Ryan
After picking me up from the border, Mateo immediately took me to that bar where we met when I first came to Mexico, Mamacita’s. Mateo told me that he had heard some guys connected to Las Calaveras were asking about me and I needed to keep a low profile. It’s obvious that Paul is the mastermind, making sure he covers his tracks so Officer Matthews thinks I’m just a crazy, lying delinquent. I’m hiding out in one of the bedrooms above the bar waiting for Mateo to come back with news about Dalila.
All I know is that she’s missing. Dalila is out there somewhere and I need to find her. Every moment that ticks by is torture.
I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I’m ready for anything that comes at me. The lock on the door squeaks open and Mateo is standing there with a Styrofoam container filled with takeout food.
“Have you heard anything about Dalila?” I ask before he even walks in the room.
“Here,” he says as he hands me the container. My mouth waters from the savory scent filling the room. “Eat.”
I start chowing down. Food is fuel and the only way I can rely on my brain to work properly. Right now I need a clear head.
“Do you know where Dalila is?” I ask.
“No, man. She disappeared without a trace.”
I stiffen. “Why? Do you know what went down?”
He shrugs. “Beats me. You need to be worrying about yourself, Ryan. Las Calaveras are looking for you.” He leans against the old wooden dresser next to the small window. “Tell me what happened in Texas.”
While I’m not used to trusting anyone, Mateo has been on my side ever since we were in the ring at Lone Star.
“I found money hidden in my stepfather’s garage,” I tell him. “A lot of it.”
“How much?”
“Two point two.”
He raises a brow. “Are we talking two thousand two hundred?”
I shake my head slowly until the reality sinks into his brain.
“Wow.” He lets out a low whistle. “That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. He’s pretty pissed off that I took it.”
“I’ll bet. Sounds like blood money or bribe money.” Before I can respond, Mateo gets a call on his cell and has an entire conversation with someone as he stares out the bedroom window.
When he hangs up, I start packing my stuff. “Listen, Mateo. My stepfather has followed my every move since I came to Mexico. He knows I got close to Dalila.” I look at the people walking on the street below and wonder if any one of them is reporting back to Paul. “You think he’ll go after her to get to me?”
“People do crazy shit when it comes to money, Hess.”
She’s out there somewhere and I’m going to find her. “I’m not about to hide in this room all day,” I tell him.
“What the hell are you gonna do? Go out there and get yourself killed?”
“My plan doesn’t include me getting killed, even though her father would like nothing better than for me to disappear from her life.”
“I should probably let you know that I’m working security at her house tonight,” Mateo says.
I look up at him with no small amount of shock. “You’re serious?”
He shrugs. “Her father’s hired extra protection around his place. It pays good. I could probably sneak you inside the compound if you want.”
“You could get yourself in a heap of trouble if you help me, Mateo.”
“Hell, what are friends for,” he says. “Right?”
If he’s been working for Oscar Sandoval, he probably knows more about the man than I do. Would he share that info if he had it? “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“How much is Dalila’s father involved in illegal crap? Dalila told me he’s a lawyer, but it’s got to be more than that. The guy wouldn’t have people shooting at his place and have to hire an army of bodyguards if he were just a lawyer.”
A guarded look crosses Mateo’s face. “He knows too much,” he mumbles.
“About what?”
“I don’t know.” He takes the food container off my bed and shoves a bite into his mouth. “I just figure if someone’s gonna go after him, there’s got to be a reason.”
“Dalila thinks he might be the head of Los Reyes del Norte cartel. El something or other.”
“El Fuego? The Fire?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” I say, remembering when Paul once talked about finding the head of the newest cartel causing problems along the border. “You think it’s possible that he’s El Fuego?”
“Anything’s possible.”
I pull on a hoodie and lift the hood to cover my face as much as possible. The fact that I’m sweating like a damn pig doesn’t matter.
“Where you goin’?” Mateo asks as I head for the door.
“To find Dalila.”
“Let me help you.” He pulls keys out of his pocket. “I can take you wherever you want to go until I have to leave for the job at the Sandovals’ tonight.”
“I don’t want you to be involved,” I tell him.
He laughs. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m already involved. Rico and his buddies came by the gym this morning demanding to know if I’d seen you or Dalila.”
“Rico Cruz?” I ask, knowing there are still remnants of bruises from the last time I had the displeasure of seeing Rico and his buddies.
