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I stiffened at the mention of my brother’s name. “What? No!”
“Yes,” she said, turning stern. “I’ve kept my mouth shut so as not to upset Cali while she was pregnant, but now that Justice is here, he deserves to know about his daughter. What if something happens, and he doesn’t get the chance to even hold his child?”
“I’m not going to upset Cali with this crap right now, Mom. Maybe when she’s had time to recover, I’ll bring it up. But I’m not going to push her about it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. “Call your brother, or I will.”
From the hardness in her eyes, I knew she meant it. Groaning, I pulled out my phone. “He’s not going to pick up,” I warned, finding his number in my contacts. I might not have remembered his number, but Mom did and made me put him in my contact list. I hesitated for only a moment before swiping my thumb over his name.
She stepped closer, listening in as it rang and rang.
“What?” His voice came over the line in a savage snarl. “Who the fuck is this?”
“Garret,” I said his name softly, my mouth going dry at actually getting the chance to speak to my brother for the first time in months. “Don’t hang up.”
“N-Nova?” He got strangled on my name for a moment, but then he cleared his throat. “I don’t know who the fuck this is, but I’m tired of these sick games. Leave me and my family alone, you evil cunt.”
Before I could protest, the line went silent, and I gave Mom an “I told you so” look. She rolled her eyes and snatched the phone from my hand. Muttering to herself, she tried to call him back, only to get the unmistakable message that the call couldn’t go through.
“For fuck’s sake,” she grumbled. “Well, there’s no other choice. You’re going to have to go get him.”
I laughed at her idea of a joke. “I’m not going anywhere. Cali and Justice need me.”
“Justice needs you to bring her daddy to her,” she argued. “Whatever problems Cali and Garret have, that’s between them. But Justice deserves the chance to be held by her father.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and prayed for patience. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Cali and Justice will be fine until you get back,” Mom promised. “Guzman and I will be right here with her. And Maria.”
“Mom, if you want him here so badly, then you go get him!”
She cupped both sides of my face in her chilled hands. “Nova, it has to be you. He thinks both you and Cali are dead. He might not believe me, and then I’ll have to deal with your dad and everyone else. Which will take too much time. If he sees you in the flesh, he’s going to freak out, I’m sure. But he’s more likely to believe you about Cali. Plus, I know if he still doesn’t cooperate, you can just knock him out and bring him down here.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “How would I do that?”
She lifted a brow at me, a knowing light in her blue eyes. “How did you kill those men when you were thirteen, Nova? Something tells me that wasn’t just the self-defense Raven has taught you mixed with dumb luck. How about telling me how you killed Manuel Ramirez?”
Unable to lie to her, but unable to tell her the truth, I pressed my lips together and turned my gaze out the window. Not even now could I break my promise to Anya. I would take it to the grave if I had to.
“I’m sure kidnapping your brother—should it come down to that—won’t be too much trouble for you.” She patted me on the arm. “Especially if you take a few men with you to do the heavy lifting.”
Cursing under my breath, I stomped across the room, needing space from her. But Guzman was watching me closely, and I could see the judgment in his eyes.
“What?” I demanded. “Do you actually agree with her?”
He sighed. “If it were me in your brother’s shoes, I would want to be here to help take care of my daughter. There is no guarantee of tomorrow, especially not for the precious baby girl upstairs. Father and daughter deserve the chance to have at least one moment together, even if that is all they get.”
“But Cali won’t like it.” I tried to make him understand. “She’s been through so much already. She’s going to hate me if I bring Garret here, especially while she’s so vulnerable.”
“She may be angry, but she won’t hate you. Deep down, she knows that Justice having her father is the right thing.” He nodded toward the door. “You’re wasting time. That little girl is waiting for her papa to hold her.”
47
Nova
It wasn’t just Anya I’d learned valuable underworld lessons from. I had my entire family to thank for everything they’d taught me over the years.
Case in point, if you’re going to kidnap someone and then fly away, don’t park your plane at an airport in the same city as the one you’re kidnapping the person from. If possible, use one in an entirely different state. Luckily for me, there was an airport in New Jersey that was on neutral ground. As far as I knew, no “family” used it as a base.
