The Devil Be Damned

by Ali Vali

  “Get in the truck.” Johnny knew the studio would never give up Katie Lynn’s home address, but he didn’t think they would consider the information of whether she was in town or not to be a big deal. It didn’t matter, though, since he’d demanded that Bob tell him where Katie Lynn was staying.

  Her asshole manager had stalled at first, but relented when he’d threatened to find his daughter and take her back to where she belonged. Bob wasn’t about to lose the little money-making bitch, so he’d given him the address.

  “Where we going?” Deidi pressed herself against the truck door when he slapped the side of her head so hard his fingers stung.

  “You think you can ask questions now?” he asked as he pulled over. “You’re here to do what I say and that’s it—you got me?” Deidi wouldn’t look at him but she was nodding as he screamed at her. “If that’s not something you want to do, then I’ll fuck you one more time and put you back on the street where I found you.”

  “I’m sorry, Johnny. I won’t do it again.”

  She flinched when he reached over and opened the glove compartment, sure that she’d noticed the pistol he kept in there. In the top section was the scrap of paper where he’d written Katie Lynn’s address. “Where’s this?” he asked.

  “Not far if you head back that way,” she said, pointing behind her.

  “If you want out this is your chance.”

  Deidi stared at the still-open compartment before she looked over at him. She seemed to be a smart girl if she was thinking he would use that pistol on her. “You gonna pay me?”

  “Every dime I owe you as soon as we’re done.” It wouldn’t be hard to get rid of this one once he had what he came for, since she was beat down by life already. It hadn’t taken much effort on his part. “But right now you need to get busy,” he said, and unzipped his pants, guiding her head to his lap.

  It wasn’t Katie Lynn, not that she’d ever done this for him, but once he chained her to the bed she’d learn to do it as well as Deidi. No way would he leave someone like Bob in charge again. His daughters, his late wife kept telling him, were a gift from God, and it was past time to enjoy them.

  Chapter Nine

  Tomas Blanco stood at the door of the suite his boss Hector Delarosa had reserved at the cusp of the French Quarter. They had returned from Jarvis Casey’s funeral to find Miguel Gonzales waiting for them after his flight from Bogota. The late-arriving Miguel was Hector’s business manager, and aside from Tomas, whose responsibility it was to keep Hector safe, Miguel was the only man Hector trusted.

  Hector and Miguel had their heads close together and had been in deep discussion for over an hour. The main topic was the dead bodies left behind Cain’s club and at Remi’s. Hector was pouring money on the street for information.

  “Tomas, did we hear from Rodolfo yet?” Hector asked. They’d been up for hours but Hector, in his starched shirt and charcoal suit pants, still appeared full of energy even though it was midnight.

  “Carlos, his head man, took my call, but not yet. You want me to try again?”

  Hector laughed and relaxed back into the sofa. “The old man has to have some idea of what’s coming. If he doesn’t he’s as out of touch as his nephew Juan said when he called me to make a deal.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t heard from that little idiot,” he said, and Miguel nodded.

  “He’s lurking, I’m sure, but I want to get to Rodolfo first,” Hector said. “We need to expand in places where it’s not obvious we’re stepping on anyone’s territory, at least until we’re ready to take over and have the muscle to back us up.”

  “From what I found out, Rodolfo is still in control in Mexico, but the headway he made here with Nunzio and Junior Luca’s help is unraveling faster than he can keep up with,” Miguel said.

  “He hasn’t gone back to Cozumel because Cain’s breathing down on him so close it’s fogging up his glasses.” Hector glanced up when the extra bedroom door opened.

  Marisol Delarosa, Hector’s oldest daughter, had demanded to learn his business even though he wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. Trying to change a twenty-five-year-old’s mind was like trying to dig a ditch with a teaspoon—not impossible but more trouble than it was worth, so he’d relented after his wife asked him to.

  “Why are you so interested in this Cain woman, Papa?” Marisol entered and smoothed down the silk blouse she was wearing.

