I apologise in advance for the long Spanish conversation ahead!

But, I hope you enjoy ❤️

~ Santiago's POV ~

"This is the guy?"

Arturo nodded his head, looking at the white haired old man who opened the door at the house we were at in Mexico City.

We came straight here after checking into our hotel - there really was no time to waste.

The man watched us with a smile before he slowly turned to the side and lifted a shaking hand, pointing inside his house.

"¿Te gustaria venir?" (Would you like to come in?)

He gave us a kind a smile which only added to my confusion.

He was the one who had a history with El Dios Del Diablo?

Arturo was the one leading the conversation with the man he'd somehow found, so he nodded, thanking the man in Spanish before we all went inside.

We went into his small house, following him into the living room where he gestured for us to sit.

"¿Beber?" (Drink?) He smiled at us while the four of us kept straight faces.

"Solo el agua es buena, gracias." (Just water is good, thank you.)

He nodded his head, stopping to turn back to us when Noah stood to his feet.

"Déjame ayudarte Vidal." (Let me help you Vidal).

Vidal's smile only widened and he nodded his head, gesturing for Noah to follow him into the hallway to the kitchen. We waited as soon as they were out of ear shot to start speaking, even though Vidal didn't speak English.

"Arturo? This guy is like 80 years old, you really think he going to tell us anything useful?"

"And he's like the sweetest old guy ever." I glanced over at Nicolas while nodding in agreement.

"Look, this Mexican girl I screw sometimes, recommended this guy. He's her grandfather's friend. It's men like him who pass down the stories, maybe he knew them back in his young years."

"You believed a hooker enough to drag us all to Mexico City?"

"She's not a freaking hooker, she's a waitress." Arturo glared at me while I just let out a chuckle at his defensive response, rolling my eyes.

"How could a waitress know anything about El Dios Del Diablo?"

"Because she..." When Arturo's sentence trailed off in response to Nicolas's question I rose an eyebrow at him causing him to let out a sigh.

"She was a hooker when she lived in Mexico."

His words just caused us both to laugh and moments later Vidal returned with Noah who was holding a tray with five glasses of water on. They were both laughing about something as they came back in, the sight would have made me smile if I was someone who allowed myself to feel things like that.

Noah put the tray down and sat back down next to me while Vidal took a seat on the arm chair across from where we were sitting before he let out a sigh.

"Entonces, ¿en qué puedo ayudarlo?" (So, what can I help you with?)

When he spoke, we all turned to look at Arturo, waiting for him to reply.

"Uh...bueno, hemos escuchado que puede estar dispuesto a vendernos alguna información." (Uh...well, we heard that you may be willing to sell us some information.)

"¿Información?" (Information?) The man still continued to smile, looking at Arturo with kind eyes.

"Sí, sobre cómo podemos encontrar a...El Dios Del Diablo." (Yes about how we can find...The Devil's God.)

As soon Arturo said their name, the man's smile dropped and a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

"¡Sal! ¡Sal de mi casa!" (Get out! Get out of my house!)

My eyes widened at the way he started shouting at us all of a sudden, pointing towards the door with the same look of horror on his face.

"Vidal, por favor, cálmate." (Vidal, please, calm down.) He seemed to ignore Arturo's request and shook his head, now mumbling to himself. "No ellos, no ellos." (Not them, not them.)

It fell silent as we all just sat there watching him slowly get over the shock of hearing the name of the cartel, before eventually Noah got up from his place on the couch next to me.

We watched as he picked up a glass of water and went over to where Vidal was sitting, handing it to him carefully.

"Por favor, no pretendíamos asustarte. No estamos con ellos, lo prometo." (Please we didn't mean to scare you. We're not with them, I promise.)

Noah's soothing words seemed to help Vidal calm down and he took the glass with a shaky hand, taking a few sips of the water.

"No quieres involucrarte con ellos." (You don't want to get involved with them.)

