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

There was the sound of the house door slamming shut, wheels rolling across the hard concrete of the driveway, and then Sam telling my mother that it would be a quick job to lift the gurney into the back. Laura and my mother argued again, and then I heard Laura huff as she climbed into the back of the ambulance with my mother over Sam’s protest.

“Excuse me, Sam?” I asked after the sound of metal and clanging had died down.

“Oh,” the young man said as he realized someone was on the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi,” I greeted the paramedic. “My mother is going to Jackson Memorial, right?”

“Yes,” the voice responded.

“How are her vitals?” I asked.

I had to speak up as the ambulance took off and the siren blared into the speakers of Laura’s cell phone.

“She’s doing really good,” the man responded, though I was sure that his answer was more for my mother than for me. “I’m going to have to have her hang up now. You can see her at Jackson Memorial.”

“Thanks,” I muttered before the line went dead.

I took a deep breath in as I steadied myself. My mother was well enough to complain about Laura and I now, but the simple truth was that she’d passed out while vacuuming. And I had no idea how long she’d been alone in the house like that. I needed to see her for myself and talk to her doctors to find out what happened.

Jackson Memorial wasn’t too far away, so I had time to change into more comfortable clothing. But I was still clean enough, and I didn’t want to make my mother wait any longer than it took for me to actually drive over.

My stomach growled as I stuffed my wallet and keys back into my pockets next to my cell phone. I sighed because I didn’t have anything that I could eat quickly, but the hospital would have a vending machine that I could snag something out of. It would have to hold me until I was back in my apartment.

I turned off all the lights, locked my doors, and then hurried down the stairs and across the lobby.

The black SUV was gone when I burst through the building doors out to the street, so it must have been Alvaro’s ride. But there was still a black car parked down the street. The driver watched me as I unlocked my old blue Honda, and as I revved up my car, he threw his cigarette into the street and started his own car.

I waved as I drove past him with the AC on full blast, and he glared at me but was able to merge into traffic after a couple of cars. He followed me in and out of the cars, down side streets, and through shortcuts that I knew would get me to the hospital faster than the highway during rush hour traffic.

I finally saw the white and blue sign for Jackson Memorial, and I made the turn for the emergency room just ahead of the red light. I spotted two ambulances beneath the awning near the unloading zone, but I couldn’t see either my mother or her best friend.

I swung my car into the first spot I could find, and a few moments later, I saw the goon who had been assigned to follow me park a few spots away. It took me forever to pull the keys from the ignition, and when I finally made it out of the car, the entrance looked like it was two miles away.

“Everything alright?” my shadow asked as he strolled up to my car.

He had on black slacks, dress shoes, and a black button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had another cigarette in his mouth, and he made no attempt to hide the gun on his hip as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the hood of my car.

“My mother collapsed,” I snapped while I locked my ancient Honda. “Are you going to follow me in?”

I know I sounded testy, but I couldn’t help it. The idea of letting this thug anywhere near my mother, especially after she’d just collapsed, was not acceptable. Hell, I’d call Osvaldo directly and chew him out if this guy thought he was coming inside with me, and I didn’t care how many visits from Alvaro that resulted in.

“Nah,” the guy said with a shrug. “Can’t smoke in the hospital.”

He took a long drag of his cigarette and then blew the plume of smoke up into the air with a sly grin.

“Of course,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “You know, you don’t have to follow me around. I’m going to get Camilo out with or without the constant surveillance.”

“Sorry, man,” the goon said with an apologetic smile. “Boss’ orders.”

“Right,” I muttered. “Well, enjoy your cigarettes. I might be a few hours.”

“I’ll be here,” the goon responded. “I wouldn’t try to take another car to get away. It’ll only piss the boss off.”

“I’m going in to see my mother,” I snarled. “Not trying to get away. If I wanted to do that, I would’ve gone to the police station, not a hospital.”

“Just letting you know,” the man grinned as he lifted his hands.

He held his cigarette between two of the fingers on his right hand, and it left a thin trail of smoke around him as he waved his arms.

“Sure,” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “Can you make yourself scarce when I come out with my mom and her best friend?”

“They don’t know who you work for?” he mused.

“No,” I sneered. “I thought it might be detrimental to her cancer treatment to know her son was being followed and threatened because some judge made the wrong call.”

“Damn,” the goon’s grin