Sinner's Son (Savage Sons Motorcyle Club) (12 page)

I fell asleep with a smile on my face and the sound of Moses' heartbeat in my ear.

I
awoke to the smell of coffee, and I could feel the slight soreness of my muscles that meant that I'd had a great night. By my count, I'd woken Maria up twice, and she had returned the favor by waking me up a couple of times as well. I think she'd been surprised at how much she'd enjoyed herself, and I thought it was a little sad that a woman whose business was sex had previously gotten so little pleasure out of it.

I stretched, got out of bed, and slipped into my jeans, not bothering with my shirt. "Good morning, gorgeous," I said as I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee.

Maria smiled at me. "Thank you for last night, Moses. I didn't know..." her voice trailed off.

"You didn't know it could be like that, did you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. I didn't."

"Maria, we should talk about a few things before I go," I said. "I have a lot to do before I come back and pick you and Nadia up this afternoon."

She looked at me with a strange expression. I'm pretty good at reading people, and I had no idea what she was thinking.

"What?" I asked, hoping like hell she wasn't about to back out of the plan to get her out of Juarez.

"Stay right there," she said, leaving the room. She came back in with a Polaroid camera. "I want a picture of you. You look so relaxed and happy."

I sat still while she took the picture, and she set it aside on the counter to develop.

We drank our coffee and reviewed the plans. She was going to pack as much as she thought she could fit in the car, since we didn't know how long it would take me to make legal arrangements for her and Nadia to cross the border. I decided that if it took too long, I'd just take them across, lie to the agents at the border and see if I could help them apply for some sort of asylum, given the treatment Maria had endured.

I was going to have to face Joker, Zeno, and any of Don Roberto's men who happened to be at Lupita's when I returned. I had to go back. My bike was parked there, and I had to find a way to secure it while I'd be out of town with the girls. I also didn't have any clothes except the ones I wore on my back, and since I was a least half a foot taller than any of the Mexican men I'd met, I knew I needed to get my own clothes.

"I'll be back," I said, kissing Maria goodbye at the door.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Zeno's voice greeted me as soon as I stepped through the door of Lupita's. The room was dark compared to the bright sun outside, and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust and see that both Zeno and Joker were sitting at the bar along the back wall. A few other men occupied tables in the center of the room, and all of them had turned to look at me as I entered.

I wasn't about to get into an argument with my brothers in front of men who certainly worked for Don Roberto. "Let's go upstairs. We need to talk."

I turned without a word and headed upstairs, intending to go to the room I'd been given two nights before. I hoped that my brothers would follow me. I was pleased to open the door and still see my things there, and I pulled out some clean clothes and made sure that everything else was packed so that I could leave quickly, if necessary.

Joker and Zeno entered the room.

"I'm gonna need to take off for a few days, and I need the two of you to keep an eye on my bike for me. Where I'm going, I need to rent a car."

Joker looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "You mind telling us what the fuck is going on?"

Zeno sat down on one of the chairs. I didn't expect him to say much, so I was surprised when he began to speak. "Moses, Don Roberto was really pissed that you walked out of the meeting."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are you fucking kidding me? He offered you an underage girl to rape. The appropriate response to that is to get up and walk the fuck out."

"Moses, calm down." Joker sat down on the bed and lit a cigarette. "We agreed that we'd consider the Don's offer if it was really big money. I think we're talking really big money, here. Do you have any idea how much money people would be willing to pay for a Mexican virgin who's been taught how to suck dick? That's the thing. These girls are going to be worth a fucking fortune to us. And they'll help us expand our meth biz."

Zeno actually seemed to agree. "These girls are gonna grow up to be whores anyway, man. We're just gonna get them before their value drops. And the Don says they're all clean. They don't use, so that will solve some of our problems with girls getting hooked on the crank."

I looked from one man to the other and back again. When I spoke, my voice was carefully, deliberately quiet and calm. "Are you telling me that you both think it's a good idea to take little girls and sell them to men who are going to rape them and take their virginity?"

"C'mon, man," Joker said. "You can't rape a fucking prostitute. That's what these girls are."

"No. They're children, you fucking pervert. They're little girls, and you want to turn them into prostitutes. Can't you see that's wrong?"

"You're splittin' hairs, man. They're gonna be hookers whether we're the ones making money off them or not. Why should someone else be getting rich? We have a big opportunity here, Moses." Joker must have actually thought that he could persuade me. "And you know that sample the Don offered to let us try? Let's just say that you ain't never fucked a pussy that tight, man. One taste of it, and you're gonna want virgins for life, man. Trust me. Don Roberto took good care of me last night."

I looked at my uncle -- the man who in some ways had taken the place of my father -- and I couldn't believe what I'd just heard.

"I gotta take a leak," I said, leaving the room before I exploded. I walked down the hallway to the bathroom, shut the door, and looked at myself in the mirror. I knew I wasn't going crazy, but I couldn't figure out how the fuck both Joker and Zeno thought that Don Roberto's proposal was a good idea. I knew that my perspective had changed because I actually liked Maria ... and because I'd met and been charmed by one of the girls that Don Roberto would turn into a whore, but the fact that my eyes had been opened didn't explain away the fact that it appeared that both of my brothers were prepared to do something that I believed was completely, totally, one hundred percent wrong. And if I'd understood Joker right, he'd just fucked one of these girls the night before. While I'd been planning an escape for Maria and Nadia, he'd been doing exactly what I was trying to prevent.

"I can't let this happen," I said to my reflection. "I have to find a way to stop it."