Once it was clear he wasn't going to continue shouting, Noah came and sat back down, nodding his head in understanding.

"Si no los encontramos, nos matarán, matarán a nuestro amigo Santiago." (If we don't find them, they will kill us, they will kill our friend Santiago.)

As he spoke, Noah nodded towards me causing Vidal to turn to look at me, studying me for a moment before he spoke.

"¿Por qué tú?" (Why you?)

"Tengo la suerte de ser el líder de nuestro cartel. Pero no siempre es bueno para mí familia." (I'm lucky enough to be the leader of our cartel. But, it's not always good for my family.)

When I said the word 'family', images of Madison and our children came to my mind. I never even thought I would have a family, never mind with Madison and having two children.

He nodded his head in understanding before he turned back to Arturo.

"No quiero tu dinero si te digo lo que sé." (I don't want your money if I tell you what I know.)

"¿Qué te gustaría?" (What would you want?)

Vidal looked at Arturo for a moment before he turned to look at me.

"Si te lo digo, entonces debes prometer cuidar a mi nieta. Ella es todo lo que me queda." (If I help you then you must promise to look out for my granddaughter. She's all I have left.)

We all nodded agreeing to his terms, but before any of us could speak, he held his hand up.

"Entonces me matas." (Then you kill me.)

My eyes widened at his words and I suddenly sat forward on the couch with a frown on my face.

"¿Qué?" (What?)

Vidal gave me a small smile while shaking his head.

"Tengo 86 años y tengo cáncer. Voy a morir de todos modos y si hablo de ellos, vendrán a matarme de la manera más brutal." (I'm 86 and I have cancer. I'm going to die anyway, and if I speak about them, they will come to kill me in the most brutal way.)

He continued to smile even while we were all frowning at him, especially Noah who was watching the old man with sad eyes.

That guy gets too attached.

"¿Te parece bien? Te contaré todo lo que sé." (Is this okay with you? I will tell you all that I know.)

Reluctantly the four of us nodded our heads and he still seemed to be relaxed as he nodded, even though he just asked us to kill him for what he was about to tell us.

"Cuando tenía 10 años, fui secuestrado de mi calle en la Ciudad de México. Me hicieron comenzar a entrenar casi de inmediato. Fueron despiadados en las cosas que nos hicieron hacer con otros hombres y ... mujeres. Vimos a los mayores hacerlo y luego copiamos. Tenía trece años cuando maté a alguien por primera vez y catorce cuando violé a alguien por primera vez. Permanecí en esa vida hasta los treinta y uno y conocí a mi difunta esposa." (When I was 10 years old, I was kidnapped from my street in Mexico City. They made me start training almost immediately. They were ruthless in the things that they made us do to other men and...women. We watched the older ones do it and then we copied. I was thirteen when I killed someone for the first time and fourteen when I raped someone for the first time. I stayed in that life until I was thirty-one and I met my late wife.)

He had a frown on his face as he spoke, telling us about his past.

"Pregunté si podía irme, para poder establecerme con ella y tener una familia sin esa vida, pero no me lo permitieron. No a menos que ... la violaran una y otra vez mientras me torturaban. Era su forma de hacerme pagar por querer irme y finalmente lo permitieron. Podría contarte todo sobre las cosas que hice por ellos durante veintiún años de mi vida, pero no lo haré." (I asked if I could leave, so that I could settle down with her and have a family without that life but they wouldn't allow it. Not unless...they raped her over and over again while they tortured me. It was their way of making me pay for wanting to leave then finally they allowed it. I could tell you all about the things I did for them for twenty one years of my life, but I won't.)

We all sat there in silence as we listened to him recant the story of how he joined and then left El Dios Del Diablo. Although it was a very basic explanation of what happened, it fit the image that I had of them almost exactly.

The pain on his face told me he still hadn't gotten over what had happened even though over fifty years had passed.

Would you if it was Madison in his wife's position?

