A Jar of Hearts (17 page)

Julia ambled over to the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

“Uh… I’m sorry about that earlier,” Mark said.

She looked up and realized that he had followed her. She shook her head. “It’s okay. Forget about it.”

“I didn’t know about… um… your problems.”

“Well, not everyone has the same opportunities as you had- getting into college, getting a job that actually pays the bills let alone those who depend on you.”

“Like I said, I am sorry,” he said slowly.

She waved her hands. “Let’s just focus on getting through this. What’s next from here?”

“To protect you all, I would need to move in.”

“I’ll fix up a room for you.”

“We’d have to look convincing, Julia.”

She stared up at him with disbelief. “You mean move into my bedroom? No.”

“These people are clever. They will do what it takes to find out who I am. If they discover I’m a cop- that will not only blow my cover but also put everyone at risk.”

“Who is going to know? Everyone in the house knows about us.”

“Except Ashley. She’s a little girl and little things like her mom’s new boyfriend sleeping in another room will be enough to spark anyone’s suspicion. I can’t take that chance, Julia.” He rubbed his brow. “Listen, I’m not asking for you to share a bed. I can sleep on the floor if it’s necessary. I just need to make it seem like we have a relationship. I hope that isn’t hard enough for you.”

She turned her back to him. She hated that she would have to lie to her daughter. But he was right. Ashley didn’t know better and if she blabbered something wrong, that would easily endanger her life. She should let him do his job so he could protect them all.

“When are you moving in?” she asked softly.

It was eleven in the night as James pulled up at an abandoned warehouse a couple of miles outside the city like Juan had told him. Lights in the building indicated that he wasn’t the first to arrive.

He walked over warily towards it, keeping an eye on any signs of tags and colors that might reveal the presence of a rival gang.

“No, Juan, please no,” a man begged as someone dragged his body to the middle of the large and empty space in the dilapidated building.

“You know well, Tigger, that if you come snitching, you better be moving, man. You gonna get handled. The thing is you ain’t smart enough.”

“Juan, I’m sorry,” the man pleaded, shaking on his knees. His hands and feet were bound behind him and James couldn’t help but notice fumes of gasoline saturating the air.

“So you wanted to know who popped Derek Burns, did ya? Ya know what, I’ll grant you your last wish. We owe it to you.” Juan grinned and waved James over to his side. “Tigger, meet my man, Jamie.” He laughed aloud, his voice echoing against the rustic tin walls. “Now, tell me how you gonna go run off to your momma, Trent Harvey and tell him that?”

He lifted a finger to indicate to his men that he had had his fun with the man. Two men came over and grabbed him, each carrying one end of the helpless captive as they dropped him into a barrel of gasoline. The man alternated between pleas of mercy, wailing and prayers, but nothing deterred him from his fate. Someone threw a match into the barrel, bursting it into flames with him engulfed in it. His shrieks drowned the air as his body convulsed violently in the drum for a few seconds. And then just as suddenly there was nothing. Nothing but hot air and a raging flame.

“I need some air,” Juan said, leading James out of the building. “I never can get used to the smell of burning flesh. Fucking gross, man.”

Nausea was riding up James’ throat as well and he did the best he could to not bend over and throw up at his feet. It wasn’t the first time he had witnessed Juan burn his victims alive. In fact, this may have been the fourth, but each time those wails and odor of burning flesh would overwhelm his senses for days, leaving him haunted. Between this and drowning victims in a barrel of acid, he didn’t know which he would opt for if Juan discovered he was no less a snitch then that poor burning bastard.

“If you don’t like the smell of barbecued flesh, why do you choose to kill them this way?” he asked, unable to disguise the paleness in his face.

“Because we need to set an example,
ése
. This is our hood and we bang from the heart. We do business for blood, we kill for blood. That’s how we ride. And if someone starts mad-dogging us, starts getting down on us, we have to show to our people that those motherfuckers is gonna get their ass blown off. You feel me?”

Glad for the fresh wind blowing from a neighboring paddock, James pulled in a deep breath. “I heard you take Trent Harvey’s name back there. What was that all about?”

“Trent Harvey sent his minion there to find out about Derek Burns’ death.”

“I know a lot of people who would be interested in learning how he died.”

“Yeah, so long as they keep out of my hood while investigating it,” Juan replied sharply. “Harvey thinks that just because he is mayor and all, he is the king of the state. Ahhh, I know what he is doing. He wants to trap us and give us over to the cops. But he ain’t got nothing on us. Nothing.” He spat on the ground with disgust. “Maybe it’s time we got rid of him too. Maybe it’s time we show everyone who the real mayor of San Diego is.”

James put his hands on his hips and shuffled his feet uneasily. “Come on, Juan. I just did away with Derek Burns. Another hit so soon will have the pigs at my heels. It’s a ticket to getting jammed, man. We really should wait a little while.”

“No!” His eyes were blazing with rage. “Trent Harvey thinks he can send in his dogs over to my hood and do whatever the fuck he wants? I want him dead! No, no, no.” He shook his head and chortled. “I want the motherfucker domed.”

