When I got home, I walked into the study. Anger rose up in my chest. My thoughts of Mia were long gone. I had tunnel vision, which was set on Anatoly.
Jesse followed after me. "What are you going to do?" Jesse asked.
"I'm going to give the idiot a chance to bring back my guns. If he doesn't, I'll be going over there and collecting them," I said sharply. I sat down at the desk and dialed his number.
Jesse sat across from me as I listened to Anatoly's phone ring. Jesse was looking at me doubtfully. We had no backup, but I didn't care. I was going tonight with or without Jesse, and I would retrieve my artillery or money.
"Still alive, Angel?" Anatoly chuckled darkly. "Not bad. You are much like your parents, I must say."
An arrogant smile played on my lips as I spoke. "You are about to find out just how much I am like my parents. You have two choices. You will give me the guns back, or you will pay me."
He laughed. "I'm not scared of some bratty teenager. You're only what eighteen? You have little to no experience of anything," he growled.
"That was the same mistake people made with my mother and then..." I trailed off. "She killed them." I hung up the phone and slammed it down onto the receiver.
This son of a bitch was about to find out who he was dealing with. I was basically half of my mom and half my dad, which made me a very dangerous person. Personally, I wouldn't want to fuck me over. Latin Kings aren't forgiving; we aren't wired that way.
"Look, Jesse, if you don't want to come, I get it," I said. It was Jesse's first run. "If you think this run was scary, though, maybe it should be your last. You don't have to become one of us."
Jesse stared back at me in disbelief. "I already am one of you. I'm not scared, man. I just didn't want something to happen to you. You're fine, though." He shrugged. "I'm game, let's go hunt some Russians," Jesse said with an evil smile.
***
I threw open the massive study doors. Anatoly was sitting at his desk. As soon as I walked in, I smiled like a lunatic and waved at him.
His expression twisted from shock to horror.
His wife was sitting on a couch. She gasped, and her eyes widened in shock.
Before Anatoly even had a chance to move, I turned in a blur. I raised my gun and fired.
The bullet hit his wife right between the eyes. She slumped against the back of the couch. Blood splattered the back of the sofa and the window behind her.
"You little son of a bitch!" He shouted and stood up. I turned pointed the gun at his shoulder and fired a shot.
Anatoly fell back into his desk chair and groaned in pain. He clutched his shoulder and bent over slightly.
"Come on, man. Don't talk about my mama like that." I strolled over to the chair across from his desk and sat down. "Piece of advice get some new guards. They saw me coming at them, and they bolted. I did you a favor, though, I killed them. They were complete pussies." I shook my head in fake disbelief. "Let me make something clear. If you don't pay me or give me the guns, your son is next. I'll kill everything you love, and you will watch. I killed your wife nicely. Your son won't be so lucky. I'll torture him."
Anatoly gave me a disbelieving look but didn't speak. The fact that he thought I was kidding led me to believe he really was a moron.
"Jesse," I said in a flat tone.
Jesse strolled in with Anatoly's fifteen-year-old son. Jesse pushed Anatoly's son to the floor and pointed a gun at the back of his head.
"You won't get away with this!" Anatoly roared.
"Hmm," I hummed. "I think I will. I'm making this simple for you. Pay me, or I will torture your son while you watch. I'll also go get your oldest son, and you'll watch him die a painful death too." I tilted my head side to side as if to weigh Anatoly's options. "If I were you, I'd just pay me." I shrugged.
Anatoly made no effort to speak, and he didn't move. He looked at his son as if he was debating it.
"Do you really fucking think that I'm kidding?" I shouted. My chest rose and fell quickly from anger. I didn't hesitate to prove I wasn't playing games. I stood up immediately, spun around, and shot Anatoly's son in the leg.
The boy screamed in pain.
"Okay, wait!" Anatoly pleaded. Anatoly headed for the safe. He quickly loaded a duffel bag full of money.
I turned to Anatoly's son. "Man, I'd be pissed at my old man if he really had to decide if money or I was more important," I told the kid. I turned back to Anatoly. "You're a greedy old bastard."
"Here, just take it," Anatoly said. He threw the duffel bag to me.
Jesse took the bag and counted the money. After several minutes Jesse gave me a nod.
"Alright, cool. Well, it's been fun, but it's late, and I need my beauty sleep." I smirked.
When Jesse and I reached the doors, I stopped and spun around. "Oh, uh, sorry about your wife. She's what your fourth wife–married for like a month? Eh, you can find a new one. By the way, you're lucky it was me who showed up. My parents would have tortured you, your wife, and son for the next decade. Don't double-cross me again. I won't be nearly as generous next time," I warned.
Jesse and I strolled out of the mansion and climbed back into the black van.
"So, are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" Jesse asked.
"Probably." I shrugged. "I'll wait until they get home, though. I didn't want them to find out right away. I wanted to deal with it myself so they could see that I could handle myself."
He nodded in understanding.
