Page 224 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I hear the swish of the revolving door and see Matteo rushing into the waiting room. “Hey, how is he?”

“Bad,” I mutter. “They’re taking him into surgery. Jaelyn is back there with him now.”

“Shit,” he grumbles. “The guys are on their way now, but I don’t have a read on Becerra. He didn’t go back to his compound after the shooting.”

“Okay.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “That can only mean one thing, Matteo.”

He nods. “I know.”

“Once the guys get here, we’ll split up. Let’s alert the families, too. See if they can get any information for us to go on.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Stay out of sight with Jaelyn until we’re ready to go.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. “We’re gonna comb the fucking city until we find those bastards. We’re shutting them down tonight.”

“We sure as fuck are,” I grunt, raking a hand through my hair. “They’re gonna pay a serious debt tonight. And the interest is gonna choke them. Hard.”

CHAPTER19

JAELYN

Isqueeze Nate’s clammy hand. “Do you remember when you were first learning to ride? The time you were in the driveway and thought you had it in drive but it was still in reverse?

Nate lets out a raspy laugh. “Yeah, and I crashed right through the garage doors. Mom and Dad were so pissed at me for that. Cost me plenty to fix them, too.”

“You thought you were so cool on that bike,” I say with a giggle. “You were convinced you were going to be such a badass once you got a cut.”

His smile fades. “Yeah. And you know what? I’d give anything to redo that part of my life. I’d have kept the club clean and made sure we never ended up on the cartel’s radar in the first place.”

“You’re not the only one who’d have done things differently.” I press my fingertips against my temples. “I wasn’t exactly an easy child.”

“You were spirited. Isn’t that what Mom used to say?”

“Mouthy was the word she’d use most often,” I mutter.

“Kind of a gross understatement.”

I nod. “Yeah…”

“Don’t ever lose that spirit, Jae,” Nate whispers. “Never, ever.”

“Well, you’ll just have to make sure that I don’t,” I say, my voice cracking as his eyes gloss over. I guess the medication is taking effect, and I feel like I’m losing him already. “Do you hear me?”

“Sergio is an asshole,” he murmurs. “I’d say he’d better not hurt you, but I know you can kick his ass.”

“I can. And I will, don’t worry. But stop saying shit like that. You’ll be around to kick it for me if he gets out of line.” I am so desperate to keep him awake and talking because it might be the last?—

No!

No fucking way will I even think it!

“I love you, Jae,” he mumbles, his fingers losing their grip on mine.

“Nate, I love you so much,” I cry. “Please fight. Please stay with me!”

I weep into his chest for a few seconds before the orderlies come into his room to wheel him out. I stand there watching as they maneuver the gurney through the doorway, the deep ache in my chest a painful reminder of the suffering I’ve experienced as a result of my choices…ourchoices.

And there’s no guarantee that my suffering will come to an end tonight.

I’ve never felt so helpless in my life, not even when that machete was hanging over my head.

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