Diego

by Hope Stone

  “I’m going with a mimosa. How ‘bout you?” she said.

  I scanned the menu. “Midnight in Paris. That’s my pick.”

  “Ooo la la! I like, mamacita.” I giggled and hugged her to me. Shauna was one of my dearest friends from campus and there was nobody I would rather party with. The music turned to a song by Pitbull. Rob started shaking his hips, which was a sight to see. He did have a little rhythm. Just funny, the way he spontaneously broke out like that.

  “This is my jam! Come on, Celine, let’s go bust a move on the dance floor,” he yelled. He yanked Celine’s hand and some of her drink spilled over. She just laughed. I shook my head at my friends. I needed to get warmed up first. Our exquisite drinks were prepared, and I dived into the first sip.

  “Mmm, this is so good! Here, do you wanna do a swap?” I asked.

  “Uh, no. I want all of my mimosa. Besides, you only took one sip. Damn!” she playfully retorted.

  “Okay, girlfriend. I will have a Midnight in Paris all by myself.” I clicked my fingers at her.

  “I betcha you will be having one of those tomorrow after your date,” she whispered cheekily. I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “I’m not that easy. He’s got to work for it. But he is one I would consider giving it up for a little quicker.” I scrunched my nose and giggled. She sipped her cocktail and closed her eyes.

  “Girl, he is finer than fine. You did good. So bold going up to him like that. I would never!”

  “Had to. I couldn’t let all that man just sit there without me saying anything. That’s loco!” I said loudly. She slapped my leg in jest and drank.

  “You right about that.” We clinked our glasses together. Shauna slapped her hand on the bar.

  “I knew it. Right in the middle of my drink. I gotta go pee. Are you okay here for a minute or do you want to go to the dance floor with the others?” she asked. We always looked out for one another when we were out. I eyed the bathroom. It was about ten steps away and I could see her and where everything was. Nobody that looked like a threat was around. People were low-key, chill.

  “No. Go ahead. I’ll be fine here. Don’t worry. I can see you.” I waved her to the bathroom.

  “Scream if anything happens.” We laughed together. It would give me time to see what was up. Nice beats. I could see Rob’s head bobbing on the dance floor and they’d hit the strobe lighting. The DJ looked like he was setting up in the dance floor section. It was about to be lit.

  “Hello, mamacita. You looking real good.” An energy of darkness swam around me as a guy with dark eyes, a long nose and leather jacket rolled up on the right of me at the bar. My pace of breathing shot up instantly. His eyes put me off. His smile was sleazy. I froze for a minute.

  “Hey.” I clammed up and my face dropped. Shit. I should have moved when Shauna asked.

  “Are you here with friends?” the guy asked. His looks resembled a snake. He bent in a little too close, with no regard for my personal space. His rancid breath was close to my face. I pulled my head back a little.

  “Yeah. I am, in fact. They’re right over there and my other friends will be here any minute.” I raised my voice to get him to leave and pointed to the dance floor. He didn’t take the hint. His strong cologne made my throat tickle came up.

  “Interesting. So you like to fuck or what?” He spat out the question with force. He had an accent. I shot up out of my seat and splashed the drink on his face. Angry eyes leered back at me and the guy stuck his tongue out in a lecherous way. He wiped the water off his face with his sleeve. The bartender was at the other end of the bar and serving drinks.

  “Get away from me, you asshole!” I yelled vehemently. He let out an evil husky laugh.

  “I take that as a yes. Let me get you another drink.” I watched the bathroom door. What the hell is Shauna doing in there? Before I knew it, another guy came from the other side of me. I saw his hand only. I was busy dealing with the ugly cretin in front of me. On the inside webbing of his finger was a teardrop. That was all I saw. I was boxed in and couldn't get out. My body went into lockdown and I felt frantic. The guy on the right was practically trying to straddle my knees. If you looked from the outside, my head was covered. Rob wouldn’t be able to see me. Fuck.

  “Move, you asshole!” I shouted and pushed his shoulder out of the way so I could be seen by the public. The music had stepped up a notch since the DJ was playing. The bartender looked at me from the other end when he heard a loud voice. The guy tapped his friend behind me.

