“You want the pictures gone?” she asks.
“I want you gone.”
“You betray Diablo.”
For a second, I think I heard her wrong.
Then the words settle.
I laugh.
It ain’t a human sound.
“You’re dumber than I thought.”
Her eyes flash. “Carmen will have instructions soon.”
“Carmen can choke on a dick.”
“She knows things, Shady. Rafael’s grave. Reyes Floral. The routes Diablo thinks he owns. She knows where Darling sleeps. She knows where Lady performs. She knows how many brothers are loyal to Diablo and how many still remember Rafael.”
I go still.
Cherry sees it.
Her smile crawls back.
“Smart road captain. You get it now.”
“I get that you walked into a room with a sleeping man and staged pictures because Carmen told you to.”
Her face reddens.
“What would you call that, Cherry?”
“Survival.”
“No,” I say, voice low. “Don’t dress this up. You touched me while I was out and took pictures to blackmail me. That ain’t survival. That is a line you cannot uncross.”
For the first time, shame flickers.
“She’ll ruin your Lady,” Cherry whispers. “The photos. The rumor. The criminal thing will stick. Miami will eat her alive. Fame is all Lady has.”
My phone buzzes on the floor beside the bed.
Both of us look at it.
Cherry laughs softly. “Speak of the devil.”
I don’t move for it.
She backs toward the door.
“Don’t follow me,” she says. “Don’t tell Diablo. If you do, Carmen sends everything public. You wait for instructions.”
“I don’t take orders from Carmen.”
“You will if you love Lady.”
