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“You used me!” I repeat, my voice stronger this time.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand and now is not the time for me to explain it to you.”
“No? Then tell me, when is the right time, Mateo?” I bite, anger building in my chest.
“I’m sorry, boss.” Dimitri appears beside me, breathing heavily like he just ran here, despite the fact that he’s the one that let me go. Not that I would ever tell Mateo that.
“Get her out of here,” Mateo bites.
Dimitri moves to grab my arm but I pull it away, immediately reaching for the gun tucked in the back of my pants. I slide the safety off and point it directly at Mateo before anyone has realized what’s happened.
I register the shocked look on Mateo’s face seconds before there’s a scurry of movement. My eyes dart around the room to see every gun now trained on me.
“Don’t shoot!” Mateo’s voice booms through the barn.
“Mila, what the hell are you doing?” Dimitri whispers nervously beside me.
I wish I knew. I’m not so much thinking as simply acting.
“Everyone, lower your weapons.” Mateo looks around at his men. “Now!” I watch as each man slowly lowers their guns. “No one is to harm her, is that understood?”
His question is met with a chorus of grumbles.
“Mila.” He softens his approach. “Put the gun down.”
“No.” I shake my head.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Actually, I know exactly what I’m doing. For the first time in weeks, I’m finally starting to see things clearly. And I won’t let you do this. Now loweryourweapon.”
He looks toward his gun, still trained on my father and I follow his line of sight. I watch my father’s mouth tip up in a smile.
“That’s my girl. You thought you could pull one over on a Herrera.” He lets out a wicked laugh. “You know nothing, boy. You thought you were playing her. You never stopped to consider that maybe she was playing you.”
While this isn’t the truth, I don’t dispute what he says. I want Mateo to think that I’ve been the one with the upper hand all along. It gives me a sense of power when I otherwise feel completely powerless.
“Shut the fuck up!” Mateo steps forward, pressing the barrel of his gun into my father’s forehead.
“You shoot him and I shoot you,” I warn, sliding my finger over the trigger but careful not to put any pressure on it.
“You’re not going to shoot me, little bird.” He almost laughs.
My temper surges further.
“You’ve had a bad habit of underestimating me,” I say, playing into what my father said about me playing him. I want him to believe that he meant nothing to me, even though deep down I feel my heart splintering apart inside my chest, the pain of it almost unbearable.
“Did you really believe you could use my daughter to kill me? To seize control ofmycartel,” my father spits, showing no sign of fear. “You’re as foolish as your father was.”
“I said, shut up!” Mateo presses the gun harder into his forehead, pushing his head slightly backward.
“Mateo!” I steady my arm, my entire body trembling. “Put your gun down.”
“Sorry, little bird. But I’ve come too far to walk away now.” With that, he pulls the trigger.
The sound of the gunshot rings so loudly in my ears. Disbelief and shock flood through me, causing an avalanche of fog to cloud my brain.
He just killed my father...
