by M. Robinson
The door of the vehicle busted open, within seconds someone grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth and dragged her into the back of the van. The doors quickly shut, and the engine revved as they drove off. It was over before it even started. Adriana never stood a chance.
“Gino! I want Sienna locked in her room. Now!” Luciano demanded. “She does not leave your sight until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand me?”
“Si, Capo.”
“Vinny, I need you to shut down the party and no one leaves until we’ve had a word with every person in attendance.”
“Si, Capo.”
“Go!”
Despite hearing his commands, I didn’t pay him any notice. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, experiencing my own demise. The unexpected craze in my mind immobilized me, hundreds of thoughts beat across my head as if I was on the receiving end of someone’s attack.
My jaw clenched.
My fists balled up.
My mind went into fight or flight mode.
An intense, overpowering sense of rage catapulted into my stance, crushing bone-by-bone in my body. My instincts kicked into overdrive, adrenaline coursed through me, searing into my veins and entering my blood. It didn’t end there, my endorphins sky-rocketed, bringing me to my fucking breaking point.
I welcomed the demons that arose from the depths of my soul.
I wanted to fucking kill them.
Slowly.
Limb-by-limb.
Until they were begging for mercy.
The thought alone granted me peace in a moment where I craved war.
Fiending for a life like a fucking wolf in the night. It was wrong, but it felt right. The desire for vengeance became my source of refuge, the air I needed to keep breathing, to keep moving, to push through. Silencing the fact that this was all my fault to begin with.
The forgiveness I sought was a vicious cycle I was wreaking havoc in, savoring every second of it while I could. Because deep down, my worst fear had become my reality—my sister was taken, and I had no one to blame but myself. I wanted revenge, making me realize I was no different than our father, and he knew it too. We were one in the same. It’s why he was so disappointed in me.
I didn’t just betray him, I was his reflection staring back in his eyes.
“Oh my God,” Mamá breathed out, stumbling over her footing as she walked toward my father. Going into what could only be described as shock. “They took Adriana? Someone took our baby girl? How could you let this happen, Alejandro? Where were you?”
“Mamá. It’s not his fault.”
“Alejandro, you promised me you’d always protect our children! You promised me!”
“Cariño, let me explain.”
“Let you explain? Explain what exactly? How you lied to me all these years? How you betrayed me? How our daughter was kidnapped on your watch, when all you’ve ever done is swear to me this would never effect our kids!”
“Cariño—”
She shoved him, but he didn’t waver, pissing her off even more. “They took Adriana! They took our baby girl because of you!”
He wrapped his arms around her, drowning her deeper in her despair. Only triggering her to relive the memory of watching Ari get taken. I knew because I felt it as well. When he pulled her closer into his chest, she completely lost her shit. I’d never seen her react like this, but we’d never experienced anything on this level of destruction and devastation.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, pushing him as hard as she could again and again. He didn’t move.
“You swore to me! You promised me!” One-by-one, her fists pounded against his chest.
“Lexi, calm the fuck down.”
“You’re a liar! I trusted you!” she sobbed, hitting him over and over with no end in sight.
“Mamá…” Each cry and punch of her fists against his chest increased the lump of guilt rising in my throat.
“How could you let this happen! You were supposed to protect her, with your life if needed! You lied! You’re nothing but a liar!”
My stomach was in knots, watching her breakdown while he allowed her to take out all her fury on him. She was always so fucking strong. She had to be to put up with him and us. Her fists slammed into his torso and he didn’t budge an inch. Remaining the solid man we knew and loved.
It wasn’t until she bellowed, “How could you do this? How could you let her get kidnapped?”
I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “It was me!”
She snapped around. “What?”
“You heard him, Lexi.”
“I don’t understand.” Her eyes shifted to meet his. “Is that why you had the driver bring me here when I landed? Did you want me to see her kidnapping with my own two eyes?” Her questions didn’t make any sense and it was obvious she was struggling to keep up with everything that was going on around us. “Why are you just standing there like our daughter wasn’t taken!” She didn’t hesitate in grabbing her cellphone from her back pocket.
“No.” He instantly grabbed it out of her hand.
“What are you doing?” she frantically questioned. “What do you mean no? We need to call the police.”
“That’s the last thing we need to do. What you need to do is calm the fuck down.”
“Stop telling me to calm down! I trusted you! You promised me you’d always protect our kids! Where were you?”
“Mamá…”
“Getting the police involved will only get Adriana killed.”
“Then what are we supposed to do, Alejandro? Just stand by and wait for them to bring her back to us?”
“Mi scusi,” Luciano chimed in, “Excuse me.” Standing beside my father. “I know this is a family matter, but I’m insulted this happened in my home.”
Our eyes connected with his as he pointed to himself. “I give you my word that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure your daughter comes home safe and sound.”
