The Cartel Lawyer by Dave Daren (ebook reader below 3000 TXT) 📕

“Good morning, boss,” I said with a warm smile.

“I’ll see you inside,” Stephen whispered to me after a nervous glance toward the cartel leader.

“Okay,” I replied before I strolled up to the SUV to open the door for my employer.

“Who was that?” the beefy man asked with a scowl directed at Stephen’s back.

“That’s Jimmy’s lawyer,” I answered. “He works at the Public Defender’s Office.”

“Ah,” the boss said before he turned to say something to the people in the back seat.

The passenger side back door swung open, and Alvaro climbed out. With Osvaldo in the front seat, the big man had even less room in his usual spot, and I imagined he’d spent the ride with his knees in his chest. I wondered why he never sat in the passenger seat like most bodyguards, but maybe Osvaldo preferred the front seat for some reason.

Alvaro’s black eyes searched the wide open area at the bottom of the stairs, up to the entryway to the courthouse, and then the road as he twisted to make sure that there wasn’t a threat anywhere. When he was satisfied that it was safe, he stepped to the side, and Camilo scooted out of the SUV.

The teen was in black slacks, a baby-pink button up with a skinny black tie, and shined black dress shoes. His short black hair was styled with pomade, and he’d shaved the few hairs that had spotted his jawline and upper lip when we’d first met.

“Yo, Rob!” the Fuentes heir said when he saw me. “What do you think?”

“You clean up nice,” I told him with a smile. “You remember the rules?”

“Keep quiet, look upset or scared for my future, and let you do the talking,” the teen listed on his fingers.

“Exactly,” I said with a nod.

“Do you have a plan?” Osvaldo asked as he stepped out of the front passenger seat.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, the driver pulled away, and we were left by ourselves in the early morning light.

“Yes,” I answered as I gestured for us to climb the stairs. “I’ve already contacted the prosecutor. She plans to recommend both boys be sentenced to diversion. Camilo will have a higher fine since he was the one driving… but he shouldn’t see any jail time.”

“Good,” the scarred man bobbed his head in approval.

I was grateful for the AC when we reached the top of the stairs, and Alvaro held open the door for us to enter the courthouse. The lobby was bathed in the pale yellow light of early morning, and the black and white tile had yet to lose the chill of night. The cool air washed over me and dried the beads of sweat that had formed on my forehead.

“Mr. Torres,” John said with a bright smile as I walked up to the metal detectors.

The large security guard was a little shorter than the giant Alvaro, but he had the muscle and layer of fat that Osvaldo carried. His grin faltered when he saw the two men with me, and his eyes did a quick sweep of them as if he expected to see a gun on their hips.

“John,” I said as I began to fill the tub for the x-ray machine with my briefcase, wallet, keys, glasses, and cell phone. “How are you this morning?”

“Pretty good so far,” he responded while he waved me through the metal detector. “The wife made cinnamon rolls with coffee.”

“Gluten free?” I teased.

He’d told me before that his current wife was a health nut since she did some sports modeling, and her primary goal in life was to get her husband to go gluten free.

“Yeah,” the large man said with a helpless shrug. “But she found a good recipe this time. Though the icing could’ve been sweeter.”

“What did she make it with?” I asked as I started to take all of my belongings out of the tub.

I watched as Osvaldo filled one of the gray tubs, while Camilo waited impatiently in line behind him. Alvaro had already emptied his pockets and stood like a statue behind the teenager with all of his gear in one massive hand.

“I think she used one of those new all natural sweeteners,” the security guard answered me, though his eyes never left the three people that I was with.

“Sugar is natural,” I laughed while I made room for the others to pass through the metal detector.

“That’s what I told her,” the large man said with a shake of his head.

He still had a smile on his face but he was focused on the electronic arch as the two intimidating men passed through it. His shoulders relaxed when the metal detector didn’t beep, though he was still wary when Camilo walked through.

“At least they tasted better than the first one’s she made,” I said.

The first time she had made them, the security guard had brought them to work to pawn off on his coworkers, and each one ended up in the trash with one bite taken out of them.

“Anything has to be better than those,” John chuckled. “I’ll see you later, Mr. Torres. Good luck with your trial today.”

“Thanks,” I said with a wave as I led my group away.

“It’s good to have security guards as friends,” Osvaldo remarked when we were out of earshot.

“He’s a pretty nice guy,” I replied, though a surge of panic rushed through my veins as I wondered if they had managed to sneak in a weapon.

“How long have you known him?” my boss asked as we turned down the hallway with our courtroom.

“Since I was in law school,” I said. “He’s been here forever.”

The oak benches outside of each courtroom were filled with lawyers and their clients who waited to be called