  “Come on, let’s go,” he said.

  “Hey! Leave her alone!” the bartender shouted and rushed to my end of the bar. The sleazy snake waved at him.

  “No harm, no foul. We leave now.” The guy spoke with a thick European accent. I held my throat as a tear trickled down my face. Shauna floated out of the bathroom and her face turned cold as she locked eyes with mine. The guy flicked his long pink tongue out at me as I watched him walk out the door. The other guy was dressed all in black and looked like a full roll of dough. Dark hair and dark glassy eyes like the other guy. I couldn’t get the teardrop out of my mind. It seemed significant.

  “Babe, are you okay?” Shauna tracked my eyes to the door and saw the back of the two dudes. Her instinct made her angle to move to them. I pulled her arm back.

  “Don’t. Please don’t. They look dangerous.”

  The bartender looked at me with concern.

  “Do you want me to call the cops? Seriously, what did he say to you?” he asked, angry.

  “Just a sleazebag. Nothing I want to repeat.” Celine and Rob were still on the dance floor and hadn’t seen what happened. Shauna put her arms around me.

  “Do you want to go? What do you want to do?” Shauna pressed.

  My hands were trembling as I tried to gather myself and think. “The guy had a gang symbol, I think, on the inside of his hand.”

  Shauna’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck, that’s crazy.”

  I chewed my bottom lip from nervousness. “I’m scared to go outside. What if they’re out there? Shit.”

  Shauna tightened her grip on me. “I don’t think they’re hanging around,” she said. Shakily, I reached inside my purse and texted my brother. The bartender, seeing I was okay, served a few other customers.

  “Hey bro can you come pick me up?”

  “Are you ok? Now?”

  “Yes now”

  “Ok be there in 5”

  I sensed Palo would know who they were. That symbol. The guy's eyes looked like death. Like he had no soul. There had been scratches all over his fingers and he smelled heavily of cigarettes. Palo came and picked me up and I left the others there together. Shauna wanted to come with me.

  “No, stay. Have fun for me. I just have to go home now. I can’t be here.” We hugged and I walked out of the club and ran to Palo. We sat quietly for a while and he looked at me with concern in the car.

  “What happened?”

  “Two guys tried to close in on me at the bar. I couldn’t get out,” I relayed.

  “What the fuck?” I watched my brother's face turn to a dark cloud. “Where were your friends?”

  “They were there, but it all happened so fast. Do you know anyone with a teardrop on the inside of their finger?” I watched as we turned in the driveway. Palo’s face turned white like a sheet. He went deathly quiet.

  “Palo, talk to me! Do you know them?” I asked, exasperated.

  He housed silent anger. I could sense it. He cricked his neck. “What were they wearing? Let’s go inside and you can describe them to me.”

  Now I felt scared. Palo dropped his keys on the table as I sat down.

  “Sit, tell me, sis.” Palo’s stern voice let me know he meant business.

  “One of them was kind of weedy, wearing black and his eyes were dark. He had a long nose. The other one was fat and wearing black. He had the teardrop between his fingers.”

  Palo got up from the seat he sat in and came back with his phone.

>   “These guys?” He showed me a group picture of Las Balas and pointed to them. One was kneeling in the photo and the other one was standing off to the side.

  “Shit! That’s them. Yes.” My body tensed up as I recognized them. Palo balled up his fist, his lip forming a hard line. He truly looked like he was going to punch a hole in the wall.

  “You’re proving my point! This is why I didn’t want you becoming president.” I flailed my arms around.

  “Shhh, relax! I got it handled. This is exactly why I need to be president. Don’t ask me no more questions!” he spat back. He drove his index finger into the marble table. Perplexed and worried, I looked at him.

  “Palo, what do you mean? What are you going to do? Did they know I’m your sister?”

  Palo was already walking away from me. His voice traveled as he walked. “Of course they did, motherfuckers!”

  El Diablo was dead, but he was still haunting everybody from beyond the grave.