"De todos modos, esa es mi historia, es similar a muchos otros, aunque hay hombres y mujeres que deciden que quieren unirse y están de acuerdo." (Anyway that is my story, it is similar to a lot of others although there are men and women who decide they want to join and they're okay with it.)

People actually wanted to join a cartel like that?

"¿Cómo te unes?" (How do you join?) Vidal looked over at Arturo who was listening intently to the story with a cold expression on his face although this wasn't necessarily directed at Vidal.

"Eres elegido No puedes simplemente acercarte a ellos y pedir unirte o encontrar a alguien que forme parte del cartel e interponerse en ese camino. Te encuentran, y si te quieren, entonces estás dentro, no tienes otra opción. Otra forma es nacer en ella." (You're chosen. You can't just walk up to them and ask to join or find someone who is part of the cartel and get in that way. They find you, and if they want you then you're in, you don't have a choice. Another way is to be born into it.)

Arturo nodded his head but before he could speak Vidal continued.

"Controlan mucho más de lo que piensas que hacen. Solo sus negocios generan el 60% de los ingresos anuales de México. Tienen influencia en las políticas y leyes del gobierno, incluso pueden cambiar lo que se aprende en las escuelas si así lo desean. Nada es demasiado para ellos." (They control a lot more than you think they do. Their businesses alone generate 60% of Mexico's annual income. They have influence in government policies and laws, they can even change what is learned in schools if they wanted to. Nothing is too much for them.)

The way he described them made it seem next to impossible to kill them, exactly how I had expected it to be.

But I wasn't going to give up. I needed to kill them or die trying because if I didn't eventually they would come after me and probably kill my family along with me. Especially now that I'd come to Mexico asking about them.

"Entonces, ¿cómo los matamos?" (So how do we kill them?)

Vidal looked at me when I questioned him for the the first time since he started the story.

"El Dios del Diablo no es un cartel típico. No está dirigido por un hombre como la mayoría de ellos. Es una red de líderes. Por supuesto, hay uno en la cima como siempre, pero si ese es asesinado, siempre habrá alguien que tome su lugar." (El Dios Del Diablo isn't a typical cartel. It isn't run by one man like most of them. It is a network of leaders. Of course there is one at the top as always but if that one is killed there will always be someone to take his place.)

"¿Entonces no podemos?" (So we can't?)

He thought about it for a moment before he spoke again.

"La única forma de eliminarlos es poner a todos los líderes principales en un solo lugar y matarlos a todos, lo que es inaudito. Han existido durante doscientos años y eso nunca ha sucedido. Una vez que están todos muertos, usa el aspirador de poder para tu ventaja y toma el control antes que nadie más pueda." (The only way to take them out is to get all the top leaders into one place and kill them all which is unheard of. They've existed for two hundred years and that has never happened. Once they're all dead you use the power vacuum to your advantage and take over control before anyone else can.)

It would be a lot easier for us to do something like that if their leader was actually a known person. But, from what I knew, no one knew who the leaders were.

"¿Cómo encontramos a los líderes?" (How do we find the leaders?)

"Espera a que te encuentren. Haz algo de ruido y lo harán." (Wait for them to find you. Make some noise and they will.)

Make some noise?

"¿Provocarlos? ¿Cómo?" (Provoke them? How?)

Vidal thought for a moment before a smirk tugged at his lips.

For an 86 year old man, he was pretty cool.

"Las cosas han cambiado desde que estaba en el cartel, pero lo que siempre llama su atención es que alguien está jugando con sus acciones." (Things have changed from when I was in the cartel, but what always gets their attention is someone messing with their stock.)

As soon as I got the gist of what he was suggesting, I let out a small chuckle and nodded my head while the others just looked at me with a weird look, clearly not catching on.

"Tengo una idea. Gracias, Vidal." (I have an idea. Thank you, Vidal.) He nodded his head, giving me a soft smile before he spoke again, this time in a softer tone.

