by Ambere Sabo
“He’s coming,” she says before the brothers erupt in anger.
“How the fuck do you know this?”
“Maybe she led him here?”
“Enough,” Rodeo roars.
“You broke through the encryption,” I ask quietly from Gunner’s lap.
With a nod, she says, “We did. With some work, we were actually able to gain access to years of data stored in the system. All the way back to when he first bought the house for Alex.” Looking away from all the eyes on her, she takes a deep breath.
When she doesn’t continue, Snoopy tells us, “It’ll take some time to go through everything. But right now we have a bigger problem. Not only do we have less than a week before he plans to come for Lilly. One of the girls here was sent by Enterrador. She’s the one who’s been feeding him information and delivering his gifts.”
“What?” Cessy exclaims. “None of my girls would do that.”
“I didn’t want to believe it either, Cess. But there was a call between her and Enterrador just yesterday,” Rodeo says, hanging his head.
“Well, who? Which one is it?” Havoc asks, cracking the knuckles on his hands.
“We don’t know,” Mythic replies. “She was sent back here at some point with a burner phone. And she’s been to the compound in Juarez. That’s all we know.”
Looking at me with tears in her eyes, I know what they're thinking. “It’s not Rose. She wouldn’t,” I whisper shaking my head in denial. Looking around I realize, Ma and Rose aren’t here. Do they really think my sister could do this? After all we’ve done to keep her safe?
“The man who told Enterrador you were back home is the father of Rose’s children, Lil. Who else could it be?” Snoopy asks.
Slamming his hand on the table, Havoc growls, “I want to see this tape.”
Looking at my brother sympathetically, Snoopy tells him, “I thought you would. We have it cued up and ready for when church is over.”
Nodding, Havoc rests his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands while Angel rubs his back.
“I can’t do this. I refuse to believe it was Rose. I just won’t,” I tell the room of people, shaking my head.
“No one wants to think Rose would do this, Lil,” Rodeo tells me softly. “But honestly, we have no clue what happened to her after Wrecker sold her to the cartel. And we all know how much she misses her children. Plus, we don’t really know anything about her relationship with their father. They could’ve easily used any of that as leverage against her.”
“I know you can play videos in here, Snoop. I’m not waiting until after church. I want to see it, now.”
Snoop looks to Mythic, and she nods her head. Then he glances at Rodeo who with a harsh breath also nods his head. The two get up and walk out together, getting whatever the hell they need to show me exactly why they think my sister could do this to me. Why they believe she could turn my world upside down, helping that fucker make my life a living hell. Being the reason I walk on eggshells every day wondering if he’s coming for me. Wondering each day if that day would be the day he sent another present or came to take me in my sleep.
It only takes them a few minutes to bring in whatever they need, and the video is beamed on the wall. Everyone sits in silence watching the interaction between the man who wants me and the one who's already had my sister. Nothing in the call gives us any clue who he’s talking to. They're basing their whole assumption that it’s Rose on one thing. Her children's father is the one in the room he’s talking to after the call ends.
I bristle when Enterrador calls me his prize.
“I’m no one's prize,” I seethe.
“We know that, Lil,” Cess says, reaching over to take my hand. “But can you see now why they think it’s Rose?”
Snatching my hand from her, I peer around the room. “Do you all think this?” My eyes track from Havoc, who turns away from me, to Mythic and Snoop. Then over to Cess and Venom. They all look back at me with sadness. None of them want to say it out loud. Say they truly think my sister could be capable of this.
Turning to Gunner, I whisper, “And you? What do you think?”
With a shrug, he looks down at my legs. “It looks pretty bad, baby girl.”
Standing, I throw my hands in the air. “Rose is not the one he called. Do you know how I know?” I scream looking around the room. “ Because one”—I say, holding up a finger—“she’s my sister and would never put me through what she’s been through. And two”—I say, pointing to the wall where the paused image still flickers—“whoever he’s talking to on that phone doesn’t know I’m home, and Rose does.”
