A True Queen

Paring: OC/James, Teresa/Guero

Summary: it isn't Teresa's future self that guides her; it's Concetta. A woman who's seen and endured some twisted shit. Concetta is the definition of a survivor and she'll protect Teresa with her life.

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EJERCICIO NUEVE

Toma todo lo que puedas

It had taken them a little while to get back to the warehouse but when they did, James jumped right into action upon seeing one of his men injured. He surveyed the scene with his military training and quickly realised it wasn't looking too good.

"Where's the doctor?" James asked Charger

Charger shook his head, "In surgery. He won't make it for a while yet, mano"

"Shit!" James ran a hand through his hair before looking over at one of the tables and clearing it off quickly. He grabbed Ernesto's arm as Charger grabbed the other. James was about to snap at Teresa to help but was slightly surprised when he spotted Valentina pushing Teresa out of the way and grabbing Ernesto's legs.

"Let's go!" Valentina said, her face giving nothing away as she helped haul Ernesto onto the table.

"What do we do man?" Charger asked hurriedly

"¿Tienes un doctor en camino?" Valentina asked on a sigh as she looked between the both of them, waiting expectantly for an answer.

James wasn't sure why Valentina of all people would even care. Though he had come to realise that Valentina did a lot of things that suggests she cares... all the while insisting she doesn't. James wouldn't be able to say why - but he felt like he could trust Valentina at the moment. If she knew how to help better than he does, then he wouldn't refuse it.

"Yeah" James nodded, "He won't make it until then if we don't stop the bleeding"

Valentina hummed her understanding but her attention was diverted when Ernesto regained consciousness. The man started groaning and grunting in pain. Valentina moved quickly as she snapped her fingers at Teresa, "Here"

Teresa looked startled and scared and confused all at once. But she moved forward as instructed after only a second of hesitation.

"What do I do?" Teresa nearly squeaked out

"Keep his legs up" Valentina barked the order and effectively snapping Teresa out of her momentary panic. "Keep his legs up!" Valentina snapped again.

Teresa surged forward to grab Ernesto's legs to keep them elevated.

"AY!" Ernesto bellowed once again in pain

"Move your hands" Valentina instructed the man who had been curling into himself. When Ernesto didn't comply she huffed and forced him to lay flat on the counter top.

James watched as Valentina looked up at him and met his eyes - James of course, from his years in the military knew the basics of what to do if wounded. Not to mention the many bullet wounds he'd seen in his years with the cartel. He knew what they needed to do in order to give Ernesto time to hold out for the doctor to get here. They didn't have the equipment to pull those bullets out right here without the doctor...

That didn't mean they couldn't keep Ernesto alive until then, though.

And that was exactly what they were going to do!

James didn't hesitate, understanding immediately what Valentina was thinking. He grabbed a nearby cloth and some alcohol. It wasn't going to do much, but it would do something, and at the moment that happened to be all that mattered.

"Hey! Hey!" Valentina tapped Ernesto's cheek harshly when the man started to close his eyes again. "You stay awake now, yes?"

Ernesto attempted to nod but only managed to cringe as he yelled in pain.

James didn't waste any time attempting to use the cloth as a makeshift compression for the entry wounds. There were three bullet holes in Ernesto's chest and James knew the guy would be lucky if made it until tonight at this rate. However, they'd attempt to stop the bleeding anyway and just hope for it to work out in the end.

"Hey" Camilla greeted quickly as she walked into the room and surveyed the situation. Camila's eyes flickered between Charger who was holding Ernesto's arms and legs down, himself and Valentina who were keeping pressure on the three wounds. Camilla looked at him with raised brows and narrowed eyes - her silent question clear to him as she gave a pointed look at Valentina.

He did not have time for this!

"Where the hell is the doctor?" James asked instead of commenting on something Camila was reading too much into. Of course he knew that Camila had her suspicions about him liking Valentina - and he did, like Valentina, more than Teresa... but that's it. There was nothing more than a begrudging respect that he'd never admit to having.

