by Ambere Sabo
“Don’t shoot her,” a man close to Enterrador growls. I can only assume it’s Evaristo.
“How could you do this?” Rose asks, shaking her head. “I brought you into their home. Vic gave you a place to live. And you're going to tell him where my sister is?” she asks, getting louder with each question.
“I hate these people. They only helped me because of you. When I was a dancer here, when I needed help, where the fuck were they then, huh? No, Caine helped me. Not these bitches,” she says, looking around at the women on the floor with nothing but disdain.
“I don’t have time for this,” Enterrador snaps. “Where is she?”
“The office is this way,” Emily tells him, leading him down the hall while his men stay with us, each one pointing an assault rifle at our heads.
From down the hall comes a pounding on the door I know is locked. “We’ll get in one way or another, my love. The amount of damage is up to you,” Enterrador yells through the door.
He waits only a moment for her to reply. When she doesn’t, he tells his man, “Shoot the lock.”
He complies as we hear the bullet take out the handle before all hell breaks loose.
Gunshots ring out as my brothers pour in from the hallway. The man with Enterrador is dead. Any others who turned to take aim at the commotion were hit between the eyes before they even had a chance to get a shot off.
Those still standing are quickly relieved of their guns before they’re led into the private dance room. Dash and Jekyl follow behind them, ready and waiting for one of them to give them any reason to shoot.
Wraith and Prez coral Enterrador and Emily back into the bar area ready to put a bullet in either of them if they resist. Cessy grabs Emily by her hair as she pulls her to a booth in the corner. Her finger rests on the trigger of her glock the whole time. The rest of the Reapers come through the front entrance after taking care of Enterrador’s men who guarded the front of the building.
“You may as well kill me now,” he bellows. “I will never stop coming for her.”
Wraith shoves him into a seat at one of the round tables as Havoc and Prez take the seats across from him.
“And have your cartel come after us?” Havoc says with a dark laugh. “Do you think we're stupid?”
Glancing back and forth between the two of them, he growls, “Then what do you want?”
“I want my life back,” Lilly says from the hallway. She walks slowly to the table, clutching a laptop to her chest. As soon as she’s seated next to Havoc, I take the seat to her right, putting myself between her and Enterrador. He scowls at me when I do.
“Your life became mine the minute your father sold you to me,” Enterrador tells her, not seeing the craziness in what he just said. “Why do you have a laptop?” he asks, raising his chin to the machine she’s holding so tightly her knuckles are turning white.
“There's something we think you should see,” Snoopy says as he comes to her side. Leaning down, he whispers in her ear, “Lil, let me do this.” He tugs the laptop from her grasp.
As he walks to sit beside Prez, he tells Enterrador, “We have a deal to make with you.”
“There’s nothing you have that could be worth more to me than her.”
“What if we could show you proof that Jesús Armijo was not responsible for the death of your wife and baby?” Snoopy asks.
His eyes haven’t left Lilly's face since she sat down at the table, but the second Snoopy finishes his sentence, Enterrador cuts his eyes to him. “My wife was taken from me years ago. You couldn’t possibly have anything to prove the information I was given was wrong.”
“Then it won't hurt you to watch what we have, will it?” Snoopy asks with a shrug.
“You realize the longer it takes me to return the more men will come to bring me home?”
Snoop looks over to Prez who nods and replies, “Then it won't cost you anything to see what my brother has found.”
With a huff, Enterrador tells him, “Fine.”
No matter the façade Enterrador is trying to maintain right now, he's worried. I can tell by the way his leg bounces under the table. From the waist up, he’s the picture of calm. His hands are steepled in front of his face as Snoopy ques up the video footage and slides the laptop in front of him.
I didn’t care to watch the video before, but I can see the grainy footage now. It shows a young woman cradling a newborn to her chest on what looks like a bathroom floor. Her hair is similar to what Lilly’s used to look like. I can’t make out her face because she is staring down into the face of her baby. A man runs into the bathroom. I can only assume it’s Enterrador. When the younger version of the devil in front of me starts to speak on the tape, Enterrador throws a hand out and yells, “Stop.” Monster that he is, the pain and anger are evident in his voice.
