CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

Bogotá, Distrito Capital

Colombia

 

The old city bustled with sights and sounds that made it seem more like a modern marvel of the political and cultural powerhouse that it was. Flower markets overfilled every corner, boasting the most bountiful and beautiful blossoms in the world, thanks to the ideal humidity and high altitude of the capital city.

Unless someone was searching for the signs on the main streets and parks crowded with children, there were few outward appearances of cartel influence. But not many places in South America had the confluence of power, money, and illegal distribution networks as Bogotá. The city benefited from every ounce of drugs sold in the Western Hemisphere.

It had been years since Jax had walked these deceptive streets. Then, the phrase diplomatic relations weren't a thought. His purpose had been to disrupt weapons distribution networks by any means necessary. They had gone in silently and left a trail of blood and thunder behind. Their mission had been accomplished: massive disruption.

Still, he took the city in with the same predatory filter. Each businessman was assumed to be a cartel employee and blood-hungry. Every window and straightaway potentially housed a sniper nest, and walking next to Jared on the way to the meeting location—a restaurant named after Suarez's wife—Jax heeded the warning of the hairs prickling at the back of his neck. He and Jared were vulnerable with minimal body armor and weapons. The high altitude and low oxygen of Bogotá made each bullet feel as though its weight were quadrupled. Jax would rather be armed like he'd been years before.

"What kind of message does it send to name the restaurant Esmeralda's?" Jared muttered as they made a blind turn.

Jax had wondered that too. "Think she works there?"

Boss Man's hearty chuckle fell easily. "If by work, you mean surveys her people and drinks fine wine, then yes."

The Suarezes had more money than Jax could fathom. Esmeralda's was likely one of many fronts to launder money and host illegal meetings, though Jax had Googled the restaurant and found that it was very well reviewed. Though who would be ballsy enough to one-star the wife of a cartel king?

The restaurant was ahead, standing out with its opulence in a city that held its own with high-end eateries fueled by the drug profit of Colombia's black-market economy. The reported exports of flowers and coffee couldn't support the surrounding first-world economy. "I think it says we own this city."

"Yup," Jared agreed as they met the doorman.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Esmeralda's." He opened the massive gold-gilded door with a bow and escorted them into a foyer with pomp and fanfare, then dropped his head in silent goodbye as security stepped from the shadows and patted them down, quietly disarming them with none of the doorman's dramatic display.

"Who knew you had this much fun when you went to meetings without us," Jax joked as a hostess appeared on cue.

Jared's bored expression said he had expected the disarmament. Jax had too. But he hadn't guessed there would be a bowing, shuffling, nodding dude at the door.

"Good afternoon," the young woman said. "This way."

The restaurant was eerily quiet, but Jax doubted they were as alone as it seemed. Winters, Cash, and Roman were positioned catty-corner at nearby blocks, and Jax assumed the Suarez cartel and Mayhem each had gunslingers similarly placed. It was the only way any of them would ever agree to the two-person-per-group sit-down.

The hostess batted her long eyelashes as she showed them back to a private room.

"Fancy," Jax muttered.

The walls were carved wood, and velvet drapes hung like tapestries, framing portraits of the beautiful woman who had to be Esmeralda.

"Enjoy." The hostess pushed open a glass door and swept back as Hernán Suarez came forward.

"Jared Westin." Hernán's outstretched hand reached toward Boss Man as he greeted Jax with a nod. "And Jax Michaelson. Pleasure meeting you. I hope you enjoy your evening at one of my prized jewels."

A man trailed Hernán, retreating back to a leather portfolio. Then they greeted Hawke and Johnny, who were already in the private dining room.

For the next twenty minutes, a cadre of servants served drinks and food. Plate after plate accompanied small talk, neither of which Jax gave two fucks about, but Jared bantered as if he had a degree in bullshit. Hernán liked to hear himself talk, and Jax couldn't figure out what he thought about Hawke conversing. Most of the time, the man was silent, but maybe Jax misread Hawke's caution. Johnny, on the other hand, was easy to read and didn't like anyone in the room, including Titan.

Jax had little to do with the wheeling and dealing as Jared eased Hernán and Hawke into the discussion. He listened less for what was said, instead, searching for a reason why Boss Man wanted Jax involved. There had to be more than what was stated: that Jax needed a lesson in diplomacy and to put his past experience with cartels to work.

That was bullshit. Anyone with half a brain could memorize the cartel players and have the same working knowledge that Jax did.

