Page 110 of Till Death Do Us Part

Andrés pressed his lips together.

“Do you have anything to say?” I asked Catalina’s father.

“The famiglia has kept their word,” Andrés said. “Dario and Dante,” he added, “have helped the cartel. Their pull with government agencies has opened passageways for our product.”

“One of your men was arrested,” Gerardo reminded us. “Lost product.”

“You’re right,” I replied, moving around the table. “Coincidence. He made it over the border but was pulled over by Highway Patrol because his car was on an APB.” I inhaled. “Here’s the thing,mi padredoesn’t believe in coincidences and neither do I.”

I went to a small table near a chair next to the fireplace, grabbed a plastic bag containing two cell phones, and carried it to the table. “These phones were with the two Russians who were at the title company today.” My focus went to each man sitting at the table. “As you know, we have some fucking great hackers. The thing is, we didn’t need hackers. These phones contain the numbers of people who they’ve recently communicated with. The numbers of their informants.”

Everyone’s attention was on me. Rei’s nostrils flared, knowing what I was about to say. Andrés and Nicolas sat straighter. Gerardo’s and Ángel’s Adam’s apples bobbed as their expressions remained stoic.

I measured my words carefully. “Our soldiers, the ones on the street, didn’t know about the plan to secure the school building. The whores didn’t know about the plan. Only you here around this table” —I looked around— “all of us in this room.”

“No one in this room would go against the cartel,” Nicolas said.

“What about the famiglia?” Gerardo asked. “You stand there accusing us, men who would die for your father, and you don’t accuse the men who hate us?”

“Did I accuse you?”

“Yes,” Gerardo answered, his eyes wide and agitation growing.

“It was one thing when our product was disrupted. It was a whole new issue when our homes were broken into and our families threatened” —I moved next to Rei who was now standing behind Ángel— “and a fucking different matter when my wife was targeted.”

Rei and I moved in sync. My blade was against Gerardo’s neck. Rei’s blade was against Ángel’s. The older generation sitting at the table jumped back, chairs screeching on the tile, and knives and guns unholstered.

Em and Nick were both standing, their guns pointed. Silas, Felipe, and Diego also had guns aimed at the table.

“What the fuck, Jano?” Nicolas yelled. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.”

Gerardo slammed his chair back, knocking me off balance as he pulled his own knife from a sheath on his ankle. He swung toward me. I dodged the first swing. Silas turned his gun toward Gerardo while Rei kept Ángel pinned to the chair.

“You’re a fucking liar,” Gerardo screamed.

He lunged again, narrowly missing my torso. I moved, a dance choreographed by fighters for centuries. One of Mia’s new tables overturned, the sound of glass breaking echoed as the contents crashed to the floor.

Silas’s aim was beyond compare. His shot rang out, hitting Gerardo’s arm and causing him to drop the knife. He screamed in pain as I wrestled him to the floor with my knife back at his throat.

“Kill me, you coward.”

A smile curled my lips. “I will watch you take your last breath, but it won’t be now. You’re going to suffer as you’ve made others suffer.”

“Jano?” Andrés questioned.

Nick lowered his gun and stepped forward. “Jano is right. Those phones prove it. Gerardo has been plotting against Jano since he moved to California. We didn’t see it at first.”

Andrés and Nicolas lowered their weapons as did their guards.

“We didn’t want to see it,” Em said. “Gerardo’s been working with Kozlov. The people we found in the desert a few months ago. The whole stealing of product was a setup. We were supposed to be caught with them and made to look like we were trafficking people over the border.” He stepped closer, staring at his father and Nicolas. “What we didn’t realize until today, until those phones, is that he’s also been working with Herrera.”

“That’s a lie,” Gerardo screamed.

I held him down, my knife still at his throat.

Andrés and Nicolas looked at their sons.

“It’s the truth,Padre,” Em said. “I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that.”