he couldn’t stop thinking about King’s and Midnight’s betrayal. None of the men he’d known for years had done a damn thing to help him, but the main person he thought for sure would have his back was Midnight.
At that moment, Paco knew the glory days of being the Prince of Texas were officially over. He opened the door to the suite, and with so much confusion on his face, he sat on the edge of the bed. He kept thinking of who to blame for this mess. There was enough blame to go around, but all Paco could do was turn his anger to Swag. “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled.
Feeling angry, he grunted, paced the room, and ripped his shirt. After tossing it aside, he examined his Adonis physique. He checked to see if he had some broken ribs, but luckily for Paco, nothing seemed broken, just swollen. He turned on the water in the sink and let it get warm. Once it was the right temperature, he took a bar of soap and rubbed it on his face. If he could somehow wash away all the dirt he’d done and go back to the person he used to be, he would have. But crime money was flowing within his family, and within one year of being in the family business, he made the Hernandez Cartel the top of the food chain—even more than his father or grandfather ever had. With that significant accomplishment and drive, Paco Hernandez was going to be the Mexican version of John Gotti.
He looked in the mirror and mouthed, “I fucked up.” He remembered the conversation he and his grandfather had when he decided to drop out of college and build the family business.
“Little Paco, you need to go back to school. Fuck that basketball and cartel shit. Make something better out of yourself. Become a sports doctor, a lawyer, or even a sports agent.”
“Naw, Papa, I’ma focus on my bread and making the family business number one.”
As he wiped his face with a towel, Paco thought of how stupid he was for not taking his grandfather’s advice. He took a breath as he looked at himself again in the mirror. He still looked rough, but he was glad to be all alone and at peace for the time being.
“Aah,” he moaned as he lay on the bed.
He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to clear his mind. Just as he was about to relax, he heard the door crack open. He quickly opened his eyes, and when he reached into his pants pocket, he realized he didn’t have his gun or a knife.
“Shit! I don’t need any more surprises today,” he whispered.
He lifted his head, only to see his friend Landon. He was the pretty boy of Paco’s crew, a mixture of Mexican, African American, and Chinese. With a smooth butter complexion, slanted, dark brown eyes, and a lean muscular body, Landon had all the chicks back in Texas going crazy over him. Paco sighed from relief that it was only him.
“Shit, man, don’t ever sneak in on me like that,” Paco said.
Landon cocked his head back. “Damn, man. Chill out with that shit.” Landon came into the room wearing cargo shorts and a wife-beater. His left arm was covered with a Chinese dragon and a naked Mexican woman, showing honor to his Mexican and Chinese heritage. On his right arm were tattoos of his family. He sat beside Paco. “Just checking to see if you was cool, that’s all. You okay?”
“Now, I know you ain’t ask me that question. I didn’t see you help me after getting my ass kicked by both Swag and Tyler or Travis, whichever twin lost a finger. And you have the nerve to ask if I’m okay? Hell no, I’m not okay! I’m pissed off with that bitch, King, but mainly that nigger, Swag. I want his blood so badly I can taste it.”
Paco was so fired up that he balled up his fist. And without warning, he punched Landon right in his eye. Landon fell to the ground and covered his eye.
“Damn, man.” He looked up at Paco. “What was that for? What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Paco laughed and felt somewhat better. He didn’t mean to punch Landon, but he had to let out his frustrations. In his mind, he was pretending to hit Swag’s ass. Paco knew he needed some control back on his ship. He was only in Costa Rica for one reason, and that was to bring down his father so he could rule the Hernandez Cartel. But the first thing he had to do was put his boys back in check. Meaning that he should be the one thing they feared day and night. Paco got off the bed and stepped up to Landon.
“That was for not having my back earlier. That punch was just an appetizer, but next time, you’ll get the main course if you betray me.” Paco pretended to slice his own throat. “Do you understand me?”
Landon didn’t respond.
“I said, do you hear me?” Paco shouted and slapped Landon’s face.
He winced and hurried off the floor. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“Good.” Paco walked away and sat back on the bed.
With a mean mug on his face, Landon stood at a distance. He felt kind of bad for not helping Paco, and he also knew there would be consequences, sooner or later.
“I apologize for not having your back, and it will never happen again. But what do we do now, P?”
Paco looked at Landon with a devilish smile. “Bro, the first thing is to get back on King’s good side. Work out a plan to murder that bitch-ass father of mine, along with everyone associated with the Hernandez Cartel. Then I can finally collect what is mine. We need to figure out a way to get that bitch, King, alone, without that clown-ass Blood so I can snap that pretty little neck of hers. And other heads I want on silver platters are Travis, Tyler, and the big prizes, Swag and Midnight.”
Landon curiously looked at him. “But why Midnight? He’s our boy. And why kill King? If it weren’t for her, we’d still be in that shithole back in Brazil.”
Paco shook his head and laughed at Landon.
“Landon, you’re so young and naïve, my homeboy. Of course, I know Midnight is my boy, but today, he showed his disloyalty to the future Hernandez Cartel and me. You see, just like you, he didn’t come to my defense. I would expect a young buck like you not to come to my defense, but Midnight? I knew that dude since we were kids, ever since his family came from Ghana with only three dollars to their name and no place to stay until my grandfather made Midnight’s father an employee and life member of the Hernandez Cartel. Midnight and his father signed their signatures in blood to this organization. They serve me, not that King bitch. So he has to die. And King! That bitch must die, even though the sex was damn good.”
Landon laughed. “Damn, man, that crazy girl’s punany is that good?”
Paco nodded. “Homes, that shit is better than a virgin’s and so tight. The taste was delicious, like butter pecan ice cream.”
Landon laughed again. “You lucky bastard.”
Landon couldn’t remember the last time he had a chick’s good-good like that, especially from those messy hoodrats back in Texas. “Why is it that all the psycho chicks are all beautiful and have that bomb-ass pussy?”
Paco laughed, losing thought of his plans. To him, the answer to that question would always be a mystery. In his playboy days, he loved to mess with the crazy chicks or the ones with low self-esteem. He loved those days . . . until he’d met the love of his life, Raven. Thinking of her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. It was a photo of him, his wifey, and their daughter. He smiled while looking at his family. He missed them so much. He’d thought about all the times he cheated on her, and Raven gave so much to him. Kind of how his father did his mother in the past.
Paco’s smile turned into a frown. His thoughts went back to the reason why he was in Costa Rica.
“Look,” he said to Landon, “fuck King, Midnight, and that bastard Swag. I’m going to get my revenge, and more blood than ever is going to be flowing in the waters of Costa Rica. It’s time to show the world who the real king is.”
Landon nodded and agreed with his true boss.
“Now, get outta here until I need you, my new lieutenant.”
Landon was amazed. “Lieutenant?”