“Jesus…” she staggered back from the blow of his statement. “I’ve been such a fool, haven’t I? This whole time you’ve kept certain people in your life and I just thought…God…I don’t know what I thought. I trusted you with our lives, Alejandro. Have you been lying to me all these years?”
“I’ve kept certain families in my life to protect ours, Lexi.”
“What good has that done when our daughter is taken right under your nose?”
“Mamá!” I bit, unable to hold it in any longer. “For fuck sake! It wasn’t his fault. It’s mine! I was supposed to be protecting her and I left her.”
“You left her? What does that mean?”
“It means I failed you. I betrayed you. Not him. It was all me. I’ve protected my sister for as long as I can remember, and I got carried away in the moment. Adriana tricked me. She lied and played me, and I fell right into her hands. Sienna—”
“Who’s Sienna?”
“My daughter,” Luciano answered for me, bringing our attention back to him. “This was her graduation party. Your son became infatuated with my daughter this evening, and because of that he saved her from a man who could have hurt her. I watched the surveillance of you, Sienna, and Giovanni. You see, Mrs. Martinez, your son may have left your daughter, but he saved mine.”
“That doesn’t change the fact he left his sister to chase after your daughter,” Papá argued.
“I had no reason to believe that Adriana would move from where I left her,” I told him the truth. Silently hoping he would understand where I was coming from. “It was an error in my judgment. She promised me she wouldn’t move.”
“Yeah and you promised me you’d always protect her.”
“Promises were made by everyone, Alejandro.” For a second, my mother put her hand on my back in a comforting gesture.
Her reassurance burned.
Ached.
It did nothing but make me feel worse.
I didn’t deserve sympathy. I fucked up. End of story.
“Mrs
. Martinez, please know you have the support of me and the five families.”
“I don’t understand what that means,” my mother replied with disdain.
“It means we will find her, and we will make them pay. No one disrespects me in my own home. No one.” He turned to face my father. “We have business to take care of, Martinez.” With that, he spun and walked toward his men. Leaving us alone.
“Leo!” Papá called for his right-hand man, who never left his side. They grew up together. I knew him as my uncle Leo.
“Take them home and don’t let them out of your sight.”
“I want to stay.”
“Cruz, no,” Mamá ordered.
“I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions and I want to stay and help find my sister. This is my fault and I want to make it right.”
“Alejandro, please. We already lost one child tonight, we don’t need to lose another.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Your mother’s right. You’ve done enough damage for one evening. Stay with her, however Leo will be the one who’s in charge of protecting her. Seeing as I can’t trust you.”
I jerked back like he slapped me in the face. He wanted to hurt me, and he did. I could take the physical altercations, but the loss of his trust was the beginning of the end…
For us.
PART II
Chapter 10
—Cruz—
Five days.
One hundred and twenty hours.
Seven thousand and two hundred minutes since my sister was taken.
I’d barely seen my father. He was in and out of the house day and night, and most of the time he didn’t come home. Spending every waking second trying to find Adriana. Although, he was never much of a sleeper. I lost count of how many times I’d find him sitting in his office at all hours of the night. Sometimes he’d be in the living room, others he’d be out on the balcony. It changed with his moods.
I couldn’t think back on a time, where I didn’t wake up to go look for him. My body would jolt out of sleep and there was no telling it otherwise. Without any resistance, I’d get up and my feet wouldn’t stop moving until I saw his looming frame lurking in the shadows. It was when there was a bottle of bourbon beside him and a glass in his hands, that I often wondered what he was trying to forget.
My life never made any sense, but neither did the connection I always felt to my father. Especially, to his name, and I wasn’t referring to Martinez.
Be careful what you wish for…
My sister wanted freedom and look where it led her. I wanted to know about the man they called El Diablo and now it felt like he’d always been a part of my being. As if I was born with the devil inside of me.
These last five days my father didn’t talk to me, he didn’t acknowledge me, he didn’t even glance my way when I tried to get information on Adriana’s whereabouts. It was much more complicated than he was hoping I’d believe. It wasn’t just about disappointment in my poor decision making, it was much more than that.
He kept the truth away from me for as long as he could because deep down in every inch of his soul, he knew who I was and what I was meant to become. There was no getting through to him, not then and even less now, he completely shut me out.
My mother, on the other hand, she spoke to me, yet was still very much withdrawn in her own way. The spark and life in her vanished.
No laughing.
No smiling.
She hardly moved from the spot on the couch.
Anxiously waiting for my father to walk through the door so she could ambush him. Fully aware he wouldn’t involve her in any of his findings unless she made damn sure of it. Even then he blew her off in his own way. The only concern he had for anyone right now was his daughter.
Nothing else mattered but getting Adriana home.
Which only added to the guilt I was experiencing with each passing day. I had to do something, I couldn’t just sit around and wait for her to come back. I wasn’t made like that. Over the years, in my pursuit of searching for the truth of who El Diablo was, I learned how to work a computer and by that, I meant I was skilled in hacking.
