a concentrated glance at one, they would tense, and a hint of something like apprehension would surface. Yet, they spoke their minds, often giving her unnecessary shit like they enjoyed toying with her anger.
My men would never speak to me the way these men had to Mecca, but something I couldn’t place, fit the way they interacted. Although they were giving her shit a minute ago, they now stood around me, whispering her name and bragging about the infamous stunts she had pulled off.
The one she had nearly hit in the head with her heel was one of her biggest supporters. Two others captured my attention with a comment about an infamous kill she had executed.
“She’s killed people for her uncle?”
I directed the question at the group, my eyes searching the four men surrounding me for a reply.
“There are a few we know of that she iced for him, and a few for the Saints. The whole mystery about Mecca is that no one actually knows how many people she’s killed. People who need to be dead, disappear, and no one claims the kills, some of us believe it’s her, some don’t. She never confirms or denies anything, keeps people in suspense, on edge, and is so fucking quiet about it, you never know what to think.”
“So, what are you saying? You think she’s a hit-woman?” I questioned, taking the opportunity to ply them for information on my dangerous wife. Two more men had joined our group. A few of the men answered no, while the majority said yes.
“Look at her,” the one she had addressed as Timothy, suggested.
A glance in her direction caused a smile to touch my lips. The man aimed a quick head gesture in her direction, but kept his eyes on me.
“No offense to you as her husband or anything, but looking the way she looks, it’s hard to picture her cutting a man’s throat or putting a bullet in one’s head, but I’ve seen her do both.”
He shook his head, as a far off look danced in his eyes and hinted at the hell he had witnessed her unleash.
“No remorse, no regret, no nothing. It’s like she can turn off her conscience and not feel a thing. We call her, Quiet Chaos, because she goes into what she calls, “the quiet.” The shit is creepy. Add to that, she can pull off some of the most heinous shit without speaking a single word. She is the only person I know that can yell without raising her voice. All I know is anyone that has good reason to be, ends up dead. Hell, some of us believe that she’s who they call La Asesina.”
The Assassin, I translated. Some of the guys shook their heads while others nodded in agreement.
“It’s another reason why we call her quiet chaos.”
Quiet Chaos. I was learning a lot about my wife. Things I was sure she wouldn’t voluntarily tell me unless I found a way to drag it out of her.
“You know she’s a college graduate. Did well. Could be staying in a high-rise, living a peaceful life. But, after she graduated, she came right back to all this.” The man circled his finger in the air to indicate the area we were currently located.
Timothy added, “She was pushing a key a week the entire time she was in college. She got an education, but the streets were right there with her the entire time. I’m sure she redefined the term ‘higher education’.”
The comment had us all grinning. It also solidified my assumption that these men, like Mecca, had way more depth to them than met the eyes. Another of the men, the quietest one with a big nose and a skinny face, spoke up. “And she is always sporting bruises like she attends an underground fight club.”
The bruises.
“Why does it seem like you guys push her buttons, if you think she’s this badass assassin?”
Six sets of eyes landed on me like I should have known better than to ask the question.
“People like her sense fear. She drilled it in our heads that the weak never survived long. If you act all scared and shit, she’ll know,” one stated. Another took over like their minds were a part of a collective hive.
“If not for her, we would probably be a bunch of statistics. She was the one, not Raymond, that trained most of us. She taught us about investing our money, and how to do more than buy cars and party.”