"I'm talking about history repeating itself Gabriela"
Those were the words that were still engraved in my mind since the weird confrontation I had with Joel. The bastard hadn't said a word ever since. Choosing to give me knowing stares every time we ran into each other.
I now had my doubts about Santi and Joel was certainly enjoying it.
"So Hector tried to trick the Italians into thinking that we were plotting something against them?" Don Ernesto asked, breaking the stare I had on Joel.
I had been summoned into the meeting room and every single member of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel were currently staring back at me. I told them everything that happened when I was kidnapped and they were analyzing every detail.
"I'm not surprised" my father spoke. "Hector knows he won't stand a chance against us, it's a lost battle for his cartel."
"Who did Luca send to do the job?", my brother Martin asked me.
"Some guy named Gavin Ruozi" I muttered remembering the snarky Italian with the smug attitude.
"Isn't he delightful?" Alex said sarcastically. "He acts like such a prick every time we run into him."
They know him?
"Have all of you met him before?" I asked the whole room.
They all gave nodded looking a bit annoyed. Gavin Ruozi has quite the reputation.
"He's the one Luca always sends when there's meetings between the Mafia Cartels from all over the world." Santi explained. "Luca Moretti has never bothered to show up; he always keeps a low profile since many people want him in jail for all the crimes he's committed."
"More crimes than you?"
"Damn" Martin laughed. "Bet she's got you there Bustamante" he said to Santiago.
"Shut up Martin, we know everyone in here is a criminal. I wasn't just speaking about Santiago."
Joel raised an eyebrow, "You're saying you consider yourself a criminal too?"
This asshole can't keep his mouth shut, can he?
"Not a criminal exactly" I responded. "But I am an accomplice since I haven't turned in any of you to the police."
"I think that's all that we need to know" my father to put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for helping us out sweetie."
The conversation had turned into something that was a difficult subject for my dad. He knows how much this life bothers me, but there isn't anything he can do about it.
"That party for the original bosses that we got invited to by Ismael Arellano is coming up" Don Ernesto said to my father. "You'll have to call Felix and Carlos to come down here soon."
"Don't worry about it Don Ernesto" Martin said to the older man. "I'll make sure to call my uncles and inform them about the party."
I still hadn't asked my mom if she would be going to the party, but it was possible that now that she is back with my father she'll be his companion to the event.
"Before we go to that party I would like to have a little get together with close friends and business partners at one of our ranches here in Sinaloa."
"What for?" Joel asked.
"We have to introduce Gabriela, Vanessa and Sofia as the girlfriends of three of our boys. It'll be a big celebration!"
Introduce us to the Mafia world? Oh no, this will just drag us deeper into this life! Do Leo and Daniel want to make it official with my two best friends? With a quick glance at them I can tell they agree with their uncle from the huge smiles plastered on their faces. But most importantly, is Santi okay with letting me in to his world?
"Is that really necessary Don Ernesto?" I asked anxiously.
He turned to look at me in the eyes and spoke in a soft voice.
"It is extremely necessary, Gabriela. In this business we have to let people know who our woman are, if everyone knows you're with us they'll have to think twice before laying a finger on you girls. Especially you my dear, you're the daughter of a famous drug lord and now the girlfriend of the most powerful man in our country." He spoke proudly, clapping a hand on his son's back.
"And he isn't speaking about our President Gabby" Martin smirked at me. "Pena Nieto isn't even close to reaching Santiago's status." (Pena Nieto is Mexico's President)
"Thanks Capitan Obvious" I glared at him.
"I want the party to be ready for this weekend" Don Ernesto stood up from his chair. "I'll go speak with Victoria so she can take care of all the arrangements; this isn't something new to her."
We're having an introduction party this weekend. I can already see Nessa and Sofi's reaction.
*******************************************************
I walked into the kitchen a few hours after the meeting to find my mom with the whole kitchen staff and the rest of the employees having a meeting of their own. She held a clipboard in hand as the workers listened to every command given.
"Rita I'm going to need for you to have a list of the main dishes that will be served with all the other appetizers and desserts. I want it no later than tomorrow, this party is in two days and we have to get everything done in time."
"Si senora, used tendra esa lista en sus manos manana mismo." the older woman nodded her head. (Yes m'am, you'll have that list in your hands tomorrow .)
