CHAPTER FIVE
“You’re an animal.”
WELL, FUCK ME.
I pull out of Richmond’s Guest Apartments complex after dropping Lexi off and merge into traffic.
I can’t even be surprised that she’s landed herself in such a mess. She’s Lexi Flores after all. Always been a handful. A headcase. A rebel. A riot.
Stubborn. Independent. Determined.
Lexi fucking Flores.
For my brother Torin, she’s the one that got away.
For me, she’s the one I wish had chosen me.
For her, thanks to Torin’s fuckup, she wants nothing to do with any of us. Hates us so much that even if she was up for the guillotine and we had the power to spare her, she would lay her neck down with flare before ever asking us for help.
But it’s time. I felt it when I saw her last night, when I looked into her eyes and saw the opening, the one I’ve waited half my life for.
A prodding in my chest, a whisper in my soul, a chill along my spine, telling me it’s time.
Fucking finally.
I’d been in the parking lot for less than a minute, waiting for an old client, when my rearview mirror showed me a crouched figure creep around from the back of my jeep. I briefly went into high alert. Only when the person lurched toward the convertible parked in the lot next to me and the wind whipped her hair back, did I realize it was her.
Even while harried and colored with fright, she was still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Before I could get out to ask her what she was doing, the man was there. As red with rage as I was with how he was handling her, I had to take time to assess the area and situation. I had to ensure he was on his own before I quietly powered down my window and put him to sleep.
It’s not the first time I’ve had to save Lexi. She’s gotten herself into more shit than I can count ever since she quit working with Slim, and somehow, I always seem to be at the right place at the right time to help her. Help she would fight and rail against and swear to hell she didn’t need, then ditch me.
But while most of those were small issues, this…this is different. With Stefano, it wouldn’t have been a simple transaction of cash in return for her friend. One would’ve been killed, and one would’ve been kept on a leash.
I was supposed to drive back to L.A. this morning, but after running into her last night, and feeling what I felt, I decided to extend my trip for another two days. Maybe I hoped I’d run into her again, that I could talk for longer and push that door open a little wider. Something nice and chill, maybe over beers and buffalo wings.
But I should’ve known nothing would ever be ‘nice and chill’ with Lexi Flores.
~
I TAKE THE back entrance into BLACK GOLD—the one that only a handful of people are allowed to use and is guarded twenty-four-seven.
I bang my fist on the iron door. Three. Pause. One. Pause. Two. Pause. Three.
Once completed, a clang echoes on the other side and the door swings open. The two meatheads throw respectful chin jerks at me as they give me pass.
“Is he in?” I ask, bumping fists with both in turn.
“Yeah. He just went up.”
I head down the hall then up the stairs up to his office, cameras following me all the way. He’ll see me coming.
Another meathead is stationed outside his office door as well, but he lets me in without question, bumping his fist to mine.
Stefano is seated in a recliner in the corner of his office, a pretty blonde massaging his temples. Eyes closed, he asks, “Do you get migraines, Trenton?”
I move to one of the armchairs by his desk and drop my weight in it. “Every other day.”
“It is a respecter of no one,” he says.
“The bitch that doesn’t die.”
He opens his eyes and taps the blonde’s wrist. “Top drawer. Excedrin. Go get it.”
She gets him the painkillers and pours him a finger of whiskey. He knocks it all back in one swallow then gestures for her to get out.
Once she’s gone, he lifts his ankle onto his knee and gives me his full attention. “I thought you were leaving this morning.”
“That was the plan, yeah.” I scratch my jaw. “But someone I care about is in trouble.”
He lifts a brow. “Who do I need to kill for you, cousin dearest?”
I bite the inside of my cheek at the word cousin. Yeah. The Garzas and the Castellos are, sadly, related through my father’s half-brother—same mother, different fathers.
We, the Garzas—the sane side of the family—try to keep our distance as much as possible. The Castellos do the opposite. Now, as much as we hate it, they’re one of Red Cage’s biggest accounts. My business trip here was with him and Lorenzo, and their endless cousins. Bunch of murderous fucking lunatics.
“Why does everything with you start and end with murder?”
He grins. “Only when it comes to family. We protect family.”
“Well, go ahead and turn that gun on yourself,” I say, “‘cause the person my girl’s in trouble with is you.”
“Hmm.” He drums his fingers along the arm of the chair. “I had to make a visit this morning. Lexi Flores, I think her name was. Is it her?”
“Yep.”
The son of a bitch has the nerve to pout. “That’s too bad. I was planning on having fun with that one. She’s quite a package.”
Of course you did, you fucker. I keep my cool. I always have to keep my cool around these psychos.
He stands and clucks his tongue, walking over to his desk. “You are my blood, Trenton, and I respect you, but I’m not dropping the debt. She tried to steal from me. You know how I am about my money.”
“Her friend did, then lied to cover her ass.”
“He says…she says…” he drags. “I do not care what the truth is. I care about my business and my money. She must pay.”
“Is the friend still alive?”
“For now.”
Good. Now I’ve got something to work with. “Let’s negotiate.”
“Trenton. Trenton. Trenton.” He sighs dramatically and props himself at the edge of his desk. “Do I ever try to negotiate when I come to your place of business? I always pay what you ask, and sometimes more because you do excellent work. Why do you insult me like this?”
“Cut the shit, Stefano. I’m not negotiating a service. I’m negotiating for someone’s life.”
He stares at me.
I hold it, firm and unflappable.
“Ah, I see.” He straightens from his desk and crosses the room to the mini bar, pours himself more whiskey, then turns to face me after taking a sip. “You want to spare the lying friend’s life.”
“I pay the 92k, you let her go.” With emphasis, I add, “For real.”
“What you are asking is a lot, Trenton. I punish people for stealing from me. How could she not know this? The audacity of coming into my casino and—”
“100k.”
“150.”
“Motherfucker.”
He shrugs. “Like you said, you are negotiating for a life.”
It’s a hard hit, but I know he won’t budge. Even if we share blood and respect, business is business. And for the Castellos, killing to set an example is considered business.
“How about 170k and you make today’s security footage at GLINTZ disappear and see to it that the guard there keeps his mouth shut.” As he lifts a questioning brow, I add, “Don’t ask.”
“Why give me 20k to do something you can easily do yourself without it costing you a dime?”
“Is it my city or yours?”
“How manipulative of you to puff me up when it suits you.” He drops his gaze to the floor for a moment then sweeps it up to me again and grins. “It worked. Shower me with praises more often. I’m a Gemini, after all. I suffer no shame in being a narcissist.”
I stand and pull out my cellphone as I move to the door. “Emailing my accountant. Expect payment within the hour.”
“Very well. I’ll release the little liar once the payment is received.”
“Unharmed.”
He tsked. “You only negotiated for life, not unscathed life. Now, if you would like to renegotiate, then—”
“You’re an animal,” I say before I wrench the door open and walk out.
“It was nice doing business with you, cousin dearest,” he calls after me.