Page 223 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“Hey,” I say, giving her a gentle shake. “This isn’t you, Jae. You don’t give up on anything, so why are you so ready to give up on Nate? He’s a strong sonofabitch, and I know he’s sure as hell not gonna give up on himself, not if he knows you’re by his side rooting for him.”

She nods. “You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s just that everything with my parents…and now Nate…these people have taken s-so much from me,” she murmurs, her teeth chattering. “They can’t have him. They can’t!”

I pull her up and drag her to a corner of the waiting room, which is surprisingly empty, even for a weeknight. “Listen to me,” I say in a low voice as we sink into two empty chairs. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever fucking met. You don’t crumble, you fight with everything in you. And Nate is the same way. Don’t ever doubt that he won’t fight like hell to stay here with you.” I tilt her head toward me. “If for no other reason than to pound my face in the next chance he gets.”

She lets out a little chuckle. “Oh yeah, there will be plenty more where that came from.”

“Right. So let’s focus on my getting the shit kicked out of me by your brother. There’s a hell of a lot of rage inside of him, too. Must be the genetics.” I pull Jaelyn close and she buries her head in my shirt, letting out a deep, shuddering sigh.

“I know I need to stay positive,” she says. “And I know he’s a fighter. He never takes things lying down. It’s why he’s here in the first place. And why we’re being hunted by those assholes.” Jaelyn raises her face up to mine. “I know I never told you the full story. But now you need to hear it.” She takes a deep breath. “They killed my parents…slaughtered them…all because Nate refused to work with the cartel, and Becerra doesn’t like to hear the word ‘no’. It was their way of sayingour loss.” She sniffs and swipes at the tears under her eyes. “The men they used to kill my parents got off without so much as a few hours of community service,” she murmurs. “They walked out of the courtroom smiling when the verdict was delivered. They murdered my parents, shattered my world, and they got off scot-free because Becerra’s attorney managed to get all evidence disregarded. Fucking slimeball bastards,” she says in a dark voice.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I can’t imagine how hard it was to deal with all of that.”

“We went after them, Sergio,” she whispers. “Later that night. Just me and Nate. We found the guys who killed my parents.” She stops, her hands shaking in mine. “It was our message back to Becerra. I’d never killed anyone before that night. And I don’t think I ever really got over it, even though they deserved it. Making them suffer didn’t make me feel better. It didn’t help me move past the death of my parents. It just created more of a void. A hole I was hoping to fill with vengeance.”

“That never works,” I murmur. “I know from experience.”

“I found that out the hard way. And for three years, we’ve been looking over our shoulders, waiting for the other shoe to drop because we made it clear that night was about retaliation. We almost didn’t make it out of Miami, either. Becerra’s guys came after us and…” Her voice catches. “One of them grabbed me just as I was making a run for our car and threw me down, his hand tight around my throat to hold me down. I fought like crazy, kicking and punching and screaming. But he had one knee pinning me to the ground. I couldn’t land a shot with him on top of me. Then he pulled out a machete, and just as he was about to swing it into my chest, Nate shot him in the throat.” Her voice catches. “I thought I was going to die in that second, Sergio. When I saw that blade coming at me, I was sure it was the end.” Her eyes flash. “But Nate took care of me, just like he always has. The whole plan to bait you was my way of helping him for once.” She takes a few deep breaths and pushes her hair back, squaring her shoulders. “They can’t get away with this,” she hisses. “We need to find them and make them suffer.”

“I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I know how you feel because I don’t. I get that you want revenge, but your brother needs you here, with him. You need to focus on him right now.”

She grips my shoulders. “They will keep coming back until they finish the job if I don’t destroy them first.”

“Jaelyn,” I say. “You’re fucking brutal, and I have no doubt that you could wreak your own brand of havoc on those guys. But this war is bigger than you. Becerra won’t get away with what he’s done. He’s hit us, too. And now he knows we’re aligned. So you need to stand down and let me do what I do best.”

“You can’t take him on by yourself!”

“Who said I’d be by myself?” I grin. “I have a whole fucking army, sweetheart. And it’s time to lead the troops into battle.” I tilt her chin upward. “You need to stay here with Nate where you’ll both be safe.”

“I don’t like to take orders.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that.” I roll my eyes. “But this isn’t up for negotiation. You can unleash all of that sexy, dark fury on me later for grabbing the reins. Right now, I need to make sure you’re protected.” I wave my hands around. “And what better place than a hospital?”

“You do realize I’m probably better equipped to go up against those cartel thugs than your own guys, right?”

“Trust me, gorgeous. Nobody on my crew has the fight that you do. But they have guns, so that gives me hope.” I wink at her.

Jaelyn sits back in the chair, expelling a deep breath. “I can’t believe this is happening.” Her eyes flick over to me. “And I can’t believe that you, the guy I despised up until a couple of hours ago, is now my partner in taking down our mortal enemy.”

“You despised me?” I say in a joking voice. “I didn’t get that vibe at all.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do something to piss me off again. And then I’ll make sure you feel it.”

“I can’t wait,” I murmur.

A tall man in a white coat walks toward us, his eyebrows knitted. Jaelyn springs out of the chair and rushes over to him. “Miss Torres?” he asks.

“Yes,” she says in a breathless voice. “My brother Nate…is he okay?”

The doctor’s shoulders sag slightly. “He’s in critical condition. One of the bullets is lodged in his spinal column and it needs to be removed as soon as possible. He has internal damage to his heart and lung from another bullet. He’s being prepped for surgery right now.”

She claps a hand over her mouth. “Oh no…”

“Can she see him?” I ask.

The doctor nods. “Yes, you have a few minutes before he goes into the operating room. I’ll bring you back.”

She gives my hand a squeeze before following the doctor through the heavy red doors.

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