by Mima
Chase didn’t reply.
“What if she died?”
“She didn’t die,” Chase attempted to assure her. “Your dad would’ve told you if anything happened to her.”
“I think he’s scared of upsetting me,” Maria was insistent as she pulled a blanket over her shoulders suddenly looking younger than her actual age. “So he’s hiding something from me.”
“I really don’t think that’s the case,” Chase was insistent, relieved that her tears had stopped. “But maybe you should let him know how you feel. Personally, I think he would tell you if something was wrong.”
She didn’t reply but pulled the blanket closer.
Chase awkwardly stood up and walked toward the cart of food. “Can I get you something?”
She shook her head no.
It was while on his way back to the chair opposite Maria that she asked the question.
“Chase if you knew anything about my mother, you would tell me, right?”
An unmistakable confidence filled his voice as he turned and looked her in the eye. “Of course I would.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
“What’s with you?” Diego asked as they drove home that afternoon. The day had dragged by and all Chase wanted to do was jump in the shower and go to bed. His body felt heavy, his head ached and the many thoughts that plagued him were getting louder. Had Maria’s mother been killed? As much as he had moments of sheer hatred toward his own ex-wife, times when his anger almost took over, he never would’ve killed her but Hernandez was different.
“I’m just tired,” Chase replied and took a deep breath, glancing out the window at rush hour traffic as they slowly made their way home. “Today was a total write off for me.”
“You looked after Hernandez’s kid so some would say,” Diego cleared his throat and Chase turned to look at him. “Some would say you might’ve had the most important job of the day.”
“I don’t know about that,” Chase replied and reached for his bottle of water. “I think that kid could look after herself. She’s pretty smart.”
“Yeah but we aren’t talking just anyone’s kid,” Diego sniffed. “We’re talking about Hernandez’s kid. If the right person thought she was alone and had a beef with him, they would think nothing of kidnapping her.”
Chase felt incredibly naïve when this reality hit him because he certainly hadn’t even considered it. Then again, no one had ever indicated that Hernandez was well known or sought after man in Mexico, so how was he to know? How prominent was this guy and were Canadian officials aware he was in the country? Was he being watched? A whole new level of fear grasped him, causing a tightness to grip his chest. Was he in danger?
“I didn’t know that,” He finally replied as his heart raced. “How big is this guy back in Mexico?”
“He’s known,” Diego replied, giving no further information. “The point is that he picked you for a reason. He sees you as someone he can trust. He sees you as someone who would do anything to protect his daughter. Plus you have that intimidating, bodyguard look that makes him feel safer, I dunno.”
“I’m not sure how safe I feel right about now.”
“That’s why he wants to get you a gun,” Diego spoke casually, making a face, he shrugged his shoulders. “I think he mentioned something about a taser as well.”
‘A gun? I’ve never used a gun,” Chase spoke sharply, causing Diego to raise his eyebrows slightly, only taking his eyes off the road momentarily. “And a taser? Are those even legal to have in Canada?”
“Do you think Hernandez cares if they are illegal?” Diego let out a short laugh. “Trust me, in the right situation, you won’t give a fuck if they’re legal. You’ll be goddamn happy to have access to either one and Jolene is going to teach you how to shoot.”
“What? When?” Chase couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “My son was shot and you guys think I seriously want to learn how to use a gun?”
“If it were my son,” Diego spoke in a quiet, respectful voice. “That would make me want to learn. It’s a dangerous world, Chase and we can only protect ourselves and our loved ones. No one else will do it for us.”
Chase didn’t reply. Obviously, his own circumstances were substantially different from that of an average Canadian. There was no going back now, that ship had sailed. Even if he tried, Chase had a feeling that he would never be able to escape this world he now lived in. He thought about it all afternoon and although in some ways it made him feel more protected, that was perhaps irrelevant in the face of the potentials dangers that these people had introduced into his life.
“So the kid, she really likes you,” Diego commented as he reached for a bag beside him and pulled out a piece of red licorice and started to eat it. “Hernandez said she talked on and on about what a great day you had, everything you did, all the stores you went to and he was quite pleased. That’s good, we want him pleased.”
“It was cool. She’s a nice kid,” Chase felt himself going along with the conversation even though he couldn’t quite get past the upcoming shooting lessons he was apparently about to take.
Of course, he also didn’t count on it being the very next day either.
“Me and you,” Jolene pointed at him as soon as he walked in the door. “We have a lesson later.”
“We do?” Chase asked absently, still not feeling well since his drinking escapade two days earlier. Then again, after all the information he had swimming in his mind, it had been impossible to sleep.
“Yes, you and me, we,” She affectionately tapped his arm as they passed in the hallway and Chase immediately went into the staff room for a cup of coffee. Sylvana was standing at the counter, eating a cookie and immediately began to laugh when she saw him.
