Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 118333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
“Dutch Courage,” he said, just so I could hear.
Moving to Mae, I looked down at her son. He had thick dark hair. Even crying, he was precious. “Que bendicion,” I said, and ran my finger over his hair. “What a blessing,” I translated.
“Thank you.”
Feeling someone watching me, I turned to see Tanner’s gaze fixed on me. He wore a strange expression on his face. My stomach squeezed when I realized it was him looking at me with a baby. My heart skipped a beat when I imagined us this way, being welcomed back by friends after bringing our baby into the world. Our baby. The living proof that we had done it. That we had defied the odds and escaped our old lives. Married, with a family.
My heart grew so full I could barely contain it. But then that feeling of dread quickly washed the dream from my head. I was getting ahead of myself. I was dreaming of too much too soon.
But it was such a lovely dream to aspire to.
Beauty’s arm threaded through mine and we made our way out of the bar, following Maddie and Mae down the hallway. Maddie walked so close to Mae that I knew they must have been related. They had matching long black hair. And Maddie had clearly met Charon before now. She held his little hand all the way to the room the other ladies were in.
I took a deep breath as we approached the door. Beauty must have realized I was nervous. She held me back and let Maddie and Mae enter first. I heard the other women speaking quiet words of excitement.
Beauty moved before me. “Has Tanner told you much about most of the women in that room?”
“Some.”
“Did he tell you that Mae, Li, Grace, Madds, Bella, Phebe, and Saffie were cult girls? Like, a batshit crazy religious cult that abused them for years until the Hangmen brought those assholes down.”
Tanner had told me. And he had told me how his father was responsible for funding the cult among other shady deals. He hadn’t known. It was another deal made by his father without Tanner being involved.
“I know some.”
Beauty nodded. “Sia is Ky’s sister, and she’s with both Cowboy and Hush.” Tanner had told me that too. “Letti’s one of my best friends, but the bitch is a fucking psycho and likes to kill just as much as the men in that bar.” I swallowed, my nerves worse than ever. “My point , darlin’, is that no one is judging you for having a creep as an old man.” Although her words were meant to offer comfort, they were veritable bullets to my heart. Because she was right. My father . . . he was an abuser. “Girl, pull up those cartel-princess panties and come make some new friends. None of us are fucking normal in this club; think of us as one weird, dysfunctional family.”
Laughing, I let Beauty lead me into the room. The minute she shut the door, all eyes were on us. Beauty didn’t let the silence reign for long. “Y’all remember Adelita?”
Mae smiled at me as she fed Charon on the couch. The other women nodded. Most smiled and waved. But my eyes found the small redhead who had haunted my dreams over the past several days. Her eyes were on me as she leaned into her mother’s side. “Hello,” I said to the group.
Beauty took hold of my hand. “Let me introduce you properly this time.” She took me around the room, and I shook hands with each one. And like Beauty said, each was kind and gracious. When I sat down, it was beside Sia.
“Hey, you’re a crime-world brat too!” She laughed at my stunned reaction. “I’m Ky’s sister, so I know what it’s like to have an old man in this life. Although he didn’t have much to do with me. Asshole.”
“Then yes,” I said, “I’m a crime-world brat too.”
Sia clinked her glass with mine. As the wine filled my stomach, I felt myself relax.
“Tell us, Mae,” Beauty asked, “Did labor hurt like a bitch?”
Mae laughed. “Yes.”
When Lilah made a small terrified sound, Beauty grimaced. “Sorry, Li.” Lilah smiled nervously and rubbed her round stomach.
“But worth it,” Mae said, just as Charon stopped feeding and fell asleep in her arms. A pang of envy pulled in my chest as I watched Mae with her son.
Conversation carried on around me. Saffie got to her feet to go to the attached bathroom. Seeing Phebe go to the kitchenette in the room to make herself a drink, I got up and went over to where she was standing.
“Adelita?” Phebe said.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, the devastation in my heart leaking into the tone of my voice. I shook my head, fighting back the embarrassed tears that were threatening to fall. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what he was doing. If I did, I would have stopped him . . . somehow . . . I would have made . . . she would have been safe, I—”