“Okay, Jordan, shoot.”
“You were right. Mila is banging a Crip.” The Crips were MS-13’s main rivals and the hatred between them was legendary.
The crash of Juan’s fist on the table was so unexpected, it made them all jump. “Dirty bitch. I knew it.” He spat angrily.
Mila was one of Juan’s many women. He didn’t love any of them, or even particularly care for them, but if you were one of Juan’s women, you were branded. You didn’t go anywhere else, especially not to a competing gang.
“What you gonna do, boss?” Angel was the first to speak.
Drake desperately wished he could leave the room. He didn’t want to hear any of this, be a part of it in any way.
“What do you think I’m going to do? I can’t let this go. I’d be a laughing stock. No, I have no choice. Angel, you know what to do.”
The anticipation was clear from Angel’s smile. “Any special requests?”
“Just make sure it doesn’t come back on me, that’s all. You know the drill.” Juan let out a long breath and sat back in his chair. “Okay, you guys, get out of here.” He spoke to Jordan. “Drake will drop you where you want to go and don’t forget,” There was steel in his voice as he spoke. “us four are the only ones who know about this, and if it gets out, I know where to come looking.”
***
Drake didn’t speak as he walked Jordan back to the car and they both climbed in. They’d been driving for ten minutes before the silence was finally broken.
“He seemed a bit eager, didn’t he?”
Drake took his eyes off the road and glanced over to where Jordan sat, looking out the window, completely relaxed as if he’d just commented on the weather. Not replying, he turned his attention back to the road.
“I mean, it was almost as if he was looking forward to it,” Jordan continued, seemingly oblivious to the frown on Drake’s face.
His words hit home, echoing his own thoughts as they did, but he wasn’t about to get into a discussion with him about it. He knew nothing about this guy; he wasn’t part of the gang and you didn’t discuss gang affairs with outsiders. Not ever.
“The best thing you can do is forget you know anything about it.”
“Oh, come on, I saw your face in there. You’re thinking the exact same thing.” Jordan kept pushing.
Without any warning, Drake twisted the steering wheel and cut across a lane of traffic, narrowly avoiding an SUV coming up on his inside before pulling the car over to the curb.
“Out.”
“Hey! This is nowhere near where I want to go.”
“I don’t care. Get out of the car. Now.” Drake didn’t look at him as Jordan opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk before turning and leaning back into the car.
“A bit of advice? You want to watch Angel. That guy’s a psycho.”
Drake didn’t wait to hear anymore, accelerating away and rejoining the traffic. He was right. Angel was a psycho. He’d known it for a while, but was he more than that?
Nine
“I need to talk to you about something.” He’d thought about it long and hard before deciding to bring his suspicions to Juan. But if he was right, he needed to know. If Angel was some kind of a psycho killer, it was only a matter of time before the police ended up on their doorstep and that was the kind of attention the gang didn’t need.
“Sure, what’s up?”
Drake closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. “It’s Angel.”
“What is it with you two?” Juan shook his head. “Why can’t you just get along?”
“This isn’t personal, Juan. I’m worried.”
“About what?”
“You’ve heard about all these girls getting killed?”
“Yeah, of course.” He looked confused. “What’s that got to do with Angel?”
“I think Angel might have something to do with it.” Saying it out loud, Drake realized how stupid it sounded. He had nothing to back up what he was saying other than a gut feeling.
Juan laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” The smiled dropped from his face as suddenly as it had appeared. “That’s not funny.”
It wasn’t, but now he’d said it and he needed to explain. Drake told him about the blood he’d seen on his shoe and about how he’d been missing that night when the murder occurred and that the body had been found just around the corner. It sounded thin, though, even to his own ears.
“Drake, stop.” Juan held up his hand. “I love you, you know that, but this is bullshit. Angel is no saint. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s never done a good thing in his life, but he’s no killer. Well, not unless he has to be.”
Drake wasn’t giving up. “Even that Jordan thinks he’s a psycho. I’m only thinking of the family. If I’m right, this could be big trouble for us.”
Juan’s eyes hardened to flints of steel “You’ve been talking to Jordan about this? About Angel?”
“Not really. It was just something he mentioned, a comment he made.”
“Dammit, Drake! You know better than that.” Juan let out a long breath. “If it was anybody else standing there right now they wouldn’t walk out of here under their own steam. You never, ever, talk about gang business to outsiders, you know that.”
“I’m sorry, I…”
Juan held up his hands, stopping him mid-sentence. “I don’t want to hear it. This has got to stop. I know you don’t like Angel, but you know what? You don’t have to. I’m in charge here and what I say goes.” He turned his back and looked out the window. “I’ll forget we’ve had this conversation this time, but don’t let me down again. You may be family, but no one member is more important than the whole. Understand?”
He did. All too well. “Yeah, I understand.”
