Chapter 258 - Trusted Completely - meters
Roland
Before my mom left for Miguel's place, I asked for the test results. I did some research: it wasn’t a benign tumor, it's rooted in the frontal lobe and has grown into the parietal lobe. It can be controlled, but if it keeps growing, she might lose her sight. It's too big to remove.
“Hey, Cielo.” Verónica sat on my lap.
“I've got the tickets ready for those who will take Inés to her appointments. She'll be traveling for fifteen days, and Guadalupe is going with them.”
“Arnold is…”
“That kid is full of crap. It makes me happy that he lives, feels, and learns how wonderful love is.”
“You seem calm.”
“Love, you were in a coma and hours away from being disconnected, and the Lord showed me His greatness. I accept it; the news took me by surprise, but I also have faith. Our kids were the warning sign of your cancer, and your last tests came back clean.
“With Inés, we've been warned. We just need to work to prevent that tumor from exploding and stop its growth. If we manage that, she can die of something else, not the tumor.
“I've experienced so many miracles in my life, I'd be a fool not to believe. I recognize she could die tomorrow.” My voice broke. “I feel the Lord is preparing all of us, just in case. It's a reminder that we are not eternal, and we must live and seek our happiness.”
“Hearing you talk about God like that fills me with pride.”
“I have a great teacher.”
“Get ready for dinner. The kids are already ready, dressed, perfumed, and looking adorable.”
“I'll be up in a few minutes. I need to talk to Simón and Miguel.”
“In other words, you need space.”
“Exactly.” She kissed me.
“Don’t distance yourself from me about Inés,” I insisted.
“I will never distance myself.” Verónica left, and I called Simón.
“Did you see the five men who arrived in Orlando from three different places in Europe?”
“Yes. Simón, if those guys are still there before Aníbal travels, watch them in shifts. You already have Inés’s itinerary and her appointments. If they don’t meet with Inés, they'll be watching Churrusco’s family. Only intervene if you see him in trouble. Otherwise, let him handle it.”
“He told me it wasn’t necessary to escort him.”
“You know he's very confident. So far, he's been lucky.”
“Perfect, see you in an hour at dinner.”
“Simón, we need to meet with Any. The D’Aronzo family has disappeared, and so has Akimaya’s. We need to keep an eye on Aslan and Kim’s family. Talk to the guys; they’re already informed.”
“When will you contact Petrov?”
“I don’t have any affection for that bastard. Not for now. Let’s keep the others on our side. Any is happy with what we're doing.”
“She has us by the balls.”
“She only trusts us,” I said.
The meeting was pleasant, with the news of a new member from Cereza; two babies will be born almost at the same time. According to Inés, the Bible says we must reproduce, and we took it seriously. I looked at everyone, my mom did too, and that satisfaction in her eyes when we met gazes.
“Thank you,” I whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t you dare leave us just yet.” Everyone fell silent when they saw her cry.
“Take care of them all, Roland.”
I nodded, that was my duty. I know we all try not to cry, and I don’t want to think about seeing my mom in a coffin.
“Lord, if this was a warning, thank you, but don’t take her.”
I held my wife’s hand. When she looked at me, I couldn’t hold it in and got up. I left the house and, in the solitude of the night, I let the tears flow.
“Son.” I pulled my mom close and held on to her. “Cry, my love, but stay strong. I know Inés’s illness destabilizes all of you, but the good thing is she’s still alive, and we have hope.”
“I’m just scared, Mom. I’m afraid of failing.”
“You would never fail us,” Arnold said. When I looked, Inés was there with all my siblings.
“They say men don’t cry, and especially not demons like me. But right now, seeing the woman who knelt for years to pray for our lives and knowing she’s sick…
“It feels powerless not to be able to protect her, and I don’t care about giving all my damn money to save you, Mom, but this is out of my hands. I’m struggling to entrust your life to the only one who can grant you more days, and that’s the Lord.”
Inés’s and my mother’s arms held on to me, my siblings too, and I didn’t care about being seen crying. With Verónica, I had done it alone, with her cancer, only in front of Simón and Miguel; now all my siblings saw me cry, a man who was an ice block.
……
Aníbal
Tomorrow was the trip with my family. I was at El Renacer, and from here, I would go to Oasis for dinner and to say goodbye to my mom.
