Page 91 of Widow Mayker

“Where’s Heir?” I asked, instead, turning my fears to her. “What the hell was Mama talking about? Who took Heir?” I fired off question after question.

The door opened and Poppa walked in. I rushed into his arms and broke down again. Poppa looked worn out, which only made me terrified for Heir.

“Who has Heir?” I asked him.

“Heir is down the hall. She’s safe,” he said. That offered me some relief, but I was back to worrying about Von. I had to see him!

“How long was I out?” Everything seemed like it just happened a minute ago and forever ago at the same time.

“It’s Tuesday afternoon,” Poppa informed me.

“Tuesday?” I was out for three days! That was impossible! Glaring at Adir, I asked, “What did you give me?”

He studied me, then his eyes dropped to my abdomen. “Your body needed the rest.”

I read between the lines and gasped. My heart felt heavier than it ever had. I rushed towards the door.

“We need to talk,” Adir stated as I stormed out of the room and down the hall. My feet felt like bricks assailed them the closer I came to the room where Carmen’s soft cries permeated from. Heartbroken, I stopped walking.

This was all my fault!

Rushing back the other way, I ran into the room I’d just vacated and to the nearest garbage can. I emptied my stomach into the trash, then stood at the sink to rinse my mouth. All while shedding tears of fear, anger, and more fear.

“If you wouldn’t have let your guard down, this wouldn’t have happened!” I hissed at myself.

“Maja,” Adir mumbled from the doorway. “We need to talk.”

“You keep saying that!” I fumed.

“We found who took Heir and handled them.”

Whirling around, I glared at him. “Why do I hear a but?”

“Lucían Augustín was the leader of the Augustín Cartel. He was also Kody’s blood brother.”

“Blood brother?” I questioned as my mind raced. “Katrice?”

“Listen,” Adir commanded lowly. “Lucían is dead and so is Katrice.”

In disbelief, I asked, “What the hell is going on?”

“While Alli was digging up information about Lucían, he discovered that Lucían and Katrice were in communication with Jerell Franklin,” Adir explained.

My heart nosedived. Jemell, I thought. He was coming back to haunt me. The dream! It all made sense.

“We believe Jerell orchestrated the shootout to distract us from Lucían kidnapping Heir.”

Incensed, I growled. “I’m going to kill everything attached to him!”

“Wait!” Poppa grabbed my arm, but I snatched away.

“I won’t let you stop me!”

“I don’t want to stop you, May,” Adir mumbled. The look in his eyes caused my breath to stall. I stood there staring at him, staring at me. “In fact, I want you to be as ruthless as I know you can be.”

“No,” Poppa interjected, lowly. He glanced at Adir like Adir was crazy. “We can’t let her get involved with this shit, Adir. We’re talkin’ about the fuckin’ cartel!”

Adir peered at Poppa. “Father to father,” he said, “I understand. We both want to protect her. However, we both know what she’s capable of.” Adir glanced at me. Standing there, I knew that they knew exactly who I was. Only, I couldn’t find it in me to feel sorry for who I’d become over the years. The mask was off, and two of the closest people to me knew the damage I’d done.