Without another word, he left Juan’s office. He briefly considered going into the living room, but one glance told him that Angel was in there and he couldn’t deal with him right now, or any other members of the gang, for that matter. No, right now he just wanted to get as far away has he could. Without telling anyone where he was going, he walked out the front door and back to his car. He didn’t usually drink very much, didn’t like how it made him feel, but right now he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do except see Shelby and she would be at work.
Spinning his wheels as he pulled away from curb, Drake was angry at himself for letting Jordan get in his head. Juan was right—he was letting his own hatred of Angel cloud his judgment. All he had was a feeling, nothing more, and he should have kept it to himself.
He drove for about half an hour until he got to a bar he’d visited before. It was far away from their territory and, importantly, not in anyone else’s, either. Taking is cell from his pocket, he switched it off and threw it into the glove compartment. He was going to do some serious drinking and if anyone wanted him, they could just damn well leave a message.
Ten
Juan closed his eyes, leaned back and rested his head on the back of his chair. He was getting the beginnings of a headache. The constant sniping and one-upmanship between Drake and Angel was nothing new, but he had to admit in all the time he’d known Drake, he’d always handled his issues with Angel himself. He’d never come running to him before.
He tried to be even-handed in the way that he dealt with them both, but there was no denying that he didn’t like Angel any more than Drake did. But it wasn’t about whether he liked him or not. He was a great right hand man. He did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, without question. No one argued with him, and if there were any problems within the gang, he was quick to act and squash them. Drake was different. From that first day when he’d taken him under his wing when he was a scrawny fourteen-year-old, he’d felt protective of him and he’d developed a genuine affection for him. There was no denying, though, that at heart, he wasn’t gang material. He could never do what Angel did and, more often than not, Juan left him out of situations that he knew he would struggle to deal with.
/> There was a knock on the door and Angel poked his head in. “Everything okay? I saw Drake in here. I’ve just seen him drive off and he didn’t look very happy.”
Juan waved him in. “Yeah, he’s fine. Listen, I’m gonna ask you something and I want a straight answer.”
“Of course.”
“The other morning, when we went to Phil’s, you were late and you’d been out all night. Where had you been?”
“What?” Angel looked surprised at the question. “Since when do we have to check in and out?”
“You don’t. I just want to know.”
“This is something to do with Drake, isn’t it? What has he said?”
“Just answer the question, Angel.”
“Not until you tell me what this is all about.”
“Watch your tone. Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?” Juan was getting angry.
“No, I haven’t forgotten, but if Drake has been stirring up trouble for me, I think I should at least be entitled to find out what he said.”
“Who said anything about Drake? You’re the one bringing Drake into this. I’ve just asked you a simple question, one I’m still waiting for an answer to.”
“I had some personal business to take care of, that’s all.”
He’s hiding something. Juan was sure of it. He didn’t get to where he was in the organization by not knowing how to read people, and he knew Angel better than most. “What business?” He needed to get to the bottom of this, now. He was starting to feel like Drake’s theory may not be so far-fetched after all, and he really wanted to be proved wrong.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not a question of trust. What are you hiding, Angel? What is it that you don’t want me to find out?” Juan watched as the expression on Angel’s face went from anger to resignation.
“I was with Felicity.”
Juan was confused. “Felicity? Who is Felicity?”
“Danny’s woman.”
Juan suddenly realized who he was talking about. “As in my boss? Danny, that runs the whole of LA?” Oh, this was bad. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I told you, it’s personal.”
“Oh, no, it isn’t fucking personal. Do you have any idea what he will do if he finds out? To you? To me?” Juan was livid. “What on earth were you thinking? There aren’t enough women out there that you had to go after her?”
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t planned.”
“Is she likely to say anything? Is it an ongoing thing?”
“It’s been going on about a month or so. Nothing special.”
That just about tipped him over the edge. “Nothing special? You mean you’ve risked your skin and mine over something that’s nothing special?”
Angel shrugged. “What do you want me to say, boss?”
“I don’t want you to say anything.” Juan could barely contain his rage. “You’d better hope that Danny doesn’t find out about this because if he does, I’m throwing you to the lions and I won’t even have to think about it. Understand?”
“He won’t find out.” Angel smirked. “He’s not that clever.”
“Maybe I should rethink having you as my number two. You’re too volatile. Maybe I should think about promoting Drake.” He knew he was simply goading him as he said it, but it worried him that Angel didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of what he’d done and the consequences it could have.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Dare? I wouldn’t dare?” Juan poked Angel in the chest. “You think you scare me? I’ve taken down a lot worse than you. Test me and I’ll happily take you down, too.” Stepping back, Juan took a deep breath.
“Now, you go and you ring your little friend and you tell her you won’t be seeing her again. And if I find out you have, you’ll wish you’d listened.” He could see that Angel wanted to lash out but that was a line he would never cross. It would be the end of him.
“Yes, boss.” He answered through gritted teeth.
Juan sat behind his desk and concentrated on the papers sitting there, not looking up until he heard the office door close.
