Day Seven:

Friday, July 14th

Laguna Beach, California

Jasper

Everything in this house was starting to lose Bean's smell. It fucking made my heart ache. If I had the energy, I would be more fucked up then I was, but I had entered a stage of Zombie. Sleep continued to elude me, and I was on my tenth cup of coffee, but it didn't seem to be helping. My brain function lagged and the world had a fuzzy haze to it.

Hell, some things around me felt like a hallucination.

Except for the news, that shit was my reality.

"Three vehicles were burning after what looked like a coordinated rocket-propelled grenade attack using IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. The same type of attacks have been used by the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan."

The television above my head had reported my nightmare all morning. I tried to disassociate myself from it all; otherwise, I would still see that guy's face. The hollowness in his eyes as the life had been ripped from him. No wonder Edward was so broken, and I felt like an asshole for never truly understanding.

I took a sip of my hot coffee as the jaunty music signaled a new email from Elena. My stomach plummeted, and that nagging fear was eating away at me again.

Edward's demeanor was a complete one-eighty from mine. He reveled in the carnage, but as he told me, killing these fuckers got us that much closer to Bean.

He said, "They sure don't waste any time." As I stepped up to the second level of our living room, he added, "They want to see you."

The email reads:

Mr. Nothing Personal

Town Beach.

One hour.

Come alone. :(

The panic crashed over me like a tidal wave, and I backed up, trying to escape it all. Edward followed me until my back hit the railing.

"I don't know, man."

They knew it was us. That was obvious. I was the weakest one to break. Why else would they want just me?

Edward didn't see it that way.

It was an opportunity for me to steer them elsewhere. They figured Edward out. He was the guy who would smile in your face and then stab you in the back. I was the honest one who couldn't lie.

That was their perception, but Edward said they were wrong.

I could lie and be convincing.

He had faith in me.

"Remember the drill," Edward said, gripping me tightly by the neck. "Look them right in the eyes. There's only one thing on your mind, one thing. It's 'fuck you, you've got Bean.' I've got your back." I nodded as my chest rapidly went up and down. "And watch your breathing."

The town beach was busy, which gave me some comfort. The cartel was deadly, but I didn't think they were dumb enough to execute me publicly and with so many witnesses. Also, Edward was about a hundred yards away, overlooking the meeting, and recruiting Doc and Sam as his snipers.

It was about five minutes till noon when Alex, Jaime, and some other guy, I'd never seen before, arrived at the beach. They walked toward me fast and with purpose. Man, I was fucking nervous, but I was ready. No matter what, Bean was my sole focus! That girl was my wife and one of my deepest loves. Without her, shit just wasn't complete. These motherfuckers deserved everything they got – they were the ones who took her to force Edward and me into a deal that we didn't want to make.

Yes, I had to remember that Elena and her pack of wolves were the ones who caused this mess.

They were the enemy.

So, stay focused, I told myself, and don't let them trip you. Because they are not going to win. We are.

Incidentally, two bicycle cops passed, but they were no help against the fucking cartel, and for a moment, I did not feel safe, even with the law around.

Which seemed funny to me, you know?

These tools used to be our enemy.

Alex and Jaime greeted the cops politely by saying, "Fellas, good afternoon."

The cops respond in kind, and I want to yell out – Assholes, those are the bad guys! Right there, in your face!

But no one wanted to deal with the actual murderers. Instead, they wasted their time on an indie business like mine, which was only trying to help people with their ailments.

Alex approached me first and said, "So, we have a problem."

I stood to greet him, and Jaime and the mystery guest rushed up to me, trying to intimidate me.

Alex asked where I was last night.

"I was at home," I said, and the man I didn't know clicked his tongue. My eyes shot to him and narrowed. "Who the fuck is this guy?"

It irritated me. The email had demanded it be just me, and they bring a newbie, as if some kind of intimidation tactic.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I would later learn the prick to be Lado, Elena's hired thug. He was the fucker who tormented our girl. If I had known, I might have killed him.

