Chapter 2

I woke up before Maria did. I willed myself to get up from the couch, feeling terrible when I felt multiple cricks in my back and neck. I slowly arched my back, placing my hands securely on my hips, before stretching my torso. A groan escaped my mouth after a few loud cracks echoed in the room. Man, that couch was painful! I barely got any sleep and Maria was right, it was really cold.

I yawned rather loudly when I stood up. I turned my gaze to the wall clock before nodding a bit when I had a few hours before I had work. My stomach growled quite angrily, prompting me to travel over to the kitchen fridge. Maria seemed pretty stocked on food and beverages. Since she isn't up yet, maybe I can surprise her with a breakfast meal. I might not be the best cook, but I can get around the kitchen fairly well.

Maria is going to enjoy this, I thought as I grabbed multiple ingredients out of the fridge. As I began to cook, my mind wandered to what happened last night. A little heat rose to my cheeks when I remembered her lips pressing against mine, the amount of desire I had for her was something I've never experienced before. Then when her hand crawled up to my chest. I can imagine my face turned red from blushing so much. I don't know what is up with this girl. I've never gone through these emotions before like it's new to me.

After a few minutes, I've finished the food. My constant noises must have been pretty loud because another person joined me in the dining room.

"What is all this?" Maria questioned as she rubbed the fatigue out of her eyes. She looked adorable and I just wanted to wrap her in a hug, but I gathered myself before smiling.

"Breakfast," I replied as I placed her plate of an omelet on the table before getting mine. "Thought since I'm still here and I needed to thank you for letting me stay over, I decided to make you breakfast."

"You took food from my fridge?" She suddenly glared at me. I widened my eyes, feeling my stomach flip which made me gulp nervously. But then she cracked a smile and chuckled. "I'm kidding! This looks delicious, I didn't know you can cook."

I felt relief wash over me. She looks like the type of girl that could break my fingers if she had a reason to. I grinned before saying, "I live with a cook that taught me everything I know. You should meet her someday."

Her face seemed to drop at what I said. I raised an eyebrow, wondering about the change of mood.

"'Her'? Like a… girlfriend?" Oh! Oh!

"No, I mean my friend's mom helps me cook. My best friends and I live together in an apartment," I explained hurriedly. She seemed to lose a little tension from her shoulders. I gave her a knowing smirk. "You wouldn't be… jealous, would you?"

"No! Of course not," she snapped. I held up my hands in surrender, even though I totally don't believe it. I helped her into her seat before sitting next to her. She dug into the omelet. "Wow, this is good."

"I try," I shrugged before eating my own food. "So, tell me more about yourself."

"Like what?"

"I can see you live here alone. Any special reason why?" I asked. She seemed a little uncomfortable with my question but still answered.

"I used to live with my boyfriend. We both worked together in the same business but when I broke up with him, I moved here," she said. I felt a little relieved to hear that she didn't live with her ex anymore.

"Do you still work in that business?" I questioned. She really seemed set on leaving me in the dark about her work. Either it's something she really doesn't want me to know or there's something bad about it. "You can tell me, I won't judge."

"You're really sweet, Carlos, but I think it's best if you don't know," she gave me a sad smile as she placed a hand over mine. I inwardly sighed but nodded. We ate in silence for the remainder of our time. Before long, we finished and we needed to go to work. "How about I give you a ride?"

"Thanks," I said before she led me to a regular grey sedan. We hopped inside and drove off, with me telling her all the directions to Rocque Records. Soon enough, we made it. I got off and turned to her open window. "Thanks again for the lift and for letting me stay over."

"It was good meeting you, Carlos," she smiled. I spotted her phone on the passenger's seat so I reached in and grabbed it. I quickly typed my contact before giving it back. She looked confused.

"My number. I would like to meet up again," I smiled.

"Actually," she began. I raised an eyebrow. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

I grinned. "I'll see you then." With that said, I tapped the roof before watching her disappear into the main road. That felt good and now I can't wait until tomorrow. I wonder what she has planned. Having a good feeling, I turned around and ran into the building, completely forgetting why I needed to be there until I heard their voices.

"CARLOS!"

"DOG!" Well, so much for a good day, but no way was I letting my friends and Gustavo get in the way of that. I continued to stride up to them before finally stopping.

"Carlos Garcia, reporting for duty!" I exclaimed, mocking a salute and straightening my posture. Before Gustavo could get a word in, my friends stood in front of me with angry expressions.

"Where were you?!" Kendall shouted. "We were worried when you didn't answer our calls or texts all night! We thought that something bad happened."

I rethought about the moment in the alleyway. "Something did happen, but nothing bad." Nothing bad at all.

"What do you mean?" Logan raised a curious eyebrow. I grinned crookedly.

"Like you would want to know," I chuckled. James seemed to realize something by the look of his eyes.

"You know what? I think Carlitos here had a good night," James hinted by the wiggle of his eyebrows. He guided our clearly confused friends out of the room, shooting me a look that said 'we'll talk later.' Gustavo told me to get into the booth before following them into the recording studio. I was about to walk in when I got a text. I frowned at the message. Maria pushed our date to next week, apparently, her job called in a special assignment for her and she needed to deal with it immediately.

