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The music blares as people dance. The scent of spices and cooking meat wafts through the air.
I dodge several of the children as they run by, almost stumbling into a row of garbage cans.
Zoe’s gaze lands on me and her smile lights up her entire face.
Just as quick as that smile appears, it’s gone, and she’s looking at me like she’s seen a ghost.
“I didn’t know if you were going to be here tonight,” Camila says, looking up at me as she crosses her arms over her chest. She cuts her gaze toward Zoe, a subtle sign that something is wrong.
“I finished work quicker than I thought I would.” I watch Zoe as her mouth presses into a thin line.
She takes a deep breath before smiling again.
“I’m going to go find some food,” Zoe says before disappearing into the crowd.
Two of the men I have stationed as her security detail take off after her while I turn to my sister.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my tone sharper than intended. “Why does she look like I’ve kicked a puppy?”
Camila looks around before walking over to a secluded corner away from the rest of the party. I still have a good line of sight in the direction Zoe went, but the rest of the cartel isn’t going to be able to hear us speak.
“You killed a guy. That might have something to do with it. Or how about the way you took her to that damn cabin and cut up a body in front of her?”
I sigh. “I thought we had moved past that.”
“Maybe you had, but whatever happened today brought her back to that frame of mind.” She shakes her head. “The girl looks like she is in love with you most of the time. But every now and then, she looks like she’s next on the murder list.”
“This is the reality of this world,” I say as I glare down at my sister. “You know that as well as I do.”
“And she was not raised in this world. She is a normal person who isn’t nearly as fucked in the head as we are. You need to talk to her and sort this shit out before you lose the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” The last few words are punctuated by a finger hammering my chest.
My sister sighs. “She’s scared, Christian. She hides it well, but this life is scary and she’s new to it. Do fucking better.”
Camila takes off into the party, leaving me to stand there and think about everything.
I showed Zoe what I had to. Every exposure she’s had to the monster who lurks in the dark has been calculated but necessary.
I’ve kept her from everything else that she doesn’t need to see.
Camila might be right that she is new to this world, but that shouldn’t mean I have to shield her from it.
The way I introduced her to it was wrong. I can see that now. But the danger is real. People are coming for us. For her.
I’ve been trying to protect her from the worst of this world since that night.
Maybe I should stop sheltering her. Maybe it’s time to make her see that this is her world now too.
I won’t be as harsh or as brutal as I was that night, but it’s time to drop the curtains on her new reality and let her come face to face with the creatures that lurk in the dark.
When it comes down to it, Zoe might surprise me.
I take a deep breath and run my hand through my hair.
I hate that there is no clear answer to this problem. I want to fix everything and make her feel comfortable, but I don’t know how to do that if I keep hiding parts of my life from her.
After another moment alone, I weave through the crowd to go find Zoe.
She stands in a corner, sipping a beer and talking to Ruben.
