Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
The closer they got, the more I noticed that Tisha’s makeshift bandage around his torso was soaked through in places.
Seeing them appear like this, battered yet defiant, ached something deep in my chest.
I pushed past those emotions and fully turned their way.
Valentina and Tisha stopped in front of me. Tisha’s face wore a mask of grim resolve. Valentina’s eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, probably from crying.
The door to Maxwell’s room creaked open.
I snapped my view that way.
Emily emerged from the room and walked towards us, holding a gun at her side.
Where did she get that gun, and when? All this time, she had a gun in there?
I eyed her. “Mysh?”
She didn’t look my way.
Instead, her gaze slid over Valentina and Tisha.
The air between us charged.
Emily’s silence was louder than any words she could have uttered. Her fury was not shouted but radiated from her small frame like heat from a fire.
It was in the tension of her shoulders, the tightness of her jaw, and the hard set of her eyes. Even the way she held the gun at her side spoke volumes like it was an extension of her rage.
Lunita or my mouse?
I studied her, noting every detail—the slight tremor of her clenched fists, the rapid rise and fall of her chest, the barely controlled anger simmering in her gaze.
It is still my mouse. . .for now. . .
Emily moved away from the doorway with a deliberate, menacing grace. She was no longer the Mouse. Now she was a predator closing the distance on its prey.
And Misha thinks he will be the Nightmare in New Orleans. Stand in line, cousin.
She stopped in front of Tisha and Valentina.
I walked over and got to her side.
Emily’s gaze settled on Tisha.
His stance faltered slightly under the intensity of her stare.
Then, Emily sneered. “Tell me everything.”
Chapter thirty-five
On
Kazimir
Tisha cleared his throat and gazed down at Emily. “The bombs went off right at midnight. They were planted outside, near the entrance.”
Emily remained still with the gun at her side. “So, they had time to kill our guards in the front with no one knowing and then they had even more time to set bombs?”
Tisha’s gaze didn’t waver. “Yes, Emily.”
Valentina spoke, “The first two explosions took out most of the front of the club. Everyone by the front or on the stage died instantly.”
Emily didn’t turn my sister’s way.
Instead, she kept her view on Tisha.
Valentina’s eyes darkened, and her voice turned into a whisper of its usual strength. “After the explosions, men stormed in, searching. Shooting indiscriminately. It was chaos. Bullets flying. People screaming. But in the end, I believe they were looking for you two.”
Emily still watched Tisha. “Kaz and me?”
“Yes.” Valentina’s eyes watered. She pursed her lips, and I knew that she was biting back tears. After a few silent seconds, she cleared her throat. “When one of the men saw Maxwell, they signaled for others, and it turned into a battle solely between them and Maxwell.”
Rage spread over Emily’s face. “They knew who he was to me?”
Valentina nodded. “Harlem Crew joined in. Many died. Then, some of the men saw me too and. . .”
I frowned. “The same thing. They recognized you as someone important to me and made sure to kill you.”
“If not for Maxwell, I would not be here.” Valentina’s bottom lip quivered. “I was near the bar, trying to find cover and shoot. Maxwell saw one of them aiming at me, ran over. . .”
Emily turned to Valentina.
My sister fisted her hands. “Maxwell didn’t hesitate, not even for a second. He jumped in front of me. . .shielding me with his body.”
Emily’s grip on the gun tightened as she put her view back on Tisha.
Valentina continued, “Maxwell caught the bullets, Emily. In his chest and stomach. Those bullets were for me. . .”
Anger and sorrow battled in my soul.
Maxwell, always the protector, putting the women that he loved before himself without a second thought. The fact that he was now lying in the hospital bed and fighting for his life because of his selflessness, was a cruelty that I could barely comprehend.
Valentina swallowed. “Harlem Crew and Lemon finished the men from behind. We managed to get Maxwell out. I held him the whole ride to the hospital. He was shaking. Blood. . .spilled from his lips. . .”
Valentina hugged herself. “And all he kept doing was talking about Emily and that damn lemon tree on and on.”
My mouse trembled next to me. “What did he say?”
“He wanted me to tell you not to let Lunita come out because he was shot, and that if he didn’t make it, he wanted you to paint huge murals of him in the boys’ bedrooms, so they never forgot their uncle.”
Emily looked down at the floor.
“Then, he went on and on about how to properly mist Lemonisha and all the jazz songs she liked, and he kept making me repeat the instructions back. . .” Valentina’s eyes watered. “Finally. . .he said that if he died. . .he wanted Lemonisha buried by his grave. . .somewhere in Harlem. . .with Xavier’s ashes mixed in with the dirt over his casket.”