Tempted by the Sinner

by Hamel, B. B.

  “And your subject,” I said. “Pretty sure letting me fuck you raw for the last two days isn’t exactly common journalistic practice.”

  She shot me a look then her face softened. “I know,” she said. “I’m trying to negotiate with myself here, you know what I mean?”

  “I think so,” I said. “You’re trying to find that line.”

  “Right,” she said, nodding in quick jabs of her head. “Exactly. I’m trying to find that line. On the one side, I’m the old Mona, you know, the journalist and all that. And on the other…”

  “You’re the Mona that sweats as she rides my thick cock and moans as she swallows my cum.”

  She blushed a little. “Yeah. Exactly.”

  “Don’t worry about it too much,” I said. “You can be both, if you want.”

  “I’m not sure it works that way.”

  I tilted my head and touched her cheek. She nuzzled against my palm and closed her eyes.

  “Mona, it works however the fuck we want it to work,” I said.

  “All right,” Ambrose said from the kitchen. I dropped my hand from Mona’s cheek and turned as Ambrose held up his phone, shaking it toward us. “Just talked to Diego.”

  “And?” I asked.

  Mona took a few steps away from me, pacing toward the couch and back.

  “He’ll meet,” Ambrose said. “Clark Park in an hour. He’s coming alone, and he’s not happy that you’re bringing a girl.”

  “But he’s still coming,” I said.

  “Yeah, looks like it.” Ambrose put his phone into his pocket. “You sure about this, boss?”

  I looked at Mona for a long moment, watched her pace until she caught me staring and stopped. She uncrossed her arms and stretched, and I took a second to admire her body.

  “I’m sure,” I said. “Now, who wants some food?”

  I walked to the kitchen, my hands trembling with anticipation.

  * * *

  I pulled the SUV over across the street from the park’s entrance and killed the engine. Ambrose jumped out and stretched, but Mona lingered in the back seat for a second.

  “Something wrong?” I asked as she stared out the window.

  She shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine.”

  I tilted my head but decided to let that slide. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed around the car as Mona climbed out. Ambrose followed, and the three of us walked up along the sidewalk, through the large gap in the black fence, and headed down along the asphalt.

  Families lounged about in the sun, kids played on the swings, old men gathered around the chess tables. There must have been an intense game going on, because the crowd was heavy around one of the tables. I tugged Mona’s arm, pulled her against me, and walked along with her close. Ambrose followed at a little distance, and he gave me a nod when I looked back over my shoulder at him.

  We made a slow circuit around the park like we were out for a stroll. Really, I wanted to see if I could spot any of Diego’s men trying to blend in. Nobody stood out, which didn’t mean all that much, but it was worth checking at least. I walked back down along the main path and slowed when I spotted Diego himself sitting on a bench right in the center of the park, surrounded by children playing on the grass nearby and pigeons eating a discarded hoagie on the ground.

  I nodded to him and he narrowed his eyes as we approached. I felt Mona tense next to me and Ambrose stayed a few steps back.

  “Diego,” I said.

  “Vincent.” Diego tilted his head. “You’re late.”

  He was a small man, stocky and heavy in the middle, with dark hair, tan skin, and dark eyes that were perpetually squinting. He wore a white and blue striped polo shirt tucked into a pair of tight jeans torn at the knees. He looked like Euro trash, except I knew that was just a front he put on.

  Diego was the representative of his entire cartel up north of the border, and was one of the most dangerous men in the country.

  I smiled like time meant nothing to me. “Had to make sure you really came alone.”

  He spread out his hands. “You know me, Vincent. When I say something, I mean it.”

  I nodded again and gestured to Mona. “This is Mona,” I said. “And Mona, this is Diego.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Diego said. “Take a seat, if you don’t mind. I always hate when people loom over me.”

  I pulled my arm from around Mona’s shoulder and took a seat next to Diego. I patted the bench and Mona sat on my other side, her back straight, her hands in her lap. Ambrose lingered for a second then sat down on the next bench over, a little too far away to be a part of the conversation. He glared at Mona for a second then shoved his legs out, ankles crossed, hands behind his head like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Ambrose told me about your little proposition,” Diego said.

  “Yeah?” I asked. “And what do you think?”

  “I think it puts me and my people in a dangerous situation,” he said, his face neutral.

  “I can see why you might think that,” I said. “But I believe the risks are smaller than you realize.”

  Diego crossed his arms and shifted his bulk. “Go ahead and explain then,” he said.

  “The Jalisco are strong in Mexico, there’s no doubt about that,” I said. “Down south, they run shit, and there’s no getting around it.”

  Diego inclined his head. “That’s true,” he said.

  “But we’re not down south. They’re not as strong here, and although they’re growing at a rapid pace, they haven’t built up strong networks in this city. There’s no reason to think they could win a war here, not with all the wars they’re fighting on their own home turf. I hear they’re expanding into Sinaloa territory, aren’t they?”

  “That’s their goal, anyway,” Diego said. “The Sinaloa aren’t exactly rolling over.”

