AN: Sooo, everyone wants an HEA, and I kind of figured y'all would. Hey, I'm right there with you. There's still time to change my mind, right? So, this is tomorrows update. I'll try to finish the next chap, but if not, next post will be on Thursday. I should wait until midnight, but I'm an impatient mo-fo.

Day Four:

Tuesday, July 11th

Rockpile, Laguna Beach, California

Edward

In the early years, Jasper and I had been paying Charlie, Bella's father, to be our eyes and ears in the DEA, but when he got transferred to Los Angeles, it no longer made sense to keep him employed. It also eliminated the conflicting interests between him as a business partner slash father-in-law. About five years ago, Charlie hooked us up with Dennis Cain. He was a high-level drug enforcement agent and worked closely with the cartel and government agencies. The guy was a fucking tool, but I didn't have to like him to do business with him. If you paid a guy like Dennis well, he would do just about anything illegal to keep your brand legal—or, more like, give it the appearance that it was legal.

Whenever we felt some heat, we would call him to see what the word on the street was, and a lot of low-ranking individuals would be dealt with on the sly. It was a sound system, too. No one would go to the cops, and the beatings, murders, or what have you would go unsolved. That's why, when Jasper saw the video, the first person he called up was Dennis, because if anyone knew what was going on, that would be him. I didn't need Dennis to confirm shit for me, but Jasper was grasping at straws, looking for a way out. The last thing he wanted to do was go to war.

However, that's precisely where we were headed.

Dennis met us at Rockpile around eleven in the morning, rolling up in his $70,000 Cadillac. The man was not living within the means of a meager federal agent.

"Nice day," he said as he tossed the remainder of whatever he ate into the trash bin. "But I shouldn't be seen in the same zip code as you guys."

"Would you rather we come down to your neck of the woods in San Diego with your gift bag, Dennis?" I replied.

"Take it easy, sailor," he said, palms up and facing me. "What's got your panties in a wad now?"

I led him and Jasper away from the parking lot and down the stairs toward the beach.

"A vid clip," Jasper answered. "From the Baja cartel, I think. Seven decapitations."

"Talk 'bout your hostile takeover. BC moving in on you guys?" Dennis asked, pretending to be surprised.

I suspected that he knew more than he was saying, but stayed quiet and kept on walking.

"Come on, Dennis. What the fuck is going on?" Jasper couldn't hide the edge in his voice.

"What's going on is that you're not the only indie frogs on the stove, my man. They're killing each other down there in the Mexico way. And that's why they're moving north. The forks are out, and the pies are only getting smaller."

"Why's that? Too many cops with their hands in the pie, Dennis?" I asked.

As much as we needed him, I wasn't blind to the corruption of law enforcement, and I'm not sure why that fucking rubbed me wrong.

"That's just it," Dennis said. "We used to keep the animals in the zoo, but now the war is on drugs. It's like the war in Iraq, Eddie-boy."

Keeping Animals in the zoo wasn't profitable for the elite, but if you were to create a need by limiting access, you had a goldmine on your hands.

"Your point is what?" Jasper asked, annoyed. "Why is it that they want our business when they put out 35 million pounds of grass last year?"

"Because your THC levels are off the fucking charts. It's like 30%, right?"

"33, but it depends," Jasper said.

"Yeah, and their schwag? 3-5? They're Wal-Mart, and you're J and E. They want a J and E section in aisle 3. What's so hard to understand?"

We've reached the landing, and it turned into a broader deck with a lot more space and exit routes. I stood close to Dennis and studied his facial expressions to gauge what truths, if any, came out of his mouth.

"Fine, tell them to move their shit indoors and buy their own fucking lamps," Jasper said.

"Welcome to the recession, boys. You should be grateful you still have a product people want," Dennis said.

"So, you don't mind if your envelope gets a little thinner, then?" I said goading because, fuck him.

"You guys, you guys. You have a clean business with no problems. There wouldn't be a J and E without Dennis. So, my envelope stays the same," he said. I smirked at him. The fucker caught on to me and shifted gears. "It's just a matter of time until this shit is legalized. Want my advice?"

No, I thought, but Jasper eagerly held on to his every word.

"Don't fuck with Wal-Mart," Dennis said.

I scoffed. Of course, he would say that. Why would he want to stop his fucking bank flow?

Dennis looked at me, but I gave him nothing. He shrugged. "I'd take the deal instead of decapitation. You know, keep banging that sweet California ass."

"That's it?" Jasper asked, stunned.

"You guys had a good run. Embrace the change," Dennis said, giving us a 'fuck you' wave as he turned on his heel and headed back up the stairs. "I'll see you."

"Hey, wait up!" Jasper followed after him. "Is that new stuff helping with the chemo?"

Jasper made a unique blend for Dennis' wife, who had uterine cancer. It was the kind of chronic to that eased the constant vomiting, extreme pain, and lack of appetite. It was a proper thing to do, and it was unsurprising because Jasper fucking cared. His humanity was his default setting. Me? I had no feelings about it. People got cancer. They died. Que Sera, Sera. I was removed from humanity; that was my default setting.

I zoned out from their uncomfortable conversation and focused on the ocean.

Jasper joined me a second later. "You think he's in on it?"

"Embrace the change?" I mocked. "What do you think?"

AN: I put this into Ai to check the grammar and it only answered Jasper's last question. Here is what it said:

Yes, Dennis is involved in the cartel's activities. His role is to provide information about the competition and help the Baja cartel expand its operations.

Alllllrighty then, thanks, Ai :/