The Return Read Online Free Page A

bloodthirsty son of a bitch like Juan Chiato. I tell you, Sporty was scared. He had a right to be scared." Darlene nodded, her eyes burning.
    "That all happened four weeks ago, and now look what's happened. Sporty's dead. Juan killed him, there's no doubt about it. We have to kill the bastard."
    The room was silent for a full minute. Jean didn't know what to say. It did sound like Juan was probably the culprit, but who in his right mind would take revenge against someone who had a whole gang at his back? The Red Blades would reearn their name hunting down and slaughtering whoever touched Juan. And if they just happened to murder a few who were only guilty by indirect association, then so much the better.
    Jean regretted having asked if Carol could stay for the meeting. Sitting on the floor against the wall, Carol looked full of regrets. Darlene must have been loaded to be talking about such things so openly. Yet she appeared in full command of her senses. It was Lenny who spoke first, and Jean was surprised when he didn't dismiss Darlene's proposal outright.
    "I can't understand why Sporty didn't tell me he was having trouble with Juan," he said. "He should have come to me right away, before he tried to sell any jeans. I would have told him to stay as far away as he could from the guy."
    "He wanted to make his own mark," Darlene said.
    "He wanted to make his own money. Sporty got tired of living in your shadow and wanted to do something about it."
    Lenny shifted uncomfortably. "He picked a bad way to go about it."
    "We've already established that he wasn't the most intelligent guy on the planet," Carol said.
    "Shut up," Darlene said. "I can say those things, but you can't. You didn't love him."
    Carol made a face. "I hardly knew him."
    "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that it was Juan," Lenny said. "If we want him dead, we have to do it ourselves. Anyone else will talk to someone else.
    And if we do kill him, it's got to look like someone else did it. Because the second Juan's Blade buddies find his body, they're going to guess it was either Darlene or me who was behind it because we were Sporty's best friends."
    "I hope you're not suggesting that it has to look like an accident," Carol said.
    Lenny shook his head impatiently. "If Juan has a dozen bullets in him, it can't look like an accident."
    "We could run him over," Darlene suggested.
    "It might be better to blow him up," Lenny said.
    "The less left, the better."
    Jean felt compelled to speak. "Wait a second. What are we talking about here?
    Sporty's dead and that's terrible. But we can't avenge his death, especially if it was Juan who killed him. His gang will know who did it no matter how you plan it. They'll kill us all."
    "Why would they kill you?" Lenny asked, an odd note in his voice.
    "Because I was Sporty's friend, too," Jean said, annoyed at the question.
    "Because I'm here with you guys talking about this foolish plan. You can't go up against someone that's high up in a gang. It's just not done. You know that, Lenny. Why are you even listening to Darlene?"
    Lenny held her eye before answering, his face dark. He hadn't appreciated her remarks. "Because I was his friend. A real friend doesn't do nothing after his friend's gunned down. I was there. He died in my arms."
    Jean returned his stare. When angered, few people intimidated her. "What were you two doing at the projects so late at night?" she asked. "So close to Juan's home ground?"
    Lenny didn't blink. "I didn't know about Sporty's problems with Juan. I said that already."
    "But that doesn't answer my question," Jean said.
    "At night that piece of turf is a death zone."
    "No one's asking you to be involved, Jean," Darlene said bitterly. "I just thought since Sporty always told me what a great girl you were that you'd want to be in on the payback."
    "What payback is that going to be?" Jean asked, her voice hot "Kill Juan and live in fear every second until they come for us? And who's to say they'll