  “But it means they’re busy elsewhere,” I said. “It means they don’t have the men to send up north to fight for some little city they don’t care about. You own New York, so why not own Philly, too?”

  Diego stroked his chin and jutted it out for a moment. He grunted and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “You make it sound easy.”

  “It won’t be easy,” I said. “You’ll piss the Jalisco off and they probably won’t ever forget about it. But we’ll help you take this city, and when it’s all done, we’ll be your biggest buyers. You’ll double your income in the span of a week.”

  “Here’s the problem with your plan,” Diego said. “It puts all the risk on our shoulders. We fight the Jalisco, we bring the drugs, we incur their wrath.”

  “We’ll fight on your side,” I said. “We’ll provide men, guns, whatever you need.”

  Diego made an uncertain gesture, shaking his hands side to side. “The Gulf is strong, and we’re stronger up north these days than anyone else. But you want us to start a war.”

  “This is how these things go,” I said. “You fight for what you want. I know you’re considering it, or else you wouldn’t have come down here.”

  “True enough,” Diego said.

  “We’ll fight by your side,” I said. “We’ll die by your side if we have to.” I leaned toward him and felt a surge of anger. “They tried to kill me, Diego. All because they wanted to try and control our business here. You’ve never once tried to kill me, have you?”

  “Not that I know of,” he said, a little sly smile on his lips.

  “I want them gone,” I said. “They attacked me. They almost hurt Mona. And I’m not the kind of man that lets that sort of shit slide.”

  Diego put up his hands and I leaned back. He dropped them again and took a breath.

  “All right,” he said. “We’ll consider it. I’ll speak with my bosses down south. I’ll be honest, I believe this would be a good war, a worthwhile fight. It would weaken the Jalisco up here and down south, and it might give us some space to grow in both regions. But if you fuck me, Vincent, there will be repercussions.”

 
“You know me, Diego,” I said. “I’m a businessman. You keep up your end, I keep up mine. Have we ever had any problems? Even when you raise prices on me?”

  He laughed at that, a rare little smile on his lips. “Fair enough,” he said then pushed off the bench and stood with a grunt. He was out of shape and I wondered how much the guy weighed at this point.

  “Talk to your bosses and get back to me,” I said, standing with him.

  He nodded, his eyes flicked to Mona, and then he looked back at me. “Why’d you bring the girl?” he asked.

  “I wanted her to meet you,” I said. “This was her idea, after all.”

  He grunted and thrust a hand out. I shook it briefly, eyes locked on his. He released my hand then turned and walked off, hands shoved into the pockets of his too-tight jeans.

  I watched him go then sank back down onto the bench.

  “What do you think?” I asked Mona.

  “I think you did good,” she said. “He seems interested.”

  “What kind of vibe do you get from him?”

  She shook her head. “Hard to say. I think he’s smarter than he seems.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  Ambrose walked over, shaking his head. “How’d it go?” he asked. “I couldn’t hear shit over there.”

  “I think he’s into it,” I said. “He has to discuss it with the leadership in Mexico. But I think he’ll do it.”

  “Fuck, yeah, he will,” Ambrose said, grinning huge. “This is going to make us all a lot of money.”

  I grunted and shook my head. “This is going to cause a lot of blood to flow.” I took Mona’s hand and stood up, drawing her up and against me. She stared into my eyes and I frowned at her, squeezing her hand. “But we’ll get through it anyway.”

  Ambrose sighed and rolled his eyes like he’d heard that a million times.

  “Don’t be dramatic, boss,” he said, and started back toward the car.

  “I need you back in New York,” I said to him. “As soon as possible. Go back and make sure the crew’s all solid.”

  “All right, boss,” Ambrose said. “But you know the boys. They’re keeping their shit on lock.”

  “Better be.”

  I put my arm around Mona and headed back to the car.

  20

  Mona

  Vince spent the rest of the day on and off the phone, talking to guys in the family. I lounged around on the couch watching TV and trying to keep myself calm.

  I tried to think back over the past few days, back to the attack, back before that.

  I tried to remember the point at which I stopped being a journalist and started being a participant.

  Maybe it was that day on the pool table, when Vince fucked me deep and hard. Or maybe it was after, when we were in and out of bed together, sweating and moaning, exploring each other’s bodies like we’d never have another chance.

  I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. But somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking about what was happening as something outside of me, something outside of my control, and started thinking about it as something that directly involved me.

  It was a scary thought, but I couldn’t shake it.

  “You look haunted,” Vince said, leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed.

  I blinked and looked up at him, surprised to see him staring at me.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I was just thinking. Half asleep, you know.”

  “Sure,” he said. “Thinking about what?”

  “All this.” I gestured around me. “How weird it is.”

  “What’s so weird?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, we’re talking about starting a drug war, right? Starting a drug war between two Mexican cartels like it’s no big deal. Like it’s something you do all the time.”

  “It is,” he said. “In a way.”

  “Come on, this is big, even for you.”

  He just shrugged. “If I’m honest with you, Mona, I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

  I sat up straight. “What do you mean?”