And that's the truth.

A truth, that didn't happen to matter at this exact moment...

"He's five minutes away" Camila eventually answered him

James sighed, "I hope we have five minutes"

"This thing is all over the news" Camila said instead of acknowledging the man bleeding out on the table in front of her. "How exposed are we?"

"A maid saw Valentina and Teresa's face" James sighed but his focus was not on Camila at the moment as Ernesto squirmed in pain. Making it harder to keep a hold of the wounds that continued to leak blood.

"How?!" Camilla barked

James looked up but was surprised to see that the question wasn't directed at him this time. Though he didn't envy Valentina for being on this side of Camila's bad mood... he had gotten the impression that loosing the maid was Teresa's fault. After all, James knew how much Teresa liked to play hero whenever she got the chance. He didn't think Valentina would be reckless enough to willingly leave behind a witness who could ID them.

"She got the jump on Teresa. I had taken the gun with me when I went to place the tracker thing" Valentina answered in a clipped tone that said she wasn't really keen on talking about it at the moment either.

"Where's Teresa?" Camila demanded

James sighed, "I don't know. I think in the back" he shrugged having seen Teresa make a quick get away a few minutes before Camila had walked in here.

James sighed again once Camila walked away and instructed Charger to grab two other people to come and hold Ernesto down. He knew he was gonna have to get cleaned up and go deal with whatever blacklash this shit had caused.

When two of the other guys walked in James nodded to his hands and slowly switched with them.

"Hold this down until the doctor gets here, okay?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. Though he did wait to watch Valentina get relieved of keeping pressure on the other wound.

Valentina blew out a breath when she let go. She shook her head slightly before looking over at him.

James shrugged a shoulder, "It's been a long day. We still have work to do - why don't you go get cleaned up, alright?" he suggested

Valentina nodded and walked away to do just that. Apparently not needing any prompting after the day they'd had. It had been hell so far but it wasn't over yet.

Or at least it wasn't over yet for him...

James made quick work of getting cleaned up before he walked into the little office room they have at the warehouse. He spotted Camila watching the news. He walked in and stoically stood beside Camila as the news announcer began to show pictures of the aftermath of the shootout.

"Three people may be dead following a shootout and horrific accident on Interstate 30 today. The incident may have involved rival gangs and drug cartels..."

Camila didn't look impressed.

James turned to Teresa who had just walked into the room. "Give me the info you have on the maid" he demanded knowing he was going to have to do some clean-up to remedy the situation. "The maid in the room" he prompted looking at Teresa expectantly

Teresa hesitated before saying, "She won't say anything. She was scared"

James resisted the urge to shoot her right then and there for the bullshit she was attempting to pull. How many times would he have to remind Teresa that she couldn't do things her way... that she doesn't call the shots, not even over her own actions. James didn't understand what part of that Teresa wasn't comprehending. But this situation needed fixing, and fast.

He didn't have time for this argument again!

"This isn't a robbery anymore, Teresa" James warned, "It's a murder investigation. The cops, they tend to lose their sense of humour at this point... we can't be tied to this. She's the only one who saw your face"

Teresa looked up at him in defiance, "I didn't get her name" she lied through her teeth.

He knew a lie when he heard one.

James stared her down, "I specifically said if you got in a situation like this, to take a picture of her ID" he reminded her again. He truly didn't understand why Teresa was willing to risk her own freedom for a maid's life.

"She was scared. I threatened her" Teresa continued to stick to her story

"So you didn't get it?" James scoffed

Teresa only nodded though as she repeated, "I didn't get her name" Teresa looked like she wasn't going to give up the ID.

Even if she'd taken the picture, James doubted she still had it now.

"What about Valentina?" James questioned and got in Teresa's face as he stared her down once again. "You're not only risking your own freedom but hers too... the maid saw her face too. She's your friend, aren't you going to protect her, Teresa?" James taunted hoping that mentioning Valentina would work on Teresa. He saw the shift in Teresa's eyes - a shift that suggested Teresa was now aware of the risk she was putting her friend in by sticking to her bullshit lie.