  Her expensive education in Massachusetts had taught her more than business management, and her outfit was a good example of her fashion sense. So far, Hector had let her sit in on the discussions, but he knew she would try to capitalize on this opportunity to get more involved in his business and make her mark. She was beautiful, but so far he hadn’t seemed to regret his decision because Marisol had a sharp coldness about her that would cement her place in a man-ruled world once he did turn the operation over to her.

  “The American saying ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’ applies here. She’s worked hard to be well connected in every aspect of her business, so if we can partner with her we can tap into that network.” He patted the cushion next to him so she’d sit. “Rodolfo is the competition here and in the surrounding states, but if we can get all that business and add it to what we already have in New York and LA, no one can touch us.”

  “You think that’s enough to take the Kalinas down?” Marisol asked.

  Tomas knew all three of Hector’s children since he spent so much time with the family, but Marisol was the only one who was always ready with a question. Marisol’s constant need to know drove Hector insane at times, but she was the daughter most like him.

  “Cesar Kalina went for the big markets, leaving it to his middlemen to expand,” Tomas said.

  “I know that, Tomas.” She flipped her long black braid as she smiled at him. “But he was able to lock everyone else out and it’s kept him on top.”

  “New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are big markets but you can’t think that narrowly,” Hector said. “It’s a pain in my ass every time I have to give up a percentage of my business for the luxury of bringing in our stuff, but we have to play by Cesar’s rules for now. There’s no way to eventually make those operations ours, though, unless we’ve got something going on there now.”

  “So this is our backup?”

  “With Casey’s help this place will be the point of origin for our entire operation in the States. With Cain on board, not only can we get our shipments in safely, but we’ll be able to transport them without any problems.”

  Tomas listened to the conversation but kept his eyes on Marisol. It wasn’t time yet but eventually he’d prove himself worthy of her and finally be able to share with her and the world how he felt. No matter what happened he would stay loyal to Hector, but Marisol was his and he’d kill to keep it that way.

  “How can I help you?” Marisol asked her father.

  “Right now I need to find a way to charm Cain into doing business with us.”

  “I can be charming,” Marisol said, and Tomas and Miguel laughed.

  “That’s true, mi amor, but Cain won’t be an easy sell. She transports illegal liquor and cigarettes into this country, and to her and her family, her business is cleaner and more legitimate than drugs.”

  “From what you said, though, the FBI has been hot after her for years. If her operation is that small, why would the government waste their time?”

  Hector smiled. “You misunderstand me, Marisol. When I said liquor and not drugs, I meant on a scale that has made Cain not only very wealthy, but very powerful. She surrounds herself with a small number of people she trusts, but her operation is massive. The government is so interested because it’s costing them millions in lost revenue and she’s killed without reservation to protect her business and those she chooses to deal with.”

  “When we got here to research Rodolfo’s setup everyone on the street was willing to talk,” Tomas said, knowing Hector appreciated his input. “It’s one of the reasons the old
man is losing his grip on power, but what little information we have on Casey costs us more than we’ve ever had to pay. It’s from people so far out on the fringes of her business that we can’t totally trust it.”

  “No one has that much loyalty to anyone nowadays,” Marisol said, acting as if what he said was absurd.

  “Nonsense,” Hector said. “We’re lucky enough to enjoy that kind of friendship and loyalty from Tomas,” Hector said as he looked him in the eye. “You start with one person and you build on that and you treat people with respect. It’s easy to understand.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you, Tomas,” Marisol told him, as if her father’s not so subtle hint hadn’t clued her in. “I just meant that you’re devoted to him in a way that I doubt carries all the way down the chain.”

  “Fear is always a good motivator,” Tomas said.

  “But that’s just it, Tomas,” Hector said with a large smile. “Casey’s appeal doesn’t come from fear, and I want to tap into whatever it is. I believe she likes me…well, enough that she turned to me for a favor.”