  “The Gulf cartel has a better foothold up north,” I said. “They have more guns, more guys, more money. The Jalisco are strong down south, but here, they’re just upstarts. I think the Jalisco are going to give in and beg us to take their contracts again before this goes any further.”

  I shook my head in surprise and began to roll the ends of my hair in my fingers. “I don’t know how you can think that,” I said. “I mean, these aren’t those kinds of guys, right?”

  “They’re not afraid of a little violence, if that’s what you mean.”

  “So why would you think the Jalisco would just… back off?”

  “Because we’re going to formalize the alliance with the Russians tonight,” he said. “After that, we’ll have the whole might of the city behind us. The Jalisco, they can bitch and moan, but they’ll have nothing. And when the Gulf come rolling into town, they’ll realize their time is up.”

  “You’re playing a dangerous game,” I said. “You’re betting lives that you’re right.”

  “I know,” he said and walked over to me. He sat down on the couch, his knee against mine, and put his arm around me. “Fucked up, isn’t it? But I know I’m not wrong.”

  I burrowed into his shoulder and let him hold me. I felt my heart beat faster, my body felt light and weightless. Nothing seemed real around me.

  And yet there was Vince, his body strong and firm.

  “Come on,” he said, hugging me tight then releasing me. “We’ve got one more meeting today.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  He nodded. “We need to talk with Steven and Dante about this shit,” he said. “If we’re going to start a war, we’ll need muscle.”

  “You just said there won’t be a war.”

  He smacked his fist into the palm of his other hand. “Better to be prepared,” he said. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  I groaned and pushed myself up off the couch. “Beats sitting around all day, I guess.”

  “Damn right. And if you’re good, I’ll take care of you when we get home.”

  I rolled my eyes, but my heart picked up again. “I bet you will,” I said. “Let me get changed first, okay?”

  “Make it quick.”

  I hurried upstairs, put on fresh clothes, washed my face, and met him down by the door. We got into his borrowed black SUV and drove down to the bakery. There were more cars than usual parked around it, and we had to take a spot a couple blocks away.

  We walked in the heat and he put an arm around my shoulder. I should have shrugged him off, but instead I leaned in closer.

  I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t know if I cared.

  The bakery was packed. Each table had a few guys sitting at it, some of them in suits, some of them wearing casual clothes, and all of them looked angry. I spotted Steven sitting with Dante at a table near the front, both of them with dour looks on their faces. The place was a murmur of quiet conversations that stopped as soon as Vince stepped in through the door.

  “Well, look at this,” he said. “You brought every single asshole in the city.”

  Dante stood. “Seems as though we don’t have much choice,” he said, and his face remained blank and flat.

  Vince crossed his arms and stared at his friend. The quiet was heavy, oppressive, like a weighted blanket on my chest. I inched closer to Vince and stared around at the faces.

  Some of them were young, too young to be in the mafia. Some of them looked too old, too fat, too thin. A man with graying hair and a pissed-off expression stood behind the counter, a white apron wrapped around his middle.

  I wondered where these people came from, how they found each other, how they found themselves in the mafia. These were the soldiers, the real muscle, the real killers in this city. I realized that I had just stepped into a den of monsters with only Vince to protect me.

  “I didn’t know you were afraid of a little action,” Vince said.

>   Dante grunted. “Don’t misunderstand me, Vincent,” he said. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. But this wasn’t a fight we were interested in.”

  “What about you, Steven?” Vince asked, nodding at the Capo.

  Steven shifted in his chair and leaned one arm over the back. “I saw what they did,” he said. “I was out on that street with you.”

  “Damn right you were,” Vince said.

  “Dante has some concerns,” he said. “But he’s not wrong to voice them.”

  “All right,” Vince said, nodding slowly like he was listening to a favorite song. “Let’s sit down and discuss then.”

  Dante sighed like that was the most annoying thing he’d ever heard, but he took his seat again. Vince walked over to the table, and a thin, handsome guy with light hair and light eyes stood up to make room. Vince slid in and I sat next to him, intensely aware that I was the only woman in the whole place, and half the eyes were on me.

  Steven tilted his head in my direction. “What’s the girl doing here?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Vince said.

  “We’re worried about everything,” Dante said. “You’re dragging us into a war, and you’re bringing some girl to a war meeting.”

  “She’s fine,” Vince said. “Worry about yourself for a change.”

  Dante sniffed and leaned back, crossing his arms, his whole posture closed.

  “Look, we get what you’re doing,” Steven said. “And honestly, I don’t disagree. If I were in your position, I’d want to hit back at the Jalisco for what they did. But if you start a war here in Philly, we’re the ones that are going to have to fight it.”

  “First of all, I’m not the one starting this war,” Vince said, staring at his friends. “The Jalisco are the ones starting it.”

  “They’re just trying to keep us from allying with the Russians,” Dante said. “And can you fucking blame them?”

  Vince leaned forward, eyes wide. “Yes,” he said. “I fucking can blame them.”

  “Easy,” Steven said.

  “I don’t know when you lost your fucking balls, Dante, but the Jalisco tried to kill a Capo in your family,” Vince said. “You understand what that means, don’t you?”