The Relic Runner Origin Story Box Set Ernest Dempsey (top 10 books of all time txt) 📖

the short-sleeve button-up shirt out so that the fabric at the bottom hung over his feet. His thick black mustache matched half of the thinning hair on his head. The front of his scalp glistened in the dying daylight.

"I remember," Mendoza said, "it was an evening much like this one when we finally met face to face."

Luis nodded, reflecting again on the events of that day.

"You killed four of my men and dropped them at my gate, still bleeding and mangled." Mendoza chuckled.

"Took your men two days to get the interior of that SUV clean."

Another laugh erupted. "Yes," Mendoza concurred. "It was quite the mess."

Luis took a deep breath. "I thought you would have been angrier."

The cartel boss shrugged. "They were good men. The fact that you killed all four of them by yourself told me we needed to make some changes."

"I thought the same," Luis said, forcing a laugh of his own.

When the laughter died, Mendoza took on a serious expression. "I was going to kill you that day," he confessed.

Luis replied with a snort. "You were going to try."

"Perhaps." He paused and looked out at the sunset, taking in its beauty. Even a man so full of evil could enjoy one of the simple, but spectacular pleasures in life. He breathed it in, appreciating every second. Then he turned to his security advisor and leaned on one shoulder. "Did you find out who it was?"

Luis acknowledged with a nod. "Eduardo Diaz."

Shock splashed across Mendoza's face. It was quickly melted by steeled nerves and sheer will. "He was one of my most trusted scouts. I'm not a fool, Luis. You know that."

"I do."

"While I'm not stupid enough to think no one will stab me in the back, Eduardo would have been one of my last guesses."

"Heavy lies the crown," Luis quipped.

"Indeed, my friend."

It always bothered Luis when the man referred to him as a friend. Either he didn't truly understand the meaning of the word, or it was merely a skewed view that had warped over time as he'd callously watched lives disintegrate around him.

Luis shifted his thoughts. "That's why you pay me, no? Perhaps not as much as you should." He offered the older man a wink. Mendoza rewarded him with a low chortle.

"Perhaps not." He turned and looked out over the estate once more. "Where is Eduardo now?"

Luis checked the expensive watch on his wrist. "By now, I'd say six feet under, somewhere on the estate."

"Good." Mendoza exhaled slowly. "You handled the situation with the Guerreros well. You moved quickly on that one, beat them to the press, the authorities, it's made things difficult for them."

"Yes."

"Maybe I should pay you as both security adviser and as public relations." He turned his head and offered a grin. The expression melted away quickly. "It's going to come back against us, you know?"

"I do."

Mendoza went on. "Their business is already suffering setbacks in production and shipping." He chuckled tentatively. "I fear their loss of profits and the increased scrutiny from the locals is going to push them to the brink."

"You're concerned they're going to launch an all-out attack on us." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Mendoza breathed.

"Your men are far better trained than they were seven months ago, Giovani. They could fight with some of the best in the world now. The Guerreros don't stand a chance if they throw everything they have at us. We will cut them down. This place," he motioned around at the walls and the hills, "is a fortress. The cops won't help them anymore. I say let them come. Once we've wiped them off the face of the earth, we will run the entire region uncontested."

The cartel boss listened quietly, envisioning the battle to come. "There will be bloodshed. Some of it will be from our men."

"You almost sound like you care about them."

Mendoza pouted his lips and shook his head. "I care as I would care for a pet. I love them, sure, but they are expendable."

Luis absorbed the harsh comment. He certainly didn't feel that way about pets. To him, they weren't expendable, which was why he didn't have any. Getting close to someone or something only led to more pain when they were lost.

He shoved aside the moment of softness brought on by his past when he was a better man than now. Being soft in a place like this, in a position such as this, would get a person killed.

"We will lose some men," Luis said flatly. "But we have many. And they're all better than what the Guerreros have. If they come, they'll do it under cover of darkness. I've made all the necessary preparations. We have multiple sensors and cameras across the entire perimeter. There isn't a place they can approach we won't see them."

Mendoza nodded. "Good." He lowered his head in thought. "I knew, the day I met you, that you had guts. Not only that, you had a plan. You offered right there at my gate to be my security advisor and to oversee the training of my men."

"And you held a gun to my head as I made the offer."

"True," Mendoza said with a laugh. "I thought you'd piss your pants." He laughed again.

Luis nodded, not joining the laughter this time. "And that's why you knew I was the right guy for the job. Because I didn't."

"Yes," Mendoza agreed. He looked out toward the horizon again as the final piece of the sun dipped below the mountains. "It certainly is a beautiful sunset," he said.

Seven

Guadalajara

Dak waited until he saw the last customer stumble out of the cantina and into the dim streetlights before he made his move.

He'd been watching the building for the last hour from a bench on the other side of the street. It would have been more comfortable to just find a seat at the bar or his "usual" table, have a drink or two and wait until Carina closed the place, but he wanted to get an idea of what went on outside