Grabbing my waist, Gunner turns me to face him. “Rose knows, how?”
When I move away from him, I can see the hurt. “Because I called her three nights ago when I got back. You may have kept me hidden here, but I was not going to let her continue to think I was missing.”
Stepping away from the man I love and almost all the family I have, I walk to the door, turning just before I reach it. “That is not Rose. But whoever it is… will die. By my hand or his,” I say, pointing to Enterrador’s henchman. “Now figure out how to end this. He will come for me in six days, and I’m not hiding anymore.” With that, I twist the knob and storm out, slamming the door behind me as I walk away from church.
I am no one's prize, and I am so done with running from this man.
Chapter 23
Gunner
“Did you know,” I demand, turning to Mythic, “Did you know she spoke with Rose?”
Her brown eyes narrow, as she hisses, “Do you really think I would’ve accused her of being the spy if I had? You may not think very highly of me Jeremy Jackson, but that girl is the first friend I've had in years. I’d never hurt her on purpose.”
Slowly standing from my chair, I place my hands on the table and stare this bitch down. “How do you know my name?”
A cruel laugh slips past her lips. “I know all of your names,” she tells me as she begins pointing around the room. “Ashton Turner, Michael Black, Daniel Cline, Alex Haynes, Ethan Walters, Eric Anderson, Reine Walters, formerly McIntosh. Shall I go on? I was not exaggerating when I said I did my research on the Sons.”
“Why exactly would you need to research any of us?” Prez asks through gritted teeth.
Throwing her hands in the air, she begins to pace the room. “Why he asks. Why?” With a cold chuckle, she continues to talk to herself, “Why would I want to know if the people I could possibly be giving my life for were worth it?” She glares at each of us. “Oh, I don’t know,” she finishes with a yell, looking directly at Prez.
Walking over to him, she gets up in his space. All five-foot-nothing of her staring up at him with a scowl on her face. “When that man comes for her, and he will, I am the only shot you have of keeping her safe. I’m literally going to have to give my life as I know it for hers. He will hunt me to the ends of the Earth. So, excuse me for wanting to make sure I was fucking my life to hell for people who actually deserved it.”
Prez and this crazy bitch have a silent standoff both glaring at one another. Meanwhile we watch, waiting to see what our president is going to do.
“Why does Enterrador want you?” Angel asks, drawing everyone's attention from the pint-sized, crazy woman.
Looking to Angel, her scowl fades just a bit. “Enterrador is not the one who will come for me. He’s not anything I fear. He’s already taken everything he can from me. But Diablo… Diablo will not rest until he has me… once he knows where I am.”
“If you’re the only chance we have of keeping my sister safe, how exactly do you propose we do that?” Havoc looks at Mythic skeptically.
“We give him what he wants?” she replies simply.
“What,” Havoc yells as the room erupts in anger.
“This bitch is crazy.”
“What the actual fuck is she talking about?”
“There is no way in hell I'm letting that son of a bitch put a hand o
n my baby girl,” I growl at the crazy bitch across from me. She’s lucky there's a table between us and she's a woman. If any man in this room would’ve said that I’d knock his ass out.
Throwing her hands in the air, she exclaims, “I’m not saying we give him Lilly, you fucking morons.” Looking to Cess, she asks, “Are they always this dense?”
When Cessy doesn’t answer her but just stares back in contemplation, Mythic huffs out a breath. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she looks at the ceiling.
Is she counting to ten?
She really fucking is.
What the hell?
She glances between Prez, Havoc, and me, “Look, Enterrador has no clue we have this information. Or that we know he has a spy. So, give him what he wants. Let the girls come back to the clubhouse. Have a BBQ or something, I don’t really fucking care. We can feed the girls the information we want him to have.”
“All of the girls,” Havoc asks with a raised brow.
“Yes, all of them. Maybe it’ll help us figure out who he has inside. Either way, we can choose where he thinks he’ll take her from. Tell them Lil is going home or going to work at Blue Bells or something. He’ll take his opportunity, and that’s when we get to him.”
