Chapter 3

I'm finally coming back from my training at the police academy. It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. No, scratch that, it was brutal! I could have sworn that my legs and arms were about to fall off at some point in time. After I graduated to be allowed to become a police officer, I took the opportunity straight away.

Why you may ask? Well, I've been thinking. If Maria is really connected with the Mexican cartel, the police could take out two birds with one stone if I supply information to them. This would be perfect. If the family is gone, then Maria would be safe and not need to busy herself with drugs anymore.

"I'm home!" I exclaimed as I walked through the door of 2J. I tossed my duffel bag on the couch, my eyes suddenly catching on the mirror. Thanks to the boot camp, I've gained a little more muscle than before. My strength increased, along with agility and skill set. I looked at my clothes. My style changed a lot since the sergeant wouldn't approve of improper attire. We had to wear grey shirts that tuck in our dark blue pants. We had to wear these clothes and nothing more for three weeks. Honestly, it feels more comfortable this way too.

"Carlos, you're back!" I turned to Katie running up and engulfing me in a big hug. I laughed as I returned it.

"Hey, Kit-Kat, you miss me?" I grinned as we pulled away. She nodded. "Where's everyone else?"

"Mom's at the store, she'll be home soon, the guys should be down at the pool," Katie answered. "So, how was boot camp?"

"It would be fun if I erase the excessive training courses and shouts from our commanders," I shrugged. I then gripped her shoulders dramatically. "Worst of all – they didn't have corn dogs!"

Katie rolled her eyes amusingly. "There are plenty of corn dogs here to fulfill your appetite." I grinned. "I'm going to the park. See ya later?"

"Yup." I watched her leave. I heaved a sigh before walking over to the fridge and pulling out one corn dog before popping it into the oven. I then yawned as I leaned against the counter. I'm so tired, I barely had any sleep the past few weeks. I have been so focused on research concerning the cartel family that I'm pretty sure I learned the entire case.

As I waited for my corn dog, I pulled out my phone and dialed the LAPD. I began working there in two days and I wanted to contact the chief who gave me the opportunity of becoming an officer. So, after a few rings and redirecting my calls a few times, I heard his voice.

"This is Chief Castline," the man introduced.

"This is Carlos Garcia. I'm going to be joining your department in two days," I shortly explained.

"Ah, yes, what can I do for you, Mr. Garcia?" Chief Castline asked. I heard papers rustling on the other end of the line.

"I've been looking into the Garcia cases, about the drug cartels. Now, from what I can see, the police haven't had a proper lead in a while so I-"

"Now I'm going to stop you right there," the Chief cut me off. "This case is under our best detectives. You don't have to worry, you'll be starting traffic duty on Monday."

"But, sir, I have information that can help this case," I persisted.

"No, you think you have information. I don't want you anywhere near this case, Mr. Garcia," he snapped. I sighed in frustration but before I hanged up, I added a key point in my argument.

"Are you aware of the drug trade between the family and the Suckers three weeks ago?" I asked. There was a pause on the other end.

"... How do you know about that? The media wasn't informed of this," Castline growled.

"You just have to listen to me, I have an informer that can supply your men to certain locations where the family will be," I explained seriously.

"We'll talk on Monday," he said before hanging up. I sighed heavily as I slowly slid back my phone into my pocket.

"What was that about?" I jumped out of my skin as I whirled around to face my confused friends. I chuckled, placing a hand across my heart.

"You scared me," I breathed. "But that wasn't anything important, just work stuff."

James and Kendall wiped fake tears from their eyes, dramatically sniffing as they looked at me.

"Our little Carlitos is becoming a man," Kendall fanned his eyes. I rolled my eyes amusingly.

"We're glad to see you back, buddy," Logan came up to me and gave me a quick hug. "So, how was training?"

"I'm glad that it's over," I groaned as I pulled out my corn dog from the oven. I ignored the heat before biting into it. "So, what have I missed?"

"Nothing much," James smiled. "Gustavo was a pain in the butt with us ever since you left."

I winced. Kendall jabbed James in the stomach, sending him a look. "Sorry. Gustavo is going to be mad now that I have another job and won't be focusing on music as much," I frowned. "I'm going to be holding you guys back."

