Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
A faint tremble threaded her voice and most people would dismiss it as being from shock, but I knew it was just the adrenaline leaving her body, the hard-addictive rush of a prolonged torture session coursing through her bloodstream.
I followed her, grabbing my shirt and jacket from a hook near the doorway and shrugging both on. Normally I would have paused to make sure I didn’t have anything incriminating on me, but it was well past two a.m. and the restaurant above us was empty and dark. It was only below ground that the Cordova cartel continued to thrive. This basement area of the building the restaurant was situated in was normally used as a warehouse for moving illegal goods, but tonight it was unusually quiet, a sense of mourning hanging thick in the air, like the humid fog in New Orleans.
We reached her office at the end of one of the hallways, the normally pristine place littered with broken glass and wood. It took me a moment to realize that Judith had probably smashed all the pictures of her daughter-in-law and only grandson in a rage, the images too painful to handle. I know after my mother died, it took me years to even glance at a photo of her, the sense of loss still too great.
“Out,” she snapped at whoever had followed us in.
The door shut behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes off her as I carefully walked over the smooth oak floors to the long, tan leather couch that stretched out against the wall near her desk. This was my preferred place, out of the way if she was dealing with business and comfortable enough to rest if I had to wait.
After my mother’s death, Judith had understood my need for revenge and had assigned her son Ramón’s crew to help me find my vengeance. It was her contacts that had found out which rival cartel murdered my mother, and her top bodyguards had helped us plan out my revenge.
Of course, we got the extra help because Ramón was her son and this was his first big job, but she also did it because even then she’d recognized something twisted in me that she felt a kinship with.
When she slumped back onto the couch next to me, I knew what her silent request was. Leaning in, I pulled her to my side and hugged her to me, internally sighing as I felt how delicate she was becoming. At fifty-four, Judith had led a hard life as the wife of a cartel boss, and the loss of her beloved grandson seemed to have struck her a physical blow. Her entire body shook as she sobbed, and I held her, letting her get her grief out. I understood what an honor it was to be there for her like this, to provide her with the comfort she needed. She couldn’t show this pain to her sons and husband, not when they needed her strength.
After a few minutes, she quieted, taking yet another wad of tissue that I handed to her. She hated being messy and quickly wiped her face. Her breath came out in a ragged sigh then she visibly wilted.
“I can’t do this again, Leo. I can’t bury another baby, can’t watch my son beg me to let him bleed out after he cut his wrists, to let him die and join Jason.”
Unable to think of any way to sooth her, I took her hand in my own and gave it a squeeze. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t.” She pulled her hand away then stood, beginning to pace, her heels crunching against the floor when they hit a piece of broken glass. “There has to be some way to protect my boys from women like that bitch. Some way to make sure the girls they love will never betray them, will remain loyal and be good mothers to their children.”
Not sure where she was going with this, or if she was just venting, I watched her as she ran her hands through her hair, attempting to fix it. “And how are you going to make that happen? Interrogate them? Blackmail them? None of that will work, and both your sons and their women will end up resenting you. Even if you could order them around like robots, your sons won’t love Stepford Wives. They’re probably even more paranoid than you now about trusting the wrong women, and will be constantly on alert for any odd reactions. Plus, you can’t force love.”
Her shoulders slumped. “No, you can’t. But will you think on it for me, Leo? You never know what that unpredictable, brilliant mind of yours can come up with.”
For once I had a clear insight into her feelings—and I knew she needed something to cling to, something to hope for. “I promise you, Judith, I will.”