Chapter 5

Emiliano

Silas opened the door to el Patrόn’s home, allowing me entry. “Buenos días,” I greeted. Silas was the final guard at the last point of entry. Since Aléjandro ascended to the top position in the cartel, his home was even more guarded than before.

“Señor Ruiz, el jefe esta en su oficina.”

With a nod, I headed toward Aléjandro’s office. As I approached, I heard voices. It didn’t take me long to realize Mia, Aléjandro’s wife, was also present.

“Em,” she said, turning to me as I entered. “Maybe you could add your two cents to our discussion.”

Aléjandro Roríguez was seated behind his desk. If one were to enter this home, they’d surely mistake Silas for el Patrόn, the man in charge of Aléjandro and his family’s safety. He was always dressed in a suit, often a three-piece suit. On the other hand, the true leader was behind his desk with a five-o’clock shadow, despite it being morning, and wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and by the one foot on his desk, black boots.

Mia was also dressed for comfort in her sundress and flat sandals. Her long hair was tied back in a low ponytail. At this rare moment, she wasn’t holding her son.

I bowed at the waist. “Always happy to be of service, señora.”

“My cousin Isabella is arriving this afternoon. Jano thinks Silas should watch over her while she’s here because he’s older, not intimidating to her, but I disagree. Silas has sworn his oath of service to not only Jano, but to Jorge and me. I think sending him away could create a void around here.” She sighed. “I know that I’m still hormonal. Nevertheless, after what happened to…” She paused. “Jano’s father, I don’t want to risk Jorge’s safety.”

She said quite a bit, but honestly, my brain latched on to her first sentence. “Isabella Luciano is coming here. To San Diego?”

Mia turned to Jano. “How doesn’t Em know that?”

“Shit, Mia,” he said, lowering his foot to the floor. “We’re on a twenty-four-hour search for news about Herrera and Volkov.” He stood. Placing his hand over his heart he stalked toward his wife. “Pido disculpas.” He turned to me. “Isabella Luciano is arriving later today. She will be here for a month—initially. Mia needs help at the apartment building and not surprisingly, Liliana isn’t getting it done.”

Mia reached out to her husband’s arm. “I know this isn’t as big of a priority for you as it is for me. She’s coming out here because I pressured Dario. Once he approved my request, I assured my uncle that Isabella would be safe. I also don’t want to compromise our safety in that process.”

“Your safety is my priority.”

“What will she be doing in your stead?” I asked Mia.

Mia sighed. “Being me until I can figure out how to get back there. I’ve developed a system to keep track of each woman, ensure we have their up-to-date information, everything. It’s also supposed to monitor their work hours as well as when they’re at the apartments, away to work, or out. It’s not that complicated, but every time I check online, the information is outdated. Somehow, Liliana is consistently a day or two behind. Something could happen to one of the women and we wouldn’t know for forty-eight hours. That’s not acceptable. The women are trusting us with their information and safety.” She took a seat across from Jano’s desk. “I don’t want to fire Liliana, but she needs help. According to Catalina, Isabella is a fast learner. She graduated high school with honors and wanted to attend university.” She pressed her lips together. “Of course, Uncle Carmine doesn’t see the need.”

I tried to get a feel for what would be required of Isabella’s bodyguard. “I assume she’s staying here with you?”

Jano rolled his eyes.

Mia replied, “Her father wants her here. I get the feeling that she’s intimidated. Uncle Carmine and Aunt Aurora don’t have high opinions of the cartel. I told her she could stay with Liliana if she preferred. She has an apartment at Estate 3301.”

My eyebrows rose. “High-end real estate.”

“She’s been through a lot. It’s a three bedroom. José and Renata Pérez are her bodyguard and her live-in help. That leaves one free bedroom if Isabella would be more comfortable there.”

“I know José. I didn’t realize he was married,” I said.

Jano answered, “They had previously been with Gerardo and felt protective of Liliana. They’re a married couple in their forties. From what I hear, Renata is almost as good of a cook as Viviana.” That would be Silas’s wife.

Mia stood and lifted her eyebrows. “I thought you were going to say almost as good as me,” she said with a smirk.

Jano wrapped his arm around Mia and tugged her toward him. Whatever he whispered caused her cheeks to flush with crimson before she kissed his cheek.

I cleared my throat. “I volunteer.”

Jano turned to me. “No.” He released his wife and moved back around the desk. Strewn over the surface were paper maps, ones I knew he’d studied backward and forward. “I need you. I need you on the streets and at Wanderland. Shit went down last night. You have connections through tu padre, and you’re one of the best hackers I know next to Rei. It would be too much of a loss to have you babysit Isabella.”

“But it’s not a loss if Silas does?” Mia pleaded.

“This house is safer than Fort Knox,” Jano said. “Silas can be gone during the day and once Isabella is done at the apartments, he will be back with us.”

“What if she lives with Liliana?” she asked.

“He can still return. José is capable of keeping two girls safe in a luxury apartment.”

Mia wrapped her arms around herself. “Do you know the last time I heard that saying—safer than Fort Knox?”

Jano let out a breath. “Bella.”

She nodded with tears in her eyes. “Bella.”

Jano came around the desk, leaned against the surface, and pulled his wife between his long legs and into his embrace. “What happened out there will not happen here.”

“If we hadn’t taken so many of the guards…Jorge was left shorthanded.” She palmed Jano’s cheeks. “Por favor, estoy asustada.”

El Patrόn’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he turned to me. “Find a soldier we can trust with Isabella.”

“You can trust me.”

“Em, find me a soldier and have him here by noon. Isabella arrives after two. He can accompany Silas to the airport.”

I wanted to argue my case. I could also see the turmoil Mia was still experiencing from what happened to Jorge Roríguez I. Mostly, I understood that I’d just received a direct order from el Patrόn himself. As a soldier myself, I wasn’t in a position to argue.

My thoughts filled with capable soldiers. We had them—men who would lay down their lives for Jano, Rei, and the cartel. This wouldn’t be that simple of a request.

Cue the other important person running through my mind—Isabella Luciano. She was famiglia. Whomever I chose would have to swear to protect her as if she were cartel. One day, she would be.

After all, Isabella was coming to me. I’d concede that I wasn’t the exact reason she was coming to California. Nevertheless, I had one month to show her that I wasn’t the monster she’d been led to believe. I’d show her that in essence the cartel and Mafia famiglia were more similar than she realized. We had different products and similar products. We both worked in an underground world that everyday people chose to ignore.

The Mafias of the past were renowned, filled with the lore of honor and duty. The likes of Al Capone, Carlo Gambino, and Frank Costello romanticized the realities of their livelihoods. Movies such as The Godfather and The Untouchables made mere men into legends.

The cartel needed to up its public relations. As we witnessed with the news and social media coverage of the death of Jorge Roríguez I, cartels were viewed with less allure. Scarface and Savages portray us as cruel, greedy, and bloodthirsty.

The reality was that the Mafia and cartel were different sides of the same coin. No one could claim that either organization was filled with boy scouts. We both dealt within the illegal world of drugs, prostitution, and extortion. El patrόn was especially bloodthirsty to avenge his father. Yet the man the world never saw was the one who moments ago made his wife blush, showed her compassion, and listened to her concerns. Perhaps the world would never see that side of the Roríguez cartel.

As I drove away from Jano’s home, I wasn’t concerned about the world. I was thinking about one particular woman—a young woman but a woman all the same. I would spend what time I could over the next month showing Isabella Luciano that cartel members were also men of honor and duty.

My first order of business was to find a soldier who would protect Isabella with his life while at the same time understanding that if he crossed a line with her, his life would be over.