I was on the third story balcony of the beachside penthouse I shared with my brother, sipping tequila on the rocks. I loved the smoky mezcal flavor on my throat and I enjoyed the burn. A gentle warm breeze blew off the beach into my hair.

I watched below as Marco Reyes pulled into my driveway in a yellow Maserati convertible; a deep cumbia beat surging through his speakers. For a man who was second-in-charge to direct the flow of pounds of cocaine per day across the US-Mexico border, he was remarkably indiscrete. A blond bombshell in a red dress was in the passenger seat. Or was her face in his lap? It was hard to tell from the third floor. Knowing Marco’s proclivities, I suspected the latter.

Marco stepped out of the car and away from me, appearing to zip up his pants. I saw the red dress sit upright. Definitely in his lap.

He looked up and saw me on the balcony. “Ey! cabrón Corbin!”

I smirked at my old drug dealer nickname.

“Come on up. Door is open.”

I swigged the last of my tequila and headed downstairs. Marco was just inside the door, hands at his sides. Seeing me walk down the spiral staircase, he let a rare smile fall over his face.

“Corbin, my friend, it’s so good to see you.”

The girl next to him was a trophy piece that you’d expect to see at one of those car shows in a bikini. She stared down at the floor.

“Likewise.” We hugged. A small pang of guilt flashed through me as I looked over his shoulder. But as much as we might want to sugarcoat our friendship, Marco was the reason I got caught and put into prison.

So I felt a little bad about doing what I had to do for the DEA, but he fucked me, and now it was his turn to get fucked.

Funny how knocking eighteen years off your prison sentence can give you some extra perspective.

Although this wasn’t going to be easy--not by any stretch of the imagination.

Marco rubbed my shoulders. “I brought you a gift.”

He flicked his fingers. “Dixie, give Corbin his gift. Dale.” He said the Spanish word with native emphasis, and the girl, who I thought was off in her own little world looking at the floor, smiled at me. She lifted a bottle of something in her hand with a red bow tied around it.

She was one foot short of me. “Mr. Young, I present you this gift. It is La Suicida Mezcal.”

Suicida Mezcal was a special mezcal tequila that had long been thought to be extinct. Legend had it that Luis Reyes himself was the maker. The stuff was rumored to have magical, almost cleansing qualities.

I looked at the bottle, and then back at Marco. “I didn’t even know they still made this stuff.”

He said. “Luis sent it to me. Special, for you.”

Dixie took the bottle from my hands and went into the kitchen.

“I didn’t think Luis even knows who I am.”

Marco gave me the closest thing to a smile his dark soul could muster. “When you were in jail, Corbin, our sales took a noticeable hit.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be sorry, this is a good thing. It showed that you are valuable to us.”

“So now I’m valuable? That wasn’t how it seemed when you were letting me take the fall for that drop off that you fucked up that ended me in fucking jail.”

Marco’s minimal smile faded, tension filled the air for a moment as we narrowed our eyes at each other.

Dixie broke the ice when she came back into the room with two glasses holding ice and tequila.

“Dixie. Finish the gift,” Marco said sternly, the smile rubbed away from his face.

She gave one glass to Marco, and one to me. “Mr. Young, please take me to your room.” She spoke the words robotically, reminding me of the Stepford Wives.

“Isn’t she fucking hot? Take her in the room and fuck her so hard she can’t walk straight tomorrow. Give her the Corbin Young treatment.”

I looked at Dixie. Objectively, she was hot, a legitimate bombshell by most standards. Her red dress barely covered her huge fake tits.

Truth be told, I hadn’t managed to get Alexa—I mean Eva—off my mind since the afternoon. I had zero desire to get it on with this girl.

“Thanks for the Mezcal,” I said, swirling the tequila. “Sorry, I’m not in the mood for…whatever else this gift entails. “

Dixie’s mouth opened in shock when I turned my back on her. Clearly this was not a woman who was used to being turned down for sex. “Besides,” I added. “The men have business to attend to, don’t we?”

Marco grinned. As much as he liked women, business had always been his first mistress. He could respect the fact that I was blowing off Dixie in favor of man talk. “Let’s head up to the balcony.” He turned to Dixie. “Stay down here, honey. Man talk time.”

We arrived on the balcony and inhaled the fresh ocean air. The sun was about an hour from setting and the red orange glow on the horizon was beautiful. We leaned our elbows on the brick ledge. Marco took a sip of his tequila and stared off into the distance.

