Chapter 14
Sage burned Sergei’snostrils as he stepped into the Little Havana botanica, boots crunching herbs on worn floorboards.Keisha’s hand tightened in his, warm against his scarred knuckles.Her trust still stunned him.
Shelves filled with candles, jars, dried herbs brushing his head.Air thick with rum, honey.“You okay?”Keisha asked, voice low, soft with concern.
Sergei nodded, throat tight.
“I had to come here,” she said, reading his silence.“Before we meet with Rivera.”
He glanced around.
“My mom loved this place,” she added, fingers flexing in his.“She always came here when shit got rough.”
He squeezed her hand, words failing.She’d taught him silence didn’t need blood.The clerk’s prayer beads clicked.She nodded at Keisha, recognition passing, then resumed her whispers.
Svetlana’s image flashed and his guilt felt less crushing now.Keisha made redemption real, not just atonement.Keisha tugged him past saint statues and red-tied herbs.
They stopped at an altar, candles dripping in prayer jars.Keisha released his hand, her absence sharp.“I came here with my mom,” she said, tracing the altar.“Post-diagnosis, before I was thrown into the system.”
Sergei watched, candlelight in her eyes, her hand’s tremor tied to memory, not epilepsy.He wanted to shield her, but ghosts needed facing.
“She believed in protection,” Keisha said, offering a cloth bag.“For you.For the hearing.”
He took it, avoiding her fingers, the bag rustling.“What’s this?”
“Insurance.”Her lips quirked, real.“For today.”
His throat caught.Her provided an official witness statement, risking her career and life.
“It ain’t about luck, Keisha,” he said, pocketing it.“I got you.”
Her eyes widened, surprise soft.“That’s almost sweet, Lisowski.”
“Almost,” he said, pulling her close, her breath warm on his chin.“Thanks.”
For trusting him, fighting with him, seeing worth in him.Her fingers curled into his jacket, holding tight.“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, voice low.“Save it for when we’re free.”
The clerk’s prayers grew louder, Spanish or older, sage smoke curling.His skin itched underneath the bandage.
“You look ready to bolt,” Keisha said, light but serious.“Rethinking this?”
“You?Nah.”His truth raw.“Me being worth it?Every damn second.”