Snoopy reaches over to pause the video.
“I lived this. I already know what was said. I thought you said you could shed some light onto what happened to my wife?” he snaps.
“Alright,” Snoopy says with a huff as he turns the screen towards himself. Pressing a few keys he fast forwards the footage, grumbling under his breath the whole time before turning the screen back to Enterrador and pressing play.
The woman is alone on the floor now, the baby and man no longer on the screen. Now that I can see her face, the resemblence to my baby girl is uncanny. I’m mesmerized looking at her. Her breathing is labored, but at least she's still breathing. A few moments later, two men walk in dragging the body of another man behind them. They place the man on the floor near the woman. One bends to check the woman's pulse before pulling out a phone. We listen to a one-sided conversation.
“Yes, sir.… She still lives.”
Short pause.
“Yes, we have a dead Asesino here.”
Another pause.
“Ok. We’ll take her to the compound.”
More silence.
“I’ll watch over her myself, Diablo, sir.”
With that, he hangs up the phone. The pair gently picks up the woman and carries her from the room.
With that Snoopy reaches over and stops the video. For a moment we all sit in silence, waiting to see what Enterrador will do.
“That’s it?” he asks, gesturing to the frozen screen before him. When no one replies, he starts to chuckle.
“You expect me to believe Diablo, the head of the Infierno cartel, had my wife and child killed? The same cartel I'm apart of. To what end? How would killing her benefit him?”
Snoopy and those of us at the table sit dumbfounded. Perhaps we should’ve been prepared for questions. I don’t fucking know. This wasn’t part of my plan. I… want to put a bullet in this fucker’s head. Standing from my seat, I draw my gun from my belt, but before I have the chance to even take aim…
“Gunner, stop,” Mythic says with a waiver in her voice.
Striding over to the table, she takes the empty seat next to Snoopy. Looking directly at Lilly, she has a sad smile.
“Ah the infamous, blue-haired woman,” Enterrador chides. “Can you answer my questions?”
Turning to face him, Mythic looks him straight in the eye, and says, “I can, brother.”
Chapter 29
Lilly
I feel like I’ve just taken a punch to the gut. What the fuck did she just say?
“Did she just say brother?” Cessy asks from across the room.
“Selena,” Enterrador whispers. “How? How can this be?” he asks, reaching over to brush her cheek.
When she flinches, he actually has the sense to look hurt.
“Why have you let me think you were dead for all these years? How could you do that to me? To Alex?” he asks, his voice getting louder with each question. “You have no idea what your death did to her,” he yells.
“Do not talk to me about what I’ve done to Alex, Adan. Not when you just watched proof showing you our father was responsible for her death,” Mythic seethes.
“Hold the fuck
up. Did she just say father?” Cessy asks again, the only one brave enough to voice her confusion right now. Snoopy simply sits back in his chair damn near in shock, his eyes moving back and forth as he processes everything we just learned.
“Why would Diablo want you dead if you’re his daughter,” I whisper.
When she meets my gaze I see nothing but regret reflecting back at me in her eyes. “I was taken by the Asesino at the behest of my father. A rival had found me and threatened to take me. Diablo beat them to the punch. He doesn’t allow weakness. The minute I became one, I had to be taken care of.”
“He wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t. You weren't there when he came home. He looked for you,” Enterrador exclaims.
Looking to Enterrador, she glares, silencing him. “The night Alex believed I died, I met our father for the first time, Adan. I know what I was told. He left me in that hell hole with his hired killers to do whatever they pleased. I was fifteen, Adan! Fifteen! I spent the next two years begging for my life. Begging to live another day, though I don’t know why. Another day to be beaten, raped, repeatedly. I lived that life, Adan. Me! So, don’t you dare tell me what our father would or wouldn’t do,” she screams as she slowly stands from the table. “Jesus saved me. Stole me away in the night he found out I was pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” he questions.