  “Debt is also a good thing to rely on,” Miguel said.

  “The favor didn’t have any strings attached.”

  “Then if we show her mutual respect we might soften her up, Papa. I can’t wait to meet her, so promise that you’ll take me.”

  “Compared to our business Cain is really a small fish but, like I said, she does have the gift of making those close to her loyal. She’s reluctant to do business with us, but eventually she’ll see that by joining us she’ll gain the kind of power that makes her untouchable.”

  “And if she still turns you down?” Marisol asked.

  “It won’t be hard to take away the little control she’s accumulated, but I don’t want it to come to that,” Hector said as he studied his nails.

  “Why not?”

  Hector placed his hand on Marisol’s knee and smiled, making Tomas smile as well. “That loyalty she gets is what she gives in return. If she helps us establish what could be the lynchpin of our entire operation, she’ll work to make us successful.”

  “Then we’ll work to entice her to join us,” Marisol said, making it sound easy.

  “I believe that can happen simply because we’re not Rodolfo Luis.”

  *

  “The meeting with the Jatibons is a bad idea,” Carlos Santiago said to Rodolfo. “They’re setting a trap for you, I can feel it.”

  “No trap, Carlos.” Rodolfo tapped his cheek with the tips of his fingers. “They just want what I can’t give them.”

  “We’re still looking, but Juan hasn’t been spotted here or back home. I hope he realizes how much time and effort we’re wasting looking for him.”

  The mention of his nephew’s name was like an arrow through the heart. Rodolfo had poured his time and affection into Juan only to have Gracelia completely betray him. And that’s who had to be helping Juan, because he couldn’t have disappeared so effectively on his own.

  “Juan will be found when Gracelia wants him to be, and not any sooner,” he said from the backseat of the limo Carlos had ordered for their short trip to Pescadors. “Her, I’ll find in a few days when we get home.”

  “I hope you forgive my anger toward her, but I don’t understand the disrespect she’s shown you.”

  “My sister is a spoiled child who had her toy taken away, and she wants to punish me for it.”

  “She should be grateful you got rid of that scum Ortega for her, if that’s what you’re referring to. A life with him would’ve been one full of disrespect when he moved from woman to woman.” Carlos adjusted his shoulder holster. When his hand dropped to his thighs Rodolfo placed his on Carlos’s knee. Both of them looked down and, not for the first time, Rodolfo noticed that their hands were shaped the same, down to the fingernails. Rodolfo could see that Carlos was thinking along those lines as well.

  “Tonight when we finish I want you to come back up to the suite,” Rodolfo said before he took his hand off Carlos’s knee. “I have a lot to tell you and I think it’s time.”

  “You can tell me anything and I’ll do it.”

  “I don’t need anything done. I need to say something.”

  The car stopped at the club and the driver quickly opened the door. Simon was waiting outside for them and waved them past the line at the front door. The place was crowded but a spot at the back of the room had been cleared, with plenty of muscle standing to keep the stupidly curious away.

  “Welcome, Rodolfo,” Ramon said, with his hand out to him. “Patrón, right?” Ramon asked, pointing to the frozen shot glass full of tequila waiting for him.

  “Yes, thank you.” He shook Ramon’s hand but locked eyes with Cain after he glanced at Remi. “My condolences on your loss, Cain, but I’m glad you’re here. After our last talk I didn’t think we parted as enemies, but were at least on the way to being cordial. My business here and in other parts is suffering, and I have no one but you to blame,” he said, extending his hand to her next.

  “You have a funny way of offering an olive branch,” Cain said, not letting go of him and pulling him toward her. “And you aren’t very bright, talking about your business under the watchful eyes and ears of our friends over there.” She pointed to the agents sitting at the bar.

  “My patience for insults is at an end, my friend.”

  “Ha,” Cain said, loud enough for the agents to move closer, as if it would help them hear better. “We will never be friends, but one little bit of information will keep us from being enemies. You know that and yet you refuse.”