But Teresa obviously didn't care.

"I didn't get her ID" Teresa said once again, through this time she sounded a lot less forceful and more apologetic for what she was doing. "She's too scared to say anything" Teresa added quickly as if she could ever be certain of that.

"What's done is done" Camila cut in before James could say anything else. "Call Danny at the sheriff's office. He'll track her address for us - that is what he is paid for" Camila stated as if it were no big deal. However, James could see the way that Camila was looking at Teresa now. He knew that it meant she no longer had any trust in Teresa.

Before there had been a potential in Camila's eyes for Teresa - now there's none.

"Doctors here" Camila said as way of dismissal before she walked out of the room.

Concetta didn't feel too good about how everything went down at the hotel. It was a goddamn mess and she didn't like those. Especially not when they were completely preventable. She knew it was probably not Teresa's fault but Concetta couldn't help but be pissed with the brunette for it. Cause she knew, had she been on her own, nothing at the hotel would have been as messy. Concetta was sick of worrying about how Teresa was gonna react to what needed to be done. She was sick of having to cover for Teresa when the girl fell through.

All she had to do was keep the maid tied up!

Dios!

But Teresa was too moral and too good to do something like that, even when it put both their safety on the line. Now when someone else was offering to do what Teresa clearly couldn't - she didn't let them. Teresa had stood in front of Camila and James and lied.

Concetta didn't understand that.

She didn't want to either, cause she was perfectly fine without having stupid morals getting in the way of what she needed to do. That Florida pendejo had been right after all, she is a survivor, and she won't stop surviving for anything or anyone. This whole mess had made her question how far she was willing to go for Teresa...

Of course, she promised to look after Teresa to Guero and even if she hadn't, Teresa was a friend.

That didn't mean she was willing to die for Teresa though.

"Look Teresa" Concetta started as she held back the urge to yell and shake some sense into Teresa. "I know what you're going through, I get it, okay?"

Teresa looked at her and sighed, "I don't want anything to happen to that woman"

"At this point... that's not your decision to make" Concetta said simply but her face softened at the look in Teresa's eyes. She understood that this was hard, matters of life or death shouldn't be something a girl like Teresa has to deal with. However, it is their reality, and neither of them can escape it just yet. So they need to do what has to be done no matter how it makes them feel. Concetta sighed and squeezed Teresa's shoulder, "Its about survival. Teresa, it's that maid or us - can you honestly say you're willing to die for a perfect stranger?"

"What if there's another way?" Teresa asked

Concetta didn't really like the look in Teresa's eyes as she asked that, but wisely chose not to comment yet.

Instead she gave a small sad smile and a shrug of her shoulders. If there really is a way out then Concetta would consider taking it but until that opportunity presents itself, they'll play it safe for now.

If Teresa has a genuine idea, she wouldn't stop the younger woman from sharing it.

Teresa nodded firmly and walked away like a woman on a mission. Concetta could only watch Teresa go and hope that whatever was going on in Teresa's head wouldn't get her killed...

Concetta sat back on the mattress she and Teresa had been sharing. She let her eyes close and her body relax. If only for a moment, she could do nothing at all. All she needed was to keep her mind off of whatever Teresa was so clearly up to.

However an hour later when James stormed up to her she knew something had gone wrong.

"Where's Teresa?!" James demanded harshly

Concetta didn't flinch or give anything away as she looked him in the eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. On the inside she was worrying but it wouldn't do any of them good to let James know that.

