A Jar of Hearts Read Online Free PDF

when he realized Brett was coming towards him.
    “Fucking dope fiend,” Brett swore under his breath as he pulled up a chair beside James.
    “Was it necessary to kill him?” James asked, leaning back into his chair.
    “To set an example to the rest- hell yeah. We’re talking heavy machinery here. You’ve got to be right in the head to use them proper.”
    “You have a lot of respect for your weapons.”
    “You have to respect them. They can either kill you or save you. There’s a fine line between life and death when someone has his finger on a trigger. And powerful weapons such as these could fuck up the neighborhood if they get into the wrong hands. At the end of the day, this is just business. We want our money and we want to go home. Raging war against the law doesn’t help our business, does it?”
    “We just want an upper-hand on the other gangs,” James added slowly.
    Brett nodded as he filled his plate with food. “Exactly.”
    James watched the man settle down to eat. He had principles and James was always a sucker for principles. It was what had got him on the run two years ago when he had met Anne.
    “Tell me… what got you here?” he asked carefully. He was curious to know what had downgraded a respected frogman to a toad.
    “Why I don’t honor our country and all that patriotic shit?” he said between large bites of his food. “I could ask my country the same too.” He paused for a minute, chewing his food in silence. “I was fucked when I resigned from the Navy. I had not stayed the official retirement of a twenty year service. I fell short four years. Truth of the matter was I couldn’t take it anymore. The war… the killings… I had seen enough. But when I decided to leave, I risked my pension too. I was suffering from my PTSD and my family suffered because of me. It wouldn’t have taken much for anyone to predict my wife and children would leave me while I would be on the streets drowning myself in another bottle of liquor. One day, I met Juan. I was there getting smashed at a club as usual. He pulled me aside and we just got talking. He knew I was a veteran and he offered me a chance to pick myself up again.” He sighed and sat up. “I had to finally face that I needed the money. The gang offered me a life and respect I wouldn’t have got otherwise.”
    James grew quiet. In the normal world, Brett would have been labeled as having mental issues. And for a man who prided himself on being strong and not dependent on anyone’s help, such a label would have been devastating on his esteem. Juan had used Brett’s wish to be respected again as a lure into joining The Pachecos. The gang would respect him and that in turn would fill that void inside him, making him fiercely loyal as well.
    He picked up his handgun and fiddled with the grip panel. What about his void when he would finish with this operation? There was only one person who could help him and she lived two doors down from him. The trouble was; did he have the courage to walk up to her door and knock on it?

CHAPTER 6

     
     
     
     
     
    He walked over to his verandah, his hair still damp from his shower. He had arrived back from the weapons training relieved that they didn’t have an encounter with both Mexican rivals or border security. However, the thought that those men were marching through the streets freely with the knowledge on how to use military firearms still bothered him. The only alleviation he could get from this was that The Pachecos’ shipment of military weapons was still yet to be smuggled over to them. Perhaps, Mark would do something about that instead.
    He leaned against his rails, looking out into the ocean, the roar of its waves still booming even in the dark. But the sweet melodic tunes of a violin pervaded through the crashing waves and he stood up, his ear straining for more of its enchanting music. Unable to hold his curiosity anymore, he stepped off his verandah and onto the beach. Like the