Idiot. Angel had always been fast and loose with his women, but he’d always kept it on his own doorstep before. He wasn’t surprised, though. He’d never been one to play by the rules, but this was, by far, the stupidest thing he’d ever done. Well, at least he’s not a serial killer! Juan smiled at the thought. Thank God for small mercies. He could hardly believe he’d even seriously considered it.
Eleven
Finn had gone back to the hotel to clean up and get rid of the stinking clothes. He’d grabbed a quick bite to eat in the bar before heading back out again. He was excited. He was getting close, and he knew now that it was only a matter of time before he found his son.
The rental car he’d gotten at the airport was far too conspicuous for where he was headed, so he’d driven around until he’d found a used car lot with the kind of car he was looking for. Parking the rental on the street, he got into the rust bucket he’d just bought for five hundred dollars and drove off the lot.
Where he was headed was only about half an hour’s drive from the hotel, but it may as well have been in a different country. The smart hotels and restaurants designed with tourists in mind became fewer and fewer until they eventually disappeared, replaced instead by rundown buildings and businesses with steel grills over their windows. This was the part of town that the tourists didn’t see and didn’t appear in any travel brochures.
No one gave him a second glance as he followed the directions the street kid had given him until eventually, he spotted the house. It was exactly as he’d described it and he had no doubt he was in the right place.
Pulling over, Finn parked the car down the street, far enough away that no one in the house would notice, but close enough to see anyone entering or leaving. Now what? He’d never believed he’d get this far, and now he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do next. You don’t even know what he looks like, for heaven’s sake! He didn’t, but he was hoping that he would know him as soon as he saw him.
For the next hour, he watched. It didn’t take a trained cop to realize what was going on in the house. In the time he’d been sitting there, he’d counted more than a dozen kids of varying ages go in empty-handed and come out with noticeable bulges in their pockets. The kids were all on bikes, making it easy for them to make a quick getaway if they needed to, and it broke his heart to watch them. These kids should have been in school, not running drugs for some gang in the hopes that one day they would be able to join its ranks. He’d also managed to identify the spotters. The gang members who hung around on street corners providing an early warning system if trouble was headed their way.
He was watching one of the spotters when movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention back to the house. Someone was coming out of the front door and whoever it was, was too old to be one of the runners. As he watched, the man turned briefly to look back at the house and recognition hit him like a jolt of electricity. It was like looking in a mirror and seeing a younger version of himself. He’d found him, he’d actually found him!
Finn’s mouth was dry as he watched him walk down the path, climb into a car and pull away from the curb. Quickly, he started his own car, and his hands were shaking as he turned the wheel and pulled out to follow him. His mind was racing as he followed him for the next half an hour and he still had no idea what his next move would be when he turned off into the parking lot of a bar. Parking his car a few spaces down from Drake’s, he watched as he locked the car and went inside.
He knew he couldn’t just walk up to him and introduce himself, but he needed to make contact somehow. Locking his own car, he followed him inside.
The inside of the bar was dark and he stood in the doorway for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust. Finn was surprised at how busy it was, but then remembered the office buildings he’d passed on the way here and the fact that it was lunch time. The
bar itself was nothing special, but it was cleaner than many he’d been in and the clientele seemed to be mainly office workers types and didn’t look like gangbangers at all, which was a relief.
Casually casting an eye around the room, he spotted Drake standing at the bar, flashing what must have been a fake ID and paying for a beer, before taking it and sitting down at an empty table in the corner of the room. Going to the bar himself, he ordered a Bud before making a show of looking for an empty table.
“I’m sorry, do you mind if I grab a seat?” Drake looked up at him and he felt the same shock he’d felt when he’d seen him outside the house. He held his eyes and they narrowed as they looked up at him.
“Okay,” he muttered, before dropping his eyes back to his beer.
Finn sat down and took a sip of his beer. His stomach was in knots and his hands felt clammy. He was trying hard not to let his nervousness show on his face, but it was hard. He was actually sitting within touching distance of his son. He cleared his throat. “Is it usually this busy in here?”
Drake just shrugged, not looking up.
“Not a regular?” Finn tried again.
He looked up this time, frowning. “Are you trying to pick me up? If you are, you’d better turn around and leave while you still can.”
Horrified, Finn shook his head emphatically. “God, no!”
Drake gave him a long, hard look before suddenly smiling and letting out a laugh. “Sorry, man.” He stuck out his hand. “Drake.”
Relieved, Finn grabbed it. “Finn.”
“So, you not from around here, then?”
“No, from out of town. Just here on business for a few days.” Finn hated lying to him, but it was too early to go with the truth.
“Lucky you.”
“You don’t like LA?” It was obvious that something was bothering him.
“I’m not sure I particularly like my life in general at the moment.” He was staring at a point over Finn’s shoulder, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He shook himself, as if suddenly realizing what he was saying. “Jeez, I’m sorry. Ignore me, bad day.”
The McKays Box Set - To Kill For, Blood Sport, Hard Time & Gang Land Page 43
