I had nothing left.

  I was broken and it was at my very own brother’s hands.

  As my belly grew, Maricio would tell me that my baby was the key to everything. I didn’t know what he meant nor did I care. He wouldn’t get to use this baby like he had me, and neither would Javier Almanza. My baby was not going to be tied to their world. Not if I had anything to say about it. I would give Javi the chance to be a father, but he would not drag our child into the dangerous world he lived in.

  While I may have been fucked by my situation, I wasn’t hopeless. I would find a way to have a life for me and my child. No one would do to my baby what Maricio and Javi had me. I was part of their games, their needs, and their world. My baby would have a life of its own, free from all this. With every passing day, I knew the risks to my health and the baby’s grew. I had to find a way out.

  Every day I thought the same thoughts. It was almost like that cartoon from way back with the two lab rats always talking about taking over the world. Pinky and the Brain. Well, I wasn’t Pinky and I wasn’t the Brain, but I would find a way to take back my life like they wanted to take over the world. Except where they failed time and time again, I would eventually win. I had to. I woke up and every thought I had was about how I would get out and free from Maricio. Most of the plans were things that never advanced beyond a thought, some I had hope would one day work.

  With no money, no car, and in America as an illegal alien, I needed to wait. I was pregnant and had another little life to think about. Once the baby was born, though, Maricio wouldn’t be able to leave me chained in case the baby needed me. He had already talked about formula and diapers so I knew I was keeping my baby and Maricio would get me supplies. When I first realized I was indeed pregnant I had this fear that Maricio would make me get an abortion. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself after that. He surprised me instead by discussing what I thought I would need. Slowly, he had been picking up some things. I just needed to find a way to hide them so I could stock up before I found a way to escape.

  This was the time of day I would normally sing to my baby. Just as I readied to do so, the bedroom door burst open with Maricio rushing in wildly.

  “Time to go.” He muttered as he went to the closet and began banging around. “I got us a new place, a new ride, new names. Javi thinks he’s so smart. Paco won’t let him find us.”

  That was when he moved us the first time. Since then there had been three more houses. The time passed, my belly grew, and while I wanted to feel like I had a home, I really had nothing at all.

  No family.

  No home.

  No security.

  Nothing but a baby growing inside me from a love that wasn’t real.

  Javier Almanza was my biggest lesson in a broken heart. The first week, I prayed for him. I would drop to my knees beside the bed with my rosary. So many Hail Mary’s were spoken all for a man who never came to save me. I didn’t pray for myself, I prayed for him. I still had this faith that somehow Javi would find me, get me, and tell me Maricio was lying. It was stupid really to hold onto any kind of hope. So I kept twisting my emotions around inside me from hate to hope and back to hate again.

  Except Paco called and told me on speaker phone how the order was delivered. He told me how he was willing to be the one to marry me, now. He promised me loyalty, faithfulness, and a life by his side.

  Maricio denied his request for me which was probably the only kind thing he had done for me since leaving Juarez. I didn’t have it in me at the time to reject Paco, but it also wasn’t in my heart to marry him—even if it offered me security, protection, and freedom from Maricio.

  Paco told me Javi had moved on with another woman. The words cut me to the core, but I didn’t dare let it show for my brother or the man on the phone. Paco was the reason Javi and Maricio were in this life—a life that had me and my brother now on the run.

  I just didn’t know what or who we were running from. Maricio never told me either.

  Maricio entered the room where I sat on the bed rubbing my belly. Instantly, I stopped. He was high. The way his eyes wouldn’t focus I could tell he was on something and his reaction, well, it wasn’t good.

  “I’m leaving for the next two days.” He tossed a bag beside me on the bed. “Here’s your food. Inside is a phone, it will only call one number, me. Don’t use it unless it’s an emergency.”

  Without another word, he turned and left before I could even let the panic set in.

  I was who knows how many months pregnant because really I couldn’t keep up with the days since I didn’t have a calendar and now my brother, the one person to help me deliver this baby was leaving.

  At first I sat in the bed feeling helpless. My chest hurt as my heart rate was going wild.

  “Alright little one, we’re gonna be okay. I promise to keep you safe.” I knew there was no escape so instead I said ten Hail Mary’s and prayed my brother would be safe.

  I had no one to depend on, but my baby, well my baby had me.

  Chapter Eleven

  Javier

  With a quick goodbye to my mother, I took off to Paco’s. Inside the room, the very room where Paco killed Miguel, I could hear noise. I paused just outside the door to listen.