"Carlos, you're not holding us back," Kendall reassured as he put a grip on my shoulder. "Never are. Never will. And you don't have to worry about Gustavo, you have part-time, remember? Plus, everyone knows that you dedicate your work more than anyone else, so he'll know that you'll do your best."

"Thanks," I smiled slightly, feeling my heart swell up a bit. "I'm going to see you guys later. I have to meet someone."

"Hey, you still didn't tell us – by us I mean me – what happened three weeks ago when you disappeared," James narrowed his eyes. I gulped.

"Oh! Well, look at the time! I better be going, see ya later!" I rushed out of the apartment, hearing my friends yell after me. That was probably not a good idea if I didn't want to be suspicious-looking. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

As planned, I had arrived at Maria's house. I couldn't contain my excitement as I knocked on the front door, impatiently tapping my foot as I waited for the door to open. Soon enough, it did open. But it didn't reveal anyone I expected.

A tall, muscular man stood in the doorway. His body was covered from tattoos, most of it was covered with a leather jacket and dark blue jeans. His glare stared right into my soul, but this only tightened my blank look.

"What do you want?" The big man snapped. His gruff voice sent shivers down my spine and, by the look on his face, he noticed. Was he the ex-boyfriend?

"Where's Maria?" That was the first thing that blurted out of my mouth. I tried to look behind the huge guy but his body took up most of the door.

"I don't know who you're talking about," he answered with a strange smile. The glint in his eyes told me otherwise.

"Maria? Are you there?" I called into the home. I heard some sort of shuffling inside, but no voices. I glared at the large scary man. "Where's Maria? What did you do to her?"

"Sorry, I still don't know who you're talking about. Bye." He then slammed the door in my face. I staggered back, shocked by that. This is definitely Maria's house! So where is she? I then heard loud noises coming from the inside. I frowned in worry, what was happening? But I decided that it wasn't the best time to start asking questions. I'm the type of person to shoot first and ask questions later. So, I pulled my hockey helmet out of thin air and placed it on my head. I gave it my two lucky taps before backing up and letting out a battle cry before ramming into the door.

It slammed into the floor. My eyes scanned around until it locked onto Maria, who was tied down in a chair and gagged, with the big guy standing over her. I glared at the man, who seemed just as angry.

"Let her go," I ordered, getting into a fighting position. This guy is bigger and way stronger than I am, I didn't stand a chance and he seemed to notice that.

"And what are you going to do about it?" He mocked. What was I going to do?

"What do you want with her?" I avoided the question by asking one of my own.

"Nothing you need to know about, kid," he chuckled. The man then looked at Maria. "Is this your new boyfriend? I don't think Chris would like that."

Chris Gutierrez is the boss of the Suckers, I remembered reading. He leads a brutal force and is extremely powerful and intimidating, despite his gang not being noticed much. This guy is crazy rich and heavily guarded. So that means that Maria… dated Chris? What rank did it make her? Why is she on Team Garcia now? I was really confused but I refocused my attention on the two in front of me. Maria hadn't even taken her eyes off me, which was a little creepy.

"So, who are you?" I asked the guy as I tried to stall. I looked with my peripherals, trying to find some sort of weapon to take this guy down. But there wasn't anything nearby. I then looked at Maria again. She raised her eyebrows multiple times before looking in another direction.

"Since I'm going to kill you, there's no necessary reason why I should tell you," the guy shrugged.

"But if you're going to kill me, then where is the harm in telling me?" I raised an eyebrow at the man and Maria. What is she saying?

"Mm, good point," the guy nodded. "The name's Butch, that's all you need to know."

"Why are you here for Maria?" I asked, taking a quick peek at her. Is she… signaling me? When Butch turned to Maria, I quickly looked in the direction she keeps looking at. It's just the TV stand. I looked back at Maria, who seemed restless as ever. While Butch was distracted, I hovered my hand over the stand. She didn't react.

"Maria has betrayed the Suckers," Butch said as he spaced out. I hovered my hand somewhere else, but Maria didn't do anything. I moved my hand to one of the drawers and her eyebrows wiggled. I furrowed my own eyebrows. I slowly kneeled down and silently opened the cabinet. I stuck my hand inside and I grasped something rectangular and heavy. Slowly, I pulled it out.

