Emilio Ramirez's face was emotionless as he watched Cole, his father's best friend, inspect the flowers that the sales rep was showing to him.
This wasn't how he pictured spending his afternoon, but it couldn't be helped. Cole was his father's friend, and he really needed his help even though he didn't like the man one bit.
He had come all the way from Mexico to talk to him, and the first thing the man said when he arrived at his house was that he should escort him to get flowers for his girlfriend.
In Mexico, when you ask about the Ramirez family, the reply you will get is going to make your blood run cold. The family runs a world-class mafia group and owns almost all the companies in the country, with the country's president being a member of the family.
RAMO is the name of the mafia group, and they are ruthless and dangerous within their dealings. No one dares mess with them, or else they have a death wish.
Diego Ramirez, father of Emilio and the former Bravta of the group, has just recently been assassinated, and so his son has taken over and was trying to get allies on his side.
So he visited his father's best friend, who was also a mafia boss operating in America, to discuss some things with him.
"Son, what do you think of this one? Will she like it?" Cole asked, shoving a blue-colored flower to him.
"She will definitely love it; it is one of the best flowers that we have here!" the sales rep chipped in before Emilio could reply.
She glanced at him and smiled, but it was returned with a scowl. It was obvious that Lilly wasn't sensing the dangerous aura from the two men, or she just chose to ignore it.
"Emi?" Cole urged.
"Yes," was the brisk reply that Emilio gave him.
"Good, then package it for me," Cole said to Lilly, who collected it from him and left to package it.
Cole went to another shelf with flowers and started to look at them while Emilio just stood there, counting the time till they left the shop.
Then his eyes wandered to the other side of the shop, where a girl was talking with an older lady. Half of her face was bare while the other half was covered with a scarf.
Suddenly, the girl took a race and ran off the store, with the old woman following her. It was strange, but he actually wished that he had seen the girl's face.
What is wrong with me? Since when do I start to care about seeing an ordinary girl's face? It must be the jet lag, definitely, he thought.
"Here is your flower," Lilly announced, coming back to where they were.
"Thank you. Here is the money, keep the change," Cole said and gave the money to her, then collected the flowers.
"Thank you, come back again."
Cole turned to Emilio. "Let's go." Both of them then started to walk towards the entrance door.
Immediately they got outside, Cole's phone started ringing. He stopped and took it out from his pocket.
"What is it, Bark?" he asked when he answered the call.
"Boss, there is a situation right now!" Bark replied.
"What is happening?"
"It is Trigger, Boss. He is making a scene."
"Okay, keep everything in check. I will be there soon," Cole replied and then ended the call.
"What is wrong?" Emilio asked.
"There is a situation; we need to hurry back."
Both of them then walked to where their car was and got in. The driver didn't waste any time; he started the car and drove away immediately.
"What exactly is the situation?"
"It is just my second-in-command making a scene. It is nothing to worry about, trust me," Cole replied.
"Okay, if you say so."
The drive to Cole's residence took them twenty minutes. The driver parked the car, and they got out and headed towards the entrance door.
They got there and entered in. Trigger, the second-in-command of Cole, was standing at the center of the living room with a gun aimed at Bark, who was the third-in-command.
Cole's men also surrounded the living room, with their guns all aimed at Trigger.
Immediately Trigger saw Cole, he directed the gun to him. "You are finally here, Boss. I was waiting for you," he said.
"I knew you were. Please take care of this pest for me, Emi," Cole said to Emilio, who nodded and started to walk toward Trigger.
"Ramirez, you should not take orders from that bastard!" Trigger snapped at him.
"He is the one that plotted your father's assassination. Don't tell me that you don't know," he continued.
"Please, don't listen to that fool, Emi, and get rid of him. How can I kill your father, who was like a brother to me?" Cole urged.
"Don't listen to him—"
"Shut up, Trigger," Emilio snapped. He had brought out his gun and aimed it at him.
"Thank you, Emi. I will be in my room, so come and meet me after you are done," Cole said and started to walk away.
"Not so fast, Cole!" Emilio shouted loudly, which made Cole stop.
He turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw that Emilio had the gun aimed at him instead of Trigger.
"What are you doing, Emi?" Cole asked.
"I am doing exactly what I am supposed to do," he replied, and immediately he said that, he shot Cole in his right leg.
"Ahh!" Cole groaned and fell on the floor. "You bastard! I am going to kill you!" he yelled, holding his leg as blood gushed out from the bullet wound.
"Drop your guns, or you die," Emilio said to Cole's men, staring at each of them intently to show them that he was dead serious.
The men didn't need to be told twice. They all dropped their guns on the floor and raised their hands up in total surrender.
"You bunch of useless morons, you dare betray me!" Cole yelled at his men from the floor, but they didn't spare him any glance.
All their attention was focused on Emilio to know what he was going to do next. They prayed in their hearts that he would spare them, because the Ramirez family is not known for sparing their enemies.
"Yeah, your men betrayed you just like you betrayed my father and plotted his assassination. You thought that I wouldn't find out, but that was the first thing I learned about before I learned that my father was gone. Turns out the plot had been executed before I found out. I'm going to give you credit on the nice plotting; it was quite impressive," Emilio said, seated on one of the couches in the living room as he spoke to Cole.
"I didn't kill your father, Emi. Whoever told you that is an enemy who wants your empire to fall. You need to get rid of that person," Cole replied, his eyes showing fake sincerity.
"You are right. I should do just that," Emilio said, and then shot him in the head.
Cole fell on the floor, and blood gushed out of his head, making a pool.
Emilio turned to his men. "Kill every one of his men and make sure you leave no one alive."
"Yes, Boss," they chorused and left to carry out the order.
"What about me, Boss? What should I do?" Trigger asked.
"You do nothing," Emilio replied and wanted to walk out of the living room when Trigger called his name.
"You promised to hand Cole's empire to me for telling you the information that you needed, Boss," he said when Emilio turned to him.
"Information? What information?"
Trigger opened his mouth to talk, but he couldn't. He was surprised that Emilio was acting like he didn't remember their deal.
"You promised me Cole's empire, remember, Boss?" he said.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Emilio replied and then reached for his pants pocket while Trigger waited in anticipation with a smile on his face.
But the smile vanished immediately when he saw what Emilio brought out. "Boss?"
"Sorry, Trigger, but betrayers are my personal enemies."
"But, Boss—"
Emilio didn't let him finish because, at that moment, he shot him in the head, and he fell down on the floor, dead.
"Make sure that you clean this place in one hour," Emilio ordered his men.
"Yes, Boss," they replied.
He then walked out of the room, his eyes scanning the compound, and a deep sigh escaped his lips.
He had so many memories of playing here with the workers in the house when he was a kid. Cole was like a brother to his father, and they loved each other so much.
But now he had just killed the man he once took like a father. Did he regret it? Absolutely not. Betrayers shouldn't be spared, even if they are like family.
"Boss!" someone called.
Emilio looked sideways and saw Clark, his second-in-command, walking towards him with some documents.
"Boss, these are the documents for Cole's property and companies," he reported.
"Good. Package them for me; I will study them when I get home. Meanwhile, let's take a stroll through the village," Emilio replied, and he began walking to the gate while Clark walked behind him.