“Well, fuck me sideways,” Cess says with a huff. “Like the chick or not, that’s a damn good plan.”
“And what exactly, do you propose we do when we get him?” Prez asks with a hand on his chin. He’s actually contemplating what this girl is saying. Jesus Christ, what has my life come to?
“I’m hoping I can find what I need on the server for his home in Monterrey. I know Jesús Armijo didn’t order the hit on his family. If I can find out who did, who I think did it anyway, Enterrador will have too much to deal with from the aftermath of that revelation.”
“And if you can’t find it,” Havoc asks.
Looking at her feet, she murmurs, “Then we give him me.”
“I thought Diablo wanted you, not Enterrador?” I grumble.
When she glances up at me, tears shimmer in her fucking eyes. Why’d she have to go and do that shit? I hate it when chicks cry.
“Diablo may want me, but believe me it’ll be a trade worth making for Enterrador.”
“And you’d do that, for Lilly? Give up your life?” Angel asks.
“I could’ve stopped Enterrador long ago,” she replies, the tears finally trailing down her face. “I chose to stay hidden then. Everything he’s done since then is on my head. I won’t let Lil be another person I didn’t save.”
“Who did they take from you?” Angel questions.
“More people than I can count, but most importantly, Iliana Marie Armijo. My daughter.”
Gasping, Angel covers her mouth. From behind her hand she asks, “You’re an Armijo?”
Shaking her head, Mythic explains, “Not by blood, but my daughter was. She was killed the night Enterrador became the man he is today. Jesús Armijo saved me, protected me, kept me hidden. And for that, he lost his life.”
Snoopy pulls Mythic back into his lap, wrapping an arm protectively around her middle. “Look, I know there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. And I know you think Mythic can't be trusted but give her the chance. The chance each of you were given when you came to the Sons running from whatever you were running from. This plan won't work if we can't get the information we need. Right now, we have years of footage to go through. And it looks like y’all have a party to plan.”
Everyone looks at Prez. It takes a minute, but he nods, letting everyone know we’re actually going through with this crazy ass plan.
I swear if it doesn’t work, Mythic won’t have to worry about Enterrador or Diablo. I'll kill her myself. Woman or not.
Chapter 24
Lilly
I can't believe them! How could every person in that room actually believe Rose would do this to me? Put me through what she’s been through. I can’t believe they think so little of the relationship we’ve built. Gunner especially.
He knows how much time we spent together when I was here on the weekends. He may not have been privy to our girl talk, but he could hear the giggles just the same. Our girl talks taught me a lot about my sister...
Losing her baby and knowing she may never see her other children again kills Rose every day. I wish I knew how to help her. I do the best I can, just listening to her and holding her while she cries.
“Lil, I’m so worried about what the cartel is going to do to Olivia,” Rose whimpers in my arms.
“Shhh,” I coo, stroking my hand down her hair.
“Knowing what they do with girl babies is why I refused to learn the sex of my last baby. The one I…” Her sobs prevent her from finishing.
I squeeze her tightly and rock her.
“I knew in my heart it was a precious, baby girl. And I knew what they’d do to me for birthing another daughter. While I was at the compound, two of our sisters were killed for having baby girls,” she said in a trembly voice.
“Why?”
“It’s a crime to the Infierno cartel to have girls,” her voice is matter of fact.
“Don’t they know it's their damn fault if it’s a girl and not a boy? I mean it has nothing to do with the woman carrying the child but their damn soldiers,” I admonish.
“My Evaristo is different though.” The look in her eye when she says his name is almost affectionate, like maybe she loves him. Is that possible?
“So, he’s not a chavenistic pig like the rest of the cartel?” I scoff.
“In time, we came to understand each other. I came to know the man underneath the cartel exterior. When our first daughter was born, Evaristo feared for me and her. If he didn’t love us, he wouldn’t have cared. But he didn’t want our baby girl sold on the black market or to be raised for use in the cells. And he didn’t want me killed for failing to produce a boy.”
