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Lory towers over my shoulder, glaring down at them. “Neither of you has family or anything worthwhile to lose. How did he force you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say to Lory, conversational and light. “We’ll let them go back so they can deliver our message.”
He glances at me, and I shrug.
“Yeah. Okay,” Don agrees. “We’ll do it. Anything.”
“This is the problem with ambitious idiots. You think I’ll overlook everything because you’re agreeing to do my bidding. But you were going to do it, regardless of your response. It wasn’t a question of would you agree.” Lory hands me his gun as I continue. “The only question was, would you lie before you flipped again?”
They remain quiet. A delicate smirk graces my lips as I glance at the camera in the corner.
Estrada owns this structure. Whoever runs his security will relay my message, as well as letting him know I destroyed the camera near our car so we could talk without them overhearing.
“I expect you to give this message to Juan and Esteban,” I announce. “The Maldonados are going nowhere. This city is mine. I will sit on the throne when this war is over. Estrada will be nothing more than a memory lost in time. Juan Carlos won’t even be that.”
I put the first bullet in Don’s forehead. Jose freezes in his seat, sweat soaking his shirt as the color drains from his tan face. I smile at him as I pull the trigger a second time.
Michael wretches behind me, his stomach too weak for the brain matter on the windows. But he follows us back to the Merc as he takes deep, gasping breaths through his mask.
“Javier and Tomas will pick them up from you at five,” Lory tells him.
I nod. “Drop this cruiser off at the Grim Garden Mortuary at five. They’ll be waiting for you.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with them for four hours?” Michael gripes.
“Take them for ice cream or haircuts,” I suggest. “I don’t care. Just take the tag off the car, have them at Grim Gardens on time. And for the love of god, keep your fucking face covered this time.”
Crimson Bay Penitentiary has a stench that I can’t quite put a name to, but it’s like the adult version of the way a daycare smells. The scent clings to my skin, thick and smothering, as I follow the guard to my grandfather’s waiting table.
This place makes me feel dirty. Once I leave, I’ll scrub my skin until blood wells to the surface. That’s the only way to get rid of it.
We stop at the door as Juan Carlos strides across the vast room. Our eyes meet, and a sick grin slowly tugs at his lips. He’s just set something into motion, but there’s no way to know which something it is until Senior starts his bullshit.
I keep my expression pleasantly neutral. My grandfather is watching our interaction with a hawk-like gaze, looking for any discord among us. I don’t want him to suspect anything just yet, so I put on a show.
“Gemma,” the advisor spits as he passes me.
“Juan,” I politely greet, tipping my head respectfully.
He huffs in annoyance. “Enjoy your time with Ed.”
“Thank you kindly,” I reply, offering him half a smile.
I glide past Juan and the guard, pretending I can’t hear him as he tries to continue our conversation. He’s already gone over his visitation limit. Now, he’s just wasting my time.
“Thank you for showing up,” my grandfather says, dry and irritated. “You’re late.”
“I’ve been here for over an hour,” I softly inform him. “They wouldn’t let me come in until Juan left.”
He shakes his head, disgruntled with my tardiness. “What are you doing to stop the attacks from Mathias?”
Old age has made Eduardo Maldonado predictable. But this is Juan’s curveball. I allow my grandfather to witness the genuine confusion tug at my expression, though that makes him less happy than he was a moment ago.
“Who is that?”
“Esteban’s godson,” he snaps. “Don’t play stupid with me, girl. Why haven’t you told me he was an issue? Juan says you wanted to handle him on your own, but you’re unable to keep up.”
“I don’t know who or what you’re talking about. I’ve been on top of everything for months. The only thing I haven’t done is take Juan’s requests to hit the lowest ranks.” I glance around the empty visitation room and frown. “Why are you talking about this so openly?”
