Lucky
"Is it done?" Gonzalez asked, tone raspy.
Exhaling a breathless pant, I nodded my head and readjusted my cell to my ear. "It's done." My phone continued to slip through my fingers though, the sheer amount of blood on my hands making it impossible to get a good grip. "You got that address for me?"
"You did good tonight, Bolillo," Gonzalez announced. "Cortez won't be fucking with my shipment this time."
"No, he won't," I replied, staring emotionless at the bloodied carcass at my feet. "Now, that's 12:0 t0 you." Balancing the burner phone between my ear and shoulder, I dug into my pocket and pulled out a smoke. "Gotta give me something, G," I stated as I flicked open my lighter and sparked up. "Otherwise I'm gonna start thinking this is a one-way relationship we've got going." Inhaling a deep drag, I rubbed the blood on my hands on the leg of jeans before hooking a finger around my cigarette and exhaling. "You can imagine how unhappy that will make me."
"Goddamn," Gonzalez chuckled down the line. "You are impressive."
"Then why don’t you impress me," I bit out. "With something I can work with."
"Your man, Henderson, has his dick in more pussy than most my boys put together," he said. "Got more bastards floating around Colorado than I have fingers to count them on."
"Good to know," I shot back flatly. "But I'm not interested in who he's fucking, G."
"Patience, Bolillo," Gonzalez coaxed. "If you had waited until I had finished, you would have heard me tell you that his favorite pussy is one of ours."
Now he had me interested. "I'm listening."
"One of his whores had his bastard," he added. "A daughter. Annalisa Henderson." Laughing, Gonzalez reeled off the name, "You might know her by the name Annabelle."
Well fuck me sideways…
"No fucking way," I shot back, genuinely surprised for the first time in a long ass time. "Clever bastard."
"Ah, but the plot thickens," Gonzalez chimed in, thoroughly amused at it all. "Bitch was planted into the family as her daddy's eyes and ears."
"Well, I'll be goddamned," I mused.
She was good.
Very fucking good.
It wasn’t often that I found myself blindsided.
From day one, I knew there was something fucked up about Porter's BFF and her creepy ass 'Annabelle doll' eyes – pun intended.
I'd put it down to her being a little batshit and a whole lot obsessed.
I should've known better.
Always fucking knew blondes were a bad breed of woman.
"Her purpose?"
"To observe and report," Gonzalez confirmed. "From what I can gather."
"And her kid?" I asked, rubbing my jaw. "He Porter's?"
"Don’t know nothing about no kid." His tone was light when he offered, "As a show of good faith, I can take care of the bitch."
"Nah," I mused, thoroughly entertained at the thought of that crazy fucking woman carrying all her tall tales back to daddy. "Let her watch." I grinned to myself before adding, "Soon enough, she won't have a daddy to run back to."
"Very well," he replied. "The offer still stands."
"And Noah and his wife?" I asked, getting straight back to business. "How's that fixed?"
"Carlito's been trailing them for weeks," he informed me. "All good, Bolillo. Nothing to report on Daddy Carter's front either."
Nodding, I ran a hand through my hair and asked, "The girl?"
There was a pause before Gonzalez said, "The girl has more protection than the state fucking senator."
Relief flooded my body.
She was safe.
"You know the score," I felt the need to remind him, knowing all too well about the dangers of falling into a false sense of security. "Anything happens to her and the deal's off."
"Nothing will happen to your old lady, Bolillo," Gonzalez replied with a weary sigh. "You are much too valuable to me." He chuckled before adding, "When you join us, you'll see, my friend, that we take care of our family."
I rolled my eyes at his words, not bothering to tell him for the hundredth damn time that I wasn’t joining the family. Fucker could continue to dream all he wanted. Whatever floated his boat. "I'm getting off here, G," I told him. "Got a shit ton of clean-up to do."
"Expect my call," was all he said before the line went dead.
Within seconds, the phone began to vibrate in my hand again.
Pressing accept, I put the phone to my ear and said, "Expect your call? Wanna give me a few minutes before calling in another job, asshole?"
"It's me."
My heart stopped.
Fucking stopped dead in my chest.
The sound of her voice was the very last thing I'd expected to hear on the other line.
"How'd you get this number, HC?" I asked, tone gruff, as I wrestled my emotions back into the box I needed to keep them inside in order to get shit done.
"Teagan," she confessed.
Noah was right.
She was a fucking thorn.
"Where are you?" she asked then.
"Taking care of business."
"What… kind of business?"
"The kind you don’t want me to talk about."
"I need to see you," she continued to say, her voice torn and hushed. "So badly."
"We've been here before, Hope," I told her. "And I always lose."
"I know, oh god, I know." The pain and sadness in her voice broke me. "I just–" Sniffling, she stifled a sob. "I need you."
"You done fixing him, yet?" I countered heatedly. "Because if you are, then say the word, sweetheart, and I'll get in my truck and come get you."
There was a long pause of silence, and then she whispered, "Hunter, please don’t give up on me." A pained sob tore out of her chest and straight into mine. "There's so much we need to discuss. If we could talk, in person, figure something out. Oh god, I need you…please just come back…I need you!"
I shook my head and stared down at the dead man looking back up at me.
Like fuck, I'd given up on her.
Everything I was doing was because I loved her.
I just couldn’t stick around and watch the inevitable.
Watch her with him.
"I love you," I told her. "But I can't watch it."
"Watch what?"
"You," I snarled. "With him." I shook my head and bit back a growl. "I've been watching it for months, and I can't do it anymore. Not now."
"You know how I feel –" she began to say, but I cut her off, needing to get this shit off my shoulders.
"It's not enough for me. Your words? Your promises? None of it is ever going to be enough for me," I practically roared. Goddamn this woman could make me lose every fucking ounce of self-control. "Not until you're mine," I added. "All mine." Sighing heavily, I said, "I was never good at sharing the things I wanted, Hope. And I've never wanted anything as badly as I want you."
"I feel the same way," she cried. "And I am yours!"
"Then leave him," I demanded. "Leave him because you want me more. Leave him because you love me more!"
"I do," she strangled out. "I will."
"Then call me when you act on your feelings," I hissed. "Because I’m done with this, HC. I'm through with being your sidepiece."