03_Cornered Coyote (15 page)

CHAPTER 26

It was a dark and foggy night. The only lights visible were those coming from Brad’s car. This was a part of town that the city fathers intentionally overlooked. Several of the street lights had burned out and needed to be replaced. The people who lived or did business here preferred the shroud of darkness.

Brad stopped in front of a rundown building with a bright neon sign, “El Amigo,” shining through the fog. Barbara took a deep breath, opened the car door, and said, “Brad, wish me luck.” She entered the club and blinked, looking around for an empty table in the smoky room. Red walls were decorated with Mexican hats and brightly colored serapes. Gouge marks that appeared to have been made by knives scarred the tabletop in front of her.

She was the only gringo in the bar and everyone looking at her couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing there. A sultry long-haired waitress walked over to Barbara and asked what she’d like to drink. Barbara whispered something into her ear. The waitress flinched as if she’d been struck, turned on her heel, and walked up to a man standing in the corner, cleaning his fingernails with his knife. A few minutes later he walked over to Barbara and asked her to follow him. People were silent as they left and the only sound in the bar was the blaring piped-in music.

She followed him down the street. After they’d passed by several buildings, he turned and walked toward two heavily tattooed men wearing hunting style plaid jackets and baseball caps turned backwards. They stood on either side of a door, barring the entrance to the nondescript building.  One of the men spoke into an earpiece/microphone, listened for a moment, and opened the door for her. “Jose’ll take you from here.”

Barbara entered the building and gasped. The entryway floor was covered by a long geometric Oriental runner and there was a large mahogany breakfront on the wall to the right. A huge bouquet of fresh flowers was artfully arranged in a cut glass pitcher on it. A chandelier hung from the ceiling with hundreds of glass teardrops reflecting its light. Jose motioned with his head for her to follow him up the large curving mahogany staircase. At the top of the stairs brightly colored contemporary Mexican oil paintings hung on the walls. Jose turned left and Barbara followed him down the hall to a large imposing hand-carved wooden door at the very end. Two men with shaved heads and guns on their hips stood guard at the door.

Jose nodded and one of them opened the door for Barbara and then stepped back, closing it once she’d entered the large room. There was a desk on one side of the room with couches and chairs on the other. Large green potted plants had been strategically placed throughout the room along with blooming orchids on the tables. Standing in the middle of the room was one of the handsomest Mexican men Barbara had ever seen. The pictures in Jack’s file hadn’t done him justice. He literally took her breath away.

She wanted to walk over and give him a kiss on the cheek, but instead she stood there and smiled. “It’s been a long time, Chico. You look good.”

He checked her out with deep, black eyes that seemed to pierce right through her.
What on fucking earth is going on here
, he thought. He knew he was being played and play along he would, for something like this didn't come along too often.

"Let's cut the small talk. Whaddaya want?"

“I need you to do me a favor. I have a dear friend who’s been arrested for murdering her husband. The papers were full of it several months ago. You may have read about him. His name was Jeffrey Brooks. He’s the one who invented an anti-aging formula and was fired by Moore Labs for giving it to his wife, Maria. They left the LA area and bought a motel near Blythe. He also invented a “feel-good” drug he called Freedom in his lab at the motel, but over a period of time he drifted into insanity. Maria feared for her life and shot him when he threatened her with a knife. She escaped and went to Provence, which is in France, in order to hide out from the authorities.”

“Don’t patronize me, Maureen. I know Provence is in France.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t patronizing you. An art theft detective from the LAPD was sent there on an unrelated case. They met and fell in love. He persuaded her to come back to California and live with him.”

"Keep talkin’."

“She was able to hire a well-known attorney and he thinks she can get off with a defense of ‘justifiable homicide.’ ”

Chico continued to look at her. The heavy gold bracelet he wore clanged against his glass as he lowered it to the table.

“So what's the problem? A few months from now she'll be scot free.”

“Chico, that’s the problem. The trial will take a few months. I want Maria to be safe while she’s in jail. She’s in an isolated cell but time’s running out. She’ll be forced to mingle and live with the general jail population soon. She’s a beautiful woman and I’m sure every lesbian and male guard in the system will be lusting after her when she's removed from isolation. I know you can give out orders to keep her safe. Please help me,” she pleaded.

