He was abusing his power, siding with the people who would do anything to maintain their fortune, to dabble in the darkest parts of what this life is truly like. It was quite tragic to see, because I knew what it was like to be abused, to be thrown around like my life meant nothing, and that was exactly what Las Balas did to innocent people on a daily basis.
I knew how terrible their practices were, and that the only thing they ever cared about was making more money. They’d repeatedly thrown their own under the bus for the sake of making more cold, hard cash, and the thought of that made my blood boil. I couldn’t imagine doing that to anyone from the Outlaw Souls, no matter how much they might have angered me, because that was simply not the kind of people we were. We cared about our own, and we protected our own before anyone else.
Now, I had to trust someone who had every right to hate me, to help protect us, because I feared that if we waited any longer, the deal was going to go through and they were going to start rounding us up before we had the chance to do anything about it.
I worried about what that moment would be like, about how terrified they’d all be to know that they never stood a chance because the DA had already signed a deal that sealed every single one of their fates. They were all going to run scared, and those who were taken first might have been persuaded to talk. That was not something I could allow to happen, and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that the DA paid for trying to take us down.
Lacey had goodness in her heart, but I didn’t want her to act on impulse, because she truly hated my guts at this time, and understandably so. I didn’t want her to make her decision solely based on the fact that I was a terrible human being who didn’t know the first thing about love, and I had to show her that I hadn’t left because I didn’t care; I left because I was afraid of letting those feelings consume me.
I wanted to be there for her, I wanted to be everything she could ever need, but I was afraid that if I gave in entirely, I wasn’t going to be the same person anymore. I didn’t know how I was going to play the role of a neutral enforcer when all I would ever care about would be protecting Lacey, because I was falling in love with her. There was no point in denying it any longer.
I waited there under the moonlight for her to come back, to help me. I know I didn’t deserve to have her love after what I’d done, but I hoped that she would be able to forgive me for my terrible behavior and help us get out of this mess once and for all.
Looking out onto the beach, I remembered how wonderful it was to hold her in my arms, to feel a sense of calm and contentment wash over me like it was the very first time I’d ever felt that way. I never wanted to leave that moment, much less abandon her on the beach where she was left to believe that I didn’t care about her.
I promised myself that I wouldn’t even bother to ask her to help until I could show her how I really felt, because it was only then that she was going to have the peace of mind she needed to be able to help us see this through.
I’m falling in love with you, Lacey, and I did everything I could possibly do to mess that up. I don’t know how you’re going to find it in your heart to forgive me, but I just hope that you do.
Bracing against the ledge of the pier, staring down into the bleak, dark waters below, I knew that there was still hope that we could fix this, that we could get Chalupa out of this mess, and finally bring the Outlaw Souls some comfort knowing this wasn’t ever going to happen again.
I waited for what felt like ages, worried that she was going to change her mind and not bother to show up at all, and I was just about to turn around to leave when I saw a car pull up at the end of the pier and out she came. She walked down to where I was standing looking as beautiful as ever, like I’d just dragged her out of bed to meet me, but I knew this couldn’t wait.
“I’m here, now what do you want?” she asked, angrily.
“Let me just start off by saying that you have every right to be angry with me, Lacey. I know what I did was wrong, and I know it probably solidified the perception you have of me, making you think that I’m some heartless guy that could just go around leading women on only to sleep with them, but that’s simply not the truth. I didn’t leave you this morning because I didn’t feel anything for you. I left because I felt too much.”
She stared at me blankly, trying to figure out what I was saying.
“So what you’re telling me is that you’re a coward who has an inability to face his feelings?” Lacey pursed her lips and looked away, her arms tightly folded across her chest.
“That’s exactly what I am, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, Lacey, because I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose what we have together. You’ve come into my life and changed it in ways I never even realized until I had the chance to kiss you, to take you into my arms, and I threw that all away because I was afraid. I know that you might not find it in your heart to forgive me right now, but that’s okay. I will wait, and I will keep trying.”
“Have you any idea how it felt to be left like that, on the beach, practically naked to be woken up by a lifeguard?” Lacey turned away and began pacing up and down. “Oh, but you were good enough to call Uber and have them pick me up.” She pointed her finger to where the cab had been parked.
“Yes, I realize how bad that must seem.” It never occurred to me just how humiliated she must have felt. “Please, Lacey, believe me when I say I am truly sorry. I panicked, and yes, I am a coward when it comes to emotions, but I am working on that.” I looked into her eyes for any glimmer of hope, but just saw anger.
I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to confront her with the other reason I wanted to see her out here tonight.
“Lacey, I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason I called you.” She looked at me, shocked, confused, possibly intrigued. I couldn’t really tell, but I had to press on. I couldn’t turn back now.
I hesitated for a moment, thinking that it was quite possible that she might run with this right back to the DA, protecting him even though he was the one at fault, but I had to trust her. I had to trust her because even though she was a prosecuting attorney, she’d never done anything to hurt me.
Even if she had set out to collect information on us, to gather as much evidence as possible, she quickly learned that there simply wasn’t any to be found. I knew that was probably going to strike a rather large nerve with the DA because he probably sent Lacey out with the intention of finding something incriminating enough to take us down while Las Balas continued to get their way.
I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and scrolled through until I found the video. I put it into her hands, watching her facial expressions while she wondered for a moment what she was looking at, and the minute she recognized the DA’s face, her entire expression dropped. She blinked heavily, trying to figure out if what she was watching had been real, and when she glanced back up at me, I nodded, letting her know that I was the one that took the video in the first place.
“This can’t be real.” She shook her head as if that would make it untrue. “There is no way in hell that he would get involved with something like this. Is this the other guy that you were telling me about, El Diablo?”
I nodded.
“Is this some kind of sick and twisted way to use me against the DA?” she asked, and I knew that she was going to have a considerable amount of doubt, but I just had to make sure that she was able to see the truth before it was too late.
“Lacey, I was there. I saw this exchange happen with my very own eyes. I know that it’s a lot for you to take in, but it is certainly happening right under all of our noses. I know what your involvement at the DA’s office is like, and I know where your loyalty lies, but I brought this to you because the DA is helping El Diablo get rid of us for good, and I just can’t allow that to happen.” I took a deep breath before continuing, hoping that my words were sinking in.
“I took a chance showing this to you because it is quite possible that you would go running back to the DA, protecting him because that is your job, or you can stand with us, because that is the right thing to do. Chalupa is innocent, and he always has been. I’m just hoping that you’re going to do the right thing, for all of us, and for me.”
She looked like she wanted to cry, like everything she’d been working so hard to achieve had just been snatched right out of her arms, and I knew exactly how that felt. We both stood there in silence for a few moments while she rewatched the video a few more times, realizing that it was authentic footage of the exchange, and she looked up at me, staring deep into my eyes to tell me how she truly felt.
