♛Cameron Dawson ♛

We return to a bloodbath.

Fourteen people dead and twenty-three injured. Those are the numbers after the Slither Gang planted a bomb at a grocery store in the Kings territory and blew it up. Three of those who died were Kings Members. Two were children. One was an old woman. I don't know what's the stats of the injured- not that I would want to hear it.

"That will teach them to push the boundaries." I hear one of Jack's fighters say to another and it takes every ounce of control not to snap his neck. How can you talk of the death of people like that? Like it's meaningless? If you're going to kill and injure a bunch of people, at least have some tact about it.

Ramiro seems upset too although he manages to hide it better than me. His face is a mask of calm, the only thing giving away his frustration being the tick in his jaw and the harder punches he lays onto the punching bag. Ramiro seems to be the one who keeps a reign on his emotions more between the two of the siblings but today he seems to be facing more emotional turmoil than most days.

"I wish I could snap his neck." I mutter in Spanish and Ramiro nods, holding his hands up in front of his face and bouncing on his feet before hitting the bag. It swings vigorously. I've never seen Ramiro fight although from the looks of it, he's skilled as hell.

"Yeah, you're not alone." He replies back, glancing over his shoulder at the man. We don't practice punches for much longer before we both clean up and decide to leave the gym, with permission from Xavier of course, and head for our cars. However, Ramiro doesn't climb in and drive immediately. Instead, he leans against the hood of his car and pulls out a cigarette before placing it between his lips and taking a long drag. I take a seat beside him as he exhales and look around the fairly quiet parking lot under the purple and pink sky. The sight would be beautiful if there wasn't so much bloodshed beneath it.

"How was Nevada?" Ramiro suddenly asks and I frown, glancing at Ramiro to see him staring straight ahead. Glancing at me, he adds: "Don't worry, Harley told me you guys were visiting her mom."

Shaking my head to myself, I realize how even though I hate Harley trusting other people who can put her safety at risk, I'm also glad she's opening up to someone other than me. I just hope that Ramiro is the right person to do that with.

"It was great. I spent some really good quality time with Harley." I reply with a soft smile. Truthfully, the little getaway was more needed than I thought and even though I spent most of it in the presence of a woman who is not too fond of me, seeing Harley so relaxed and at ease was more than worth it. I enjoyed the late mornings in, the food and family. This weekend gave us a taste of a life we both want and deserve. And there was Las Vegas. It was so satisfying seeing Harley's face light up and taking pictures with her. I really would give anything to see her happy.

"Mmh." Ramiro hums. "I'm sure you did judging from those." He remarks and I glance at him to see his eyes focused on the spot between my neck and shoulder. When I lift a hand to rub the spot, he laughs good naturely.
It's not my fault that Harley likes to leave marks. Not that I'm complaining... it's quite enjoyable, actually.

"Hey," I roll my eyes, "don't be such a sour ass because I have a sex life and you don't." It's obvious why we're joking around- both of us want to forget about the fact that a bunch of people were murdered and injured. For a moment, both of us just want to be guys and talk shit.

"My sex life is great. The only difference between you and I is that you have a single partner. Also, I don't think you get called Daddy either." He replies with a lopsided grin and I can't help but laugh. That much is true. It goes quiet for a moment as we both look at the sky where the sun is slowly moving behind the hill in the distance. From here, it doesn't look like gang activity is ever so present in this city because it seems so peaceful. And I really wish that were true.

"We should probably head to the house." Ramiro remarks quietly without looking away from the sky. I nod.

"Yeah." I reply and it seems that it takes a lot of self control for Ramiro to pull his gaze away from the scenery and climb off of his car. "C'mon." He says and I follow his lead by climbing into my car and driving to the gang's house since Enrique wants to talk to everyone. We take different routes and I pull up shortly after him where he waits patiently. There's a couple of cars parked on the gravel and I can already hear the chatter from the hallway. The atmosphere seems to be tense and it's only amplified when we enter the dining room.

Various members sit around the table, some I've met from the first dinner Harley and I had with the gang and some new faces I don't recognize. A few people get up to greet Ramiro but he doesn't focus on their greetings too long as he makes his way to his sister who sits on one of the chairs at the head of the table. She's leaned back in her seat, hands gripping the handles tightly while her jaw grinds. I pull my eyes away from her after she stands up and embraces Ramiro before referring my attention to Harley who is rounding the table and coming towards me. I wrap my arms around her waist in a tight embrace and kiss the side of her head before she leads me back to the seats.

I nod my head in greeting to Keva- the girl who asked how Harley and I got together- Adrianna and a few of the guys.