It was a black pistol. I widened my eyes. She doesn't think that I'm going to…

"You shouldn't have run away," Butch whispered as he laid a hand on her face. I felt something change in me. I needed to protect her, this is my job! My mind was shouting at me that I needed to protect Maria…

So I listened.

I lifted the gun with newfound determination and turned off the safety. A moment later, a shot rang out. Butch's leg leaked blood which caused him to fall to the floor in pain.

"You'll pay for this!" Butch shouted before pulling out his own gun. I reacted by shooting the weapon out of his hand.

"Hands where I can see them!" I ordered as I redirected my gun at him. Butch grumbled before doing so. To my surprise, Maria's rope binds slid off of her hands. She quickly got up and tied the criminal with the remaining rope. I pulled out my phone and dialed the police. They're going to arrive in five minutes. I looked at Maria as she grabbed the other gun. "How'd you get free?"

"Girl never reveals her secrets," she winked at me. I sighed before handing her the pistol, but she pushed it back toward me. "You keep it. I'm assuming you don't have one."

"What makes you say that?" Oh no. Does she not think I'm a cop? I cleared my throat as I put the gun behind in my pants.

"Bodyguards carry tasers, not guns," she smirked in a pleasurable way. I let out a sigh of relief when she turned to face Butch. The big guy seemed pretty angry at us as the scowl never seemed to leave his face. As we waited for the police, I decided that this was my time to get information.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" I demanded. "I know you are a part of the Mexican cartel."

"How do you know about that?" She whirled around so I could see her shocked expression.

"When I came over to drop off the note three weeks ago, I overheard you talking to someone else about a drop-off involving the family and the Suckers," I explained quite snappishly. "I did a little research and found out who they are. So will you quit lying to me and tell me who you really are?"

Maria looked at me for a long moment before sighing. "My full name is Maria Garcia, I used to be a part of the Suckers before the Garcias adopted me," she began. "The reason why I got into the drug trafficking business was that my boyfriend, Chris Gutierrez, was a part of it. I was his second in command. When I broke up with him, I didn't want to be in his gang anymore, so I got him back by losing a large part of his territory. The Garcias saw the chance to swoop in and steal the spot and manage to notice what I did. They offered me to be a part of their schemes to help take down the Suckers while also offering me protection. So I took the offer. I quickly moved up in the ranks before I became El Curso's most trusted."

El Curso, from what I remember, is the big bad wolf of the Garcia family. He was just as mean, powerful, and rich as Chris – if not more. "Why are you still working for them when you could have gone to the police?" I crossed my arms.

"Do you think I want to break the law and work for those people?" She said angrily. "I'm working for them because of protection. If I didn't, Chris would have sent someone to kill me – like Butch."

I stared at her for a moment. "I don't want to do this anymore, Carlos," she sighed tiredly. "I just want to end my life right here and now. But that's not going to solve anything. This isn't going to end, someone is going to die and that's going to be me."

I frowned. She just killed my mood in two seconds flat. I opened my mouth in an attempt to prove her wrong, that she isn't going to die and she won't need to worry because I'll protect her. But the police busted through the door and went straight for the apprehended man on the floor.

I told the officers what happened – though I never exchanged the information involving Maria and how Butch was shot. They seemed to believe it and sent him away. That left the house quiet again. It was eerie and now I could feel the tension rising in the room. I turned to Maria, who seemed to be deep in thought.

I didn't think twice before I wrapped my arms around her. She tensed, but when I rubbed circles on her back, she leaned in closer.

"I'm sorry you have to live this way," I mumbled in her ear. "If I could turn back time, I would prevent you from even meeting Chris so you wouldn't have to live in fear. But Maria, now that I know, I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you. I'll help you get out of this, trust me."

Slowly, we pulled away, but we stayed in each other's arms. Like instinct, we closed our eyes and leaned in to share a passionate kiss. I felt her trust for me from the simple gesture that made me smile. Finally, we pulled away for a breath of air. We placed our foreheads against each other and smiled.

"I missed you, Carlos," she whispered. I chuckled lightly.

"I missed you too."

TBC...