Welcome to Diablo Vista (Axl Dane #1) Read online

  “Yakuza?” Trista asked.

  “The Japanese Mafia. Shit, just what the hell was Esteban into?” Axl said. His contacts had never been able to get specifics on Esteban's business, but it looked much deeper than Axl had assumed.

  “So why are they here?” Rosita asked.

  “I'm not sure,” Axl said, realizing they should probably get the hell out but too intrigued to leave yet.

  The two groups were having a stare down, neither speaking nor moving. Axl was beginning to wonder what would end the standoff when the sound of Harley Davidson V-Twins split the air. A mass of motorcycles had joined the melee, the bikers driving all over the lawn both in front and behind the house, their method of egress not as limited as the men in the larger vehicles.

  “Oh shit,” Axl said, recognizing the new group as the Kingsnakes. How the fuck did they find me?

  As if on cue, all three groups opened fire on one another, the bikers managing to shoot as they rode. There seemed to be no alliances as each group was attacking the others. Within seconds several men had died, blood staining the lawn as the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air. The sound was almost unbearable as the quiet suburbs were turned into a war zone within seconds.

  “Out the window, now,” Axl said, running to the back window and looking down.

  “There's some bushes down below. It's a long drop, but they should break our fall,” Trista explained.

  “Yeah, it's a surprisingly easy jump to make, and the landing isn't bad at all,” Geoff added.

  Axl gave Geoff a quizzical look, then realized the surfer boy had probably had to make a quick exit before. As if to prove the point, Geoff opened the window expertly and waved Trista over.

  “Geoff, you go first, then I'll send down Trista and Rosita. I'll be down right after,” Axl said, drawing his python.

  Geoff didn't need to be asked twice, hopping into the bushes. Axl watched the door, gun at the ready as Trista jumped down, then Rosita.

  As Axl moved to the window, a familiar voice greeted him. “You aren't going anywhere you bastard,” Ed Sharp said, exiting from the bathroom waving his pistol. Axl cursed as he realized he had forgotten all about Ed, who must have recovered while they were outside watching the action.

  “Ed, we don't have time for this,” Axl said, realizing he'd probably have to shoot Ed this time.

  “Shut up! Fuck you!” Ed said, stepping out of the bathroom and standing in front of the open window. “I'm sick of your bullshit! I'm going to--”

  Ed's next words would forever be unfinished as bullets from outside the open window stitched across his body, shaking his body like a rag doll and nearly tearing his body in two.

  Axl grimaced as Ed hit the ground, never to get up again. Axl realized Ed may have saved his life accidentally, as he may have been in front of the window if Ed hadn't appeared. Axl took a second to snatch up Ed's pistol before crouching and approaching the window. He looked down to see Geoff, Rosita, and Trista all crouched in the large bushes under the windows. The grass out back showed that some bikers had been riding around, but none were visible. Axl jumped, landing in the bushes and then rolling to his feet. Other than a few small scratches he was unhurt.

  “Is everyone okay?” Axl asked.

  “Yeah,” Geoff said, the others nodding.

  Axl held up Ed's pistol. “Who can use this?”

  “Shit! I should have gotten my gun!” Trista exclaimed.

  “I can use it,” said Rosita. Axl glanced at Geoff, but Geoff just shrugged. He tossed the pistol to Rosita.

  “My car is two houses down, so follow me and I'll get us the hell out of there,” Axl said, slowly creeping along the house and staying behind the bushes. The others followed closely, and soon they reached the edge of the house. So far the fighting had been contained to the front side, with gunshots, curses and the screams of the dying echoing through the yard. Axl peeked around the corner, but it looked clear.

  “You all go first, and I'll cover you,” Axl said, kneeling and gripping the Python with both hands. He didn't have any extra shells on him, so he had to make each shot count.

  Trista and Geoff ran across and made it into the next yard while Rosita hesitated. “I'll go across and cover you,” she told Axl, squeezing his shoulder. He looked into her eyes and nodded. She ran across, and then Axl followed. Just as he was halfway across, a bike roared around the corner. Axl had no time to do anything other than fire, and his shot was perfect, catching the biker center mass and knocking him directly off his bike. Axl jumped over the bike as it slid near him, tearing a divot into the soft grass and black soil.