“So I hear you can add ‘professional babysitter’ to the list of your useless skills,” Her comment was sharp, her eyes glared through him as he made his way to the coffee pot. “The rest of us are here working our asses off and you’re out playing with someone kid all day.” She started to walk away and Chase’s eyes immediately focused on her full butt as she did so, he felt a surge of anger flow through him.
“Apparently, you didn’t work much of your ass off,” His voice was unexpectedly sharp as she turned around with a stunned look on her face and Chase felt an unexpected desire flow through him. Her full, round ass and how it wiggled slightly as she walked, the hint of cleavage that always tantalizing him when she bent over nearby, her aggressive nature that challenged him, teased him, taunted him. There was something different in her expression when their eyes met, a lust that flowed between them that he never would’ve expected. It was how Sylvana’s lips gently fell opened as her eyes roamed his body for a long, intense silence that told him that something had changed.
While Diego, Jolene, Benjamin, and Beverly had a meeting to discuss the new venue, Verna worked diligently and Grace did research, Chase and Sylvana slipped out of the office with the excuse that he was checking something in her car. Instead, they breathlessly slipped into a vacant washroom on the first floor and proceeded to share a hungry kiss.
“We only have a few minutes,” She instructed with some vulnerability in her voice, as she unbuttoned her blouse to show her full breast pouring out of a push-up bra, lifting her skirt, she wore a skimpy thong and Chase felt his breath only increase as he quickly grew hard. Her mouth covered his and she pulled him close, immediately moaning when he pushed her against the wall.
Not surprisingly, she called out a series of instructions; where to touch, how to caress, how fast, how slow and for some reason, he felt himself get more horny with each order, as his tongue made it’s way down to her breasts, sliding into the front of her bra to tease her nipple while she gasped.
“Suck it,” She cried as he followed her instructions and she loudly moaned. “I want you inside me...now…”
She gasped as he entered her
, panting loudly, as he grabbed her ass and pulled her up, she tightly wrapped her legs around him as he moved deeper inside her, she continued to instruct him on the pace and forcefulness until she starting panting, ‘Oh God’ in his ear and unable to hold back for another second, he finally came inside her.
After a short recovery, they got themselves back together, both of their faces flushed, she suggested they return to the office as if in midst of an argument so that no one would suspect anything. It worked.
“Stupid redneck, I figured someone from Alberta would know about cars,” She snapped as she returned while Verna ignored them as they entered the room, they quickly separated and Chase noticed the meeting was still on in the conference room.
Unfortunately, rather than satisfying him, his quick encounter seemed to instead make his body highly sensitive for the rest of the day. Especially later that morning at the gun range when Jolene was leaning up behind him, in attempts to show him how to hold and point the gun, her breasts pushed against his back, her hot breath on his neck, causing him to feel strong urges that were distracting him from the task at hand. His lack of ability was simply written off as being unsure of how to use a gun as well as being slightly off his game after his drunken birthday night.
“You will do great tomorrow,” Jolene insisted after the lesson. “It will be fine.”
“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with having a gun,” Chase smoothly broached the subject as they walked to her car. “I mean, my son was shot.”
“Do you not see, Chase, that is why you need to know,” Jolene was as insistent as she unlocked the car as they got closer. “After all, you are looking after Maria. You must know how to protect her if anything were to happen.”
It wasn’t until they got in the car that he asked something that had been on his mind since the day before.
“Jolene, can I ask you something,” Chase asked as she put on her seatbelt. “What happened to Maria’s mother?”
“I don’t know? She left, maybe?” Jolene spoke innocently and shrugged. “What did she say?”
“Vacation?” Chase asked skeptically.
“Then it is a vacation.”
“Maria is scared something happened to her,” Chase continued. “She saw her parents argue and then….her mother went missing.”
“Chase, come on,” Jolene made a face and started the car. “He probably tell her to go away for a while but she’s fine. She was a bit of a princess, he tells me, so she probably is lying on a beach somewhere with drinks being served to her.”
“Really?”
“Really!” Jolene was insistent. “The little girl, she has a wild imagination. That is all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Chase, I am sure.”
“I have one more question,” Chase continued. “What about Luke Prince?”
“What about?” Jolene grabbed and pulled on her sunglasses. “He’s gone.”
“Do you know how?”
“Some hunter? Isn’t that what your ex-wife say?” She replied but there was something in her voice, a distinct sound that faded out when she finished her sentence. “I do not worry about these things and you, neither should you. That man, he got what he deserve. That is what I say.”
Chase opened his mouth to reply but promptly closed it instead.
“Has Diego say anything to you?” She finally continued. “About this?”
“No,” Chase replied.
“Ok,” She replied simply and focused on the road. “Then do not worry.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“Diego, he cannot be in the dark no longer,” Jolene’s muffled voice could be heard through the walls as Chase opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was almost 7:30, which means he slept for over an hour since getting home from work. Closing them again, he simply wanted to escape; perhaps open his eyes to a different time, a different life, something that was easier than what he was dealing with at that point. Did he really have sex with a coworker he hated then go for shooting lessons with his boss? Was that a dream? A bizarre, insane dream?