A beautiful woman with long, dark hair and deep, intense eyes glided into the room in a dress that looked more expensive than all of the food combined. She carried an air of sophistication that named her as Hernán's wife before she even said a word. The cartel king stood, greeting her with a kiss on each cheek. Their dynamic was interesting to watch.

Hernán, in no uncertain terms, was a monster. Not necessarily in looks, but in business and in morals. Then again, a cartel king didn't get to the top of the worldwide drug food chain without being a sick, sadistic son of a bitch who made other cartel kings take a step back. And yet the woman who wrapped herself around him as though she were madly in love didn't seem to be put off by that at all. Sometimes money and power were enough. Jax narrowed his eyes as he studied the couple. Or sometimes a couple was one in the same, and he wondered if Hernán and Esmeralda were two peas in a pod.

Hernán introduced her as his queen, and she batted her eyelashes, demurely playing down his attention. Out of the corner of Jax's eye, he saw that Jared was on high alert, and that matched the feeling Jax continued to have about the woman.

"Did you enjoy the food?" Her exotically tinged words curled through the air. But it was the sexy, almost trancelike look she cast upon Hawke and Johnny that made Jax inch to the edge of his seat.

Both men instantly lauded the meal. Jax watched as they talked about how the food melted in their mouths and that the wine had to be rare. Jax wondered if these motorcycle thugs knew what the shit they were talking about or if this was just BS flowing to schmooze with their business partner's wife.

She glided around the table, running her fingertips along Hernán's arm to his shoulder. Then she let her fingers drift along his other arm as she moved to Hawke and Johnny and sat next to Johnny.

Jax ran his tongue along his bottom lip. What would Jared's diplomatic relations do now? Because, by Jax's count, the cartel had just added another player to the negotiation table.

"We appreciate the food, ma'am," Boss Man said to Hernán, notably not her. "But I'd like to get back to business and finish hammering out this deal."

One thing Jax knew about Jared was that he didn't fall for many tricks, and he wasn't going to be lured in by a play between this man and wife. Jared talking to Hernán, complimenting Esmeralda to the cartel king, had nothing to do with her belonging to the husband, and everything to do with Boss Man putting Hernán on notice. I see the bullshit. I see your play.

Hernán played down Esmeralda's presence at the table. "She's just a woman. Just my wife."

She reached for a corn cake and fed it to Johnny, fingers lingering against his mouth. "Delicious, isn't it? Arepas. The simplest foods can be the most pleasurable."

Her sultry voice and the deep V of her dress created a combination that had Johnny literally eating from her hand.

"It is." Johnny's gravelly voice had nothing to do with the food.

She made a production of choosing a new item and did it again. "This is my family's recipe for aborrajados."

Hawke's jaw tensed as Johnny took another bite offered.

"The plantains and cheese melt together." She put it down, offering him a linen napkin but then dabbing at his mouth. "They are my weakness."

Hell, Johnny was Mayhem's weakness as he hypnotically agreed with her. He was solidly on Team Esmeralda.

"Now that we've tried the appetizers…" Jared crossed his arms, eying Hernán. "The ground rules were clear. Each party could have two players at the table. I'd like her to go."

Hernán tilted his head. "It's her restaurant."

"That may be true. But it is still hers on the other side of that door." Boss Man tossed his thumb over his shoulder. "Or we're done for the day and can reconvene tomorrow."

"No, no." Esmeralda glided back from Johnny, spreading out her well-manicured hands toward the feast on the table as her jeweled bracelets clinked. "I'm leaving. Enjoy."

"Thank you." Since they had crossed many lines of appropriateness, Johnny's comfort level at a one-on-one goodbye seemed almost benign, but Jax saw the play coming fast.

She bent to her captive audience, perked breasts on display, and leaned close enough to whisper in his ear as her curtain of dark hair shielded the room from her lips.

Jared's fist hit the table, and he stood. "None of that."

"Come now." Hernán leaned back, smirking at Jared. "We boast three five-diamond awards for our customer excellence in addition to the food—"

"Cut the BS and get her out of here." Jared stepped closer to Hernán. "Or this is done."

Hawke pushed his chair back a few inches, glaring at Johnny, and Johnny shook his head as though siding with Hernán and Esmeralda.

She glided out, coming around to the other side of the table and trailing her fingers along the edge of an empty chair until she came near Jax. She let her fingernails scrape across his elbow, then she left the room. What the fuck was that all about?

The mood in the room had shifted entirely, and tension that had already been uncomfortable was now untrusting and on edge. Jax looked at Jared. "I don't know about you, Boss Man, but I could use a break."

Jared ran a hand over his face and gave a curt nod. "Everyone take two."