  He joined the other three and pointed to his vehicle which was now visible in the distance. “Get over there, stay behind the houses as much as possible and move fast,” Axl said, noticing no one in the few other houses had appeared. Thankfully they must have been at work, or the houses were still unoccupied.

  Axl had a view of the front yard of Esteban's place, and he saw many bodies along with several burning motorcycles as well as vehicles riddled with bullet holes. The front yard was a battle site littered with casualties. Axl shook his head and ran for his vehicle, reaching it without incident.

  He unlocked it, and they climbed in, Geoff and Trista in the back and Rosita in the front with Axl. Unfortunately, just as they climbed in they were spotted. Axl spotted several of the men pointing in their direction, some from every faction. He floored it and went in the opposite direction of the gate.

  “There's no other way out. It's a dead end!” Trista said, panicked.

  Axl looked in the rear view mirror, watching to see if anyone followed but so far nothing. “I can't go back past them. I have a bad feeling that group is after your husband, at least some of them. The others may be after me. Either way, we need to get the hell out of town for a while.”

  “And go where?” Rosita asked.

  “I know a place,” Axl said. He drove off straight through a vacant lot, heading the Bronco towards the chain-link fence at full speed.

  “Dude, you know there's a fence there, right?” Geoff asked.

  Axl didn't answer, and everyone tensed in their seat as the fence grew closer. Trista screamed as the Bronco hit the fence, but it tore through the metal like it was tissue paper. Axl had outfitted the Bronco with a huge Coyote Engine, light armor plate, and bullet proof tires and glass. It was made just for situations like this, although Axl preferred to stay out of them all together.

  Axl tore off through the desert as the others tried to regain their composure.

  “Oh shit, what about Ed?” Trista asked, remembering him now.

  “Ed won't be a problem anymore,” Axl said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

  “Did you?” she asked.

  “Not me, someone else,” Axl said.

  “It was one of those bikers. Remember? They tore through and were shooting their guns up in the air? I told you it looked like they shot into the bedroom,” Geoff said, solving the mystery for Axl.

  “I can't say I'll miss him,” Trista said.

  Axl agreed. He was done with one problem, but they were in a much bigger hill of shit now. The problem of one dumb ass pimp seemed so simple now. In a way, he did miss Ed.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Axl drove through the desert, his sense of direction good enough he was sure of where he was headed. They had checked earlier, but there was no cell phone reception out here, which Axl already knew.

  “So where are we going?” Rosita finally asked. Axl took a minute to look her over. She was wearing the shortest cut-off jeans shorts he'd ever seen, along with a tight white t-shirt and hiking boots. Her dusky skin was coated with a fine sheen of sweat, only making her more alluring. He felt himself growing aroused and had to concentrate to answer her, snapping his eyes back to the non-existent dirt road.

  “It's the town with no name. It's not even a town, just a few shitty buildings set up in the middle of nowhere. It's not far from the border,” Axl answered.

/>   “Speaking of, how do you plan on getting past the border? The fence is coming up soon,” Trista said.

  “No worries about that. There's a section of the fence that's destroyed, and coyotes use the opening to sneak people across the border. The border guard gets greased, and they just don't report it as damaged,” Axl explained. The opening appeared right as he finished, they cruised on through without slowing down.

  “Once we get to this town what do we do?” Rosita asked.

  “This town is like neutral ground. Nobody messes with anybody else there. The cartels, the Yakuza, the bikers, none of them will do anything in this town,” Axl said.

  “Why is that?” Geoff asked.

  “I don't know. I think maybe the U.S., maybe even the Mexican Governments are tied up with it. I just know if we get there we should be safe a while.”

  “What good will that do us, though?” Trista asked.

  Axl gave her a stern look in the rear view. “It will give me some time to think, and then we'll go from there.”

  “Man, this is so fucked up,” Geoff said, displaying a talent for stating the obvious.