  Five

  Diego

  Cogs were turning in my mind and my whole operation was moving in the right direction. I found a sweet little place off Santa Fe Drive.

  Another glorious sunshiny day in Cali and a new goal to scout the hotspot for a repair shop. Time to get this chapter going.

  Ryder rang through. “Hey, my man. How are you settling in? Things okay up there?”

  “Real good. Merced is shaping up real nice. I’m checking out a warehouse shortly,” I said.

  “Okay. Nice work. If you need any connects up there, let me know. Watch your back; the Las Balas crew run out of Merced. We ain’t been cool with them for a minute.”

  “I hear you. I’m laying low. I haven’t seen or heard anything,” I responded.

  “All right. Nothing major my end. Just a check-in.”

  “Definitely, I expect nothing less. Hook up with you soon. Bye, Ryder.”

  “Peace.”

  I rode out the back of Merced. The warehouse had popped up in the classifieds so I made it my business to go check it out. Brown specks of dust flew up from the road as I turned into the place. A good-sized warehouse. Windows on all sides and solid aluminum. I got off the bike and peeped inside. I tapped the glass. Concrete floors inside, great for what I needed.

  “Hello, Diego, is it?” I heard a professional voice behind me as I looked in. A lady in heels and a corporate outfit showed up.

  “Hi, Sue, right?”

  She cast her greedy eyes over me. Oh. She wanted me. I might be able to charm her into a discount.

  “Is that name Spanish?” she breathed.

  “Yeah. Argentina.” I grinned.

  “Nice.” She cleared her throat. Okay-looking if you’re into the housewife type. Not for me. “Okay, so let’s go in. This place used to be an aircraft hangar. It’s perfect for a business that would house cars, planes, machinery, something of that nature. Has all the trimmings. Basins, toilets, a breakroom. Everything. Feel free to take a look around. Lemme know if you have any questions.”

  She sold the place to me and all with a salacious smile. I had that effect on women for some reason.

  The place was spacious. I could visualize where the bikes would go and how many I could handle as a repair shop. I would need to install a couple of things. I checked the sliding garage doors at the front. A large padlock. She preempted my next question.

  “The warehouse has an alarm code installed, of course. This feature was added by the previous owner.” I nodded and assessed the situation, then took some photos so I could picture where to set up everything.

  “Okay, thanks, I appreciate it. Think you could negotiate on the monthly price?” She licked her lips blatantly. All that did was make me think of Misty’s lips. Not long to go before I saw her fine ass again.

  “I don’t know what you have in mind, price-point wise?”

  I closed the gap between us and licked my bottom lip, giving her my bedroom eyes. “I was thinking a fifteen-percent drop since I would have to re-install the windows at the back. A few of them are cracked.” I had her weak at the knees. If I was bored, I might have taken it a little further with her. But I didn’t because all I had on my mind in the way of women was Misty.

  “Umm, I mean…I can take it back to the owner and let's see.”

  “Would you? That would be great.” I touched her arm. Just a little sealer for the deal. Her mouth formed an O and shifted to a smile.

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. I will let you know tomorrow.”

  Pretty good site overall and ideal for the shop. I left satisfied with the outcome. I shot off a couple of texts to Misty and hit the sack for the night.

  Morning daybreak rose and my body clock kicked into gear, letting me know what time it was. I looked over at the alarm clock. Saturday. A day trip with Misty. By the time I got breakfast in, showered and shaved, it was time to head over to pick up the Puerto Rican babe. For some reason, she didn’t want me picking her up from her house.

  “Can you meet me in the parking lot of McDonald’s again?” she asked nervously.

  “Sure. But I got no problem picking you up from your house. I don’t have to come inside,” I responded.

  “Uh, some other time. McDonald’s today.”

  “Okay, suit yourself.”

  I spotted her car and she jumped out. I was on my bike and had the second helmet in hand. I owned a car, but I couldn’t remember the last time I drove it. My bike was the only thing I needed. Even in hiking shorts and boots she gave me a hard-on. She didn’t skip a beat as she put her arms around my neck and kissed me full on the lips. What’s a man to do? I reciprocated the hell out of that kiss. Her lips were hot and tasted like fire. She smelled like she was fresh out of the shower.

