Page 93 of Brandishing Betrayals

“Good, let’s go.” I tried to sit up fully.

“Fuck no,” Marcos snapped. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ve been knocked from blood loss for the last two days! You had to get a damn blood transfusion. Your ass is sitting here till Maya says you can leave. And not a second before then!”

I grumbled, but leaned back against the pillows.

Marcos’s phone rang and he quickly pulled it out of his jeans pocket. “Lil Manita,” he answered the phone.

I waited, watching as my brother smiled broadly.

“Congratulations, Kara! I’m so proud of you!” Marcos beamed.

I sighed in relief. Kara had called with good news. That meant good news for the rest of us. We could kill Hillcrest.

“Alright, you have a good night! Go celebrate with your guys. Love you too.” Marcos hung up his cell phone and slid it back in his pocket. “We’re a go for Hillcrest.”

“Hell yeah. I’ll call church,” Nico said, reaching for his own phone.

I sighed, knowing they were about to take off and leave me behind.

“By the way, I got your bike from where you left it Wednesday. It’s back at your place.”

“Thanks. Call me later for the vote.” I sighed.

“Will do. Rest up brother.” Marcos walked over to the bed and pounded his knuckles against mine.

I nodded and the same with Nico. “Go easy on Maya, yeah?” Nico said.

I huffed and shrugged my good shoulder. “We’ll see.”

Jason

I woke up the middle of the night, pain radiating from my body and my bladder screaming. I hissed when I tried to sit up.

“What’s wrong?” Maya asked, jumping up from the recliner in the corner of the room.

I hadn’t even noticed her over there before. “Bathroom,” I grunted.

“Alright.” Maya walked over and pulled back the blankets before she wrapped her hand around my right hand, looping our thumbs together. “I’m going to pull you forward and swing your legs out of bed. We’re going to try and do this at the same time, ok?”

“Yeah.”

Maya pulled, surprising me with her strength as she easily pulled me upright. I swung my legs out and over the edge of the mattress at the same time as I sat up. I let out a relieved breath when my body didn’t scream in pain with the move. “Alright, step two. I’ll help you to your feet, but only put weight on your left leg. You’re going to use me as a crutch and we’ll hobble to the bathroom.”

I thought the idea was crazy, Maya was so small compared to me. But I nodded and did as she said, and I was standing on one leg feeling only slightly lightheaded.

“How you doing?” she asked.

“Kinda lightheaded.”

“That’s normal, you lost a lot of blood.”

I grunted and stepped forward. Maya moved with me and once again I was surprised by how easily she handled me and moved me around. A moment later we were around the bed and at the attached bathroom. She flicked on the light and got me as far as the vanity, before she slipped out from under my arm. “Alright. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

She closed the door behind her, and then I was alone in the bathroom.

I leaned on the counter to limp my ass over to the toilet and quickly emptied my bladder. While I stood there, I thoughtabout everything we’d learned about Maya in the garage, during the repast after her father’s funeral.

Even with everything we learned and now knew, I still didn’t have the answers for why. But I was going to get them.

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