James sighed and ran a hand down his face before looking back at her, "Valentina" he pleaded but she didn't think that name sounded right coming from him, it almost made her cringe. James continued none the wiser though. "C'mon, Valentina. Tell me what happened with the maid"

Concetta sighed, "I wasn't there. I tied the maid up and shut her in the bathroom... when I got back, Teresa said the maid was bleeding and she had to undo the ties to fix it - maid got the jump on her"

James scoffed, "We both know that's a lie"

Concetta merely shrugged

James sighed, "Get up. Your coming with me to find Teresa"

Concetta didn't argue but she was quick to follow him towards his SUV knowing that Teresa might actually be in real trouble now. It would do her good to know exactly how much James knows so that she can best protect Teresa if it comes down to that. They sat in silence as James drove but Concetta wasn't bothered by the silence - she preferred it at the moment.

She was trying to workout what Teresa had done now!

Logically she knew it likely had something to do with protecting that maid but Concetta wasn't sure what Teresa thought she could do to save the woman. It wasn't like either of them actually knew much about America... after all, they'd mostly only spent time in the warehouse or on jobs with James. Neither had been out much though out of the two of them, Concetta knew Teresa was more adjusted to America.

That didn't mean Teresa would be able to hide from James though...

And that made Concetta nervous!

Concetta pulled out her phone and sent Teresa a text demanding to know what was going on. She could only hope that Teresa would answer before things got ugly. "What happened anyway?" she asked James, needing to know what he knows.

James glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "Well, the maid was escorted from her apartment by Teresa and now they're gone"

"Yeah... well, that sounds like Teresa" Concetta didn't really know what else to say. It wasn't like she hadn't thought Teresa was thinking of doing something like that. She'd just thought Teresa would be smarter about it and not get caught or go missing.

James sighed.

"Teresa isn't meant for this type of life" Concetta mumbled softly without glancing at James, though she knew he had heard her anyway.

"But it's the one she's got at the moment" James countered with a small sigh of his own.

Concetta hummed in agreement, that's what she'd been telling Teresa for weeks now. Still it didn't seem to be getting through Teresa's head just yet. Maybe if this stunt doesn't get Teresa killed - then maybe the girl will finally learn that she doesn't control how things go at the moment.

God she really hopes so...

James pulled up something on his phone and fiddled with the buttons on the screen of the dashboard for a minute while he drove. "It's the Lo-Jack on the car" he said as explanation when she watched him check the directions again.

Concetta didn't say anything yet but she had a feeling this wouldn't be good for Teresa who didn't know she was being tracked.

They followed Teresa's direction for over half an hour before James phone rand and pulled the car over on the side of the road and got out to answer the phone. Concetta took a chance and called Teresa as quick as she could. "Teresa?" she whispered quickly

"Cett" Teresa answered, "I'm getting the maid to safety"

"I know" Concetta sighed, "James found a video of you taking the maid and leaving with them. There is a tracker in your car and we're following you in James SUV"

"Shit!" Teresa hissed

"I know... where are you? What are you doing?" Concetta rushed out, not patient enough to wait for Teresa to fulfil this stupid plan on her own.

"I have a way to get back to Mexico-" Teresa started

Concetta ground her teeth together, "Teresa! You can't-" she began but was cut off by Teresa

"I have to do this" Teresa said urgently, "We need to go back for the book... you know we do if we ever want to be free. Come with me... you just have to get away from James and I'll find us a new car. Okay?"

"Okay" she sighed not liking this one bit, but also knowing that Teresa would never be safe in Mexico with Epifanio hunting them down. It wasn't like Teresa was giving her much of a choice anyway. Teresa wasn't able to defend herself or protect herself and Concetta would be devastated if she lost the only friend she has left.

Hanging up the phone she slid it back into her pocket.

When James got back in the SUV, Concetta didn't bother even looking at him let alone saying anything. She didn't like this plan but she also didn't have a better one at the moment. There was no way she was letting Teresa go back to Mexico on her own...

Pero, a small part of her - one that she didn't understand - told her not to leave James behind either and Concetta didn't know what to make of that.

So she didn't.

She pointedly ignored the twisting of her gut at the thought that she was going to have to find a way to ditch James.

