Dom smiled wryly. He had this calm, bemused air about him but underneath it all I could see there was that layer of fear. Whether it was for Travis or Javier, I didn’t know.
“My job, Javi, is taking care of my men.” He eyed the paintings on the wall.
“The matadors?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Well, yes. But only Americans call them that. We call them Toreros. You see, after Javier decided to restructure the cartel, I was sent back to Mexico. There’s money in bull fighting, yes? There’s not much money in Javi’s business. Not anymore.”
I could feel Javier’s posture snapping. It was like his mood could change the air pressure in a room, maybe even in a whole building.
Dom’s eyes flew to Javier’s face which was struggling to stay calm. “Sorry, Javi. You know it’s true. Travis took a great deal from us. Well, anyway, no hard feelings from me. I much prefer dealing with bulls here than dealing with the bullshit in America.”
Javier swallowed loudly. “You’re still on the payroll, Dom. You owe me this.”
Dom breathed out through his nose and put his cigar down on the silver ashtray. He folded his hands in front of him. “And I’ll be on the payroll till my death, isn’t that the case?”
“You have a lovely wife and two lovely little girls. What were their names again?”
Dom’s eyes darkened momentarily, like a shadow passed over them. He and Javier stared at each other for a few moments, the clock on the wall ticking loud. Then Dom said, slowly, “Estella and Abril.”
“Right. So lovely. They must be what, four years old now? Such a precious age. They live in Aguascalientes still? With your beautiful wife. Does she still work for the bank?”
Dom was starting to look nervous. I looked to Javier who was as cold as stone except for that cunning look in his eyes. He was threatening him.
“Javier,” I warned, hoping I wasn’t jumping to conclusions, that they were still just having a simple business discussion.
“Ellie, shut up,” he said, not even looking at me. “This is for you.”
“This is extortion!” I cried out.
He shook his head. “No, this is loyalty. This is Dom proving how loyal he is. He knows he’ll help us get to Travis. I don’t even have to take his children. He’ll do it because he’s loyal. I just like to remind him from time to time that what he has, what I gave him, can oh so easily be taken away.”
Javier then leaned on the desk, coming closer to Dom’s face, beads of sweat running down his temples. He started speaking in Spanish to him, fast and cutting, too quick for me to pick up on it. Javier’s tone was so smooth that I couldn’t even tell if he was further threatening him or what.
Dom nodded a few times and averted his eyes. “Si. Comprende.”
This was ridiculous. I had to wonder what the hell Javier had said, if Dom was agreeing to something that was nothing short of a death wish. I mean, that’s all this could be, couldn’t it? Me, Camden and Javier heading off to find Travis Raines, now, when he knows we’re out there, was a suicide mission. It wasn’t until I saw how reluctant Dom was to get involved that it finally hit home for me, the futility of it all.
And just like that, my bravado was slowly slipping away, like the wisps of cigar smoke that were trailing up to the ceiling. The thought that I may never get to see Gus again. The fact that Camden and I were heading into something that we most likely would never return from.
Javier turned his head to look at me, as if sensing my hesitation.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Everything is good.”
More lies. I couldn’t smile. I licked my lips and put my cigar beside Dom’s in the ashtray.
“Thank you for that,” I told Dom earnestly. “I don’t think it can help me anymore.”
“He must really mean something to you,” Dom said. I looked to Javier in confusion and Dom went on, “Not Javi. This man that Travis has.”
I nodded. “He does. He came here for me. It’s the least I can do for him.”
“Very well,” Dom said, getting out of his chair. “I will help you, Ellie. I will do this for you, because I like you. I am not doing it for him.” He jerked his head at Javier.
Javier rolled his eyes. “You can think of any reasons you want to, Dom, as long as you get the job done.”
Dom sighed and rubbed his chin. “Si. Always getting things done. Okay, I will write down where to bring your sister. Then I want you to meet me here.” He started scribbling on a piece of paper he tore out of a notebook. “We can talk there tonight. It’s a bar. Busy but safe. There’s a small hotel attached to it, also a safe place to stay.”
Javier gently took the paper from his hands and narrowed his cat-like eyes ever so slightly. “If you are trying to f**k with me …”
Dom gave him a small smile. “I’m not an idiot, Javi.”
“That remains to be seen,” Javier replied. Then he straightened up and grabbed my arm, wrapping his fingers around my bicep. “Come on, let’s go.”
Dom opened the door and Javier escorted me outside, his fingers digging into my skin.
“Don’t you f**king touch me,” I hissed at him as he brought me down the hall. People were passing us, giving us dubious glances.
“Oh, give it a rest, angel,” he said, exasperated. “One minute I’m hurting you, the next minute you like it.”
“I haven’t liked it for a long time,” I seethed through my teeth.
“Is that so?” He cocked his head at me. “I could have sworn it was just a few days ago that I last made you scream.”
“Fuck you.”
He grinned. “That you did, my angel. That you did.”
I ripped myself out of his grasp before we exited the building. Outside the air was cooler, the sky layered with pink, blue and orange, like the sand art I used to see in the gift shops along the Mississippi coast. As we walked toward Jose, looking more battered than ever in the fading light, I asked him, “Are you sure we can trust Dom?”
He shook his head. “Can I be sure? No. But he knows if something goes wrong, he will pay for it in the end. Or, his family will pay and he will have to watch.”
“Does everything have to be a threat with you?” What I really wanted to do was call him a sick f**k but he’d heard it too many times already.