It was such a difficult concept to wrap my head around. I knew a little about the Devil’s Dragons when Hunter joined them – they were the local menace, as my father would put it.
Drug trafficking, shootouts, vandalism…
Hunter had been just the latest recruit, paying off his debt to the club for their service. But what kind of effect had he had on them? He’d ascended to take the helm of club president…
Was it possible that he’d united the bickering factions out here, right under the nose of the law?
It was too ridiculous a question to even ask.
Shaking my head, I glanced over at Hunter. His arms crossed again, he was watching me carefully, studying how the cogs turned in my head. He knew that I was figuring something out, and the cocky little smile that crossed his lips told me that there was more to this than met the eye…
“This cartel, Víboras Verde. Let’s assume it’s really them. Why the sudden interest in going after them now? Why are you looking for these girls?”
Hunter’s smile faded. “Because it’s not just those three pretty little white girls… There’s a dozen more you haven’t even fucking heard about.”
I poured myself another cup of coffee. “There was nothing in the case file about any other missing persons Hunter. If there were more kidnappings, I’d know about them.”
Hunter shook his head. “No… Take three white girls and the entire country goes on red alert. The cartel learned from that little mistake. They underestimated the media attention..”
“So, what was the lesson? Don’t kidnap from above the border?”
“If only.” His jaw tensed. “They learned the awful truth: kidnap three white girls, and they get all the news. So, they changed tactics… after all, why steal Tiffany, Samantha, and Karah when nobody bats an eye if you go for Valeria, Mariana, and Carmen?
I froze, the mug halfway to my lips again.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that my old friends have been targeting undocumented immigrants in kidnapping sprees for the last two months, because they know that the police don’t give a rat’s ass. No local heat, no media attention on either side of the border.”
I sat the mug down on the countertop.
“Are you trying to tell me that the local authorities aren’t hunting down any kidnappings in this area?”
Hunter scoffed. “I’m telling you that, from a particular perspective, the gradual and scattered removal of illegals from these parts is seen as a good thing…”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
Hunter suppressed a laugh. “A sixteen-year-old girl from Guatemala was pulled out of her trailer a week ago right here in El Paso. Did you hear a fucking word about it?”
I crossed my arms bitterly. “Did I hear about the kidnapping of one girl? No, Hunter, I can’t exactly say that I did.”
Hunter slowly uncoiled his own. “What about the seventeen-year-old twins from Nicaragua? They were taken from a town less than thirty miles away. That one happened a couple of days ago… in broad daylight.”
I didn’t move.
“Did you hear about it?” He insisted.
Hesitantly, I shook my head.
“No, I thought not. You think those are the only ones? Not even close. In the last two weeks, do you want to guess how many undocumented girls have been abducted from these parts?”
My breath caught in my throat.
“How many, Hunter?”
He flattened his palms against the island countertop between us, his face glowering with anger in the dim lighting.
“Fifteen. That’s more than one abduction every single day, Sarah.”
“Fift…fifteen?” I could barely stomach it.
“That’s right, Detective. Fifteen girls have been stolen from their homes, from their families, from their communities… and nobody cares. The parents go to the police and end up fucking deported. The law isn’t going to help them. The media isn’t going to represent them. They’re being sold into sexual slavery, and nobody has the balls to put their own necks out and save any of them.”
“Nobody but the Devil’s Dragons…”
“You’re goddamn right.”
Keeping his eyes on mine, he stiffened his back, pulling away from the island.
“You’ve come here, asking questions about those fucking cheerleaders. I’m not saying their kidnapping isn’t a tragedy. Of course it is. But don’t even try and tell me that you or anybody else noticed what’s really happening down here.”
“I didn’t know,” I sorrowfully told him.
“Of course you didn’t know. Everybody turns a blind eye, but we’re going to do what they won’t… We’re going to go after these fuckers and we’re going to stop them before they take anyone else.”