Every day that went by, Maria felt more cooped up and restless than the day before. She’d stirred up all the gossip and trouble that she could, so now she was bored and nobody was speaking to her. The way she saw it, everybody had an addiction and hers was drama. At least she was woman enough to own it—no denial there.
She’d be the first one to admit she loved the adrenalin high of being right smack dab in the middle of trouble. Like a magnet, trouble followed her everywhere she went. It was one of the reasons her boss, Diego, was so intent on watching over her. He almost felt a big brother type feeling toward her and nothing was going to change those dynamics.
If the man was anything, he was loyal. He considered every woman who worked for him to be his responsibility. It was one of the reasons he didn’t hire just anybody. Diego carefully considered every hiring decision because throwing people under the bus was something he wasn’t capable of doing. His employees loved him for it and his woman, Brook, respected him for it. Though he didn’t know it, the Ramirez brothers respected him too. The brothers knew that true loyalty was harder to come by than ever.
Maria had tossed around the idea of sneaking out, but up until today there hadn’t been an opportunity. But today had potential. It was a rare day when everybody seemed to be busy doing their own thing and nobody was hovering. Now…with the opportunity staring her in the face, she couldn’t resist.
She took one more look out the window at the parking lot and when she was convinced no one was out there, she grabbed her phone and climbed through the window before she could change her mind.
The cool air on her face was invigorating and she had a spring in her step for the first time in a good while. Other than the occasional catcalls from passing drivers or the johns slowing down to get a better look at the blue-haired beauty, nothing seemed out the ordinary.
She was beginning to question her suspicion of Santiago following her. Maybe it had been paranoia after all. With all the talk of serial killers and Sinaloan vendettas, anybody would be forgiven for being a little paranoid. She was surrounded by cartel and it was enough to make even the drama queen nervous sometimes.
She turned the corner and stepped into a small neighborhood convenience store to get a drink and some chips. Yeah, it felt good to be free.
A girl can only take so much of four walls. I don’t know how Brook does it. Diego’s dick must be something else.
“How you doin’ tonight?” The man behind the counter greeted her, breaking into her wandering thoughts about captivity and Diego’s dick.
“Fabulous. The night air feels great. It’s a wonderful night for a stroll.”
“That, it is. Let me know if you need help with anything.”
The overly friendly cashier smiled, revealing tobacco-stained teeth. He eyed the blue-haired beauty with a mix of lust and intrigue. The blue hair, combat boots with stiletto heels, and the short skirt with a chain loosely hung around her hips, was a look that really worked for her. Where another woman might look like a social outcast, this girl was truly beautiful. Not that he was a fashion connoisseur but he was a man, after all, and he knew beauty when he saw it. Hmm, maybe if she knew I own this store, she might be a little more interested. I am quite the catch, his overly confident ego assured him.
Maria ignored his hungry gaze, but threw a little extra swing into her hips as she made her way to the back of the store. She bit her lip as she considered the wall of refrigerated beverages in the back. She decided on an energy drink and was headed one aisle over to get a bag of chips when all hell broke loose at the front of the store.
“Open the fucking register!” a frantic voice bellowed.
She slumped down around a corner and out of view. Peeping around a snack display rack, she saw a man standing in front of the register with a gun pointed at the cashier. Maria closed her eyes and prayed. God, please don’t let him say anything about a customer being in the back. She was glad she hadn’t been rude to him when she noticed him staring at her.
Note to self: Maybe being nice isn’t so overrated after all. I’ll be working on that one.
“Are you shitting me?!” Diego bellowed in disbelief.
“I wouldn’t shit, er, I mean, kid, about something like this, sir.”
“Crush, how the hell did she get past you?” Diego glared up at the massive wall of muscle who served as a bouncer and bodyguard for The Club. Knowing how shrewd Maria could be, Diego was certain she’d outwitted the guy somehow. Outwitting the bodyguards was entertainment for these girls.
If anybody understood the battle of the sexes that had been going on throughout the ages and still raged at The Club, it was Diego. It didn’t matter how highly trained the men were, they would never be immune to female wiles. Sometimes there was strength in numbers, but not against his Club girls.
“Her bedroom window is open, so she must have climbed out. It’s been quiet around here, everybody kinda’ off doing their own thing.”
“If it’s been quiet then, yeah, Maria’s not around. Hell, I should have picked up on it for just that reason. They’re just like fucking kids, Crush. When the women around here get too quiet, they’re up to something and you need to haul ass and check it out. You’d do well to remember that.”
He shook his head with frustration before continuing. “You’d think the girl could stay in for a few fucking days. It’s not like I asked her to cut off her arm or sell off a pair of her precious shoes.” Diego shook his head again and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated at having to deal with unnecessary bullshit.
Maria could stir up more trouble in one night than the rest of the women put together. He wondered sometimes why he didn’t just fire her, but he knew he never would. If she didn’t have him to look after her, she would be in trouble. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to one of his women because he dropped the ball or wasn’t on top of his game. Alicia may have been on her own time when she was murdered, but he would never stop wondering what he could have done to have averted the tragedy. And he wasn’t going to allow it to happen again.
“So, what do we do, boss?”
“We wait. There’s a tracking device on her phone.” Somewhere in the back of Diego’s mind he had known she was going to do this, and that he’d need to anticipate it and be ready to deal with it. He still managed to be surprised by how impulsive she was. For a girl like Maria, it was hell to be on lockdown. Knowing her, she’d go for a walk and show up later tonight. Keeping up with the Club girls meant always staying two steps ahead of them. He was good at it, but this time one had gotten away from him.
“What’s up?” Brook entered the room and stopped short, taking a step back as she looked back and forth between the two men.
“Maria’s gone AWOL.”
“Why am I not shocked?” she asked, exasperated.
“My sentiments exactly.”
“Well, you’ve got that tracker on her phone so that should help.”
“I’m enabling it as we speak.”
“You don’t sound like you’re sure you’re going to find her.”
“You know me well—I’ll give you that. I’ve got a nagging feeling that just knowing where she is won’t be enough, though. That girl can find trouble faster than anyone I know. Before the night’s over, she’s going to need us to find her.”
“That doesn’t sound too good.”
“Just a gut feeling.”
Brook of all people knew that when Diego had a gut feeling about something he was usually right. And, as much as the girl got on her nerves, she didn’t want to see anything bad happen to her.
Crush stood with his arms folded in front of him as if he wasn’t listening—but he was. Everything in him went on high alert when he heard what Diego said to Brook. His hunting instincts flared deep inside him, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. His eyes narrowed as he thought about all the places where Maria could be.
Nothing in the cartel life was ever predictable. Crush liked the adrenalin high that went with his job. Hell, if the truth was told, you had to be an adrenalin junkie to do this kind of work. The anticipation and the hunt were to be savored and enjoyed. There was a demanding pace to this lifestyle and he liked to enjoy every aspect of it, not just the highpoints of killing and torture.
It wasn’t every day Crush got to hunt a woman, and the thought of tracking down this particular woman was getting him hard. He frowned and adjusted his pants, hoping he wouldn’t be asked to explain it, because he wasn’t sure he could.
Normally he’d be angry with a woman for sneaking out on his watch but for some reason he was looking at this situation in a different light—a ‘let the games begin’ type attitude. If this girl wanted to play, then play, he would. Yeah, let the games begin.
Up until now Maria had been just another girl to protect, but the fact that she made things personal by escaping on his watch took things in an interesting, new direction. Whether she remained intriguing to him would depend on how crafty she was. If she proved to be a worthy opponent then things could get interesting, to say the least.