'No worries' I replied. I wonder what her job is to make her take care of something so abruptly. I had told her everything about my job!... Except that I sing for Roque Records, and that I'm not a bodyguard, and that I'm famous and a part of a band. But other than that, I told her everything about my life! She's a mystery to me. Obviously, she doesn't want to tell me what's up, but what if I follow her to work to see what she does?

I ponder that idea as I finally head into the recording booth and meet the others.

When I had arrived back at the Palm Woods, my friends kept giving me large grins. I smiled back awkwardly, knowing that it was unusual and a little suspicious. However, the moment I stepped in 2J, I was surprised by a small surprise of Mrs. Knight and Katie, who was standing near a large plate of corn dogs and other goodies.

"What's all this?" I asked as we stepped further into the room.

"Well, this is a little surprise that we've prepared for you," Mrs. Knight hinted. I was still confused. She elaborated by pulling out the police training academy pamphlet that I had left on my desk. "I saw that you were interested in it so, with a little convincing, we managed to place you in the program for tomorrow."

My grin dropped instantly. Tomorrow? I will be gone for three weeks and I'll leave… tomorrow? But what about Maria? She thinks that I've already trained for the force. I'll be leaving without explanation! Then she'll really know I lied.

"Carlos, is there something wrong?" Kendall placed a hand on my shoulder. I snapped back into reality before smiling widely. It was a little forced, considering the situation I've found myself in.

"No way, dude! This is awesome," I exclaimed before looking at Mrs. Knight. "Thank you for giving me this. I've been looking for something to help my future career and I really like helping people. I think this is a great opportunity. But…," I bit my lip.

"What?" Katie frowned a bit.

I still need to talk to someone. "... Will Gustavo allow it? I won't be there to practice," I frowned. James chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, dude. We took care of him," he smirked.

"With the help of Kelly," Logan added with a similar smile.

"Now, are we just going to stand around or are we going to eat?" Kendall declared, which everyone quickly agreed to. As I sat down at the table with a plate filled with some corn dogs while everyone chatted, I frowned at the thought of leaving everything so quickly. Aren't I rushing this? What use will I have with this training and being away from my family?

What's the point without being with her?

Later that night, I had snuck out of the apartment. I left a note for everyone before packing a duffel bag and leaving. I wrote to them that I was getting an early start so they didn't have to drive me, but in reality, I was taking a taxi to Maria's house.

I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. Even if I'm staying away for only three weeks, I doubt that she'll remember me.

As I stood in front of her front door, I began to have second thoughts. I didn't want to bug her, nor did I want to leave without saying goodbye. So, as I did with the members in 2J, I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

'Hello, Maria.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving for a special assignment that my boss gave me. I'll be gone for three weeks so I won't be seeing you and there won't be phones allowed, so calling or texting you will not be an option. Just, when I come back, I will go straight to you. I know this isn't a proper goodbye but I didn't want to disturb you so late.

I'll see you in three weeks…

Carlos G.'

I placed the note in her mailbox and sighed quietly. Well, this is it. However, before I could even walk off the porch, a car appeared to move near the driveway. It was pretty dark, so I doubted they could see me as I could see them. I nervously looked around before panicking and ran to the side of the house, kneeling to hide within the shadows.

The dark expensive sports car silently parked in the driveway. Then two figures came out of the car before walking up and stopping at the front porch. I don't know why but I felt fear wash over me. Were they burglars? Hitmen? They were so close to me that I could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"We're making the drop in two days," a large muscular man spoke, his voice deep and quiet. He also had a slight Hispanic accent with his voice.

"And you're sure that the Suckers will be there for the trade? We wouldn't want the same thing happening like last time," another voice spoke. This one I recognized as Maria's instantly. But who were the Suckers? What was the drop-off? What happened the previous time?

"We've scoped out the location. The location has three exits but, with the number of our men, we'll have the deal secured," the man reassured.

"Alright. Gather the Garcia family, we'll have this trade in our favor. But, if they try anything, send them a message," Maria instructed.

"Yes, ma'am," the dude nodded before leaving her alone. But I continued to stay where I was, watching Maria's silhouette intensely. She turned around but stopped short when she saw my note. She took it out of the mailbox before reading it. I heard Maria sigh in an almost depressed manner before entering her home. I finally took this queue to leave. After I've ordered another taxi and waited, I pulled out my phone and typed up the two family's last names. Something about their names seemed familiar, they just seemed important to me for a strange reason.

When my search was completed, I could have felt my heart-stopping. All over the news, the Garcia family is a Mexican cartel. The Suckers are a minor gang. The Garcias are the top and most dangerous gang, who conduct in drug trades and have acted in ending multiple victims. That's where I heard them from – the news! The police can't seem to catch them as every lead they tried to use would end up some of their officers dead. The family takes up half of the city of Los Angeles entirely.

If this is true and the same family that was mentioned in the conversation I heard, then this means trouble. But what I want to know is – why is Maria a part of the drug trade?

Before I could think of anything, my taxi arrived. As I entered and told my driver the destination, I realized that I knew a vital piece of information. The drop-off was in two days, and the cartel family and neighborhood gang are going to be there.

Yet, instead of going to the police, I keep this to myself. I believe that Maria isn't a part of what I think she is. I just hope she isn't. I wouldn't know what I would do if that were true. I only pray that the three weeks end sooner than expected so I can get proper answers.

TBC...