“The one and only. I told him I hadn’t seen you or Dalila. You two have sure gotten yourselves into a mess.”
“Tell me about it.” If we were together and I could ensure she was safe, I’d feel a helluva lot better.
Time is ticking and I need to find Dalila before Rico does. “Can you drive me to Panche? I need to talk to her friends Soona and Demi.” They’re her best friends. I figure it’s the first place to start.
Walking through Mamacita’s puts me on edge as we pass the customers sitting at the bar. Who’s an enemy and who’s there just for a cold beer and camaraderie? I’m sure they can tell I’m not a local just by looking at me.
Mateo doesn’t seem to be concerned as he leads me to his truck parked in the back lot. “We’re not alone,” he says when I slide into the passenger seat and spot two guys by the side of the building watching us. They’re pretending to be in a deep conversation, but every few seconds their attention is focused on us. We’re definitely being monitored.
On the way to Panche, I’m trying to keep my cool and take cues from Mateo. He doesn’t seem worried as we drive, as if we’ve somehow left the danger behind us.
“How can you be so calm?” I ask him. “You’re in a car with someone who’s wanted by the Loveland sheriff and Rico Cruz. If you haven’t noticed yet, the dude travels in a pack.” As I say it, a lightbulb goes off. Rico is Paul’s informant. That’s why Paul knows what I’ve been up to since I came to Mexico.
“There’s no reason to ditch you because you’re a target. I ain’t afraid,” Mateo says.
“You should be.”
“As long as you’re in Panche, you should sneak into La Joya de Sandoval after sundown.”
I look at him sideways. “For what?”
“Gather clues, make her dad talk.” He pauses. “Retrace Dalila’s steps. If you don’t know where she’s been, how the hell do you know where she’s going? I’ll be there to help, so if something happens, I have your back.”
“If I don’t get answers from Demi or Soona, I might not have a choice.” Her dad threatened my life the last time I saw him, but I’m not afraid. If I have to confront him, I will.
When we drive up to Panche, the landscape has changed dramatically from what we’ve driven through up to this point. I look ahead at the big mansions on huge pieces of land. Some are protected by impressive iron gates and others are surrounded by solid cement walls so high there’s no doubt they’re hiding something on the other side.
“I think Rico and my stepfather might be working together,” I blurt out.
“Highly likely,” Mateo says. “The Cruz family is known to have ties with Las Calaveras.”
“You think they’d hurt Dalila?”
“If they have motive, those assholes will hurt anyone.” He stops in front of one of the compounds. “Which house is it?” he asks me.
“I don’t know.”
He leans back and faces me with amusement. “You don’t have an address?”
I shake my head. “I know they live in Panche and I know their names. I’ll figure it out.”
“Hess, people aren’t going to give some random gringo directions to someone’s house.”
“Everyone has a price,” I tell him. “Lucky for me I just came into an unexpected inheritance.” I point to a park with a bunch of people milling around. “Drop me off here.”
“No way.” Mateo parks the car and pulls out his cell. Within seconds he’s on the phone with someone. Through the Spanish I hear the words Soona and Demi. “All right,” he says. “I’ll take you to Soona’s house.”
When we get there, Mateo drives up to the gate. They’ve got this intercom on a post, reminding me of some of the exclusive neighborhoods in the Chicago suburb Winnetka. Mateo pushes the call button and we wait. I’m more than aware of the security camera mounted on the front gate that’s probably recording our every move. This place is like a fortress.
Nobody answers.
Mateo rings the call button again.
“This sucks,” I say as I get out of the car and look between the iron bars at the house to see if I can see any sign of life. There isn’t any.
“My friend told me where Demi lives,” he says. With a long, hopeless sigh, I get back in his truck.
“We’ll find Dalila,” Mateo says. “One way or another.”
We finally reach Demi’s house. It’s a white two-story stucco house with unique rounded doorways and windows. It reminds me of something I’d find on the cover of a magazine.
Luckily Demi is home. After Mateo asks the housekeeper if we can see her, the woman leads us to a room off to the side.
It isn’t long before Demi appears with a concerned look on her face.
“Did you find her?” Demi asks me.
“No. I was hoping you knew where she went.”
She shakes her head. “She called me crying, but wouldn’t say much. She said she felt lost and didn’t know what to do. I told her to come here, but she refused.”
Any hope I had of Demi knowing where Dalila is crashes down in an instant.