Knowing Vivi, she grinned at his threat. “I look forward to it, Guapo. And I don’t need to make this shit up because it’s the truth. Yeah, it helps us but I imagine it helps you more.”
“I mean it chica.”
“I look forward to it, Arturo.” A deep chuckle sounded and seconds later, Vivi let out a loud breath. “He’s gone and he’s pissed.”
“We all heard, babe. Great job.”
“Yeah, thanks. Stay safe boys, Guapo is moving toward the meeting point at a fast clip. He’ll be there in less tha
n fifteen.”
“Thank you, Vivi.”
I wondered if it cost Cross anything to say those words. I knew my guys were no fans of such a headstrong woman but this would make the second time Vivi saved our asses. I hoped they appreciated it.
“Thank me by bringing my old man back in one piece. Good luck.”
I hoped like hell we didn’t need luck.
Chapter Thirty-Three-Cross
Five minutes. That’s how long until the clock struck three and we’d come face to face with the crazy motherfucker who’d made my life hell when I should have been enjoying this holiday season with my woman. My boy.
“You gonna be cool, Stitch?”
I knew he, more than the rest of us, wanted Carlito dead because of what he’d done to Marisol, but this would only work if the new patch kept his cool.
Stitch gave a crisp nod, fingering his stubble anxiously. “I’ll be cool. Marisol is safe but if Guapo doesn’t kill that fucker, he’s mine.”
“Fair enough.” Three minutes left. “Ready?”
Stitch nodded again, the muscles in his jaws clenching with the effort to remain cool. “Everybody, give me a quick radio check.” One by one the members of the Reckless Bastards checked in with a go call. “All right, let’s do this shit.” We rode side by side, stopping with only about twenty feet between us and Carlito’s pearly white SUV, where he stood with three men, armed with AK-47 assault rifles.
We’d picked this spot because it was a perfect place for an ambush. The terrain was covered with boulders big enough to hide a tank, or in this case, several heavily armed Reckless Bastards hidden around the rocks waiting for the call or shit to hit the fan.
“Cross, so good to see you mi amigo.” He wore a big toothy grin, greeting me like we were old buddies and not two men looking for the first opportunity to kill the other.
“We ain’t fucking amigos asshole, unless you regularly kill the employees of your friends.” I could’ve put a bullet through him for Katrina alone, never mind what he put my club through. The unnecessary worry he put Moon through.
“That was just a preview of things to come.” Carlito waved his hands dismissively as if slicing a woman’s throat was no big deal but it was—it was a huge fucking deal. He smirked and I wanted to smack that look off his face. “Lesson learned, right?”
I scoffed. “I guess we’ll see about that, won’t we?”
He nodded and took a few steps forward that separated himself from his men, but still kept a few feet distance to us. “Let’s talk business, Cross. I have a proposition for you. I don’t think you will want to turn it down.” His tone was arrogant, like he could force me to say yes. “Be my top distributor in America. Funnel the shipments for me before they move across North America.”
I laughed at that. “We don’t fuck with drugs.”
“Too bad,” he said, much too easily which was just another piece of evidence that he was wasting time and he had no idea it was a pointless gesture. “Looking for someone, Carlito?” Guapo should have been at his side by now and he was getting worried.
“No.” He gave a flick of his wrists and the three black SUVs that had been waiting about a half mile away, pulled up behind him. “I have everything I need.” All four doors of each car opened, revealing four armed men, all of them carrying AK-47’s.
“Doesn’t look much like a friendly chat now, does it?” At his smile I crossed my arms to show that asshole that I wasn’t worried. Although to be honest, I had no idea why this asshole and his goons hadn’t tried to blow us away already. “I mean, it’s just me and Stitch here, yet you’ve got all these armed men. Plus, I’m sure your enforcer is around here somewhere too.”
Carlito tossed his head back and laughed way too hard at something that wasn’t all that funny. “I thought you were a better businessman Cross, or at least a better gangster.”
Under normal circumstances he would have been right, but the problem with guys like Carlito was that they never looked past the big, flashy move to see the subtle moves that were ten times more effective.
“You know, Carlito, sometimes it pays to be smarter, not better.”