"Mantente fuerte hijo. Aunque esta vida viene con sus máximos, también puede provocar su caída. Su familia es lo primero, siempre, pase lo que pase." (Stay strong son. Although this life comes with it's highs, it can also bring your downfall. Your family comes first, always, no matter what.)

I nodded my head as I stood to my feet, making my way over to where he was sitting. Vidal watched me with the same kind eyes as I reached out and shook his hand in a firm handshake.

"Gracias." (Thank you.)

He nodded his head, giving me a soft smile before he focused his attention back to all four of us.

"Entonces, ¿creo que teníamos un trato?" (So, I believe we had a deal?")

"¿Estás seguro? Vidal, podemos protegerte de ellos, no tienes que-" (Are you sure? Vidal, we can give you protection from them, you don't have to-)

"Por favor." (Please.) When he cut me off with a pleading look, I let out a defeated sigh and nodded my head before I turned to face the others.

We all looked at one another, none of us saying a word - it was clear we didn't want to do it, but someone had to do it. Eventually I reluctantly took my gun out from the waistband of my pants.

I was the leader, the position came with responsibilities like this, I guess.

"I'll do it. Just wait outside."

Noah looked like he was about to say something but instead he just nodded his head and went over to Vidal to shake his hand, mumbling something quietly to him. Following on, both Arturo and Nicolas also did the same before I was left alone with Vidal.

I stood in front of him, holding the gun in my hand as I watched him, willing myself to point the gun in his direction.

"¿Eres un gatito? Simplemente hazlo." (Are you a pussy? Just do it.) He gave me a teasing smile causing me to let out a small chuckle before I nodded my head, letting out a deep breath.

"¿Estas seguro?" (Are you sure?)

Still, he didn't seem scared as he nodded his head with a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Sí por favor. Estoy listo para estar con mi esposa. Por favor no olvides a mi nieta." (Yes please. I'm ready to be with my wife. Please don't forget my granddaughter.)

I nodded my head as I stepped closer to him, pointing the gun at his head.

"Lo siento si duele." (I'm sorry if it hurts.)

He shook his head giving me a wider smile as he waited for me to pull the trigger.

"Me llevas con mi esposa, no dolerá." (You're taking me to my wife, it won't hurt.)

When I didn't respond, he closed his eyes waiting for me to finally bring myself to pull the trigger.

I'd killed a lot of people in my life, but none of them had been innocent. None of them had been nice people.

Eventually, I took a deep breath and pushed my emotions to the side as I pulled the tight trigger causing a bang to ring out in the room.

My eyes stayed focused on his corpse as he now lay back in his chair, his eyes closed and a soft smile on his face.

"Ahora puedes descansar en paz con tu esposa, mi amigo." (You can rest in peace with your wife now, my friend.)

I let out a deep breath, taking a minute in the hallway as I struggled to get my emotions together before I finally left his house to meet the others outside.

None of them spoke as I stopped in the dimly lit street in Mexico City, putting my gun back into my waistband.

"Let's go."

They stayed silent as I walked down the road towards the car we had rented, getting into the drivers seat. As soon as they'd all got in I started the drive towards the hotel, turning to look at Arturo who was sitting silently next to me.

"Call the police. Tell them you head a gun shot coming from his house. His granddaughter should know and they'll tell her."

He nodded his head, his eyes lingering on me for a second while I just continued to stare ahead of us at the road.

"Find out who she is, we made a promise to look out for her."

Without a word we drove back to the hotel and as soon as we got back I got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet, before heading upstairs.

"Santi..."

The elevator ride up to the floor we were staying on was absolutely silent and it was only when I walked into the suite I was sharing with Arturo that he finally broke the silence.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to go to sleep."

"What about the plan?" As I was heading to my room, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"What plan?"

"To take down the cartel." I nodded my head when I realised what he was talking about, letting out a sigh.

"We'll talk in the morning."