“Business has been down, Corbin. We need you. I have a lot of product moving to the area soon. Which is good timing because the new college students arrive next month and they’re going to need their fix. And in the last couple of years, we’ve lost market share without you pushing our brand on campus. I need you to do what you do best.”

I squinted and looked out on the ocean. Do what you do best. I repeated those words over again in my head.

I took another sip of La Suicida. Both of us knew exactly what he meant. I was the king of dealing to the students on college campuses. I’d always been able to win them over and become their number one source.

Sometimes, it got to me though. If you follow the money chain, drug violence in Mexico was fueled by college kids and young twenty-somethings paying prices for cocaine.

Not that it mattered anymore. I was on the Fed’s side now. I had to play this right. I shifted my gaze from the horizon to Marco. “What did you have in mind?”

“We’ve got a big shipment coming in next week. I want to get you back on the college campuses. Set up shop again, like you did in the old days.”

“I’m twenty-nine now, I don’t exactly fit right in with the college freshmen anymore,” I said.

“You’re a young twenty-nine. Especially with the new haircut. And I’m not asking you to blend in exactly—I’m just asking you to make connections.”

I hesitated, slowly playing my hand. Marco was doing exactly what I needed—bringing me back into his trust circle. I couldn’t be too eager though, or it would arouse suspicion. “Marco, you know I’m tainted goods now. I’m lucky I made it out of prison. Sure—we’re friends, and I’d love to help you. I just don’t know if it’s too soon for me to get back into the business.”

He nodded. “I can certainly understand your hesitation. But once you’ve moved this shipment, we’ll bring in someone new. Someone younger you can train as an apprentice. But right now we need you. The business needs you.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “The family needs you.”

Would you send your family to jail for twenty years during the prime of their life? I wanted to say.

Instead I paused to think, sipping my tequila. “This is some good shit. You know what—fuck it. I’m in.”

“That’s my Cabrón Corbin!” He tightened his grip on my shoulder.

“So what’s the total product we’re moving?”

“Four-hundred pounds. Eighty-five percent pure.”

I did some quick math in my head. “Jesus, Marco. That’s over fifteen million dollars street value.”

“So you’ll do it. You’ll absolutely do it?” He sounded like the devil, the tone of his voice bordering between a question and a statement. He stuck his hand out for a shake.

This was the big moment. The grand finale. I had to drop this so natural. Everything was riding on Marco’s lack of suspicion at my request to meet the drug lord at the top of the food chain.

An indication of desperation could be met with death.

“I’ll do it under one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Luis Reyes. I want to meet him.”

Marco set his drink down, retracting his handshake. “Why would you need to meet him? We supply the product, you move it. It’s simple.”

“I know I’ve always been the dealer. But you are asking me, right after I get out of prison, to take a huge risk that could have me right back behind bars.”

Marco lifted his chin. “I’ll think about it. In the meantime. This is for you.”

He held up a black briefcase and set it on the concrete fence where I leaned on my arms.

“Here is your advance for the work,” he said as he popped the thing open. The money smell hit me and I eyed the rolls of hundreds.

“Just some ‘get back on your feet money,’ now that you’re out. And a symbol of trust. After we were in Folsom together for a year, I know I can trust you. And you should know the same. Just do me a favor and be discreet with your spending for a little while. We don’t need to draw any unnecessary attention.”

He stared at my face, gauging my reaction. I smiled. “You’re a good man Marco.”

“So you’ll do it?” he asked hopefully.

“Get me a face to face with Luis,” I said, “and I’m in.”

Marco frowned. “I don’t understand why this is such a big deal to you.”

My heart surged a little bit. “I worked for him for six years. I was his best dealer. I ended up in jail for activities related to his business. I think it’s only right.”

Marco took a deep breath. “I’ll get that meeting with Luis. Give me some time.” We clinked glasses and finished the last of our drinks.

On the way downstairs, the topic of conversation turned to women. I told him all about Alexa. Marco asked me every possible question about her, like some kind of lady-killer guru. Creepy bastard.

“Dixie, let’s go,” Marco said. He turned to me. “We’re having a poker match tonight at Cooney’s Pub by the beach. Let’s go. Starts in an hour.”

“Right now?” I balked at the idea, thinking of the plans I’d made with Eva.

“Something the matter?” Marco asked, seeing my hesitation.

“Hell no. Of course I’ll come. You ready to lose some money?” Dixie led the way out the door, and I paused. “Be right there.”

In the bathroom, I fired off a text to Eva. I was sure she’d understand me having to cancel our little date tonight. She probably didn’t care. Like she said, we were just a silly one-night stand.

Nothing more would happen between us.