But she stops me cold.
“Don’t,” she says sharply. “I don’t care what you have to say. Not anymore. I’ll finish, and then you can leave.”
Her gaze moves away from me again. Back to the ceiling. To nowhere.
“Bowie was cartel. Still is.”
Fuck me!
“He takes orders and payouts through the sheriff. He met my mother, and she liked him.Reallyliked him. She loved the idea of him as my husband. Her control, sealed in a nice package. A cop. A clean-cut face. A perfect match for her favorite little puppet.”
She exhales, and I see the years of her life drain out with it.
“She always said she had my life planned out. Every detail. And once I was delivered back to her from the station — escorted by one of their dirty officers — she told me what came next. I was going to marry him.Or else.”
She pauses. Her mouth quivers for a second. So does my heart.
“I didn’t see any way out. So I bargained. I told her I’d do it if they left you alone in prison and if she let Liz live with me. I wanted my sister as far from her reach as I could take her. Those were my two conditions.”
She closes her eyes, jaw tight.
“She agreed, of course she fucking did. But she didn’t stop there. No. She made me testify. Made me look you in the eyes in court, and lie.”
Her voice breaks at the end.
The dread is building inside me like thunder. Every word she says drags me closer to the deepest circle of Hell. Because I can feel it in her voice, this isn’t the worst part. There’s more, and it’s going to break me.
I was so sure I knew everything, but I didn’t know a goddamn thing.
“Bowie was her favorite,” she whispers. “She was absolutely delighted to have him as ‘family.’ He gave her full access to our so-called marital home. No questions asked. She’d show up almost every week to inspect the house, give me lecturesabout how I wasn’t a good enough wife. That I didn’t clean well enough. Didn’t cook meals elaborate enough to be worthy of a man. Other things I won’t even get into.”
The thin hospital sheet wrinkles in her fists before she releases it, her fingers trembling.
“And I was stuck. Because I couldn’t risk them killing you inside, and because I couldn’t let Liz fall back into her hands. I had to wait until she was no longer a minor. Until I was sure she wouldn’t be dragged back to my mother.”
A single tear rolls down her temple. I want to wipe it. God, I want to touch her so bad it aches. But I don’t move. I don’t have the right anymore.
“I don’t even know why Bowie agreed to marry me. Maybe Sombra forced his hand. Maybe my mother asked for it directly. Or maybe…” her lips twist, bitter and broken, “maybe he just wanted it.”
She takes a breath like it weighs a thousand pounds.
“Bowie was a fucking nightmare.”
My stomach turns.
“I wasn’t allowed friends. He took every cent I made from my job. Controlled every part of my life. Beat me any time I broke one of his fucked up rules. And he always made sure to do it carefully. No bruises where people could see. No scars left behind. Never enough to warrant a hospital visit.”
Her voice drops lower.
“And my mother loved him for it.”
My hands curl into fists in my lap. Rage thrums beneath my skin. Too late now. Too fucking late.
“I did everything I could to shield Liz from the worst of it, but I don’t know what she saw or heard. When she started looking at colleges, I told her to aim for the ones that were at least two states away.”
Her gaze drifts back to mine, and I brace for another piece to splinter inside me.
“You said you were the one who made her scholarship in Italy happen. You looked at me like that was something cruel, like you’d done something heartless. But it was the only good thing you did, Ghost. You helped her get away from the poison we were both drowning in.”