Fuck, that's not me. Even as big as a monster as he was, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

He barely glanced over his sunglasses and tilted his head at me. "An amigo, amigo," he said, then like he was Cool-Hand-Fucking-Luke, he pushed his sunglasses back up to cover his eyes.

What the fuck? I thought, when has being an amigo ever meant anything to you, amigo? But whatever, neither Alex nor Jaime seemed inclined to explain, so I just said, "Huh."

Moving on, Jaime spoke up, "Three of our cars were hit last night. Seven men are soon to be buried."

That's where I acted surprised. "What? That was you guys? I saw it on the news. This is fucking great."

All three of them were staring, trying to gauge the truth, and I felt my heart rate speed up; it was easy for me to start spinning out of control, but I heard Edward's voice loud and clear: "Fuck you!" he shouted. "You've got Bean."

My back straightened, and I spoke out more confidently. "You know, I've been in this business for years and have never had a person killed."

Alex and Jaime looked at each other, and I thought, Yeah, assholes, you're the problem.

Lado just smiled at me.

I continued to criticize their incompetence. "And now you're telling me, some of your people are dead? This loss better not cut into our share."

Lado asked, "Where's the other one?"

His question threw me off. "What?"

"Your other amigo, where is he?" He clarified.

I said, "You asked me to come alone." I glanced over at Alex and Jaime, wondering if I got the email wrong.

Lado assumed I was talking to him and gestured toward his good ear. "Hmm?"

So, I repeated, raising my voice slightly. "You asked me to come alone."

He looked at Alex in surprise. "You did?!"

What the fuck? Were these people not communicating with each other, or did the prick invite himself last-minute?

Alex replied, "I did."

I quickly scanned up the hill where Edward, Doc, and Sam were watching it all go down. Oh, yeah, I almost fucking forgot. Even Wild Wiley was up there recording the conversation.

In one way or another, I was protected.

Lado inhaled deeply on his cigarette and side-eyed me, all speculative and shit.

"Don't even go there, man. We had nothing to do with this. Maybe you should look at your own men," I snapped.

Alex laughed. "Our people know better than that."

They probably did, but these fuckers couldn't prove that Edward and I had anything to do with it. If they could, we would be dead. Alex must have assumed Dennis was staying loyal to them. Ha! That asshole was only dedicated to the money.

No, we were all on our own here, and I had to remember that.

But what would save me most of all was confidence. I had to lead with it. They couldn't argue against it.

I knew redirecting the conversation was a powerful tool, so that's what I did.

"Whatever, man. Just fucking solve it," I said. "Okay? I want to talk to Bella."

Alex scoffed. "Yeah?

"Proof of life." I stepped up to Alex and got in his face, aggressively inserting my dominance. "Like everyone else, we work on incentives."

Alex said noncommittally, "We'll see."

"Hmmm," I said with a glare.

That fucker had no real power; he was just an errand boy for Elena.

Alex and Jaime turned and walked away from me, but Lado leveled his gaze and flicked his cigarette at my feet.

I nodded at him, basically saying, same to you, puto.

Lado jogged to catch up to Alex and Jaime.

"Fuck!" I exhaled, relieved that I made it through.

They were out of my earshot now, but Wiley followed them, hearing the trio's conversation and recording it.

Lado asked, "What do you think?"

"I think he's telling the truth. They don't have the balls to rob us," Alex said.

"I'm not so sure, man," Lado said, filled with distrust, and with good fucking reason.

That whole thing had Edward written all over it, but Alex quickly dismissed him.

He was more concerned about what Elena might think of the loss of men and money. She still didn't know. Thank God Alex was a one-track-mind kind of guy. If he or Jaime had listened to Lado, things would have ended quite differently in this story.

They would have killed Bean.

Then us.

But that wouldn't be the end, at least not on day seven.

No, it was time to step it up and commence phase two.

Thanks for reading!!!