I could tell he wanted to say something, but I didn't give him the chance and instead I went into my room. Somehow I quickly found myself standing in my bathroom, gripping the sink so hard that my knuckles turned white.

You should have left him alone. That's just one more person you've killed. He was innocent.

I shook my head at the voice in my head, looking at myself in the mirror as I glared at myself.

He asked for it. He wanted to die.

The internal battle continued inside myself when a mocking laugh rung out in my head.

Who would want to die if they had a choice? You gave an innocent man no choice.

I shook my head, letting a strangled scream as a flare of anger ran through me. Spurred on by my rage, my hand reached out in a fist and, I punched the mirror.

Then again.

And again.

I didn't even feel the pain that I knew I should have felt judging by the red liquid running down my hand as I stared at my reflection in the shattered mirror infront of me.

You killed him and he was innocent.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

That night it took me hours to finally fall asleep and as soon as I did my mind was plagued with the same dreams of Madison being killed in front of me - the same ones I'd been having for so many years.

They had calmed down once she started sleeping in my room when
I made her live with me. But, this was the first night I'd spent away from her in months and suddenly those dreams were back.

We may have been in an extremely weird place in our relationship, but just having her close to me for these last few weeks while she's been at my house was something I didn't even know I needed.

Now I was away from her and the twins, I was feeling that emptiness so much more than before.

She would have made me feel better.

Who are you kidding? She would hate you for what you did. You killed an innocent man.

"You look like hell."

I lifted my head to look at Arturo who came out of his room, his eyes focusing on me as I sat in the living room we shared. Instead of replying to him I just looked out through the huge window at the Mexico City skyline. The sun was only just starting to rise behind the buildings and the sky was a light yellow and blue colour.

I felt the couch dip next to me and it remained silent for a moment until I felt a hand on my back.

"He was an 86 year old man with cancer. You did him a favour Santiago, he wanted it. He could have asked for anything else instead of money but he chose death. That was his choice."

Although he was trying to make me feel better, it really didn't help. Eventually I turned to look at him, masking my emotions as I turned back to the business at hand instead.

"Go and wake up Nicolas and Noah up. We have work to do."

~ Madison's POV ~

"Not too long, okay? We need to get back home before it starts getting dark." Cameron nodded before taking Kenzie's hand in his, walking her over to the climbing frame in the playground we were at in the park.

I let out a sigh as I sat down on the bench, taking out my phone to see no notifications which had been the case all day.

Santiago had been gone for three days already and this morning the twins had been asking about him so I called him but of course he didn't answer, and he still hadn't called me back.

It's easy to say these last three days had been pretty tough on my own. I wasn't used to living in such a huge house with the twins and having to take care of them 24/7 on my own while working. The only break I got was the drive from the preschool to the hospital and then back to the preschool to collect them after my shift.

The fact this could continue for an undeclared amount of time was worrying to say the least - especially since Santiago had clearly gone of the radar.

"Madison?" At the sound of my name I turned my head to see a man staring at me, holding onto a dog lead in one hand. I rose up from my seat on the bench, taking in his shocked expression as he stared at me.

"Jesse?" He continued to stare at me in shock for a moment before he let out a small laugh and stepped closer to me, wrapping one arm around me as he pulled me into a hug.

"It's been so long! How are you?"

A little shocked at the sudden contact, I let out a small laugh of my own and stepped away from him, putting some distance between us again.

"I'm good, how are you?" He gave me a smile as he glanced down at his dog who was watching me with cautious eyes.

"Good. You look great by the way, wow I can't believe it's already been so long."

He continued to stare at me in shock as I nodded, my mind going back to the times we spent together in college.

Jesse was the only boyfriend I'd ever had. He was special to me, I had my first time with him and like they say you never forget your first time.

"I know, it feels like just yesterday when we were hiding out in your dorm room instead of attending our lectures."

He let out a laugh at this, nodding his head as he probably thought back to our days in college.