"Hey Cameron." The man I remember as Bruno from beside Harley says with an almost alluring smile and I offer a small smile in return as I slide into the seat beside Harley. Beside me, Ramiro and Katalina seem to be in a heated but hushed debate and judging by Katalina's scowl, her brother is pissing her off.

"Where's Enrique?" Jee- the Asian girl who verbally attacked Harley- says and Keva shrugs.

"He'll be here soon."

"Are we all just going to just sit here and smile when three of our men died?" Katalina's words come out like a lash, cutting through the conversations at the table. However, it doesn't silence Ramiro who suddenly snaps:

"Well maybe you should ask your husband when he gets here then." His words are icy and Katalina points a finger at his chest.

"Don't you dare start making this sound like a marriage discussion! I might be married to Enrique but this is a gang affair Ramiro!" She snaps, her tone authoritative in a way I've never heard it and my eyebrows raise in surprise, stunned at what I just heard. Katalina plops back down in the seat, seemingly exhausted and Ramiro stalks off to his own seat, eyes hooded.

I glance at Katalina to see her watching all her members and sensing my gaze, she looks at me. "You and Enrique are married?" I ask softly and she chews on her lip before nodding and I gape at her before I feel Harley knocking my shoulder.

"What is it?" She whispers and Katalina moves her attention to her, offering a smile before replying:

"I was just explaining that Enrique and I are married." She says, a strained smile plastered to her face.

At first, Harley just blinks at her, mouth slightly agape before she mutters: "wait, what?" Just as the wife of the leader is about to answer, Enrique himself enters the room and silences everyone. Everything about him screams "business" tonight- from the way he opens the door to the way he drags himself to his chair and then the way he takes a seat and rubs a hand over his chin. A pin could be heard dropping in the room as all the members keep their mouths shut and watch their leader. Katalina watches him lean forward and clasp his hands on the table.

"I'm sure you've all heard the news." He speaks in confidence, breaking the silence that was suffocating the room. Nobody replies. "I'm afraid that our plans need to be moved up sooner. We were planning on taking down the gang in the next six months but I'm moving it up to the next three. We can't keep losing men and letting this city get turned into a bloodbath." The anger in his voice is unmistakable and I feel Harley tense even though she can't understand what Enrique is saying. "I need you all to get your tasks done as soon as possible. We need to get rid of Jack now. Bruno," Enrique looks at the man, "get rid of anyone you can get your hands on."

My eyes narrow at the man who nods solemnly and I realize that the man sitting beside the woman I love is the hitman of the gang. The one who carries out the deadly deeds.

"I'm not losing any more members." Enrique says and I now know that they weren't joking about a war in Concord.

****

Enrique dismisses everyone a little while later before he himself gets up and leaves the room- no doubt to go to his office- although Katalina stays behind. She stays seated, twisting a ring around on her finger. It has a small diamond on it and for a moment, I wonder if that's her wedding ring that she just wears on a different finger to avoid making people ask questions.

When it's just the three of us, Harley leans forward and rests her elbows on the table in front of us. "So you're married? To Enrique?" The disbelief is written all over her face and Katalina sighs, pulling her black mane up into a pony.

"Yes. Going three years strong."

Harley leans back, her face full of confusion and she raises an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"You got married at nineteen?" Spluttering, Harley looks a little mortified and Katalina seems to find amusement in that.

"Yeah. I've known Enrique since I was fourteen. We started going out when I was seventeen and he popped the question when I was nineteen and we married six months after that."

Listening to Katalina speak, I realise I could never do that- get married so young. I'm twenty-one now and I still don't think I'm quite ready for marriage and here is a woman who got married straight out of school. It's insane, but I somehow understand it. In this world, tomorrow is never guaranteed so you try and get everything done as soon as you can.

"How old does that make Enrique then?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at the Mexican girl and she shrugs.

"Thirty-three."

"You were seventeen dating a twenty-eight year old?" Harley shrieks. "Lina! Do you have a thing for older men?"

Despite the tenseness of the news today, the knot in Katalina's shoulders seem to ease and she laughs at Harley who really does seem horrified. I mean, I can't exactly imagine being twenty-eight and dating a seventeen year old but I'm sure that Katalina was a lot more mature for girls her age.

"Enrique and I have always had a connection," she shrugs and I see the adoration in her eyes- the love she has for her husband. That explains why she sits next to him at the head of the table and is so well respected amongst the members. It makes sense why she talks to Enrique as an equal and he listens. "Marriage didn't seem so absurd to us."

Harley runs a hand over her face. "Is Ramiro secretly married too?"