  They had ridden in silence for several more miles before the buildings came into view. Axl wasn't kidding. There were only three buildings in town, one being some type of bar and the other two being of unknown origin.

  Axl parked in front of the bar, being the only car in sight. Now that they were closer, they did see what could be a ramshackle garage out behind the bar, but no vehicles could be seen from outside. The bar, just like the town, had no name. Just a sign on top that said “Bar.”

  “You all stay here,” Axl said as he prepared to climb out.

  “This place have a bathroom?” Rosita asked.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Axl said.

  “I'm fine right here,” Trista said.

  “Me, too,” said Geoff.

  Axl looked Rosita over, then peered into the bar. It seemed fairly empty. “Okay, but keep quiet,” Axl said.

  The two walked inside. The place was a total dump. There were two black guys shooting pool, along with two Mexicans watching a soccer game on a TV that had probably been manufactured in the 1950s. The Mexicans themselves looked to have been born in the 1850s.

  “Eh, as I live and breathe, Axl Dane,” said the bartender, the only other person in the bar.

  Every eye in the place was on Rosita as she spotted the restrooms and headed towards them. From the look of the place she would have been better off relieving herself in the desert, but she was already inside.

  “Hey Mark,” Axl said, moving over to the bar. Mark was a Samoan, and he was huge. He was also a good friend of Axl's.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” Mark asked.

  “Could you get me a cooler with some bottled water? I have some friends out in the car,” Axl said.

  “Sure,” Mark said, reaching under the bar and producing a small cooler which he began to fill with ice. “What brings you out this way?” he said as he added the bottled water to the cooler.

  “Esteban Morales,” Axl whispered.

  “You can speak freely, these guys are cool,” Mark said. “Esteban, huh? So I guess you know what happened?”

  “I don't have a fucking clue what happened, tell me,” Axl said.

  Rosita emerged from the bathroom and headed towards Axl, who waved her away. She frowned, but then spotted a jukebox in the corner and went that way.

  “Who is she?” Mark asked, giving her a look of appreciation.

  “Don't worry about her. Tell me about Esteban.”

  “Oh, he's done stepped in the shit big time. See, did you know his deal?”

  “Pretend I know nothing.”

  “Okay, yeah. So see, he was like a conduit between the Cartel and the Yakuza. He'd buy from the Cartels and then sell to the Yakuza. The two don't really get along, so they didn't mind using him as a go-between.”

  “I always wondered exactly what he did. Seems a little ambitious for him, though,” Axl said.

  “Yeah, I think he just kinda fell into it. Anyway, his dumb ass got greedy. He found out how the Cartel brought the drugs in, and how the Yakuza brought the money in. He robbed them both, stealing the drugs and the money before either reached him.”

  Axl whistled. “Stole from the Cartel and the Yakuza at the same time? I didn't underestimate him at all. He's a dumb motherfucker.”

  “It gets better. He had to make someone the scapegoats, right? So he had his men dress up as someone else.”

  “Who? Wait, it wasn't--”

  “The Kingsnakes.”

  “Shit! So they weren't after me at all!”

  “Huh?” Mark said.

  “Nevermind. So let me get this straight. He steals from the Cartels, and the Yakuza, and then blames it all on the Kingsnakes. So he's pissed off three of the deadliest groups in the world.”

  “Yeah, bro. And see, he couldn't just leave town immediately because they'd get suspicious. He wanted to hang around long enough to let the heat die down, then sneak out of the country. But they ain't that stupid. They found out, and now all three groups are after his ass.”

  “Shit. And they all saw me at his house. They may think I'm tied into it. Plus I have his wife in the car. Oh, and that's his sister,” Axl said, pointing a thumb towards Rosita.

  “Dayuummm, that's his sister? You brave man, doing his wife and his sister!”

  Axl frowned. “I'm not doing his wife and his sister. It's a long story.”

  “I wish I was doing his sister,” Mark said, looking her way.