As soon as the staff noticed me standing behind my mother their eyes were on me, my mother turned around angrily to see who had interrupted only to be replaced by a warm smile when she noticed it was me.
"We can keep talking about this later" she said out loud to them "Go ahead and get started with the things we have planned already.
The crew scrambled away to finish their chores while my mother took a seat at the small table and beckoned me over.
"I can see Don Ernesto already told you about the party" I said as I took a seat across from her.
"It's been so long since I last hosted a party this huge. I remember when I was with your father we used to throw parties all the time, I loved organizing everything and as your father got more powerful, the parites just got bigger and bigger. To be back doing this is so surreal but I love it!" she looked so excited as she wrote stuff down on her clipboard.
"What is the deal between you and dad?" I asked remembering how they went out to have dinner. "Are you guys back together?"
"We're taking things slow but yes, we have decided to be together. We were going to let you and your brothers know the good news but that night we got back from the dinner we found out about your kidnapping."
"I'm sorry it ruined your night, momma"
She grabbed a hold of my hand squeezing it tightly. "Don't apologize Gabriela. It wasn't your fault, and I thank God you're back safe and sound."
I decided to change the subject, fearing that she might get emotional about the nightmare we all went through that night.
"Don Ernesto says he wants to introduce the girls and I to everyone." I said
Mom looked up from what she was writing. "Are you okay with that?"
"I don't know" I admitted. "I never expected to be in this again. What if I want to go back home? I never planned on staying and making a life here, but I don't think I have a say in what's going on in my life...everyone is so set on protecting us."
"How do you think Sofia and Vanessa feel about this?"
"They're probably just as confused as I am" I sighed.
"Honey" she spoke in her soft-soothing motherly tone. "I know this is very overwhelming but I agree with Ernesto's idea of introducing you girls. In this business there are rules...and the most important one is that nobody can mess with family."
"I don't think everyone follows that rule, mom."
"I know, I know. But this introduction is more of a warning..."
I raised an eyebrow. "A warning?"
She nodded. "A warning from the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel that if anyone tries to mess with you or hurt you they will have to deal with them. It's a form of protecting you and your friends."
"I don't like this whole introduction thing."
"It doesn't matter if you don't like it mi princesa" A deep voice said, we both turned around to see Santiago and my father walking through the kitchen doorway. "The fact is, you've become someone of great value to all our enemies."
My father came to kiss my forehead and sit next to my mom and Santiago kissed me on cheek as he took the chair next to mine and grabbed a hold of my hand.
"What is it with you eavesdropping on conversations?" mom asked my dad.
"That's just part of my charm, woman" he joked.
"It's actually a very handy trait in this business" Santi backed him up.
Already sucking up to my father.
"Why am I so important to your enemies?" I rolled my eyes referring to the comment he said when he came in.
Dad shrugged. "You're my daughter and his girlfriend" he pointed at Santi. "That makes you linked to both cartels."
Santiago spoke in a serious voice as he looked me in the eyes "You're our weakness." He lifted my hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. "If our enemies manage to get a hold of you they know we would do anything to save you in a heartbeat."
"I feel so special" I grumbled sarcastically.
"I'm being serious, Gabby"
"I know, I'm sorry" I apologized to my boyfriend, leaning over to caress his cheek in a loving gesture. "You worry too much about me, Santi."
"I just want to protect you, amor." He whispered.
The clearing of a throat pulled us back from our little personal bubble and we both turned to look at my parents who were both smiling at us, my mother gave me a knowing look as she pretended to write something on the clipboard.
"Que hacen aqui en la cocina?" my dad asked. (What are y'all doing here in the kitchen?)
"I was just talking to the staff about the arrangements for the party we're having." mom answered him with a big grin.
"Ahhh, Maritin already called Felix and Carlos and they will be flying in tomorrow night from Tamaulipas." My father said. "They're excited about seeing their favorite niece" he smiled at me.
"Their only niece!" I reminded him
"Did you already book anyone to perform?" Santi asked my mother.
"Ay dios mio. I totally forgot about that, who am I going to get at this last minute?" (Oh my God)
"Why do we need performers?" I asked. "We never had anyone perform at our parties" I said thinking back to all the events that were hosted at the Romano household.
