Undercover Ultimatum

1: Coming Home

HANSEL

"Hans! I'm so happy to see you!" Abigail is the first to greet me, arriving back home in Los Angeles.

"What's good, sis? When did you and Isabella get back? Where is she, by the way? Usually, the two of you are connected at the hip."

"She's out shopping with Mama. The girl can't resist an impromptu shopping excursion."

Ain't that the truth.

"It's good to see you alive and well." I pull her in for a hug and kiss her forehead. "I want to hear all about your adventures, and you better not leave a dang thing out."

Isabella and Abigail are my twenty-two-year-old twin sisters. They've been studying abroad in Rome for the last year or so. Twins sort of run in my family. Both my father and mother are sets of fraternal twins.

"Hey, bro." Hendrix pulls me in for a one armed hug. Rix is my nineteen-year-old brother. He's one smart ass kid. I used to joke that he was the mailman's child. He's not at all like my old man or me. Hendrix just started going to school at the University of California, Berkeley. He wants to be the world's next greatest brain surgeon or some shit. My brain tends to lose interest when he starts using big words like cerebellum and meninges.

I admire my siblings, in all honesty. They've all known what they wanted to do with their lives from early on. The girls don't feel as much pressure as us boys do because the next ruler of our clan depends on Hendrix or me. I always thought I wanted to take my father's place as the oldest Vasquez and reign over Los Angeles. You know, make my papá and abuelo proud. But that was before she destroyed me.

"I thought I heard you come in. How was your trip to Miami?" Papa makes his presence known and walks into view from the kitchen.

"It was good. Took care of business as usual."

"Business as usual, huh? Does that business entail getting your neck sucked by a vacuum? What is this shit, Hans?" He flicks my neck with his pointer causing my hand to react and smack his away.

"What are you talking about?" I shove past him and look at myself in the entryway mirror.

"Oh, fuck!"

That fresh prince of pussy line got me some damn good ass. Thank you, Dominic Ghirardelli.

"What did I tell you about them trashy girls you like to roll with? You're better than that. You can't be fucking every little thing with legs and a pussy, Hans."

"Jesus Christ, Papá. I came home as you asked. What the hell is so important?"

I'm not in the mood for his shit. Not all of us can save our virginity for twenty-nine years and end up falling in love with the first woman that got our dick wet. Fairytales don't exist no matter what my parents say.

"Your mom and sister will be back soon. We'll have dinner as a family for once, and then we can talk."

"Fine. I'll be in my prison cell until then." I take hold of my bag and trudge up to my room.

You'd think being twenty-five years old that my parents would allow me some freedom and let me live independently. Evidently, that's not the Mafia way. Papá says we're stronger when we're together, and it's always been this way.