Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
“Are you expecting trouble?”
Nero’s lips pressed together, and he leaned more of his weight on the wall. “You never fucking know. That’s why you’re coming.”
Miguel turned around so Nero wouldn’t see him smirk. It felt nice to be appreciated, even if by the enemy.
“You know, I’m not an ass man myself, but yours is A+,” Nero casually said before closing the door behind him.
So maybe Miguel shouldn’t like that kind of compliment, but he did, and no one needed to know.
Chapter 9
Miguel
Miguel’s insides curdled, and he threw up into a bush. He didn’t know whether it was the remnants of last night that got him sick or the inevitability of the upcoming confrontation with Moreno, but he did feel better when the yellow bile left his body.
“You alive?” Nero asked from the car as the sharp sun poured heat on Miguel’s shivering back.
Ezra Correa sniggered. “Heard that can happen with some diseases. You sure you’ve just been drinking all night, Miguel?”
“Shut your whore face!” Miguel yelled back and forced himself to straighten up as his brain floated in his skull like a sponge soaked with chemicals. He rinsed his mouth with water, sucking in the scent of the grass under his feet and the dense green bush stretching on either side of the empty road. It had been a while since he’d been in a place so peaceful and knowing that this might be his final day alive made him appreciate the beauty of nature all the more, even though there wasn’t anything particularly spectacular about the landscape. His gaze passed over the mountains in the distance. Unless the hangover fucked up his sense of space, his mother would be far, far away beyond them, and he felt a stab in the middle of his chest when he realized he might not be able to hear her voice one last time. She was the only one he had left, but if killing Raul Moreno gave her peace, then he’d happily die for it.
He popped a mint into his mouth and turned toward the long black car waiting for him.
“I’m fine!” he rasped out, but had to clear his throat.
“Good, good! I have the IV ready,” said Zapata, their on-call doctor. Smiley and always dressed in a pale suit, he reminded Miguel a little of the KFC guy, Colonel Sanders. Considering the importance of today’s trip, their hangovers certainly were an emergency.
The pearlescent Hummer limo offered more than enough space to administer treatment on the go, and Nero already rested on one side of the interior with a tube attached to his inner elbow. “Come on, Miguel, it’ll put the spring back in your step. It’s great,” he said and sat, detaching himself from the IV tube yet leaving the PVC in.
Miguel exhaled as the doctor slid out of the cab. As long as the infusion didn’t muddle his brain, he needed all the help he could get.
“Thanks. I wouldn’t have drank so much last night if I knew we’d be meeting your father.”
Ezra smirked from the back of the limo, where he sat with a cold beer and a men’s magazine. “A bodyguard’s job never ends.”
But the suggestion was, He got you to fuck him, didn’t he?
Miguel wanted to deny it, but what was the point when those men thought they already had all the facts?
Nero slid out into the sun and offered him a cool bottle of blackberry juice. “Have some of this. You sure you’re fine?”
Miguel glanced at him in silent surprise. Did he care, or was this some weird long game seduction after months of talking trash not working?
He grabbed the bottle, hoping it would help him deal with heat that choked him as if he were floating in soup. “My head’s dying, but I’ll be okay.”
Nero’s mouth stretched, soft as a pillow, but then he slid down the low slope ahead and disappeared in the bushes, leaving Miguel to the vultures.
He might as well go back to his previous spot and roll onto the seats installed along the side of the passenger compartment of the limo. The tinted windows offered relief from the blaze outside and he took a swig from the bottle while offering his arm.
Dr. Zapata wiped the inside of his elbow with cool liquid. “I have... condoms, if you need some more,” he said before stabbing Miguel’s vein with a needle.
Miguel stared at him, dumbfounded. “What for?” He decided to feign ignorance, but Ezra wouldn’t let him get away with it.
“For your new job description,” he said and poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue in a suggestive way.
Miguel gave him a level glare. “Watch yourself.”
Carlos looked back at them through the opening in the divider between the two compartments of the limo, his crooked teeth reflecting the sun as he grinned. “Don’t play the innocent. Nero doesn’t care about anyone, and now he’s offering you electrolyte drinks and asking about your health?”