  The home Miguel built was large for Juarez. The fence surrounding the property kept everyone out unless you were welcomed inside. Paco immediately moved into the residence after assuming his role.
Funny, the man didn’t give the organization his name. He said the Silvia Cartel had global recognition and he preferred to keep it that way. I didn’t ask questions because honestly, it was’t my job to. I did what ever was necessary, period.

  “Like you took from Miguel, I will take from you, Paco.” Maricio proclaimed on a laugh. My heart stopped.

  The rage rushed through my veins like a junky getting a hit. It was a cold burn that took over inch by inch.

  Maricio was here just on the other side of the wall from me. My missing eye twitched from ghost pains that still came and went. I had to remain calm. I had to keep my shit together. He had been able to stay away from my reach for far too long. Being this close to ending him, I couldn’t rush in and lose my advantage.

  It also had me curious as to Paco’s interaction with my nemesis. In Maricio’s absence I had risen to Paco’s top staff. Would Paco play both sides? Absolutely.

  Which meant this could be as much of a set up for me as it could be Paco needing help. I should have played it safe. I should have waited for Aurelio so I wouldn’t be a single man getting double-teamed. I should have done a lot of things that I didn’t do.

  As much as I told myself to remain calm, cool, and collected, I didn’t. In the end, I burst into the room with my gun raised. Maricio stood with his own gun trained on Paco. The way his eyes couldn’t seem to focus told me he was high. The barrel of his gun shook from the unsteady grip he held on the weapon. Yes, Maricio was not prepared for this situation.

  The problem was Maricio honestly handled everything better on the fly. If he wanted to he would put a bullet between Paco’s eyes and turn to do the same to me. If I didn’t stay aware, Maricio could be the last man standing today. And well, that was the last thing I wanted to have happen.

  Upon my entrance, Paco looked to me. For the first time since I met him at nine years old, Paco showed fear. His eyes were full of trepidation while his hands remained unsteady. Paco was shaken up and bad. Paco didn’t do drugs so I knew he wasn’t high. No, he was truly afraid.

  He knew as well as I did, Maricio was high and the most unpredictable son-of-a-bitch you would ever meet. The combination was dangerous. The desperation was written in his features. Desperate and high, the odds were not in Paco’s favor. Maricio was probably so blitzed if he were to get shot, he wouldn’t even feel it right away. Some drugs gave weak men Superman complexes and Maricio was one of those men. In his mind, he could take on the world and he would if given an opportunity. His fingers kept twitching as did his eyebrows, his neck was stiff, and his eyes were wild. High Maricio was a problem, desperate Maricio was reckless making a dangerous situation volatile.

  “What the fuck are you doin’?” I asked ready to pull the trigger and end the man who took everything from me.

  Maricio’s eyes met mine.

  There was no fear. In his deep brown depths all that remained was hatred. Why did he despise me to such a degree? He was my brother. I would have done anything for him.

  Gone was the boy who shared my room in our childhood. Gone was the boy whose mother died on my couch. Gone was the boy who my mother considered a son. I couldn’t find a single trace of the Maricio Dominguez I grew up with.

  In his place stood a man with balls of steel.

  A man who was so high he didn’t notice Paco move from the line of his gun. A man so high on his drugs he didn’t notice me move in closer. A man who clearly had a death wish, a man who was chasing a one-way ticket to Hell.

  I didn’t want to just shoot Maricio. No, I didn’t want simple, easy, or quick. I wanted to kill him slowly and painfully. I wanted to put my hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him. I wanted to watch his cheeks puff out as he huffed for air. I wanted to memorize the way his eyes would bulge just before he took his last breath. My ears begged to hear the sounds of his whimpers as he gasped for oxygen. My ears begged to hear the gurgle of his dying body. Every part of me wanted him to die, but not by a bullet to the head. My desire to take my time and relish each second as I took from him like he did from me overrode my senses that screamed to put a bullet in his head and move on.

  And that would be my downfall.

  Paco rushed from the room as soon as he could. The pussy-ass bitch left me to fight his battle. Well, I had a war of my own to finish with Maricio Dominguez.

  He kept his gun on me as I kept mine on him. Moving in, I was ready to make the jump to disarm him. Hand-to-hand was how I wanted him. Man-on-man, me against him, winner took all.

  His face lit up into a smile. A devilish, powerful grin that covered him from cheek to cheek.

  The words were slow to form as he was careful with what he was about to lay on me. “If I die, she dies too.” His smile got even bigger. The power he felt he had rolled off him filling the space between us in an unseen emotional war. “And Javi, you don’t want her to die.”