Diego didn’t reply and a long silence followed.
“Is it, you know, ok to talk about this?” Jolene asked and Diego could be heard moving around the living room. “Was she here today?”
“Yeah, she left earlier when we got home.”
The only person that left earlier that day was the cleaning lady which led Chase to believe that he was dreaming and not actually overhearing a conversation. It didn’t make sense that Diego would care if his housekeeper had been around or had someone else been in their apartment? What was he talking about?
“It is fine then?” Jolene asked and without waiting for a reply, she continued. “It is not fair for him to know so little when he could be in danger. I say we tell him everything.”
“I don’t think we should,” Diego replied. “It should be a need to know basis. That way, he can honestly say he had no idea if anything were to happen. I don’t want him involved in this mess.”
“I say we tell,” Jolene continued as if Diego hadn’t spoken at all. “He needs to know. What if something happens and he’s unprepared.”
Silence followed.
“Okay, but not everything,” Diego finally agreed.
“Today he ask about Luke Prince and Hernandez’s ex? The girl’s mother?”
“We don’t tell him anything on Prince, it’s too close to home,” Diego insisted quietly and fell silent. “I don’t know about Hernandez’s ex but we know that he plays by his own rules.”
“Do you think she is dead?” Jolene lowered her voice.
No reply could be heard.
Chase didn’t move. He barely breathed upon hearing these words and although a part of him wanted to rise from the bed and interrupt the conversation, he waited instead and let the words sift through his mind. They felt heavy like a huge weight on his chest. Their conversation confirmed what he believed, the truth glaringly bright in his eyes. It didn’t matter who killed Luke Prince; the reality was that it was Jolene and Diego that put the wheels in motion. Hernandez’s ex might be alive but she was certainly in danger, and not laying on a beach somewhere, sipping on drinks.
It was after Jolene left that he got out of bed and took a shower. After changing into some comfortable clothing, he reluctantly wandered into the living room where he found Diego in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher.
“Hey, I thought you were out for the night,” Diego commented casually, a hint of something unfamiliar in his voice.
Shrugging, indifferent to the comment, Chase yawned and took a quick look into the fridge. Shutting the door, he decided against eating.
“Jolene said that the shooting lesson went ok today,” Diego broke the awkward silence as he continued to put the rest of the dishes away. He turned toward Chase and their eyes briefly met before Diego looked away again. “She said that tomorrow you were getting down to business.”
“I guess so,” Chase replied and licked his lips. Moving toward the couch, his legs felt heavier with each step as if he were forcing them through a mountain of snow. Sitting, he wondered how to broach the topic. “I’m still not comfortable learning, though. Using a gun doesn’t feel right to me.”
Diego finished what he was doing and turned around. Standing behind the island that separated them, he didn’t reply at first. “You might never need it but if you do, wouldn’t you like to know how? Guns are more about security than they are about using them. Knowing they are there. It’s kind of like a house alarm. You hope you never need it but there’s a certain comfort knowing it is in place if you ever do.”
“I suppose,” Chase reluctantly agreed. “It seems like a stretch.”
“It’s not a stretch,” Diego assured him. “Look, Chase, we must be vigilant. Now that Hernandez is getting more involved in this business, it does increase the p
otential for danger. We might not see or touch it but a lot of drugs are going through our parties. And with that, there’s always a chance that things will take a bad turn.”
“Is it worth it?” Chase asked, feeling slightly naïve. “I mean, why not have the parties as they are and keep the drugs out of it?”
“If we don’t then we don’t have an investor and we don’t have a business,” Diego spoke honestly. “Everything is expensive and we are new. We need the help and no one else was ever interested, regardless of how well we were doing, most potential investors were only interested in putting a minimal amount because they didn’t fully trust our longevity.”
“And Hernandez felt differently?”
“Hernandez knew differently,” Diego corrected him. “He’s been in from day one. Even in Alberta, you and Jolene running the office? Jorge was investing in us. We had attendees on the inside making sales. We weren’t even sure that it would work but it took off immediately. Other than that OD once, the woman you drove to the hospital? We never had any other problems. We insist in our contract be signed before attending the parties that no drugs be brought in so instead, it’s assumed that we have no idea, which protects us.”
“So the contract is there to protect us, not the client?”
“It’s never been about protecting the client,” Diego assumed him. “It never is in these cases. Companies are out to make money and not be sued.”
“So how do you work the money in,”
“We exaggerate our numbers. Fake clients so it looks like we are busier than we are. There are all kinds of ways to filter it in. Jorge wants our own establishment because we can increase our potential of doing this in various ways with fewer eyes watching so we don’t have to worry about venue owners figuring things out. By the way, that’s another reason we don’t tend to use the same venues too often. We don’t want any of these guys catching on.”
Chase nodded as he considered these words. Everything was slowly coming together.
