BRANDON
People swarmed the marketplace. I’d never seen so many people crushed into one narrow street before. Even at the rallies there was more room to breathe than in this mob. Shark and I wiggled our way through the food carts and merchants, making our way toward the apartment building Valentina told us about.
“What is that smell?” Shark looked at me over his shoulder, making a sour face.
“I think it’s the tobacco shop, just keep moving.” I gave him a little shove. The less we were seen, the better. Valentina and Eduardo would be there any minute, and we had to be in position. The noise of the crowd hopefully would cover any sound Shark’s gun made; even with a silencer I didn’t trust that we wouldn’t be heard.
“There.” Shark pointed out the building, and we made our way to the entrance. Thankfully no one was hanging around outside the door and we were able to walk straight in and start heading up the stairs.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out as we made our way up the narrow stairwell that reeked of piss and beer.
“Brandon?” The voice sounded familiar, but I didn’t recognize it.
“Yeah.” I gestured to Shark to keep moving when he stopped to check on me. “Who’s this?”
“Martin.” The voice grunted. “Where are you?”
“I don’t see how that’s your business.” I kept my pace, walking up the stairs.
He gave another grunt. “Well, look, if you’re down in Mexico trying to take care of Eduardo for his brother, don’t.” That made me stop in my tracks. Shark found the door to the apartment and was busy getting it open.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“That situation is being handled.” I didn’t like the evasive answers. Why would Mateo bring us down there if he had another solution planned? Or did Carter find out about the plan and send his own men down to take care of it for Mateo, or to save Eduardo?
“Thanks for the heads up,” I spat, and clicked off the call. I wasn’t going to let the damn Soldiers fuck with the plan. For all I knew they were down here trying to make the same deal with Mateo. I didn’t really give a fuck anymore who got the territory or who worked with the cartel, but I wasn’t going to get myself killed for fucking this up because of some mysterious phone call.
“Who was that?” Shark popped the lock and pushed the door to the apartment open. We both stepped back as the smell of mildew and rot drifted out. “Fuck.” Shark covered his mouth and headed into the empty cell. The kitchen and living room shared the same space, and lucky us, the people who had left the place hadn’t emptied the fridge.
I pulled my t-shirt up over my nose and searched out the window that overlooked the market. We were five stories above the crowd, and Valentina had been right about the sun; it blared from behind us. I spotted Valentina. Her twisted up hair was being held up with rhinestone pins that twinkled in the sunlight. She stood at a merchant cart looking over pelts of fabric. Why would the wife of a cartel family need to shop in the crowded, dirty street market for fabric?
“There he is, just behind Valentina.” Shark pointed over my shoulder. “Let me get set up.” He slipped the bag carrying the rifle Mateo had given us from his shoulder and began assembling it with the silencer.
I watched the crowd, looking over at the other buildings. Martin said the situation was being handled. What the fuck did that mean? Was there another team out there aiming for Eduardo, too? Or did they know about the hit and Eduardo was going to hit us instead?
“Martin that we might want to rethink this, that the situation was being handled,” I told Shark.
He paused and looked up at me. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” I looked back out the window, they were getting closer. “You know, I’m getting real fucking tired of this cryptic shit!”
“Fuck. If Mateo would fuck his brother’s wife, and kill his brother, why the fuck are we trusting him that this is going to go down the way he says.” Shark growled, looking through the scope of his rifle.
I watched Eduardo and his wife make their way closer to us. Shark moved next to me, getting more comfortable in his position. A band began playing beneath us, a trio of guitar players began singing and making their way through the crowd. People clapped. An argument broke out at one of the merchant stands.
“What do you want me to do, Brandon?” Shark nudged my knee with his elbow.
The stifling heat of the apartment didn’t help clear up my thoughts. Sweat dripped down the side of my face.
A shot rang out, echoing through the narrow street. Eduardo fell face down over a merchant stand. Another shot, and a screaming Valentina fell slack to the ground, her mouth still agape. I looked down at Shark, who was looking back at me with just as stunned an expression as I felt.
“What the fuck?” He leaned out the window, looking for the shooter.
The crowd panicked. People ran in every direction, ducking into the stores, down alleyways. “Fuck, there’s Mateo.” I pointed at the lone man walking steadily down the street, as though he had no cares in the world. People flew past him, bumping him as they made their way down the street, but he just continued to walk as though nothing had just happened.
“Let’s get the hell out of here. This isn’t our fight anymore.” I tugged at Shark’s shirt. He nodded and quickly unassembled the rifle and threw it into the bag. “Just leave that here.” I kicked the bag across the room, watching it glide across the dirty floor and slide beneath the couch. Shark removed his gloves and shoved them into his back pocket. “Let’s go.”
“Where we going?” he asked as we ran down the stairs.
“Home,” I yelled, and led us away from the apartment, down an alley. Out of sight of the chaotic market place, we ran to the van we’d parked out of the way. Once there, we jumped in.
“What about Mateo?” Shark ran his hand over his smooth head. “Fuck! What the fuck happened?”
“I don’t think we were meant to kill Eduardo.” I shifted gears and turned down another dirt road. “I think we were a decoy.”
“For what?”
“For Mateo.” I shrugged. “Let them all sort that shit out. I’m out. I’m done. Nathan sent us down here for this shit. The club didn’t take a vote on this; this was his doing.” Shark’s eyes were on me as we bumped along the rough road, but I had nothing else to say. I was done. The MC would move on without me, and I was fine with that. I had a girl to get home to. A girl to get the fuck out of trouble and get her safe and in my bed. That was the reason I drove north like a bat out of hell. Hannah.