He barely moved a muscle. She walked over to him, sat on his lap and gently caressed his battle-hardened face. She inched forward slowly and kissed him on the cheek, a sweet sensuous kiss that cut right through his defenses. It had been a long time since he'd last seen or spoken to her and here she was at his mercy, ready to do anything to save a friend. He couldn't resist any longer. 

He slowly began to unbutton her dress. He put his other hand behind her back and pulled her to him, kissing her. She hadn’t realized she’d be meeting a man with such animalistic magnetism and would have willingly kissed him even if she hadn’t been paid $50,000. The whole time she’d been pleading Maria’s situation, she was imagining what it would be like to feel his hands all over her. She wanted him. She wanted him badly. He was dangerous, sexy, and brutally masculine.

Chico unsnapped her front closure bra with an expertise that indicated this wasn’t the first time he’d done it. She wiggled out of her dress and bra and stood before him. He kissed her and began gently caressing her breasts with his thumbs and forefingers. Within seconds her nipples were hard. He kissed her again, this time deeply as he ran his hands over her body. She unbuttoned his silk shirt, feeling the thick mat of hair beneath her hands. She felt his hardness against her. He stepped back and his eyes lazily caressed her body from head to toe. She was glad she’d chosen the cream La Perla underwear. The silk and lace panties couldn’t hurt.

“Maureen, not a week goes by without me thinking of you,” he said in a ragged voice, sliding her panties down. “Holy crap, you’re wet already,” he said, pushing her onto the couch. His tongue made lazy circles around her nipples as he gently stroked her clitoris.

“Chico, oh God, Chico,” she said, unzipping his fly and moving her hand up and down his fully erect penis. “Chico, hurry, I can’t wait much longer.”

 He rammed his penis into her and she couldn’t help but respond to his passion. He pounded her time and time again, but she didn’t care. His climax was pure rage, hers was pure ecstasy. They lay there quietly for several moments. Even though he was done for the moment, his hands had a mind of their own as they travelled up and down her body and then his finger entered her, stroking her. Barbara shuddered with desire as he slowly brought her to a second and more powerful orgasm.

They both fell asleep. One of them would wake up bound and never know if it would be their last day on the planet.

CHAPTER 27

“What’s your name bitch?” Chico thundered as Maureen opened her eyes. She was startled to find her hands and feet tied together with nylon rope. A cold stab of fear spread through her as she lay naked and hog-tied in bed.

“Barbara Jenkins,” she answered softly. She noticed five other men in the room, looking at her. 

"I can tell you something, you fucking whore, you’re not going to see tomorrow's sunrise," Chico snarled, as the others burst out laughing.

Barbara burst into tears and begged for her life. "I'll tell you everything, anything, please, I beg you, I'll do anything for you. Please don't kill me, please."

"Who put you up to this?"

"A guy named Jack," Barbara answered, trembling with fear.

“How did you get involved in this?”

“I was a barmaid at Naughty’s in the valley. One night after I got off work I got in my car and Jack was hiding in the back seat. He put a gun to my head, told me he wanted to talk to me, and that he wasn’t going to hurt me.”

"Give her a fuckin’ phone. I want this Jack on the line. Listen bitch and listen good. I've killed for a lot less. One false move and your brains will be splattered all over the floor."

Hands untied, she shook as she took the phone Chico gave her and nervously punched in the number Brad had given her. "This is Barbara,” she said, her voice quivering with fear. “Chico found out I'm not Maureen. I need to speak with Jack within five minutes or I’ll be dead."

"He'll call you back at this number within five minutes." Brad ended the call and turned to Slade. "Don't know how the fuck he did it, but he knows Barbara isn’t Maureen. He told her to tell you that he'll kill her unless you call him back within five minutes."

Slade was stunned. He sat in silence as he sifted through the possibilities available to him. Tucker had been right; sure as hell dark clouds were swirling up above. Only Papa could save his nuts now.

