“Why would we do that for you?” Salina said spitefully.
“Shut up,” Salvador said.
“Yeah, shut up,” I added.
“All right, ladies, let’s keep this professional. Salvador, I think you know that helping Ramos get rid of a scumbag that is working for him will only serve to benefit you in the end. Ramos will be happy to see he has a new loyal man who he can count on.”
“You have real evidence that this man is not serving Ramos and his best interests?”
“I do.”
“Like what?”
Chase needed to tread lightly with the information he actually gave Salvador. We had to give him just enough information so he knew we were telling the truth, but not so much information that Salvador would turn and give it to Ramos himself without bringing us in on the deal.
“It’s about Escabar and some side work he is doing that is putting Ramos in danger. I’m sure you can understand that, with the sensitive nature of this information, we would like to talk directly with Ramos.”
“You know something about Escabar?”
“Yes, I do. Haven’t you heard that I stole his black book of contacts?”
Salvador looked surprised that Chase admitted to stealing the book. I was even a little surprised to hear the words come out of his mouth. But I was confident that he had a plan. I was willing to bet admitting to stealing the book was all part of the larger plan.
“Yeah, I heard. I’d probably get a nice big bonus from Escabar if I just killed you right here.”
“I doubt that. I owe him a quarter million dollars. He’s going to want that money back before you kill me.”
Salvador seemed annoyed by Chase and his logic, but he backed off from the threats to harm Chase or me. The two men continued to stare at each other as they tried to decide if either of them were willing to trust the other.
Chase finally broke the silence with a little peace offering.
“You see this black book,” he said as he pulled the book from his pocket. “It’s got a lot of incriminating information about Escabar. Ramos really needs to see it.”
As Chase pulled the black book out of his pocket, I could have sworn that I saw movement in one of the trees on the edge of the park. My eyes fixated in that direction as I tried to get an eye on who was over there. I really had no idea if it was someone from Escabar’s group, Ramos, or maybe even law enforcement.
“Okay, I’ll get a message to him. But it better be this big piece of information that Ramos wants, or I’ll turn your ass into Escabar and let him deal with you.”
“Trust me, Salvador, Ramos is going to put you on his team after all this. You will be doing him a huge favor.”
Salvador clearly did not trust Chase, but that was fine. He did look very interested in getting on Ramos’ good side.
“Be here tonight at ten o’clock,” Salvador said as he turned and walked away.
I couldn’t believe I had missed my opportunity to punch Salina in the face. As she walked away, my eyes stayed focused on her head as I imagined what it would have felt like to punch her right in the back.
“Someone’s out there for sure,” I said to Chase as we walked back to the vehicle.
“I know. I felt it, too. But whatever they are watching for, they didn’t kill us. So, they must want to see us giving this book to Ramos.”
“Or, they are waiting for Ramos and us to all be in the same spot so they can kill us all.”
“You are getting the hang of this mobster stuff aren’t you?” he teased me.
“We could be the new Bonnie and Clyde.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled it up to his lips as we got to the car. The way his eyes looked at me, I felt exactly what he was thinking. The adrenaline of the moment had my blood pumping, too, and I wanted to find a fun place for us to play around.
“Get in the car,” he said as he smiled.