When we got home, I put the money away and headed up to my room. I showered, then slipped on a pair of shorts and got into bed.
***
When Mom and Dad got home, I followed them into the study.
"I should probably tell you something," I started.
My dad looked up at me in confusion.
My mom sat down and looked worriedly at me. "What is it, baby?"
"Anatoly tried fucking me over. He kept the old artillery and stole the new artillery. They showed up at the meet and shot at Jesse and me. Jesse was okay, but I got shot. I'm fine, though. After I got the bullet out and stitched up, I went to Anatoly's. He gave me the money for the guns he took. I killed his wife and threatened to kill his son, too," I explained.
Mom and dad stared at me, horror-struck.
"Well, now that you're all caught up, I'm going to go get changed and head out. Jesse and I got plans. Your paperwork is done too, by the way," I said casually. I turned around and headed for the door.
"Wait!" My father boomed.
I slowly turned back to my parents and smiled innocently. I knew that was to easy.
"Boy, what the fuck? Why didn't you call us?" Dad asked, concerned.
"Look, you guys were busy. One day I'm going to have to deal with this shit on my own. Now you know I can handle myself, right? What's the big deal?" I shrugged.
"He's going to die," Mom growled. "He's not going to fuck you over, shoot you, and live to tell the tale!"
Dad nodded in agreement. "He's dead."
"I already took care of it. I killed the man's wife. He's not going to do it again, trust me," I argued.
Mom crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a challenging expression. "I'm still the boss, Angel."
Dad pursed his lips. "Latin Kings don't give second chances. Your mother is right on this one, boy."
"Fine, kill him. I don't like the asshole anyway. I didn't want to deal with the Russians," I shrugged. "Can I go now? I got a hot date," I wiggled my eyebrows.
Dad chuckled and gestured for me to leave. "Don't forget the condoms," Dad said.
"Shut up, Ace," Mom said.
My laughter filled the room as I headed for the door.
Jesse was waiting in the foyer. "Ready?"
"Let me go change quick," I told Jesse. I bolted up the stairs and to my room.
After I came back down, Jesse and I headed out to the garage. We got into the jeep. It was a nice night, so we had the top off.
"How did it go?" Jesse asked.
"They're going to kill Anatoly," I shrugged.
"No more Russians?"
"I imagine they'll kill all of them off," I admitted.
"So, Mia and Ricky broke up?" Jesse smirked.
"Yeah."
"So, are you two going to be a thing now?" Jesse wondered. "What happened to, oh no, her dad is a cop?"
"You're never going to stop saying that, are you? I don't know, man," I said and sighed. "It's almost too hard to stay friends with her. I like her too much to be just friends. The thing with her dad bothers me, but I won't know how it would have worked out if I don't even give it a chance."
"So, is this a date?"
"We'll find out," I chuckled.
***
We pulled up to Emily's house. Emily and Mia came out of the front door. Emily's parents knew we were going to the carnival. Mia's parents knew too, except for the fact that I was the one taking them.
Jesse and I climbed out to help the girls into the jeep. We drove down to the beach where the fair was.
I wrapped my arms around Mia's waist, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her from the jeep. I sat her down on her feet. She smiled when I took her hand and pulled her toward the beach.
The fair had a good portion of the beach lit up. You could smell the different types of food coming from the concession stands. I bought all four of us bracelets so we could get on any ride. Jesse, Emily, Mia, and I walked through the fair. We got on a couple of rides.
After the tilt-a-whirl, Jesse and Emily decided to go in a different direction. Emily didn't care for Ferris Wheels, but Mia and I wanted to get on it.
Mia suddenly stopped walking.
I turned around and took a step back to her. "What?" I asked, confused. I followed her gaze and chuckled.
She was staring at a massive stuffed Siberian husky. Its fur was white and black, and it had blue eyes.
"I've always wanted a Siberian husky. My dad wouldn't ever let me get a dog. He said dogs are filthy and disgusting animals. He said, husky's tear up furniture and clothes." Mia frowned.
The disappointment in her eyes made me want to go buy her a husky. How could anyone say no to that face?
"All dogs destroy things if you don't train them properly," I said.
"You got your eyes on a big prize. Do you want to play?" The guy from behind the counter asked. He was clearly the one running the game. The guy didn't appear to be much older than Mia and me.
Mia shook her head. "No, thank you," she said and sighed. She turned to walk away, but I grabbed her arm and spun her into me.
"I thought you wanted the dog?" I asked.
The lights from one of the rides danced across her beautiful face. "Come on, Angel." Mia rolled her eyes. "Those games are impossible to win. Even if I were to win, I wouldn't win the biggest prize they have."
"Maybe they're not as impossible to win as you think," I argued.
Mia chuckled. "My dad tried winning me a big prize when I was younger. He's really good at throwing darts, and he lost. They make them impossible, Angel. Trust me," she argued. "Come on, let's just go to the Ferris Wheel." She pulled on my arm, but I pulled away from her. She huffed and followed me back to the guy in charge of the game.