  “I can’t give you what I don’t have or know. That you can’t understand that doesn’t make you too bright either.”

  Even though his skin was dark, Rodolfo’s face was red from the anger Cain could tell was building. “Sit down and let’s see what you know or not.”

  Ramon laughed softly when Rodolfo chose the seat farthest away from Cain. “I thought this was a meeting between us,” Rodolfo said, waving his hand between himself and Ramon. “That was my understanding.”

  “Rodolfo.” Ramon said his name and sighed as if frustrated. “Cain and I are business partners in more than one venture, so your lack of cooperation, or at least that’s how it appears, troubles both our families. You’re a businessman, so surely you can relate to our dilemma.”

  “I’m looking,” Rodolfo said, close to a shout, and his man Carlos seemed concerned. Rodolfo smoothed his jacket down and appeared upset with himself that he’d lost control. “My nephew seems to have found a crack in the earth and fallen into it, but that doesn’t excuse the movement against my business—”

  “Ramon,” Cain said. “Maybe we should move upstairs before we have to make bail.”

  Joe and Lionel stood when they did, but sat back down when Ramon and Remi led the group up the wide stairs. Before Cain turned away from them she fought the urge to wave good-bye, deciding not to antagonize the vultures.

  Upstairs Ramon showed them to an empty poker salon equipped, as was the rest of the floor, with measures to keep anyone from electronically listening in. Once everyone’s drink was replaced, he closed the doors.

  “When Juan took my pregnant wife and shot one of my people I did make some adjustments to your business,” Cain said, watching Carlos grip his thighs so hard she figured it’d leave an impression of his fingers on his skin. “And before you give me the indignant routine, ask yourself what you would’ve done in my place. If you’ll be honest like I’m being with you, your actions would’ve been the same.”

  “Juan is no longer part of my family.”

  She considered his response and believed him. “I can see why, and because you told me, I’m sure you won’t have a problem with how I handle Juan once I find him.”

  “You can do whatever you like, but one more move against my people on the street and there’ll be no peace between us. I will come after you and yours even if I have to bring an army from Mexico to do it.”

  “My initial anger a
t you and your family is played out, Rodolfo. Call those days my incentive for you to find Juan.”

  “Our street people are deserting us everywhere because of the deaths,” Carlos blurted out in Spanish, like he couldn’t hold himself in check any longer. “The numbers increase every day.” Cain looked to Ramon to translate for her.

  “That I know,” Cain said to Rodolfo, “but it’s not my responsibility. My interest isn’t with you or your business, but solely with Juan.” She crossed her legs and barely blinked as she kept eye contact with him.

  “You expect me to believe you?” Rodolfo said, and laughed. “You really must think me stupid.”

  “Your problem is,” Cain said in the same calm tone of voice, “your perceived self-importance.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That you think you’re important to me, or maybe that I find your business irresistible,” she said, then took a sip of her neat whiskey. “Trust me, neither is the case. I’m telling you the truth because I have nothing to gain by lying. I don’t want anything from you except the nephew you’ve disowned.”

  “But you said you knew about my problems.”

  “New Orleans is my home, not a place I’m visiting to make a buck then fly back to Mexico not caring what happens here. It’s my home, my family’s home, and where I make a living, so it’s part of my job to know what happens on my streets.” She waited to see if he’d give his usual hotheaded response. “You have a problem here and in Mississippi, that I know, but beyond that I don’t because it doesn’t affect me, my family, partners, or business.”

  “We monitor closer than most at the casino in Biloxi,” Remi said, “since we don’t want any more law enforcement on the property than necessary, but some of the other casinos are catching the heat from your one-sided war.”

  “I agreed to this meeting today to tell you this. One more act against me and I’ll have no choice but to give you this war you speak of.” Rodolfo spoke softly and spread his hands out in front of him like he was trying to calm a wild pack of dogs.