"So you made it then? You graduated?" I nodded my head with a proud smile as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I've officially been a qualified nurse for five years."

Jesse was a year older than me which meant he graduated one year before me which is when we lost contact when he moved away from California.

"Well congratulations, that's really good to hear."

"What have you been up to?" He gave me a smile as we sat down on the bench I was originally sitting on and his dog lay down next to his feet.

"I'm actually an investment banker now. I recently moved back to LA for my job, but I've been living in New York for most of my career."

"Oh wow, that's amazing. Congratulations." He nodded his head giving me a small smile as a thank you.

Just as I was about to ask him another question, I heard a small gasp next to me.

"Doggy!" I turned my head just in time to seen Mackenzie run over to Jesse's dog with her hand out ready to pet him. The dog lifted his head when he saw Kenzie and he looked like he was about to stand up before I reached out grabbed Kenzie.

"Mackenzie don't." She looked at the dog with wide eyes before turning to look at me with a pout just as Cameron came to stand next to her.

"It's not your dog. You have to ask." She still continued to pout before she turned her attention to Jesse who was now staring at the twins in shock.

"Can I?" He stared at her for a little while longer before he slowly nodded his head.

"Sure, he won't bite." He gave her a small smile causing her to grin before she stepped closer to the dog who was watching her carefully.

"Gently Kenzie." She nodded her head before gently patting the dog on the head, causing his ears to flatten as he bowed his head towards her. His reaction caused her to giggle while Cameron came and did the same.

"They're yours?" While they were busy playing with the dog, I turned to look at Jesse who spoke in a weird tone. It sounded sad and shocked at the same time.

"Yeah, they are." I managed to give him a small smile and he nodded his head, clearing his throat as he turned his attention back to the twins.

"His name is Apollo." When Jesse said his dog's name, Apollo turned his head to look at him curiously. Cameron smiled as he watched the small interaction, before he tested out the name for himself causing Apollo to look at him too.

The twins seemed fascinated with the way Apollo would turned to look at whoever said his name.

"Mama can we have one?" As soon as Cameron asked that question I let out a laugh and stood to my feet causing Jesse to do the same.

"Don't you think I have enough work to do by just looking after the pair of you?" My words caused Jesse to laugh too but the twins just pouted instead.

"Please." I shook my head again at Kenzie who just frowned now in response. She hated not getting her way.

"I'll ask daddy." I rose an eyebrow at her when she spoke in her version of a threatening tone before I bent down to her level.

"With what phone baby?"

My words caused her to pout even more causing me to let out a laugh. I kissed her cheek quickly before I stood to my feet turning to face Jesse who was watching me with a faraway expression.

"It was really nice to see you again Jesse."

My words broke him out of his thoughts and he nodded his head, glancing down at the twins who were watching Apollo.

"We should meet again, they can play with Apollo properly if they want to."

I was definitely reluctant to say yes for many reasons. I was just asking for trouble if I suddenly invited Jesse into my life knowing my history with him. Especially now that Santiago and I were in such a weird place, especially after my little episode with Asher. But when the twins nodded excitedly at his suggestion I eventually nodded my head, forcing a small smile onto my face.

"Sure."

Once we exchanged numbers he promised to call me and then left us, while the twins were excitedly talking about getting a dog. I'm sure that would continue now forever until I finally gave in and got them a dog.

The problem was we didn't live in our own house, we were living in Santiago's house and for some reason I didn't feel like he would want a dog in his expensive house.

Also, this living situation was temporary so I couldn't really buy a dog and then move into an apartment which may have a no pet policy.

Unfortunately, to add to all this I still had no idea how long I would be staying in Santiago's house with him, or without him if he ever came back from that stupid business trip he disappeared on.

Sorry the chapters are so slow! I'm trying to make this book work as well as I can so I'm spending more time on the chapters to get them right.

Don't forget to vote and comment to let me know what you think! ❤️