"It's kind of a tradition that my mom came up with" Santi spoke up and I turned to see a sad smile on his face. "Whenever we had parrandas she always made sure to have her guests entertained with a musician. And since we're hosting it at one of our properties it's kind of expected to have live music."
"Parranda?" I laughed.
"That's what we call it here" he smiled. "Por lo menos haci se le dice a las fiestas aqui en Sinaloa." (At least that's what we call parties here in Sinaloa)
"You Sinaloenses have some weird ways of talking..." (A/N: Sinaloense is a way of calling people from Sinaloa, like we would call people from Texas...Texans)
"Te estas burlando de mi Gabriela? Mas te vale que no...no vaya ser que me busque a otra plebita en la parranda que vamos a tener." Santi said, speaking like a true Sinaloense. (Are you making fun of me Gabriela? Yo better not...or I might find another girl at this party we're having.)
That just killed me, and I knew he was just doing it to make me laugh.
"Plebita? Con que se come eso?" I joked but truthfully having no idea what the word meant. (Plebita? How do you eat that?)
"Ha ha, very funny. Plebita is just another word of saying a girl or chick" he explained
"You couldn't have just said muchacha or chica?"
He didn't answer and instead turned to look at my mom, but the full on grin he gave to my mother was a clear shock to both of my parents. This was a mood people rarely saw on Santiago Bustamante and the fact that they were witnessing it made my parents look at me in awe.
"There's no need to worry about the performers" Santi said to her. "I've already taken care of it."
"Who did you get?" my dad asked.
"I asked my friends Gerardo and Larry."
"That's funny, do people every think they are Gerardo Ortiz and Larry Hernandez?" I asked my boyfriend.
He turned to give look at me like I was crazy. "No, because they actually are Gerardo Ortiz and Larry Hernandez..."
I gasped. "You're kidding!"
Gerardo and Larry are one of the most famous corrido musicians in the Latin music. They write songs that tell stories about Cartels in Mexico, sometimes those songs speaking about real life people like my dad or Santi.
"Have they ever written a song about you?" I asked excitedly.
"Well, Gerardo said the song 'A La Moda' was inspired by me...well my life actually."
"I love that song!"
"It makes me sound like a rich brat...which I kind of understand since that's how me and the guys acted when we were seventeen or eighteen. That's around the time I met Gerardo."
"You've known him that long?" my mom asked him
"Yeah. And they both sounded pretty excited about coming to this party."
"I have a lot of work to do then!" my mom said scurrying out of her chair. "C'mon Salvador you've got to help me out." She pulled my father with her and walked out of the kitchen.
Leaving me and Santi alone.
"I have a feeling my mom is going to go all out with this party" I shook my head.
"Let her have fun" Santi said pulling me on to his lap.
"I can't believe I'm going to meet Gerardo Ortiz and Larry Hernandez. Ness and Sofi are going to freak!
"Don't tell them about it, let it be a surprise. I want to see their faces"
"I've always had a crush on Gerardo, you know?" I put my arms around his neck.
"Well that's too bad" he peeked my lips. "You have a boyfriend now and if you like him more than me I won't be able to give you that surprise I have for you."
"Surprise?"
"Who do you like more?" he teased.
"My boyfriend of course" I said sweetly.
"Good"
"Aren't you going to tell me what this surprise is?" I pouted.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it? You'll have to wait and see at the parranda" He reached up to grab my face a lock his lips with mine, making me forget any questions I had about this 'surprise'.
___________________________________________
It's been forever I know! But I would never give up on this baby. I hope you liked this chapter, because I have my writing funk back.
The fact that Gerardo Ortiz and Larry Hernandez are on here does not mean they are involved with cartels in real life. I just thought it would be cool to have them on here since I'm a fan of their music.
Fun Fact: It is rumored that "El Chapo Guzman" (THE REAL LEADER OF THE SINALOA CARTEL) once went to have dinner at a restaurant and while he was there he ordered his men to take up everyone's cell phone to prevent them from calling the police. Once he was done he stood up and said "I've paid everyone's bill. This meal was my treat. A gift from me to you. Enjoy!" and when he left the restaurant everyone got their cell phones back! crazyyyyyyyyyy