I spent hours ripping apart Ari’s laptop trying to find whatever I could that might point us in the right direction or give us clues on what happened, or where she was. I thought I’d find a boyfriend or at least a guy she was hiding. As juvenile as it may sound, she knew better than to talk to strangers, let alone leave with one. Whoever she followed out of Luciano’s estate was a familiar face, and no one could fight me on that.
After finding absolutely jack shit on her hard drive, I was beginning to let my fear and insecurities get the better half of my thoughts. I couldn’t help but think about what she was going through at the hands of one of my father’s enemies.
I couldn’t sleep.
I couldn’t eat.
I couldn’t control my racing thoughts.
Especially when I’d see my mother in such a desolate state on the couch.
Waiting.
We were all just waiting.
For the most part, I kept myself busy as best as I could. Tending to Mamá, grabbing her the mail, making sure she ate. It was hard to see her so withdrawn, but I stepped up in my father’s absence. Doing what I had to do. Though the evenings were the hardest times of the day for me. It was usually when my sister and I would hang out. We’d watch a movie, talk about life, our father, do normal shit that siblings did together. We didn’t have a lot of friends outside of each other. It was hard to know who we could trust, and who was using us for money and status. At the end of the day, we relied on one another.
Plain and simple.
My longing to kill the motherfuckers who kidnapped her didn’t subside by any means, I started fanaticizing about it. What I would do, how I would do it. Hearing them beg for mercy was what got me through most days.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Martinez,” Mariah the postal carrier greeted as I grabbed the mail from her hands.
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Cruz? Mr. Martinez makes me look for my father.”
“Con rispetto.” She smiled, “With respect.” It wasn’t uncommon for natives to be multilingual like I was.
“Signore, why you look so sad? Is everything alright?”
I nodded, lying to her. “Have a good day, Mariah.”
“Oh! Signore!” She halted my descent and pointed to an envelope. “There is no return address on this one.”
LEXI.
Who would have thought that four letters, big and bold could have the force to almost knock me on my fucking ass.
What the fuck?
Intuition was a powerful feeling. From one synapse to another, it shot through my nervous system like a bullet through my goddamn heart. I didn’t protect Ari when she needed me the most, and I wasn’t going to make that mistake twice. The question wasn’t who was going to let me, it was who was going to stop me.
I hauled ass to my room, needing to get to the bottom of this first. My father was nowhere to be found and there was no reason to include Mamá. She had enough to deal with.
Shutting the door behind me, I locked it and ripped open the package. A shiny CD dropped at my feet like a fucking grenade just landed beneath me.
Now or never.
I grabbed a leather glove from my drawer, making sure I wasn’t tampering with any evidence or fingerprints. After determining there was nothing else in the envelope, I uploaded the disk onto my laptop and held my fucking breath.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see, to feel, to hear.
No, God…please no.
My mind.
My sanity.
When you stared in the abyss, it stared back at you swallowing you whole. Possessing your soul. You relied on the darkness to survive. It was beyond my control.
The internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my eyes, from my mind to my heart, to every goddamn bone in my body. I stood in the fire of Hell, sur
rendering to the pain. Seeking comfort in the flames
The sins of the father became those of the son.
Wrath for taking what was precious to me.
Greed for the lives that were mine to kill.
Sloth for the destruction against their will.
Lust for revenge and the blood I’d spill.
Gluttony for the souls I craved.
Envy for the spirits I had yet to take.
Pride for the legacy I’d soon fulfill.
I wanted to remember everything about this moment.
Adriana.
Tied to a chair.
Her eyes covered.
Her mouth gagged.
Tears streaming down her face as she cried in what appeared to be a cold and dingy basement.
Her hair disheveled.
Her cheeks bruised.
That deep cut on the side of her mouth.
My fists tightened.
My jaw clenched.
I saw nothing but fucking red.
Bright. Vibrant. Red.
When all of sudden, an auto-tuned voice echoed off the walls and into my skin like shards of glass tearing into my flesh.
“Walls speak evil.
Doors hide truths.
Monsters deceive.
Serpents collide.
Be scared of the rain.
Hide from the snow.
Beware of the man.
You think you know.”
I blinked, and the screen went black, the video ended.
However, it was only the beginning of El Diablo’s resurrection.
Chapter 11
—Cruz—
I was done marching in line with my father’s fucking rules.
Red light.
Left turn.
Green Light.
Right turn.
I pushed the accelerator to the floor of my 458 Ferrari. Paddle shifting the transmission into third, trying to shake off the unrelenting visions of what I’d just seen and heard. I turned up the music, blaring it as loud as it would go. With the hopes it would tune out the images of Adriana in front my eyes. It hammered loud and hard into my mind, mimicking the pounding of my heart and the ringing in my ears.