“Hmm,” I mumble skeptically.
“Because Evaristo was high-ranking enough, he was able to convince Enterrador that it would devestate me to lose my little girl. Told him I’d be more likely to give the cartel more boys if they let me keep Olivia.” Tears start pouring again. “My sweet Olivia. What have they done with my girl?”
“Hey now, we’re going to find her. G told me that the task force doesn’t think she’s been sold. That’s good. We have to remain positive,” I try to sound hopeful. I need to distract her, but I know next to nothing about her. I was so young when she was taken. “So, how did you come to be… uh… married to Evaristo?” It’s a stupid question, but it’s the best I’ve got.
“I’d only been at the compound a week, when this handsome man came by. He was distinguished looking, not criminal like some of the others. He took me from the common area back to what became our apartment. He said my beauty took his breath away. In the beginning, a few other men tried to steal me away from Evaristo and make me theirs. I was terrified. I stopped leaving the apartment,” she tells me.
“How could they take you when Evaristo already had you?”
“Until a woman is with child, anyone may claim her. Evaristo doesn’t like to lose what’s his. So, in the beginning there was a lot of … you know.” Her face flushes deep red. “I was no more than a glorified sex slave. Don’t get the wrong idea, he wasn’t rough with me. He was always gentle.”
“Rose, it doesn’t matter that he wasn’t rough with you. That he didn’t beat you. If you didn’t want it, it’s still rape,” I tell her calmly but firmly.
“I know. But believe me, I was fortunate that Evaristo found me beautiful. If I’d been claimed by any of the others…” She shudders in my arms. “Anyway, I got pregnant, and things changed. Something about a man taking care of his pregnant wife, doting on her, and then caring for a baby, changes the perspective of both people. And once I was pregnant, it was official. No one could take me from him, and the urgency to make me pregnant disappeared.”
“So, things got better after you became parents?”
“Oh y
es. But I was still terrified. I kept to myself. For years, I don’t think I spoke to anyone other than Evaristo and the kids. Then Emily came to live with us. I talked to her.”
“I’m sure that was nice,” I say.
“Yeah. It was.” She goes silent for several long moments. “Lil, do you think I’m ever going to see my children again?”
A knock on the door snaps me from my trip down memory lane. Gunner pushes it open to enter.
“It's your room. You don’t need to knock,” I huff.
Walking over, he grabs my hands from my lap. Kneeling in front of me as I sit on his bed, he declares, “It's our room now, baby girl. I'm sorry for upsetting you in church. I… I just can't lose you.”
Pulling my hands from his grasp, I look down at him. “Rose would never hurt me like that. And I never thought you could either.”
Looking up into my eyes, hurt fills his, and it takes me back. “You left me, Lilly. You ran with no explanation. No calls. Nothing. I cannot lose you again. The thought of having to go through it another time literally guts me. I’d rather lose my life than go through that again.” Standing, he begins to pace the room.
“Now, they’re saying someone’s here. Someone’s been helping this fucker for God knows how long. And Mythic,” he hollers, throwing his hands in the air, “she has some crazy ass plan that everyone’s just willing to follow along with. While we know nothing, not a god damned thing, about her. Well, aside from the fact that Diablo wants her. The fucking head of that damned cartel wants her. What the fuck for?”
“I don’t know, Gunner. I really don’t. But if it gets me out of this mess, I'm willing to trust her.”
“When it comes to your safety, baby girl, I don’t trust anyone but me,” he says with a huff before walking out of our room, slamming the door behind him.
Jesus, this is not how I expected the day to go.
I need him to trust her. I need him to understand that Mythic wouldn’t do anything to put me in harm's way. But this plan… I need to know what she's thinking.
Leaving my room, I wander downstairs looking for the woman in question. She's not in the main room, not that I thought she would be in the first place. As usual, she’s in Snoopy's lair. I make the mistake of not knocking and walk in on her in Snoopy's arms as she cries.
