Free Revenge in the Homeland by A. J. Newman Page B

calm. There is some bad news about Angela.”
    Gus replied, “As long as she is alive, I am okay.”
    “Gus, she and her son are okay as I said, but a Cabra officer kidnapped her and has her living with him.”
    At first it didn’t sink in what “living with” meant. Then Gus started cussing at the top of his lungs and yelled out details of what he was going to cut off the guy and ram down his throat.
    “John, I am okay. All of my daughters are alive along with four of my grandkids. I was afraid that all were dead so this is better than I expected. I won’t rest until I kill the bastard abusing my daughter and then I will be okay. Let’s meet with Bob and the Admiral. I have a couple of changes to our strategy for taking Corpus Christie.”
    “If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to bounce those ideas off me before we go to the Admiral.”
    “I think that’s a great idea. I might have missed a way to torture that rat bastard that you will remember.”
    “That’s not exactly what I meant; I’m trying to keep you from doing something stupid.”
    “Now, how many times have I done something stupid when I set out to kill someone?”
    “When you phrase it that way, never. I am your friend and what I meant is that I don’t want you killed trying to avenge your daughter’s honor.”
     
    ***
     
    “Mita, I have to visit the man who supplies the canned goods this afternoon. Do you need anything while I am out?”
    “Lucio, don’t I need to go with you to some of these meetings? Since we met, you have taken my store from a tiny operation to the largest in the area. You get supplies that no one else can get. Even the wives of the Cabras come to me to trade. If something happened to you I would be in deep trouble.”
    “I hadn’t thought about that and of course you are right. Can you get someone that we can trust to help run the store?"
    “Yes, I have been thinking about that and I think  Gail Smith would be perfect.”
    “Yes, I know who she is and I trust your judgment. Hire her and start her training. You might want to hire her husband also; we are growing quickly.”
    Later that afternoon Lucio met Teller at their alternate meeting place, which was an abandoned barn. Lucio took several minutes to survey the surroundings before approaching the barn from the backside. He saw someone standing in a shadow and pulled out his binoculars to make sure that it was Teller.
    Teller saw him and said, “Lucio it is good to see you again. Come on in the barn. I have bad news. You might want to sit down.”
    “You are going to tell me that my family is dead. I had a dream about it.”
    “No, they are alive; however, your wife has proclaimed that you are dead and remarried.”
    “Teller, that’s not bad news. The bitch was cheating on me every time I left town. I was going to divorce her when shit settles down. Hell, I’m convinced the kids aren’t even mine.”
    “Does that mean a more serious relationship with Mita?”
    “Yes, I love her more than anything and have to get her out of here quickly.”
    “Well then Lucio, I have some good news. We have people coming in to get Gus’ family out very soon. Can y’all be ready to leave with them?”
    “I guess that we will have to be ready. Will you contact me again before the rescue?”
    “Not in person. We will call you on the satellite phone a few hours before the team arrives. I wouldn’t say a lot to Mita or the boy.”
    “No, I won’t say anything until we are about to leave. I brought a couple of ammo cans with me and I want you to take them and store them with the others.”
    “Lucio, you are getting to be a very rich man.”
    “I am rich because I have Mita. Gold and silver don’t mean much to me.”
    “Well you certainly have smuggled quite a bit of it to me and it is stored back at the compound.”
    “That’s my retirement plan.”
     
     
     
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    Chapter 11

 
Thicker than Blood
 
Corpus