Hernán and his associate didn't even turn to one another, and that was all the confirmation Jax needed that Esmeralda was a play. Hernán's associate was nothing more than a straw man stand-in, and he probably knew jack shit about the Suarez cartel business. They'd been doing business with Mayhem for many years, and they likely knew the club's leadership well enough to know that Johnny was the weak link, just like Hawke knew.

Jared could protect them against the bad deal, could help them negotiate good terms, but he couldn't tell them to keep themselves in line, and if Mayhem wanted to fuck up their own situation, that was on them. Boss Man and all of the talent the Titan Group housed couldn't help them with that.

Hawke all but growled at Johnny, and they made their way to a private balcony outside. Jared tilted his head, and Jax stood up, pushing away from the table. They both moved to the corner of the private dining room.

From their vantage point, they could see that Hernán had a smug look on his face as he popped olives in his mouth and looked at complete ease. The man next to him fiddled with the silverware and barely dared to look at the cartel king. Hawke and Johnny were visibly in a heated discussion, and Jax only shook his head. Both he and Jared knew better than to say anything out loud because there was no telling how the room was wired.

"Fuck this shit." Jared cracked his knuckles and stormed toward the balcony door.

Jax should have let him head out there alone, but he was asshole enough to not want to miss the fireworks, and if Jared was going to tell Johnny to man up, he wanted to see it.

"You mind telling me what you two are bitching about out here?"

Hawke's face said it all, but he didn't utter one word.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Jax muttered.

"Start by telling me what the problem is. Simple. Just spit it out. Johnny?" Jared's ice-cold glare landed on the man causing their headache. "You've got something to say?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do."

Hawke grumbled, shaking his head, and he turned around, pacing a loop before he returned. "This is not about making money. This was a club vote. This is about shutting it down. What part of this do you not understand?"

"Money talks. We should ask for more of a percentage instead of breaking down the deal. We ask for more money, and everything is justified. We bring it back to the club, and they don't want more money, then we can farm it out. Or we do what we're doing, and we make a better cut. I don't see what the problem is."

"Unbelievable." Jax couldn't contain his amazement. "Is it stupidity or greed?"

Johnny took an aggressive step forward, fists bunching. "Excuse me?"

"Jax is right. What'd she say to you?" Jared asked. "What percentage did she whisper in your ear while she was feeding you corn cakes like she was planning to leave her husband to do nothing but suck your cock?"

"You don't know shit."

"What I do know is you're fucking coked out and"—Jared's eyes narrowed—"selfish as fuck. That's not stupidity. That's greed."

Johnny pulled his right arm back, but before he could make a stupid life-or-death decision, Hawke caught his forearm and whipped him around. "You stupid, dumbass motherfucker. Do you have your face in that candy again?" Hawke grabbed Johnny by his leather cut and pulled him close, studying his face as if he could do a drug test with a hard stare. Coming up with his own determination, Hawke pushed him away, cursing out his VP.

Boss Man's disappointment registered as a scowl. "You work this out. I'm going back in."

Jax and Jared moved back inside the restaurant, and it would be a lesson in diplomatic relations. Jax would be interested in watching to see how Boss Man would handle this. Maybe diplomacy was more interesting than Jax had given the subject credit for.

Jared paced as he cracked his knuckles. "I see what you did there."

Hernán didn't say anything. He popped an olive into his mouth and smirked.

"We're going to take a break today. I will contact you when we can sit down again. Sound good?"

"Excellent. I assume that business will continue as normal in the meantime?"

Jax was almost impressed at the cartel leader's play. No, he took that back. He was impressed. Hernán had done his research and knew his adversary. He'd gone on the offensive and spiked the play, and it had worked. Hernán's goal had to preserve the production and distribution with the best possible apparatus, and he still had that.

Today was a good day for the Suarez cartel and, technically, a good one for Titan. Jared and Jax were neutral negotiators. They couldn't make Mayhem behave. All he and Jared could do was flag the problem, but they weren't expected to predict the future. In a way, they had made a friend in a dangerous place, which was always handy.

Hawke and Johnny came in from the balcony, and Mayhem's president moved to the cartel king. Hawke extended his hand to Hernán. "I'd like to table this. We're still interested in talking about other distribution options, but for now, status quo remains in effect."

Hernán shook Hawke's hand, and Jax was already walking toward the exit. They would get a phone call when they needed to be brought back in, but he wanted no part in this anymore.

As Jax stalked out of the private dining room, he passed by an alcove where Esmeralda was propped against the wall, shining. Her job as Hernán's number two had been executed flawlessly.