AGAINST THE WIND (Book Two of The Miami Crime Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

Magnum?" he asked her.
    ""That's the one," she said.
    "Where the fuck you get that?"
    "Last week. On the street. I got it off a girl who didn't want to
give it up." Alicia's smile told all.
    "One more thing," Dad said. "Be careful driving away.
You're still in Niggertown, remember, so watch for anyone following you or
pulling up beside you. Take the quickest fucking route out of there. And come
straight back here. To this spot. No stopping off anywhere."
    "Okay," Desi said. He wanted desperately to please his father. That's
the way it is with first-generation Cuban Americans. They want to please their
exile parents, make them feel it was all worthwhile. Dad had come over as a
small child with his parents in the early 1960s, when Cuba started sliding down
the toilet, but while Cubans could still leave the island legally. He later met
Marianela in their Hialeah neighborhood. Her family had been here for a few
years already and her English was getting pretty good, so they became friends
while she helped him with the language. They were inseparable as they went
through elementary school, junior high, and high school. He was drafted, served
a year at the tail end of Vietnam and then a year stateside, after which he
came back to Marianela. They were married a couple of years later and nine
months after that, Desi Junior arrived.
    Dad threw his arms around his son. " Buena suerte, mi hijo ." Desi returned the hug with a couple of
pats on his Dad's shoulder.
    They got into the Durango. Desi handed Alicia the keys. "Here, you
drive, hermana , but be careful. Don't
fuck my car up."
    She chuckled. "Don't worry. I can drive these things."
    "Yeah, you can drive these things. You sixteen, girl. You can barely
drive at all. I'm tellin' you, don't fuck up my car."
    Truth was, Desi was worried about a lot more than his Dodge Durango. The
driver on these deals had to be quick-thinking and able. Had to squeeze that
car through the tightest of spots if the occasion suddenly called for it.
Alicia had the heart, Desi knew. He wasn't worried about that. He only wondered
about her ability to handle a car under tough circumstances. Could she do a
sliding 90? Or a high-speed drift? You never knew what was going to happen on
these deals. Or so Dad had told him in preparation for this one.
    He hoped it would never come to that.

 
    ≈ ≈ ≈

 
    The drive to Liberty City took forever. An
eighteen-wheeler had rammed a minivan causing a multi-car pileup on I-95, funneling
the great freeway down to one northbound lane. Cop cars and ambulances were
everywhere, their flashers washing over the whole scene as they sorted through
the wreckage for bodies. Desi and Alicia sat in what amounted to a parking lot
for nearly twenty minutes, cursing the seemingly unmanageable Miami traffic
every one of those minutes. By the time they got to the 62nd Street exit, they
were already a couple of minutes late.
    Not a good start for my
first real job , Desi thought.
    Alicia knew the way and found the apartment complex on 61st Street
without incident. The Lexus stood alone with its lights on at the dark end of
the lot, parked in getaway position.
    "Pull up facing them," Desi said. "About fifty feet from
their car."
    Alicia placed the Durango perfectly and pointed it directly at them,
leaving the lights on. Desi, Alicia, and one of the Lexus occupants got out of
their vehicles at the same time, and Desi noticed the breeze that refreshed the
Port of Miami had died before it reached these humid bowels of Liberty City.
    He saw two more niggers get out of the Lexus, and prickles ran up his
spine. Those two stood behind the first one, silhouetted against the bright
lights of their parked vehicle. Desi squinted — in fact he very nearly
put his hand up to shield his eyes from the intense lights, but he immediately
knew squinting was a rookie mistake, showing weakness. He was positive the first
guy had seen him do it and immediately hated the fact he'd given him