"Twenty darts," I said. I slid the money across to the guy.
The rules were that you had to pop all twenty balloons with every dart in order to get the biggest prize.
"That ego of yours," Mia said and chuckled. "You do realize you can't miss, right?"
A smirk played on my lips as I looked back down at her. "I never miss."
It actually had nothing to do with my ego. Her face was filled with such sorrow over the dog. Even if all I could get her was a stuffed dog, for the time being, I knew it would make her happy.
She watched as I threw the first dart. I spent very little time even aiming. It popped the balloon. I grabbed the second dart and popped the second balloon.
Mia was staring at me in disbelief. I didn't let her face distract me. She watched in astonishment as I kept throwing the darts, and not missing a single balloon.
"Oh my god," she gasped.
I was holding the last dart. The guy in charge of the game was staring at me in surprise too. I threw the last dart, and the balloon popped. Even though they were surprised, I wasn't. I knew that I would win it.
"I believe you owe me a dog." I chuckled, looking at the guy.
The guy stared at me, wide-eyed. "Wow, kid. I haven't seen someone win one of these since I worked for this fair," he muttered as he reached for the dog.
The fair games aren't easy to beat, but not impossible. I took the dog from him and handed it to Mia.
"What are you?" Mia chuckled.
"Really good at throwing darts," I said. Actually, I was really good at throwing knives. I often played darts too, though.
Mia and I took her prize back to the Jeep and then headed back to the fair.
"I seriously can't believe you did that. Like I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it," she said in awe.
"Come on, Mia," I laughed. "It's just a game. Plenty of people win them."
"No, they don't," she argued. "You heard what that guy said."
"My dad is good at them," I argued. I wasn't so sure if I should have said that. My mom was good at it too, but I didn't want to add that. I was sure it seemed suspicious.
She shook her head in astonishment as we sat down on the seat. The guy pushed down the metal bar and started up the Ferris wheel.
When we were halfway to the top, I pulled out a blunt. "Want to get high; while we get high?" I chuckled.
"Oh my god, Angel!" Mia squealed. "Put that away!" She reached for the blunt.
"Hell no," I said. I shook my head as I pulled out my lighter and turned away from her.
"Angel, we can't smoke that here!" She laughed.
I ignored her and lit the blunt. I hit it once, and she took it from me.
"Hey," I growled.
I expected her to throw it or put it out. To my surprise, she put it to her lips and took a hit off it.
"What happened to, oh no we're going to get caught?" I teased.
"If we're going to get caught, then I don't want to be sober," she chuckled.
We continued to smoke the blunt. Once it was down to nothing, I threw it. Mia was in a fit of giggles.
"This height is a lot scarier when you're high," she said between giggles.
"Hell yeah, it is. Let's get off this damn thing," I chuckled.
The ride came to a stop, and we climbed off of it. On the way down, we both stopped when we noticed Ricky glaring at us. I gave him an arrogant smile and waved at him.
Mia laughed and grabbed my hand that I was waving at him with. She pulled me quickly away from him.
"Oh, god, he's going to tell Dad," she murmured. Her forehead creased with worry for a moment, but then she giggled and staggered into me.
"Don't worry about it," I said. I threw an arm around her shoulder and led her toward Jesse and Emily.
Mia wrapped an arm around my waist.
"How was the Ferris Wheel?" Emily asked with a knowing smile.
"It's freaky," Mia said and chuckled. "Only when you're high, though."
Emily and Jesse both laughed at us. We decided to get on a few more rides together.
As we climbed out of the bumper cars, Mia spoke. "We should probably head back home."
Emily nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I told my parents eleven o'clock." Emily and Mia were both still seventeen.
I held Mia's hand on the way back to the jeep.
We got into the jeep and headed back to Emily's. Emily and Mia talked about how I won the big stuffed husky. Jesse wasn't surprised, of course. We pulled up in front of Emily's and let the girls out.
Mia pecked my cheek. "Thanks for the dog," she said with a small smile.
"No problem," I said.
The girls headed to the house as Jesse and I jumped back into the jeep. I pulled the jeep away from the curb.
"Didn't your parents tell you not to do that shit in front of people? They said that it would make them..." he trailed off. "Like suspicious or something?"
"One time couldn't hurt," I said with a shrug.
What Jesse said was right. My parents did tell me not to do stuff like that in front of people. They said it made people ask questions that weren't always easy to answer. Maybe it was a mistake doing what I did for Mia. However, it made her happy, and that made me happy. My parents also told me never to tell anyone about who we are.
Of course, there was an exception. I could tell people who I felt that I could trust. Many people tend to throw you under the bus when they get angry with you. They spent years pounding it into my head to be careful who I trusted. Of course, I liked Mia, but that doesn't mean I trusted her with a secret like this. This was a secret that could destroy me and everyone that I cared about. So, for now, this was a secret I would keep to myself.