“What’s the play?” he asked.
“My family goes with Rio.” He pointed at Rio. “Rio keeps them safe, or he dies.”
“The fuck?” Rio snarled. Lyric placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll keep them safe, off grid, we’ll protect them,” Lyric said, gripping Rio’s arm, which at least meant Rio’s anger eased. They were good together, Lyric calming Rio’s temper, and I wanted to be a balance for Alejandro, although we were both driven men, so how would that work?
Where had that thought come from? Did Alejandro and I make any sense? I leaned closer to Alejandro, making sure only he could hear me. “Tell me you’re coming back from whatever this is.”
Something flickered in his eyes—fear, resolve, something he didn’t want me to see. “That depends,” he sounded so fucking sad.
“On what?”
“On whether you still want me when this is over.”
Before I could form a reply, one of the teenagers—Bradley—slipped out of the car and marched straight to Doc’s side. He planted himself there like a damn guard dog, chin up, jaw tight.
“I’m staying with you, Uncle Alli,” he said. Not scared. Stubborn.
Doc spun on him so fast that Bradley flinched. “No. Get back in the car.”
Bradley didn’t budge. “I’m not leaving you.”
Doc’s nostrils flared. For a second, real anger—raw, terrified anger—broke through the mask. “Bradley. Get. In. The. Car.”
“I’m not a baby,” Bradley shot back. “You’re always scared for us. Always looking over your shoulder. It won’t ever be over if you keep trying to do it alone.”
That hit Alejandro like a punch. His jaw tightened. His eyes flickered—fear, guilt, something like grief—and he turned to Bradley, gripping his shoulders.
“You listen to me,” he said, voice firm but halfway to kind. “Your job is to protect your mom. Not me. Not this. Her. You look after her, and I’ll be home soon. This will be over.”
Bradley swallowed hard. “I know how to fight, and it won’t ever be over if we’re always scared, Uncle Alli.”
Alejandro closed his eyes for half a second, then opened them, the mask cracked just enough for me to see the truth bleeding through. “I know,” he said softly. “And that’s why I’m fixing this and tying up the loose ends. So, I can stop being scared for you all, and so you don’t ever have to be.”
Before Alejandro could stand, Molly slipped out of the car and crossed the distance with quiet, decisive fierceness.
“Me too,” she said, slotting herself beside Bradley. “We’re staying with you.”
Alejandro’s face went bleak. “No. You’re getting in that car. Both of you.”
“But—” Molly started.
“No.” His voice cracked like a whip. “You follow Rio. You don’t argue. You don’t look back. You have the biggest job of all: protecting your mom and each other. She needs you.”
Molly stared at him, eyes wet but blazing, Bradley pained and confused. Then Molly nodded once, grabbed Bradley’s hand, and tugged him toward Rio’s SUV, the three of them going into the back seat. Bradley tried to get out again, but Rio shut the door on him and leaned against it until Lyric was in the driving seat. Then they left, and Doc watched them go as though he was watching a piece of himself being peeled away.
Something colder than fear crawled down my spine when Alejandro faced off with the murderer. Novak.
“We’re tracking down someone who should’ve stayed dead.” Then he turned to me. “You need to leave.” At this, Novak moved between us, hands loose at his sides.
“No way in hell,” I muttered, and attempted to shove Novak to one side, but the grim-faced man wasn’t moving. “Get out of my fucking way!” I snarled, and I realized the line between cop and accomplice had blurred so far behind me I couldn’t even turn to find it.
I stepped around Novak, fury buzzing under my skin, but what really pushed me forward was something that had been building since the moment he’d gone cold in that kitchen.
“Alejandro,” I said, forcing him to look at me. “I can help.”
His jaw clenched as he was calculating, weighing danger, risk, and intent. But something shifted. A crack. Hesitation.