An unknown emotion passes through Katalina's eyes and I'm well aware that it's because she's thinking of the way her brother once got his heart broken.

"No. Ramiro doesn't have anyone in his life."

Harley lets out a breath, as if the news is too much for her to comprehend.

"It's not something that we bring up a lot." Katalina goes on to explain. "Obviously we keep it as private as possible considering I'm double crossing Jack and his gang but within this gang, if you know we're married then you know and if you don't know we're married then you don't. It's simple like that. There's some members who just think Enrique and I are partners and nothing more. We'll keep it that way. As for everyone who sits at this table- they hold a different status and therefore know a lot about us. But even then, just because someone is family doesn't mean they need to know everything. We're all human and that means hurting those we love and admire if it means allowing ourselves to prosper and be protected. I can't hold it against anyone if they somehow used Enrique and I's relationship against us- sometimes you have to do what you got to do. That's why the PDA and whatnot is kept to a minimum. Nobody can hurt you if they don't know what your weakness is."

It saddens me for a moment- the fact that Katalina has to be so on edge about her marriage in order to not only protect that but to also protect herself. They should be able to go out to dinner together and share a kiss in public and wear their wedding ring on the right finger. They shouldn't have to think everything through constantly. However, another part of me reminds me that Katalina knew that was what would happen and the minute she shared her vows, she was agreeing to live by those terms and even though it's sad, that was a decision she made.

Suddenly, my eyes feel droopy with sleep and I yearn for my pillow and blankets. Clearing my throat, I offer Katalina a grateful smile. "Thank you for telling us. You didn't have to but you did and I appreciate that."

An easy smile is sent my way, letting me know that the Queen of this empire is content with my appreciation. "You don't have to thank me. I confide in you because you're my friends," she looks between Harley and I. "You two became my friends before becoming members of this gang. For most people here it's been the opposite."

I glance at Harley to see a thoughtful look on her face and I run a hand through my hair. There's being a few incidents with the gangs doing something to upset the other and while in the beginning I didn't care, now I do because Harley and I are stuck in the crossfire. Enrique is talking about taking the gang down and wants Harley and I to really dig as much as we can but we don't even know what exactly the plan to take the gang down is. Enrique asked Bruno to kill anyone he could get his hands on but does that include Cyrus? Harley's brother? I know she says she hates him but at the end of the day, he's still her brother.

"Why do you look so confused?" Katalina's voice is directed at me and she seems to be watching me. I've seen Katalina as a good friend for a while now, even after I found out she was double crossing the gang, but now that I know she's practically a leader in this gang... I shake my head to myself. That's not important right now.

"I'm just thinking... how exactly do you plan on taking Jack down? Because we're supposed to help and yet we don't actually know what's going on." She doesn't seem to be upset with my question and instead nods, seeming to understand my concern.

"That's fair to ask." She replies before resting the side of her face on her hand and looking between Harley and I. "We're going to take the one thing every gang needs."

Harley's eyebrows draw together and she cocks her head to the side. "And that is?"

"Stability." I answer her and Katalina's lips that are stained with a light red lipstick pull into a smile.

"Ramiro is working hard trying to get into the gang's system so that we know every deal, every exchange, every person and item that Jack is going to be in contact with. Then, we take away the stability of the gang by interrupting those things. The best way to tear a gang down is to set them up for failure and leave it up to them to do it themselves. If his drug dealers don't get the money or his shipments out to his suppliers don't arrive, he'll have bigger problems than us."

"Make everyone else the enemy while you actually do the dirty work." I murmur to myself, nodding my head at their logic. "Smart."

Katalina leans back, seemingly proud of their plan. "The only problem is that it takes time. But like Enrique said... it's now or never. We're going to have to be more careful and figure things out differently but the minute Ray gets into the files then it's game over."

"And Jack? Will you kill him?" Harley asks, her voice sounding detached. Katalina frowns in thought, shrugging.

"Depends. Probably only if we need to. But knowing Jack... he won't go down without a fight."

Harley looks down at her hands and nods in an almost begrudging way as if she doesn't want to agree but knows she has to.

"But we'll take out the top dogs. It will only make things harder for Jack so that's not a question."

If Harley understands that her brother is included in that because he's the right hand man, she doesn't show it. Either that, or she's oblivious to the fact. I decide not to bring it up now... I'll speak to Katalina about that another time.

"And we just keep doing what we're doing?" I ask and Katalina nods, a tired smile on her face.

"You just keep doing what you're doing. And try not to get yourself killed."

It seems like that's becoming a much more difficult task to complete.

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