  “Hi.” I licked my lips. “That was a hell of a greeting.”

  Her cat-like eyes twinkled back at me. “You didn’t like it?” she responded smugly.

  “Oh no. Don’t be mistaken. I’m very happy with the greeting.” I handed her the helmet. “You ready to hike with me?” I cut to the chase. I figured we would get to the get-to-know-you stage when we got to Yosemite Park.

  “Yup. I’m ready.”

  I patted the back of my seat.

  “Okay, hop on back, lil’ mama.” We rode for about an hour and a half to Yosemite Park, taking in the scenery along the way. Misty’s warm hands around my waist felt good. Me and a hot girl on the back of my bike. Yeah, life is good.

  Yosemite National Park. Like stepping right into a fantasy world. Rusty red and blue mountains lined the back of the park with their jagged ridges. In the foreground, the park was surrounded with trees of all varieties. The park made us look like toothpicks in the grand scheme of things.

  “Wow, this is incredible!” Misty exclaimed as I parked the bike.

  “You've never been here before?”

  “No. I haven’t. So crazy. I’ve lived in Merced for the last ten years and I’ve never ever been here,” she gushed. She spun around, captivated by the park. Made me smile to think I could bring her a new experience. Helmets were off and we were ready to hike. The roar of the waterfalls made my ears perk up.

  “Can you hear that? If I knew they had waterfalls here, I would have brought my shorts to swim.”

  “That water would be ice cold. You would get hyperthermia and then I’d have to revive you.”

  Misty laughed. I grinned back at her. I grabbed her hand and held it as we walked to check out the trails.

  “I wouldn’t mind that at all. Not one bit,” she laughed. I kissed her hand as we reviewed the trails. “We’re going for the easy trail, right?” She glanced at me.

  “Yep. I’m not trying to kill you. I just thought this might be nice, and not boring.”

  She inhaled a deep breath. “It’s definitely not boring, that’s for sure.”

  We picked the trail we wanted to walk and I handed her a bottle of water.

  “I don’t want you falling out on me,” I told her.

  “I won’t. Promise.” Cal
ifornia blue skies all the way around. A familiar bird call rang out. One I knew. I looked up to a circling eagle above the pine trees. “Wow. This is the best. Thank you for bringing me.” Misty looked up at the sky right along with me.

  “You’re welcome.” I squeezed her hand. The gravel from the trail crunched underneath our feet as we admired wildflowers and cute squirrels along the way. “So you said you’ve been here for ten years. Where were you before that?” I enquired.

  “I lived with my family in Mexico City.”

  “That’s different. Did you like it there?”

  “I mean, it was okay. I like it better here.” She picked at a flower along the way and put it in her hair. A little Puerto Rican wild child.

  “How about you, where are you from?” she asked. I decided to opt out about speaking on Outlaw Souls. I wanted the connection to be pure between us. We could get to the finer details later on.

  “La Playa for eight years. Long time there.” I glanced at her. She looked so free out here. “So, this morning you had me pick you up from McDonald’s. Is that a precautionary measure? Have you got a man at home?” Direct bullet, shot straight. Misty swung her head to look at me.

  “Nope. No man at home. I live with my brother right now and he can get a little funny.” Was she telling me the truth? I’d been down this road before. Plus, she was a med student and ten years younger than me. I didn’t want another Crystal situation on my hands.

  The Cali heat started kicking in. When I’d looked at the weather beforehand it said mild-low sixties but the weather channel lied. My brow had beads of unnecessary sweat on it.

  “So what’s your brother do? Looking out for you, huh?” Turns out Misty was pretty fit. She was a few steps ahead of me. Fine by me; I got to watch her ass and to torture myself with lusty desire.

  “Something like that. My brother works with computers and stuff. Likes bikes,” she mumbled. “Catch up. Come on!” Her lithe body moved effortlessly as we walked farther on the trail. I didn’t want to take her too far. Just enough so we could walk and talk. Get to know one another.