Page 4 of Ulysses

The three men at the door looked up at her. Then the one with the booming voice said, “You killed one of your own brothers.”

Aisha raised her chin and was not apologetic. “I just did what I had to do, nothing more, nothing less.”

Lily looked over at her and whispered, “You just saved my life. I think you know who I am. So why?”

Aisha looked up at Lily and she nodded. “I found out a couple of years back that you made sure the servants at several Sanchez households had those nice clothes and shoes every year. Then every couple of months we got cases of chocolates and snacks, and we had to be careful none of the family knew.”

“H-how did you know though?” Lily asked. “I paid people to keep quiet about it. The leaders of the family aren’t kind.”

“No, they weren’t. There are only a few left now, so we can finally live free, Lily. God gave us life and we need to save anyone who is decent.”

Lily looked away. “I am not... a good person.”

“You chose to fight them and you saved my life,” Ulysses said.

was going to kill you on orders from a man that had no right to order your death. Tomas was angry when he saw you and Canto alive and well when your family was laying under blankets on the grass. They died foolishly for a cause that never meant a thing. I was sitting in a tree hoping and praying he wouldn’t survive what was coming. Then a shot rang out and I saw Tomas fall in a battle that if it played out I knew no one would win but he forced the battle and the rest of his family fell. But for what? Being stupid? Probably. But they were in the wrong here, not your guys. Your people were defending their home.” She looked down at the man on the floor. “He was looking to end your life over a feud he had no right to bring here. I couldn’t let him win.”

The room went silent as everyone heard her words. Then Lily asked her, “You know who I am right?”

Aisha nodded. “Yeah I know who you are, but I’ve been watching you a long time now. You aren’t like the others. You never wanted to be like them. I even watched you this morning when you got here with your father. Yes, you did shoot at the building this morning but your bullets were high and wide. You never aimed them where they might have actually done any damage.”

Lily didn’t look up. “I didn’t think anyone noticed that,” she whispered.

Titus cocked his head as he looked at Bouncer then at Boomer.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Bouncer finally shook his head. He looked at Aisha and asked, “What else did we miss this morning?”

“Tomas and his group were in the second car that made it through the gates,” Aisha told them. “They waited in the woods for the first group to do their damage. Then Tomas watched as you brought in Lily and Canto. The more he watched how you treated them the angrier he became. I got inside the boundaries yesterday morning. I followed Eduardo in. I watched everything that happened.” She looked around the room. “But I also heard everything Tomas told Bruno and his bunch too.”

Boomer stared at her and asked, “And just what did old Tomas tell them?”

Aisha swallowed hard then she told them in a low voice, “He called in his other sons. In fact, he called in his whole damn family and their men. He said the Sanchez family would come in strong and leave nothing but blood behind when they left.”

Lily looked stricken when she heard this.

Chapter Four

Bouncer snapped his gaze over and glared at her. “So? They can say that but it won’t happen.”

Boomer growled loudly. “I’d like to see them try. If anyone’s blood is spilled, it sure as hell won’t be ours.”

Lily looked up at Ironman and whispered, “There are still some left. Cartel soldiers mainly.”

Titus turned toward Lily and asked, “Tell us how your family usually fights when they use soldiers. We need to know everything so we can make plans to fight them.”

Lily shook her head and said, “They will cheat to win, my family has no honor. They might even come out with white flags but don’t believe them. My great uncle had to cheat to get that shot off today and he had to wait until one of you opened that door to do it. If Estaban, Calisto and Milo are on their way here then they probably plan to surround this place and all start shooting at a preset time. They will either do it early tomorrow morning or just before dusk. They are all older and crazy after growing up in Tomas’ home. There should be maybe fifteen people coming with at least twenty foot soldiers.”

“So possibly 35?” Titus asked.

Nodding, Lily went on with the tactics they might use. “Then you will recognize Esteban as he has a big belly and he should be their leader. Calisto likes to be behind the scenes, not up front. Like he will be the one to set traps, fires, and decoys. Milo has always been caught between the two older brothers but he is the most lethal of all three. He will come in hard and fast, probably as a diversion for his brothers. They think that if they can divert you, they can get closer and finish you off. T

And like I mentioned, they may even start a fire in the woods to get the front gate open and that way they can pick you off, one by one. So watch for some sort of distraction just before dawn. Oh, and you can bet your Harleys that Tomas told them about me and Canto. How we betrayed my father and first uncle. That won’t sit so well with the rest of them. They think they all belong to an organization that has some power behind them. To them Ricco was brave and honorable.” She rolled her eyes. “They didn’t see the nasty little bully he has been all his life. I think I knew when we got word that Gabriel was dead, who really killed him. At least my father knew it was him. And the more I think about it I knew it too. Ricco was growing bolder and bolder in his work.” She shook her head. “My father never saw that Ricco’s eyes were growing colder and colder, but I did. I could see the greed in those cold black eyes and it was growing more pronounced every time I saw him. Ricco thought he would never have to answer for anything he ever did.” She laid back against her pillow and shook her head sadly. “But we all have to suffer the consequences for our actions and Ricco found that out the hard way.”

“You know Ricco’s army didn’t even put up a fight after we got our hands on him, right?” Titus grumbled. “And they didn’t even cry when they saw him fall.”

Lily shrugged. “I don’t expect they did. Ricco was loud and intimidating but he wasn’t really a leader. I think even my father knew that before he died. He just didn’t want to admit it even to himself. Gabriel was a better leader than Ricco and that was probably why Ricco wanted him dead.” She paused to look up at them all. “My father made me what I am today. He trained me to be ruthless and self-serving, but I never lost my humanity. I just hid it well. I hoped I would make it out of the cartel someday, but they are the Mexican Mafia and that means there is no leaving except if you’re dead. My father was the one that started the rumors about me. He built me up so high that he almost believed his own lies. Then he paired with Joel. I think he did that so Joel could control me after he married me off. He figured Joel was man enough to control me and keep me under his thumb. But I hated that man with every ounce of my being. And after my father and the rest of them lay dead or dying, I had to go and make sure Joel was dead too. If he wasn’t, I was going to send him to hell myself. But when I found him, I saw he’d broken his own damn neck falling from that plane he cherished so damn much. Joel was a man with no honor. He had to cheat to win by coming in the back door, didn’t he? And he had to double his load of bombs because my father ordered him to blow you guys up and leave nothing behind that would tell the world you guys lived here once upon a time.”

“So when do you think they will show up?” Boomer wanted to know.