I walked back into my room, prepared to just lay it out for Joker and Zeno, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw Luis in the room.

"Moses," he said. "I'm glad to see that you're alive and well. This city can be dangerous. You should be careful when you're out there on your own. Not everyone is as friendly as Don Roberto."

Wow. "Friendly" was not a word I'd apply to the head of the cartel, but I wasn't going to quibble over word choice.

"I'm just fine. Have been exploring a little," I said, having no intention of elaborating any further.

"I have been meaning to ask you ... but of course I haven't seen you ... did you enjoy your evening with Encantada?"

I could tell that the question was loaded, that my answer could spell trouble for both me and for the two women I was trying to save. I decided to say as little as possible. "I did. She's a lovely woman."

"No complaints about her?" he asked, clearly fishing for information.

"Not a one," I replied, betraying nothing in my expression. If he wanted to know something, I was gonna make him come out in the open and ask the question.

He didn't. "Glad to hear it. Don Roberto and I value your friendship, and we want to make sure you enjoy your visit to our little town."

I really wanted to kill him. Knowing all that he'd done to Maria made me see red, but I had to control myself.

Luis turned to Joker. "Don Roberto has made a trip here to meet with the three of you. Apparently, there is some business that wasn't satisfactorily concluded yesterday?"

"We were just discussing that," I interrupted. "Could we have a little privacy?"

"I'm afraid that Don Roberto is already here, and he is not a man that one keeps waiting."

I sighed, exasperated by the degree that we were being herded into a discussion when we hadn't even settled things among ourselves. I didn't want to publicly disagree with my brothers. That wasn't the way we did things in the MC. We presented a united front and backed one another up, but I couldn't support what Joker and Zeno wanted to do.

"Moses, I think you'll feel better about things after you talk to the Don," Joker said as he stood up. "Let's go."

He and Luis went out into the hallway first, and I put a hand on Zeno's arm, figuring that he was my best shot at an ally.

"Dude, what the fuck are you thinking?"

Zeno looked at me, and I could see some uncertainty in his eyes. "I don't know, man. I think we could make a lot of money, and I would love to have some senoritas around full-time."

"But little girls? You know that ain't right, man."

He hung his head. "I guess I do. Maybe was can just agree to bring in women over eighteen. I wonder if Don Roberto would agree to that."

"Gentlemen?" Luis stuck his head back into the doorway. "The Don awaits you."

We went downstairs and Luis led us to a little office off of the main room. Don Roberto stood in the corner, smoking a cigar. He didn't say a word as we filed into the room. I was so angry that I could hardly stand still, but I knew that I had to pay attention and be smart if I wanted to walk out of Lupita's alive.

"So, you have sampled my wares, Joker, have you not?" Don Roberto asked, his voice sounding relaxed and calm -- as if he were discussing the most mundane of topics.

"Yes, sir," Joker answered. "And you're gonna make us richer than I'd ever imagined. We're gonna have people standing in line to get a piece of our sweet young things."

"So it is agreed, then. We will provide you with your methamphetamine supplies, and a number -- to be determined -- of lovely, young virgins." The Don walked over to the desk and sat down. "We all agree?" He looked at me and Zeno, and I swear that he knew what my answer would be.

"We do not agree," I said, holding on to the last shred of my self-control. "The Savage Sons will not be selling young girls, Don Roberto. We don't make decisions like this without a vote, and we are only three members. I'm afraid we don't have a deal."

Don Roberto raised a single eyebrow and looked at Joker. "You are the presidente, are you not?" he asked, implying that Joker should control his men better.

Joker looked at me and I could tell that he was pissed. He wasn't as touchy as Bug was about his authority, but he didn't like to be challenged in public. "Don Roberto," he said, turning his attention to the powerful man at the desk. "I will get this voted on, and I will get it approved. Whether one member likes it or not, if the rest of us agree, then you've got yourself a deal. I'll deal with my members my own way."

Was the man out of his mind?

"I am pleased that we are in agreement..." Don Roberto began.

"We do not have a deal," I said, starting to pace around the floor of the little room, unable to contain my anger. "This is wrong, and we're not gonna do it, Joker."

The glare on my uncle's face made him all but unrecognizable.

"Zeno," I said. "What do you think?"

I could see that Zeno didn't want to be put on the spot, but this was too important.

"I think we should focus on adult hookers," he said, avoiding eye contact with the Don and with Joker.

"See!" I shouted. "You don't even have a majority among the three of us! Joker, we can't go ahead with this. It's not gonna happen."

Don Roberto appeared not to notice my outburst, and in fact he seemed to be completely ignoring what I said. "Perhaps if we sent some sample girls to you, you could persuade your other members, Joker."

Joker ignored me as well. "We would be happy to accept samples. I think the brothers would enjoy making their decision after having tested the merchandise."

I felt like I was in some alternate universe, where nothing was working like it was supposed to -- where no one behaved the way I expected. "Not going to happen. Joker, Don Roberto, I'm going to make this as simple as possible for you both." I waited until both men reluctantly looked my way. "I will not let this happen. I will stop you, no matter what. Even if I have to call the police, the DEA, the FBI, the Mexican government ... I will put a stop to this. It's wrong, and it's not going to happen anymore. Not with the Sons, and not with anyone else."

Luis spoke for the first time since we'd entered the room. "Don Roberto, would you like me to handle the matter we discussed earlier?"

The Don nodded silently, and Luis left the room without another word. I stood in the center of the room, unsure what my future held, but certain that I was doing the right thing. If a man can't stand up for the rights of innocent young girls who can't defend themselves, then he's not much of a man.