He placed a call to Papa Romano. "Let me speak with Papa. Tell him Slade’s callin’." After a few seconds of silence Papa’s voice broke through.

"Slade, it’s been awhile. How are you? Gino tells me you ain’t been there in a long time. He’s got a pizza that has your name on it. I know you can't be seen much at his place or with me when I’m in town, but I miss you,
figlio mio
, my son. Actually, there's a rumor floating around that the feds are checking Gino’s out. Trying to make some connection to me. Probably best if you're not seen there. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"I need a favor. Need ya’ to call Gino and tell him you’ve okayed a meetin’ at his place tonight. Can ya’ do that for me?"

"Sure,
figlio mio
, for you, anything. Let's make it 11:00. He closes at 10:00 and I’m sure he don't want to attract attention during business hours. Gino’s bodyguard, Mario, will let you in. It’ll be after hours so Gino will be in the back room. Wanna tell me the name of the man you're meeting?"

"Yeah, Chico Ruiz. Ring a bell from the past?"

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. "Slade, I probably don't need to tell you that he's now numero uno of the Mexican Mafia in Los Angeles. That tattooed teardrop he sports under his left eye don't even begin to indicate how many men he's offed. You sure you need to meet with him? Twenty years have gone by. Let the past stay in the past."

"Papa, ya’ know I've always listened to ya’ and looked up to ya, but I gotta meet with him. Believe me, I'd rather do jes’ about anything else, but I ain't got a choice in this one. My nuts have never been twisted this bad before. A woman's life depends on it."

"I don't like the sound of any of this, but I know you wouldn't risk it unless it was important. I'll do what I can to help you on my end. Gino will be waiting for you."

“Thanks. I’ll be there at 11:00.”

CHAPTER 28

The fog got thicker and thicker as the night wore on. Pockets of it blew in from the ocean, making night driving hazardous. The city was ominously quiet with very few cars or people on the streets. Brad thought how surreal it looked as he followed the red tail lights of the car in front of him. He drove slowly, making his way into an area of Los Angeles where Mexican and Italian immigrants had long ago decided to call home.

As with many ethnic groups, the sons of these immigrants had formed street gangs. The Mexican Mafia got its start in the 1950’s in the California prisons and eventually made its way onto city streets throughout California, with Los Angeles being its headquarters. The gang controlled the drugs brought into the U.S. Because of its deep roots in the California prison system, the gang was notorious for its ability to act as an enforcer inside the jails and prisons across California. The murder rate in this area of the city spoke of the violence of the Mexican Mafia. The street on which Brad now found himself driving was its primary home turf.

The American Italian Mafia started on the East Coast and made its way to the West Coast via Las Vegas. Papa Romano was reputed to be the head of the California Mafia, even though he lived in Chicago. Rumor had it that anything connected to the Mafia was funneled through Gino’s Pizzeria. Papa always visited it when he came to Los Angeles. It was also widely speculated that Gino was the number one Mafia man on the West Coast and that he only answered to Papa. If you wanted to take a contract out on someone, Gino was the man to see, but ultimately Papa would make the decision. The California Mafia was known for extortion, murder, and robbery, as well as any other type of criminal activity where they could make a quick buck. Many businesses around California found they had to do business with Gino and the California Mafia, whether they liked it or not.

Slade knew he was being watched. Before he could even knock, the door swung open. “Not surprised,” he muttered to himself.

He stepped inside, turned halfway, and saw the tail lights of Brad’s car disappear around the corner as he drove away.

Mario, Gino’s longtime personal bodyguard greeted him. "Good to see you Slade. It's been a long time. Gino misses you. He's in the back room. Follow me." Even though the restaurant was closed, several of Gino's "employees" were scattered throughout it. Mario, who had the size and look of a mountain gorilla, led Slade through the restaurant and into Gino’s office. Mario was so big he had to turn sideways to get through the doors.

Gino was sitting at an old cigarette scarred desk that had clearly seen better days while he peered at lines of numbers on a sheet of paper in front of him. Stacks of papers were strewn all over his desk. A glass of dark red wine was within easy reach. Gino stood up when he saw Slade and gave him a bear hug.