  “Stop that,” Axl said, turning to look at her as well. Some slow blues had just started on the jukebox, and what Axl saw made his mouth go dry. Rosita was still looking over the songs, both hands on the jukebox as she bent over slightly. But she was dancing as well, swaying her hips to the music and grinding her ass just a bit. She probably didn't even realize she was doing it, but it was one of the most erotic things Axl had ever seen.

  “See? You wish you were doing her too,” Mark said.

  “Oh, shut the fuck up,” Axl said, tearing his gaze from Rosita. “So listen, to get these bastards off of our backs I'll need to find Esteban, which I'm sure is going to be next to be impossible. Can you help?”

  “Oh, it ain't next to impossible, bro. With all the people after his ass, everything is locked down tight. Highways, airports, train stations. Shit, I'm surprised you made it through the desert cuz I bet they got that covered too. There ain't but one place he can go.”

  Axl smiled. “Right here.”

  Mark nodded. “Yep, he's going to end up right in this bar. He comes here sometimes, so I'm sure he's heading this way. You just need to wait on him.”

  “Okay. Tell you what, just to keep the heat off, I think I'll camp out in the desert tonight. Probably about a mile south. Close enough I can watch the bar, but not so close he should see me. Unless he comes right by me on the way in, I suppose.”

  “Sounds like a plan. If he gets here, I'll send someone for you and hold him here,” Mark said.

  “You sure? I don't want to get you in trouble. I don't want the politics to tangle you up.”

  “Nah, I won't do nothing drastic.”

  Axl took the cooler. “What do I owe you?”

  “Nothing, man. Hell, I still owe you. Oh, take these too, on the house. Maybe you'll need them,” Mark said, sliding something into Axl's pocket. Axl noticed they were condoms.

  “Dammit, Mark,” he said, but held onto them. “Hey, you still have that shower out back?”

  “Sure do. Solar powered water heater and everything. Should be nice. Help yourself, and please, make sure she does too,” Mark said, tilting his head at Rosita, who was still dancing and giving everyone in the bar shortness of breath.

  Axl flipped him off and took Rosita's arm, leading her outside.

  “So what's the deal?” she asked.

  “It's a long story. I'll explain later. Listen, there's a shower on the back of the building. It's o
utdoors, but it’s enclosed and has hot water. After eating all that desert dust, I thought you might want to bathe,” he told her.

  “Oh, si, that sounds excellent,” she said.

  Axl quickly explained about the shower, and Geoff and Trista hurried around back, calling dibs. Rosita and Axl waited at the Bronco.

  “Who are you, Axl Dane? What are you?” Rosita asked, appraising him.

  “I'm a private investigator.”

  “How did you get involved with my brother's wife?”

  “That guy back at the house was harassing her. She hired me to get rid of him.”

  “Why did she not just tell my brother?”

  “It's a long story and not mine to tell,” Axl said, his tone indicating he wouldn't speak of it any further.

  “Fine,” Rosita said. “My brother is a bad man, Axl. Trista, she is not so bad. Even if her taste in men sucks.”

  “You mean Esteban or the pool boy?”

  “Both,” Rosita said, and they shared a laugh.

  “I like you, Axl Dane. I don't know you very well, but I like you.”

  She smiled at Axl, and he felt weak. “You don't seem so bad yourself,” he said. He winked at her, and even though it was hard to tell with her dark skin, Axl thought she blushed.

  After just a few minutes, Geoff and Trista both returned, still wet from the shower. Considering the short time they'd been gone, Axl assumed they hadn't been fooling around and had just cleaned up.

  “Shower wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be,” Trista said.

  “I'll watch out while you shower,” Axl told Rosita, leading her around back.

  “No peeking,” she said, almost daring him. He didn't take the bait.

  The shower was a wooden bathroom stall on a concrete slab. Axl turned his back and waited as Rosita stepped in and stripped down, hanging her clothes over the top of the stall. Once Axl heard the water running he turned around for a just a second, and saw the door had failed to latch. Whether it was broken or she had forgotten it, he wasn't sure. He was about to step over and close it himself when the wind blew the door open, and he was rewarded with a great view of Rosita totally nude in the shower.