“Why did you kill the girl?” Antonia says to Bob.

“I could tell Jesse cared for her.”

“But we promised her to Beaumont.”

“I wanted him to hurt like I do.”

“Okay, but what’s that say about our word?”

“I don’t give a fuck. It was worth it to see the look in his eyes. It’s not my fault the rest of you couldn’t hold him and the retard.”

“What happened after they got loose?” Elijah says. “After the big one got you by the throat, and Jesse laid into us?”

What happened was, Bob fell to the ground, coughing blood, his windpipe crushed, and Edgar ran for the living room. Jesse head-butted Elijah, then went after Antonia, smashing her face into the table, snatching her pistol, and shooting Elijah between the eyes. That’s when Johnny jumped in to battle Jesse for the gun.

Real Deal picks up the story. “Me and Pedro and Yuma chased the retard into the living room, and Yuma put a bullet in him. I went to dust him, and someone started pounding on the door. Beaumont ran out of the house, and a rover wrapped in chains and a black dude ran in, the motherfucker that shot me and Yuma.”

Meanwhile, on the patio, Johnny was getting the best of Jesse, had him bent over the table backward, when Jesse dug a thumb into his eye and pushed until something popped. The two of them slipped on the bloody concrete and went down together. Jesse grabbed a knife and dusted Johnny, then picked up Antonia’s gun and ran for the living room.

“And Pedro?” Elijah says.

Real Deal reaches up to scratch his head. His fingers come away bloody. “I was still half out of it, but I saw him tackle the brother that shot me,” he says. “He was about to finish him when Jesse ran in and blew out his candle. Right then Yuma came to, and Jesse heard. I tried my damnedest to get up, but…” He slams his fist on the picnic table, making the tequila bottle jump, then growls his next few words. “Jesse took her out, and brotherman dusted Pedro.”

“Jesse came for us after that,” Antonia says. “Me and Elijah and Bob were still on the patio. We’d all healed and were ready to run when he appeared. Bob backed him off with a couple of shots, and we headed out.”

Real Deal managed to join them as they passed through the living room, and they fled to the garage. Antonia got Elijah settled behind her on her Harley, Real Deal straddled his ride, and Bob started Elijah’s. The four of them made their escape, roaring out of the garage and down the driveway. They cranked their throttles when they hit the street and raced away without looking back.