James threw up his hands. “Oh come on, Juan, that’s a little much to ask. I can promise to kill him, but to specifically have his head knocked off is something I can’t guarantee.”

“Figure it out.” Juan slapped him on the back. “I won’t have it any other way.”

James moved away, running his hand over his jaw. There was something wrong about Juan’s request.  Was he deliberately trapping him with the police? He had never been so specific about his assassinations and to particularly have a target be shot in the head was an unreasonable request for anyone. Dead is all they ever wanted. Dead.

His hands sweated and he placed them quickly into his pockets. Juan was up to no good. Had Avanna got to him at last? This hit was a set up and he would have to walk into it like he knew nothing about it.

“The boys were telling me about this office you have,” Juan said. “What is this all about?”

James narrowed his eyes. Juan was probably just drawing him out. He cleared his throat, trying to keep it cool. “It is like you said. It’s an empty office. I was hoping to retire soon and start my own business. The office just happened to come by cheap and I jumped at it. It’s good real estate.”

“Retire?” Juan turned up his lips in thought. “I’d be losing my best marksman. You shoulda told me, man.”

“Yeah… I’m hoping the Harvey job will be the last one, Juan.”

“Is it that girl you’ve been seeing?” Juan teased. “Fuck man, she has changed you. You want the nice house, beautiful wife and the picket fence shit.”

James clenched his fists in his pockets. He didn’t want to bring Anne into this conversation. “It’s life. I’ve been doing this for far too long. So I hope… this isn’t going to fuck whatever we have between us, right?”

“Of course not,” Juan assured with a grin and put an arm around his shoulders. “You know, Jamie, I’ve never been disappointed with you. Well, except for the tatts. I wish you would do some of that. But otherwise, I’d never regretted you joining The Pachecos. Not even when you fucked my sister.”

James arched an eyebrow. “Juan, I told you, my relationship with Avanna-”

“You didn’t have one,” Juan whispered. “Because you’re in love with someone else. I respect that- love. But I don’t understand. Why a blind
chica
,
ése
?”

A muscle moved in James’ jaw. How would he answer that one? “I am a man with faults. Which good woman is going to love me for the man I am?”

Juan pursed his lips together, staring down at his feet thoughtfully. But for some reason it was his silence that unnerved James.

“Um… where do you want me to put my bags?” Mark asked Julia.

She threw down her cooking spoon into the sink and marched rapidly up the stairs and to her room. “I cleared a section of the wardrobe for you. You can hang up your clothes there.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Mark?” Ashley asked around her mother’s side as she peeked in through the door.

“Hey, Ashley.” Mark beamed. The little girl strangely had become the only thing he was looking forward to in this strange move into Anne’s house. They had instantly connected when they had been introduced, talking endlessly about dogs, movies and adventures they would want to take together.

“Are you really going to stay with us? Can I help you unpack?” Ashley asked eagerly.

“Let’s leave Mark to do his unpacking, honey,” Julia said quickly. “We don’t want to disturb him.”

“But I won’t disturb him,” she said, her eyes hopefully fixed on the man standing awkwardly in the room.

“She won’t disturb me, Julia,” he said.

“I’ve got work to do in the kitchen,” Julia said sternly at him and then softened it when she turned to her daughter. “Why don’t you help me with something I’m baking? It’s special.”

“For Mark?” The girl brightened up.

“If you wish.” Julia smiled.

“Okay.”

Mark lowered his head as they walked away, leaving him alone in Julia’s bedroom. If he had been married, he would probably have never opted for this arrangement, but there was something that had dared him and he hated facing the fact that Julia played a little part in that dare.

He put his hands into his pockets as he ambled into the kitchen. She was alone there, while Anne and Ashley were out in the verandah.

“You don’t need to keep Ashley away from me.” He coughed. “I won’t hurt her.”

“Yes, I do,” she said curtly. “I would appreciate it if you stayed as much as you could away from her. Ashley has never had a father figure in her life and the fact that you are here, may make her hopeful. I am not surprised she is latching onto you. But what happens when you decide your assignment is over and went back to wherever you came from? You’d hurt her and that’s something I can’t let happen.”

“We could be friends, Julia,” he said slowly, strangely perturbed by the thought of this being over one day.  “We could always be friends.”

She gave him a sharp glance and turned on her heels, heading towards the laundry.

“Fuck,” he swore silently, combing his silvery strands with his fingers. When had he let her affect him? Her little speech on her strives to sacrifice herself for her daughter had undoubtedly touched him. It was not always that he met a woman as strong as she was. He supposed most mothers would have done just the same, not that he knew many mothers at all. In fact, most of the women he did know were either working for him or the enemy camp, leaving him without much of an opportunity to date in a very long time.

She was beautiful and he would be a fool to deny seeing that any longer. He was going to spend the next few weeks in her bedroom and it was going to take every bit of him to not be tempted and sweep her into his arms.

It was their first night together and he was nervous despite all common sense telling Mark that this was just an assignment.

He stalled by the windows of the living room, not sure how he should approach her.

“Do you mind if I take a shower first?” she asked.