  The words assaulted my ears. My brain fought to process what he was telling me. Then slowly, he pulled a phone from his back pocket. Time stood still. His hands shook as he lifted it to me. On the screen was a picture of Mari Belle asleep in a bed with a chain running the expanse of the headboard. I wasn’t sure what part of her was connected since she was under a blanket, but I was certain he had her against her will. He kept his sister captive. Why? What purpose did it serve except to keep her from me?

  Now what the fuck was I supposed to do?

  The guilt gnawed at me. I failed her. I thought she left on her own. Which maybe she did, but she most certainly didn’t want to be with him anymore. Maricio never would have chained her to a bed if he could trust she would stay. She wasn’t where she wanted to be.

  What else had he done to her?

  I couldn’t go there. I had to shake off the thoughts. It would solve nothing for me to give into the dark places my mind was going. I had to be clear headed if I had any chance to save her.

  “Paco is a pussy.” Maricio said casually as if I didn’t have a gun trained on him. Even though he had his weapon still ready to fire, Paco was long gone from the room. No, his target was no longer our boss, but me. It was just Maricio and me, stuck in a room that had been covered in more blood than layers of paint over of the years. His focus while on me, he seemed to finally become aware of Paco’s absence from the space. He should worry, but it wasn’t the impression I got from him.

  A true Mexican stand-off with two Mexican men—how ironic.

  “Paco’s going to go down, Javi. You would be wise to stand down and let him die.”

  It was my turn to smile. The sinister smirk turned to a manacle laugh. “You would be wise to know you’re going to die. Maybe not today, but you will die Maricio.” I knew it, in my gut as twisted as it was, I knew I would have to let him walk away today. It would be the only way I could hold onto hope to find Mari Belle. Knowing she was shackled to a bed, she didn’t leave with him. She didn’t choose her brother over her man. She was held against her will and it was on me to find her.

  If that meant I had to stand down today and let him walk, then so be it. I would give anything including my own life for her to have her freedom.

  “How do you think that is so? You have gained power, Javi. A lot of power. Word on the street Paco has you as his right hand and Aurelio at his left. Aurelio wishes not to lead the organization. But you, everyone believes in you.” He shrugged. “It’s a pity you have a weakness.”

  “I have no weakness.” I muttered as my anger boiled over.

  “You do. Your precious code. An eye for an eye,” he taunted me. “You will only have me die by your hands. Javi, you made me untouchable. No matter what I do they won’t cross your order.”

  “The order won’t matter when I end you today!”

  “But you won’t.” He laughed in my face. “You won’t because your code to protect women stops you. Because you know me, you know me well, Javi. When I say she will die if I die, you know it to be true. You wouldn’t want an innocent woman to die on a normal day, but an innocent woman
who once shared your bed—you don’t have las bolas.”

  He mocked me and I allowed it.

  Some men were shaken by words. I was not.

  I fired the shot.

  It hit his thigh, “where the fuck is she?” I asked losing control.

  “I’ll not tell. But she needs medical care, Javi. If I don’t make it home, she will die and it will be slow, painful, and on your soul.”

  Medical care? What had he done? Drugs. He pumped her full of the garbage he was hooked on. That had to be it.

  I read it in his stare, he was being brutally honest. Even with the drugs in his system, I knew he told the truth. Raising my hands in defeat, I stepped back.

  “Take Paco out,” he stated as he bit back the pain from his wound. Holstering his gun. “I leave today to take care of her. If you don’t end Paco, I will.”

  “Why?” I asked curious as to what his play was.

  “I watched him take the power from Miguel. I wanted that. I came today to rise myself. Instead, you always the thorn in my side shows up. But you see, I learned something. I have more power chained to my bed. I don’t need to take out Paco, I need you to take the throne. So you take out Paco. Maybe then you’ll know how to find Mari. Until then, I hold the key to keeping you in line.”

  For a moment, I almost end him. Everything inside me wanted to.

  For a second, I ran through the thoughts of Maricio being gone.

  For a single blink of my one eye, I had vengeance in my grasp.

  Then in the recesses of my mind, I heard her laughter, I smelled her perfume in the air, and I felt her with me.

  Nothing inside me would allow me to risk Mari. Even if it was all a façade and she had left with him willingly, the thought of betrayal stung, but the thought of her death killed.

  If Maricio lived, he could lead me back to her. If I made the way for Maricio to safely return to her, he would slip up eventually and then I would have her back. It would take some time, a whole fuck of a lot of patience, and a battle inside myself, but in the end it would get me back to Mari.