Thick As Blood - Nestor Oceteva

4. Raising Hell

I spent a few hours strolling through the markets and chatting with the street vendors. I couldn't believe the poverty of the area, Miguel must have been bringing millions of dollars in through his heroin trade but none of it was going to the people. They must hate him.

Nestor had followed me but I lost him not long after entering the markets and I assumed he had gone back to Miguel. I felt my stomach rumble and found a bar that had decent smelling food. The place looked a bit scummy but in England I loved the run down dive bars, they had character.

I had just sat down and was drinking a beer waiting on my food to arrive. I noticed a girl a who could get away with looking legal but would probably be underaged if she had an ID. She looked like she was having a good time until some men approached her. She drank another shot down before turning to face the burly men. I sat back in my chair seeing how this would play out. The chair beside me pulled out and Nestor sat down.

"What is so interesting?"

"Nothing yet just give it a moment."

He took my beer from the table and drank it as I watched the young woman. One of the men ran his hand down her body from her face to her ass and left it resting there. She had spunk as she pushed his hand away and slapped him across the face. I stood and made my way over to her as the man raised his fist.

"That ain't no way to treat a lady. You alright babe?"

"Yeah, these assholes were just leaving."

Unfortunately, the men were so stupid they couldn't take the hint. They laughed to each other like it was the funniest thing in the world. Nestor had made his way over and was standing behind the group of men with his arms crossed. I moved the girl behind me as the touchy man stepped closer to me.

When he was in my face I jabbed my knuckles into his throat and kneed him in the balls. He collapsed to the floor with a groan trying to breath through his crushed trachea. I leant back as a fist came at me, glancing off my cheek. Returning the favour, I smashed my fist into the man's nose before grabbing the girl and shuffling her behind me to Nestor's side.

"Can you get me a beer? Since you finished mine."

I saw Nestor wave my empty bottle and two fingers to the barman as I turned back to the men. There were three men standing ready to go another round and one on the ground struggling to breath. I looked up at the open piping that ran along the rafters and jumped up grabbing it. I swung my legs up and kicked two of the men in the face and they crashed back into tables then to the ground groaning. The final man, I wrapped my legs around his neck and pulled him in tight. I let go of the piping and leant into a back handspring, throwing the man over the top of me into bar tables behind me.

I stood up and grabbed the beer from Nestor and made my way back to the table as my meal was placed down. The girl sat down opposite me with a big grin on her face.

"That shit was badass. Where'd you learn that? Can you teach me?"

I almost choked on my food as she spat out question after question. I downed the beer to help wash the food down.

"Woah, slow down. What's your name?"

"Letty. I thought you knew that. Isn't that why you stepped in? You're not a friend of my dads?" She pointed to Nestor. "I've seen him at the clubhouse before."

"Hi Letty, I'm Lily, this is Nestor. I stood in because I don't like men who prey on women, that's all."

"She doesn't know the Mayans."

Letty nodded her head at Nestor's words, not that I knew what the Mayans were. I had barely eaten the food and there was tonnes left so I pushed it to her in silent offering. The girl helped herself, she didn't have any issues with shyness.

She had just emptied the plate when the doors opened and three men walked in. Attitude radiated from them as they took in the scene. Tables were broken and chairs still laid haphazardly across the floor. They scanned the crowd and stopped on our table. I sat up straighter, wary of them.

"More friends of yours Letty?"

She turned in her chair and smiled at the newcomers, waving them over. I relaxed a bit at her familiarity with the men. Her body language showed she trusted them and they smiled back at her. One of them held his hand out to Nestor.

"Thanks for looking out for her."

I noticed he had small scars around one eye and a jittery nature.

"Wasn't me, I just called you." Nestor replied, gesturing to me.

"Yeah dad, it was Lily who kicked their asses."

I looked over the man again and thought he either aged really well or he had her very young.

"Lily?" He asked me and I held my hand out and he shook it. "Names Coco. Thanks for looking out for her." He turned to his daughter and glared. "Not that she shoulda been here. What were you thinking?"

The girl didn't shirk under his glare instead she acted nonchalantly, shrugging at him and I liked her even more. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Was this what I was like when I was young? Nestor's phone vibrated with a text message and he picked it up from the table to read the message.

"Your mother's funeral is about to start. Are you sure you don't want to go?" I rolled my eyes at Nestor's question.

"No thank you. She would probably roll in her grave. You should go, wouldn't want to piss of my brother."

I threw some bills down on the table to cover the food and the damage I caused. I slung my jacket on before leaving the bar and I hoped I could remember where I parked my baby. I felt someone following me and I spun around before they could grab me.

"Lily, wait up." Letty said, "There's a party tonight. Dad wanted to me to invite you, to say thanks for saving me."

"I'll think about it but it's not really my scene."