Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
The word, drilled into my head since birth by my rather fearsome mother, had me freezing in place and trying to force down the primal urge to maim, to shred and destroy everything and everyone that had hurt my girl.
Unable to keep myself from her any longer, I went to the side of Joy’s bed and sank to my knees, my chest seizing as I studied her bruised face.
She appeared incredibly pale beneath the bright light streaming from the physician’s lantern on the brass and glass table next to the bed. Even against the warm backdrop of the rose silk headboard and blankets, she appeared nearly colorless. The tan freckles on her nose and cheeks stood out against her parlor, adorable spots Joy usually hid beneath makeup. Part of the shield she used to protect herself from a harsh world driven by men greedy for a taste of her beauty. While I may be slightly enamored with her, there wasn’t a heterosexual male who saw Joy and didn’t take note on some level. I wondered if the doctor had taken liberties with Joy while he examined her, then cursed myself for being an insane dick. Dr. Gato was seventy-five years old and happily married for the past fifty years—of course Joy was safe with him. He was an honorable man who’d saved my life over and over again.
Shit, I’ve never had to deal with feelings of jealousy like this for a woman before, and it was totally screwing with me.
Mom had Joy put in the guest room next to my bedroom at my parent’s house, something I decided not to comment on at the moment. Part of me wanted to protest, to play off any feelings I had for Joy, but dried blood matted her curly, dark blonde hair and there was bruising around her throat and upper arms from where someone had manhandled her. Her full, Cupid’s bow lips parted as she began to stir, and the doctor quickly finished stitching her up.
“There,” he said in Spanish to my mother, “Mrs. Cordova, good as new. There will be very little scarring, nothing that will detract from her beauty. The accelerated healing cream will have most of the bruising gone in a few days.”
“Get your hands off her,” I growled while my mother sighed with exasperation.
The rise and fall of Joy’s chest calmed me as my mother said, “Thank you, Dr. Gato, for your time. I appreciate you coming all this way.”
She gave me a censoring look, the silver streaks in her black hair shifting as she tilted her head, but I ignored her and tried to get control of my guilt. I should have realized that no one was watching Joy, that she was vulnerable, but I’d been too caught up in Fernando’s bullshit. I briefly wondered if someone was with him as he slept off his latest episode, then decided I didn’t give a fuck.
Joy stirred again and made a sleepy, unhappy sound.
“Did you give her a painkiller?” my mother asked.
Dr. Gato nodded as he turned the bright light off, leaving the room softly illuminated by a cream porcelain lamp near the door. “Yes, just a mild one. She will sleep deeply for at least the next four hours. When she wakes she’ll be sore, but she shouldn’t suffer from any permanent damage.”
My mother’s voice came out tight with anger as she said, “Jose will see you out. Goodnight, Dr. Gato, and thank you again.”
“Goodnight, Mrs. Cordova.”
After he left, I spared my mother a glance. Her soft, rounded face appeared heavy with grief and guilt as she gazed at Joy. “I’m so sorry, Ramón.”
Part of me wanted to rage at her, to yell and scream that it was all her fault that Joy had gotten hurt, but those would be the words of a cowardly child, not the man she’d raised me to be. “It’s okay. You had no way of knowing that their roommate would bring filth like Manny Santiago into their home.”
She touched her bloodstained fingertips to her forehead as her shoulders sagged further. “Poor Hannah. She’s…they hurt her.”
I liked Hannah. I had the ability to trust her because of her brainwashing, so she was fast becoming a true friend. “How is she?”
“As good as can be expected. She hasn’t woken up yet, and Leo is beside himself. I understand your desire to stay with Joy, but I will need your help dealing with the animals who did this to my girls. I can’t ask Leo to leave Hannah’s side, and I’m afraid I don’t have the strength to give those men what they deserve. Will you take care of it for me?”
“Absolutely. Are we gonna face blowback from the Santiago Cartel?”
“I hope they’re foolish enough to try and take us on. I’ve been waiting years for an excuse to go after the Santiago cartel.” She turned her anger filled eyes to Joy’s bed and tears trailed down her cheeks as her breath hitched. “It tears my heart apart to see these sweet girls hurt by that filth. I want you to make them bleed. I need you to make them hurt. Make them scream for me, Ramón.”