When they followed the tracker to a church Concetta sighed and looked at James. "I don't see the car here. I'll wait in the car for you" and turned her body to look out the window.

"Fine" James relented but gave her an odd look before he slipped on his sunglasses and headed into the Church without her.

Concetta sighed and waited until he was gone before she quickly jumped out of the SUV and ran. She didn't stop until she was at least a block away and slipped into a small corner store to wait where James couldn't drive by and spot her again. Pulling out her phone she dialled Teresa's number.

"Cett" Teresa answered

"Turn off the tracking device in your phone" Concetta said as she did the same, knowing James would amp up the search when he realises she's gone too.

"Done" Teresa confirmed, "Where are you?"

"About a block away from the Church we tracked your car at" Concetta looked out the window and repeated her surroundings to Teresa.

"Okay, Brenda is driving us" Teresa said, "We'll be there in a minute"

Concetta nodded and hung up the phone as she waited and watched through the window for both James and Brenda's cars. Sighing, she spotted James name flash across her screen but knew better than to answer his calls. When she finally spotted Brenda's car pull up she ran over and squeezed into the backseat ignoring the way the maid clutched her son closer to her at the sight of Concetta.

"Let's go" Concetta sighed

Brenda drove for about 40 minutes before they arrived at some factory looking place. It was already dark outside and Concetta was still feeling that uncomfortable twisting in her gut that told her she might be making a huge mistake. She wanted to turn back, wanted to pick up the phone each time James called, but she knew she couldn't. Instead she followed as they all got out of the car and headed towards the group of men hanging around waiting for them.

"You must be Teresa" one of the men shook Teresa's hand

"Give me a minute. Alright?" Concetta asked Teresa quickly before stepping away and answering the phone as James called again.

"Valentina!" James barked into the phone and without her permission, her lips quirked up into a small fond smile. "Where the hell are you?!" James demanded

"I can't tell you that, James" Concetta said softly despite the fact he sounded beyond angry at the moment.

"You and Teresa need to get back here now!" James sighed, his voice still angry but at least he wasn't yelling anymore. "I haven't told Camila yet - we can fix this... she never has to know. Just don't make this mistake. Camila will find you both, anywhere you go, she'll find you"

"I've survived this long, James, I'll be alright. I've fought people who'd make Camila up and run and I'm still standing" Concetta said with an even tone. "Pero I can't let Teresa get herself killed..."

James sighed in frustration, "I can help you, Valentina, you just have to tell me where you're going. I know that you want to protect Teresa - I can see that you're loyal... but at what price? Teresa has only ever caused you problems since she'd been here with you"

Concetta sighed, "I know" she admitted quietly before shaking her head and looking up at the stars. "You know Epifanio had Guero killed, right?"

"Yeah..." James said, confused

"Well Guero was the first person I ever actually get close to me. Teresa sees what she wants to see when she looks at me. Guero saw what more than though, I didn't tell him everything, but I let my guards down enough so he could actually get to know me. Guero knew they were going to come after him and he made me promise I'd protect Teresa... promise that I'd do my best to keep her alive and safe" Concetta whispered, "I can count the people I've cared about in my life on one hand, James. I'm gonna keep my promise cause I know Teresa won't make it more than a day on her own. Not with this half-cooked plan she's got in her head"

James sighed but didn't say anything at first. "I don't know what you want me to say, Valentina..." he trailed off with his confliction evident in his voice.

"I don't know either" Concetta admitted, "I just know that If I let Teresa do this on her own, it'll be the last thing she ever does. I'll call you later James, I promise"

James sighed just before she hung up the phone and stuffed it into her pocket before jogging over to the group that had been waiting on her. Concetta ignored the looks she was getting from Teresa and made quick work of ushering everyone into the tunnel before they could say anything on who she was calling. She didn't even know why making that phone call to James was so important - it just was.

And she didn't want to have to explain that to anyone.

It wasn't like she actually cared about James or anything... right?

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