"Churrusco."
Roland called me. I saw him enter his office; once I was inside, he invited me to sit down.
"Take this." It was the special glasses. They looked like reading glasses and protected me from the sun when I went outside. "Wear them when you go out, I’ll see everything."
"Yes, sir. I’ll make sure not to see my wife naked with them."
"I'd appreciate that." We smiled. "You can sync and personalize them. The guys haven’t left, they know your hotel reservations because they checked in two days ago. So we won’t change them, but you won’t be going there. These are the new ones." He handed me a folder. "These are your new documents."
"I’m the expert in forgeries. Why didn’t you tell me?"
"You’ll be using a name you’ve used before. Arnold made the papers, you taught him."
"Can I have some fun with them, Boss?"
"Only kill if you or your family are in danger. Enjoy those ten days." He smiled, and with that, I had permission to play cat and mouse.
"That’s what I’ll do. I hope the cheese is fresh."
"Don’t get cocky, I know you. I need you whole, Hannibal." I nodded.
After dinner, I said goodbye to them. The only ones missing were Simon, Gustavo, and Cherry. In five days, Ines has her first appointment in Germany.
"What’s with those glasses?" We were at the airport, and my nieces and nephews looked happy.
"Darling… I’ll also be Churrusco." She stiffened. "If I ask you to stay in one place, you stay, Shirley, no matter what you see, you stay. Don’t play the hero, because you’ll screw me over, understand?" She nodded.
"Are you going to tell your sister?"
"No, love, I want them to enjoy it. We’ll only tell them if necessary."
We arrived at the hotel my brothers chose. My wife looked at me and understood things weren’t that simple, but she said nothing. Once we were settled in the room, which was a luxury apartment with three bedrooms inside the hotel room.
One for us, one for my sister, and one for my nieces and nephews. While they were settling in, I went out to the balcony, looked around the perimeter, and smiled. I put on the microphone; I would be my family’s bodyguard.
"Rasca Culo and who else? If the trip wasn’t in a few days, Ines would be Arnold. Boss?" I’d bet my balls it was Simon.
"I’m just directly inspecting the locations," said Simon, and I heard Rasca Culo’s laughter.
"I’ll be like a stalker in the building across the street. Just be careful to close the curtain when you don’t want me to see something indecent," Gustavo warned. They weren’t at dinner last night, which only means they traveled by road or helicopter.
"Cherry?"
"That’s my boy!" He burst out laughing.
"The one who laughs alone is plotting a po..."
I put my finger on my wife’s lips, silencing her, and showed her the earpiece in my ear; she blushed. She nodded, kissed me, and went back into the living room of the room.
"Guys, in a while you’ll enter the hotel where the assholes are. The hotel is close to this place."
"Be careful, we’re all seeing what you see. Roland will only intervene when strictly necessary."
We had lunch and started our tour with the kids. They were living a dream, and we were just getting started. Once we were back, we left them at the hotel, and I took my wife’s hand.
"Come with me, Darling."
We arrived at the hotel where we were initially going to stay and checked in. We had to make them believe it was just the two of us. We had dinner at the restaurant, and Shirley was nervous.
"Sweetheart, I know what you’re doing, and I’m sure you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me. But I can’t help being scared."
"I understand. Thank you for trusting me."
"Always." At that moment, I saw one of the guys from the photos Onion gave us.
"Well, well!"
I heard Roland’s voice. It might be silly, but knowing we were under the Boss’s watchful eye reassured me; he sees things where no one else does.
"Darling, after dinner, I’ll visit a friend. We need to talk to him; it’s a way to keep them off our backs."
"Am I going back alone?"
"No, love, you’ll just wait for me at the nightclub while I go to the bathroom."
"Okay."
They showed us to a table in the best section of the nightclub. She ordered a beer, and I ordered a fruit juice. They looked at me strangely, to which I responded that I was taking medication for cancer and couldn’t drink alcohol. They sympathized and made me a juice in a place where only alcohol was served.
"How should I behave?"
"Normal, Darling. Do you want to dance?"
"In a little while."
I smiled at her. Shirley was so beautiful; there wasn’t a day I didn’t look at her and wonder: was that gorgeous woman all mine? I’m not handsome. I might have a body because of my job, but the mirror tells me I must have my heart hidden, and she found it because I’m not handsome.