“Yes, and do you know what happened to my baby girl, Adan? The night you came for revenge on Jesús you took her life. That little girl whose throat you slit was mine.”
He sits back as if she'd slapped him “No.”
“And you ask me why I let you think I was dead? You turned into the man Diablo always wanted you to be. After he took Alex from you. Because he thought she made you weak,” Mythic hisses.
“And look at you now,” she says, gesturing to the man before her. “Buying a woman, hunting her because she looks like Alex. She would be ashamed of the man you’ve become, brother. I know I am.”
Without another word, Mythic walks back to the private room. She disappears inside it before returning with Enterrador’s men, and Dash and Jekyl in tow.
“You will never bother her again,” she says, pointing at Lilly. “ Do you understand me?”
Enterrador cuts his eyes to her, hating that she chose to show her power in front of his men. He nods with a scowl planted firmly on his face.
“Go back to your hotel in Austin. I’ll be there shortly.”
Enterrador’s men look back and forth between the two. Unsure if they should leave or what the fuck they're supposed to do. I doubt they’ve ever seen someone stand up to him, let alone a woman like Mythic.
When he turns to leave without a look in her direction Emily yells, “Sir. Sir. You can’t leave me here. You promised if I helped you, I would get my son back.”
Turning right before he reaches the door, he looks at her and says, “You think this was helping me?” he spits. “Stupid woman, you should’ve known about all of this,” he says, gesturing to the show of force the two clubs met him with. “Your son is gone. You will never see him again. Honestly, you were an idiot to believe I would ever give him up. Caine was our family. His son will be raised with us. You were meant to be killed today, but I'll leave that up to them.”
Looking at Prez, he continues, “If you don’t kill her, we will come for her. She now knows too much about who I am.”
Without another word, he and his men walk out the door as Emily loses it. “You bastard,” she screams to the empty space by the door. When she tries to run past Cessy, Cessy slaps her across the face, gun in hand. “Sit the fuck down. We would’ve helped you, you stupid cunt. But instead, you turned to the enemy and almost cost Lilly her freedom. Don’t think I won't shoot you right here and now for that shit.”
Holding her cheek she laughs. “Like you’ve helped Rose get kids back?”
When Cessy raises her hand ready to strike again, she has the brains to shut the fuck up. Turning to Mythic, Cessy yells, “You better start fucking explaining.”
“Cessy, don’t,” Snoopy snaps.
Glancing at Snoopy, Mythic opens her mouth to speak multiple times but can't seem to find the words. “Ashton,” she whimpers.
“Selena,” he grumbles as he slams his chair back and stands from the table. Without so much as a second look, he walks away.
“Please let me explain,” she pleads to his back, but he never turns around as he storms into the storeroom and out of Blue Bells.
Casting her gaze to the floor, Mythic takes a deep breath before peering up at me. “You’re so much like her, like Alex, that at times it hurts. I understand why he latched on to you like he did. Alex was the best friend I ever had. I wish every day my mother had never moved us into their home. Maybe she’d still be alive if she’d never met us.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t think you could trust me,” I say quietly.
Shuffling over to me, she reaches up to cup my cheek. “Look around you, Lilly. Look at how your family sees me now. Being the daughter of a cartel boss isn't something to be proud of. I never wanted to have to be that girl, but now…” she says, pushing her shoulders back and taking a deep breath. “Now, I don’t have a choice. He has to be taken down. One way or another my father must pay for what he’s done. I just hope I don’t go down with him.”
“You could run again?” I offer.
“You watched that video just like I did,” she says, pointing to the laptop long forgotten. “I have to know if she’s truly dead, Lilly. She’s still breathing when they take her. I can’t find out if I run again.” Shaking her head, she admits softly, “No, it’s time I stop hiding.”
