“They recruited members to join their family, members who needed a way up in society after being dealt the worst hand life could offer. The beauty of Los Siete is that we are all trained to hide in plain sight, acting as unsuspecting citizens, contributing to society and without any trace of illegal dealings tied to our names. Hence, the nickname that stuck, Ghosts. The price for power and safety was unwavering loyalty and obedience. Traitors were never tolerated.”
He paused to give me a grave expression, and I realized he must be referencing my brother and his murder.
“You have been chosen to join this family. To pledge your life, your loyalty and your obedience in exchange for never wanting for or needing anything again. You will always be taken care of in this family. Do you understand?”
My tongue felt stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I simply nodded.
“Good girl. We baptize you into this family like all others before you. Much like communion you’ll sacrifice flesh, followed by blood.”
A heavy silence thickened the air while I noticed several of the men smirking. I looked back at Carlos, and he continued.
“You’ve got a fire, Shiloh. One that I don’t wish to extinguish, only rekindle in my favor. When you’ve been baptized through flesh and blood, you will be a member of this family, your trust and respect built from this day forward.”
My stomach clenched.They’re going to beat me like they did to Javier when he joined.
Carlos pulled a gun from his waistband, resting it against his knee.
“If you choose, I can end this for you now. Take someone else to fill your life debt. Just say the word and I’ll give you an honorable goodbye.”
The sickening part was he seemed genuine, like he would actually kill me with mercy if I asked him to. He waited patiently, watching me as I scrambled for an answer.
Do I really want to die? Do I have a reason not to?
My eyes focused on the gun, and I remembered Javier’s dying words for me to fight. I didn’t know if I had much fight left in me, but I knew if I was going to die, I didn’t want it to be at the hands of my brother’s murderer.
I cleared my throat.
“My-my loyalty means I’ll get paid for the work you want me to do, right?”
I watched Carlos’s expression, but it was politician perfect. He gave nothing away.
“You will be compensated for your role. Being the first female to be sworn means that you’ll be treated as an equal to all of your brothers in the family.”
The fuck is he planning for me?
“So, I’ll be protected, including from other Ghosts?”
Carlos chuckled, nodding his head. “I promise that you will be taken care of. That means you won’t be hurt unless you’reneeding discipline. Once you’re sworn into this family, if another member hurts or disrespects you, you will have the same right as any other Ghost to dole at justice. Though you must come to me first for permission.”
Trusting his word was like trusting a cardboard box to protect me from a tornado, but the alternative meant death.
I licked my dry lips, focusing on taking even breaths. This was fucking insane, but I didn’t really want to die yet. Not when he was threatening to take another child in my place. If he wasn’t making me use my body, and he wasn’t making me into a murderer like my brother, then maybe I could stomach whatever it was he had in store for me.
“Okay.”
A slow smile stretched across Carlos’s face, and he leaned forward until his nose was almost touching mine.
“Good girl. Now I need to hear you say it. That you pledge your allegiance to this family.” He spoke softly, his hand reaching up to tuck hair behind my ear. It took everything in me not to flinch away from him. “Read this oath aloud before we begin.”
I took the laminated sheet of paper that had been sitting on the coffee table and attempted to clear my throat before reading.
“I, Shiloh Magdalena Tellez,” I took a shaky breath, trying my hardest not to let my fear show in my voice, “swear to be loyal and obedient to Los Siete. I will uphold the sanctity of the seven legacies and their role as jefes, the seven heads of this family. I will not question orders, lie, steal or cheat this family. I will stand firm in my family’s mission to bring power to those who have been wrongfully stripped of it. I will live by silence, and I will die by silence. I relinquish my body and soul to be reborn through flesh and blood as a member of Los Siete until death I do part.”
Carlos plucked the paper from my hands, letting it fall to the floor, before sweeping his hands up my thighs. His fingers were quick to curl into the waistband of my sweats and underwear, peeling them down my legs until I was sitting bare on the chair. My shirt was off and over my head, leaving me completely naked, before my brain even had time to react.
Everything suddenly became clear. My flesh wasn’t being bought in a beating.
“Wait,” I pleaded, grabbing onto Carlos’s forearm as I tried to cover my chest with my other arm. “You said you weren’t going to make me use my body. Why are you doing this?”
