I had to head back to the office and pretend that everything was fine when I knew the truth. The DA was the kind of man that could be bribed, bought off by people who spent their days engaging in some of the most vile criminal acts I’d ever heard of. The DA was supposed to be the one that brought those kinds of criminals to justice, but instead he was just helping them continue to walk the streets completely unharmed.
That thought alone made my blood boil, but I had to plaster a smile on my face from the moment I walked through the door, heading straight for my office to indulge in a little work, keeping a close eye on when the DA arrived, and what he was doing in that office of his.
I made a few extra coffee trips, passing by his office every so often to make sure that he wasn’t shutting his door to take any shady phone calls or communicating with the enemy right under everyone’s noses. I knew he was going to call me into his office eventually, but I didn’t know how to keep myself from blurting out the fact that I knew his secret, that I knew just how dirty he really was, and how sick it made me.
I could’ve only imagined that he would get a few deputies on me, making sure I was down before I could share what I knew with anyone, but I had to keep a straight face. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin this because we were really just so close now that blowing it all would be a complete and utter disaster.
It wasn’t long before the receptionist popped her head in, telling me that the DA would like to see me in his office, and I knew I had to think on my feet, because it was quite possible he was only calling me in there to see if I was just as clueless as I had been before.
It was like he’d been using me the whole time to get close to the Outlaw Souls, to see if they were catching on to what he was doing before he had the chance to take them down himself. I kept a straight face and swallowed the anger that was welling up inside of me, because I knew it was only a matter of time before someone did something stupid or got a little too close, and that would be all the DA needed to enact his little plan.
“Lacey, have a seat,” he said, and I obeyed.
“I take it you haven’t found anything else that would lead us to believe that Ortega’s is being used for a chop shop, right?” he asked, watching my expression carefully to see if anything had changed.
I took a deep breath and plunged in. “I don’t want to disappoint you, sir, but I haven’t found anything else that could point to such a lead. Any time I get close enough to anyone in that surrounding area, all I could learn was that Ortega’s was in fact clean. Though I’ve had a hunch for a few days now that I’ve been missing something, that there’s more that the bikers down at the Blue Dog know, and I’m determined to find out what it is. After all, we need to bring these criminals to justice.”
It was a nice speech, and he smiled back at me, obviously pleased that I wasn’t on his trail, even though that’s exactly where I was headed. I needed him to believe that I had no idea what his plans were or who he’d been working with so he wouldn’t take it upon himself to sell me out. That was the last thing I needed, and if I planned on protecting everyone that I’d come to know and love, I was going to have to convince the DA that I was on his side no matter what. It was the only way I could keep his nose out of our business.
“I have to say, Lacey. I did expect more out of you by now, but it’s probably best that you take a step back from this case. I might have to give it to someone better fit for finding out the truth,” he said, and I knew that he was testing me, so I glanced down at the floor, trying to get out of my head for the time being, and let him do what he wanted, because I knew it was only a matter of time before everything came crashing down around him.
“I’m sorry to hear that, sir, but I completely understand,” I said, even though I didn’t quite care what he thought, because I knew that this had been his plan all along. The only thing he wanted was for me to keep everyone from the Outlaw Souls distracted, trying to see if I could stir up trouble that he could use against them for the sake of Las Balas, but that wasn’t going to be the case anymore.
I headed backto my office to start categorizing the few files that were on my desk because I knew I had no reason to look at them anymore, and I was just about to call it a day when I glanced down at my cell phone.
It was a text from Mona with a photo attached saying that she was at a strip club in North La Playa, and it being so early in the afternoon still, I couldn’t understand what she would be doing there until I finished reading her message which said that she had seen El Diablo head in there, and that she was going to get the evidence that we needed.
I tried calling her immediately, but her phone went directly to voicemail. I didn’t even know how she would’ve known that El Diablo was even going to be at this location, but I knew that it was probably just beginner’s luck. It was either that or she’d been playing rather close attention to how I’d been enacting my very own investigative skills. I frantically dialed Moves, waiting anxiously while the phone rang, until it eventually connected.
“Lacey? Is everything okay?”
“No! Mona just sent me a text message, that she’s at some strip club where she just spotted El Diablo. I think she’s trying to get the information we need, but someone has to stop her before she gets hurt,” I warned, and I could feel the gears turning in Moves’ head on the other end of the line.
“I was out there looking for him, canvassing the area trying to figure out where he’d gone because he wasn’t at the Las Balas shop. I’m going to get Hawk, and we’ll go make sure that she’s safe, okay? You hang in there,” he said, and I appreciated that he was going to get her, so I told him exactly what he wanted to hear.
“Thank you, Moves. I will.”
I gave him no further indication that I planned on heading down there myself, because if he knew that, he would stop off at the office to try to keep me from going. I couldn’t have him waste his energy on me when Mona was about to walk into something that she had no idea how to handle.
We were supposed to have more time. This was not how this was supposed to go down. I was supposed to brief her before she got anywhere near El Diablo, and now I’m afraid that we’re not going to be able to get there in time.
I was so worried that El Diablo was going to see right through her, I grabbed my things and stormed out of the office, not even caring what I was leaving behind. I couldn’t have imagined what was going through Mona’s head right about now, because I knew there was a part of her that believed she was doing this for the greater good, and that no real harm was going to come to her, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.
El Diablo was the kind of man that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and that was evident, but I just didn’t want him to get the chance to hurt my best friend before we could come to her rescue. She didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of all of this, and I wanted nothing more than to save her before El Diablo used her against us. If he found out that she had any connection to the Outlaw Souls, it would be over for us before we knew it.
She wouldn’t have stood a chance, and I was trying to focus on anything else other than what was about to happen. We didn’t have much of a plan anymore, and we were all going to walk in there blind trying to achieve the very same thing. I had no idea how to prepare for something like this, nor did I know if I was even going to walk out alive. It was anyone’s game now, and I had to stay strong, keep my head held high, and focus on getting my best friend out of harm’s way.
We should’ve never let you get involved in the first place. Mona, please stay safe until we get there. I know you think that you can do this on your own, but you can’t. Please, just hold on.
Twenty-Nine
Moves
Mona, why did you have to go and do this now? This is probably the most dangerous, stupid thing you could’ve possibly done, and now Hawk is worried sick about you. We better get there in time to make sure that nothing happens to you, or my friend is going to spend the rest of his days unable to get over the fact that the woman he was starting to fall for died to protect the Outlaw Souls. I know how El Diablo operates, and he’s going to stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. I have to get to you in time, but I have no idea what I’m about to walk into.
I revved the engine of my bike while Hawk drove alongside me. We were running out of time, and now Hawk’s girl and Lacey’s best friend was in an unimaginable amount of danger.
I sped up as fast as I possibly could, pulling up in front of the strip club in North La Playa, parking alongside bikes that looked a little too familiar. I knew that they were there, that El Diablo was probably waiting on the inside, enjoying his time, but he had absolutely no idea what was about to go down.
