Guns and Mirrors

THIRTY-SIX

♛Cameron Dawson ♛

We return to a bloodbath.

Fourteen people dead and twenty-three injured. Those are the numbers after the Slither Gang planted a bomb at a grocery store in the Kings territory and blew it up. Three of those who died were Kings Members. Two were children. One was an old woman. I don't know what's the stats of the injured- not that I would want to hear it.

"That will teach them to push the boundaries." I hear one of Jack's fighters say to another and it takes every ounce of control not to snap his neck. How can you talk of the death of people like that? Like it's meaningless? If you're going to kill and injure a bunch of people, at least have some tact about it.

Ramiro seems upset too although he manages to hide it better than me. His face is a mask of calm, the only thing giving away his frustration being the tick in his jaw and the harder punches he lays onto the punching bag. Ramiro seems to be the one who keeps a reign on his emotions more between the two of the siblings but today he seems to be facing more emotional turmoil than most days.

"I wish I could snap his neck." I mutter in Spanish and Ramiro nods, holding his hands up in front of his face and bouncing on his feet before hitting the bag. It swings vigorously. I've never seen Ramiro fight although from the looks of it, he's skilled as hell.

"Yeah, you're not alone." He replies back, glancing over his shoulder at the man. We don't practice punches for much longer before we both clean up and decide to leave the gym, with permission from Xavier of course, and head for our cars. However, Ramiro doesn't climb in and drive immediately. Instead, he leans against the hood of his car and pulls out a cigarette before placing it between his lips and taking a long drag. I take a seat beside him as he exhales and look around the fairly quiet parking lot under the purple and pink sky. The sight would be beautiful if there wasn't so much bloodshed beneath it.

"How was Nevada?" Ramiro suddenly asks and I frown, glancing at Ramiro to see him staring straight ahead. Glancing at me, he adds: "Don't worry, Harley told me you guys were visiting her mom."

Shaking my head to myself, I realize how even though I hate Harley trusting other people who can put her safety at risk, I'm also glad she's opening up to someone other than me. I just hope that Ramiro is the right person to do that with.

"It was great. I spent some really good quality time with Harley." I reply with a soft smile. Truthfully, the little getaway was more needed than I thought and even though I spent most of it in the presence of a woman who is not too fond of me, seeing Harley so relaxed and at ease was more than worth it. I enjoyed the late mornings in, the food and family. This weekend gave us a taste of a life we both want and deserve. And there was Las Vegas. It was so satisfying seeing Harley's face light up and taking pictures with her. I really would give anything to see her happy.

"Mmh." Ramiro hums. "I'm sure you did judging from those." He remarks and I glance at him to see his eyes focused on the spot between my neck and shoulder. When I lift a hand to rub the spot, he laughs good naturely.
It's not my fault that Harley likes to leave marks. Not that I'm complaining... it's quite enjoyable, actually.

"Hey," I roll my eyes, "don't be such a sour ass because I have a sex life and you don't." It's obvious why we're joking around- both of us want to forget about the fact that a bunch of people were murdered and injured. For a moment, both of us just want to be guys and talk shit.

"My sex life is great. The only difference between you and I is that you have a single partner. Also, I don't think you get called Daddy either." He replies with a lopsided grin and I can't help but laugh. That much is true. It goes quiet for a moment as we both look at the sky where the sun is slowly moving behind the hill in the distance. From here, it doesn't look like gang activity is ever so present in this city because it seems so peaceful. And I really wish that were true.