Glancing to the brothers around the room and finally to Prez, she tells him, “You run a good club. I wouldn’t have helped you if you didn’t. I can’t even begin to thank you for all you’ve done for me this last week. I want you to know if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask. Hate me or not, Snoopy can always find me.”
Reaching forward, she takes my hand in hers. “You made me realize everything I was missing in life, Lilly. I'll never forget that.” With that, she walks out of Blue Bells, leaving all of us staring as we try to fully understand everything that just happened.
“What the actual fuck,” Cess exclaims, throwing her hands up, drawing our attention to the booth she’s standing at.
Before we can even see it happen, Emily lunges forward and grabs the gun from Cessy’s lax hand. She aims and fires one shot before Cessy is on her, wrestling the gun from her hands.
When I look around, a scream tears from my throat as I see Gunner drop to the ground. Terror grips me as I drop down beside him. I did not go through everything and come out on the other side with my life back only to lose the man I love.
“Gunner,” I whimper before placing my hand on his chest. The liquid pooling there squishes under my fingers, and my hands start to shake. In an instant, Rodeo is beside me, checking for a pulse.
Grabbing both shoulders, he shakes me. “Snap out of it,” he bellows. “No one here can help Gunner more than you, Lilly. What do we do?”
In this moment, I want to crumble, but he’s right. This is what I went to school for. It may not be a children’s hospital but working with the Sons will never be mundane.
“I need his shirt off. I-I don’t know where the entrance wound is,” I stammer.
Rodeo shreds the fabric down the center, and it begins. We spend the next twenty minutes doing everything we can to save the man who owns my heart. I know as soon as he’s in the ambulance that Gunner is fighting with everything he has and my life is forever changed.
Chapter 30
Gunner
Rev tells me God was watching over me that day. All I know is, I’m a lucky son of a bitch. One inch to the left, and I wouldn’t have ever taken another breath. Somehow that bullet managed to miss my lungs and heart, leaving only a wicked scar in its place.
Prez told me Emily lost her shit when she found out I was going to make it—ri
pped out her hair and punched the wall until she broke most of the bones in her hand. They chose not to kill her, wanting to understand why she did what she did. I don’t know what the fuck I could’ve ever done to this bitch to make her hate me so much. Hell, I don’t think I've ever spoken more than a few sentences to her. I don’t give a damn to know what I did to her, but she refuses to speak to anyone but me. So, it is what it is.
“You ready,” Lilly asks, walking up beside me.
Looking in the bathroom mirror, I take in her gorgeous face as she rests her chin on my shoulder. “I love you,” I tell her, looking her reflection in the eye.
Her cheeks tint with a shade of pink, before she replies, “I love you too.”
“Let's get this over with, so I can show you how much later,” I tease her. “Today Doc cleared me for heavy lifting.” Heat pools in her eyes. She has no idea what I have planned for her today. I’ve enjoyed the hell out of the sexy nurse routine we’ve gotten into lately, but today it’s time for ribbons and lace. Just thinking about it has me hard, but right now it’s business first. I have a date with a crazy lady.
Taking her hand in mine, we work our way through to the holding cells in the basement of the clubhouse. The lights are dimmed in Emily’s cell. I can only make out her silhouette, sitting on the bed in the corner.
“Finally come to put me out of my misery?” Emily rasps. She sounds like she’s smoked a carton of cigarettes a day all her life, which throws me off.
Lilly walks to the end of the hall and turns the lights on in her cell. The woman staring back at me looks nothing like the one who shot me only six weeks ago. Her right hand is bandaged from the damage she did. Chunks of her long blonde hair are missing, and it looks as if she hasn’t eaten in days. Venom wouldn’t even recognize his first love in the shell that sits on the other side of the bars.
“The only misery you’re in is of your own choosing,” Lilly snaps at her.
Striding up the bars, she looks at Lilly. “Did you know when Caine first saw me, he sent pictures to Enterrador thinking I would please him?”
