“No…” Blood on my hands, my arms, my jeans.
“I’m going to kill you!” Mateo screams at me, fire in his eyes.
“Angel, call 911.” My voice sounds strange, and I’m backing to the window. “Hurry!”
Mateo lunges for the gun on the floor, but I beat him to it, snatching it up and holding it loosely in my hand. I’m not a killer. I don’t know what the fuck to do right now.
“Go, Deacon!” Angel’s voice is hoarse with tears. “Just go… Now!”
“But…” I’m torn between wanting to help and knowing I can’t.
Mateo stands, pulling Beto up with him. He hauls him over his shoulder, turning for the door. Angel is right behind them, and I’m left standing in the room with her words echoing in my ears.
I do the only thing I know to do. I pick up my phone and leave through the window, running across the lawn to my waiting motorcycle.
18
Angel
“We’re sorry, the number you have reached is not available.” Pressing the end button, I hang up and try again.
The burner phone Deacon bought me is in my hand, and I’ve been calling him nonstop for five hours. I don’t know if he turned his phone off or if he left it in my bedroom or threw it away. Is he avoiding my calls?
Valeria is with me in the hospital pacing and praying. She’s been here since Mateo called her. My insides are raw, and I can’t seem to stop shaking. I don’t know how this happened.
One minute I was in bliss, wrapped in Deacon’s arms, filled with joy and wonder and lust and desire. The next, my brother was twisting my arm and yelling at my love, pulling out a gun and threatening him…
“It’s going to be okay, Carmie.” Valeria sees the fresh tears sliding down my cheeks and pulls me into a hug. “Everything is going to be okay.”
She brought me clean clothes, but my brother’s blood has stained my hands. I can’t seem to stop crying.
“I said it was an accident.” Mateo is beside us speaking low and not making eye contact. “I said he was cleaning the gun and it went off. He didn’t know it was loaded.”
“Is that not what happened?” Valeria looks up at him with astonishment then to me.
“It’s what happened.” Mateo looks at me as if to silence me. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
He turns and leaves us standing there as he exits the hospital, and I know he’s going to find Deacon. My stomach shudders, and a fresh wave of tears floods my eyes. I’ve got to stop him. I’ve got to find Deacon and warn him.
“I have to go.” I have to find my love before Mateo does.
“But your brother!” Valeria grips my arm, and I feel like I’m being torn in two.
“Miss Treviño?” A calm, female voice joins us in the waiting room. “Would you come with me, please?”
Valeria holds my arm as we follow the doctor into a smaller room with a glass door. She closes it, and we take a seat, holding each other’s hands.
The doctor looks at Valeria, and I quickly explain. “This is my cousin. She helps take care of things.”
“I see.” The woman nods, her expression serious as she places X-rays on the black screen on the wall and flips on the lights behind them. My heart beats so hard, I feel faint. “Your brother is a very lucky man, Miss Treviño. The bullet glanced off his rib here…” She circles a white blob on the slide. “Otherwise, it would have been a fatal shot.”
“Otherwise…” Valeria repeats her words slowly. “Would have been… So he’s okay?”
“He’s not out of the woods just yet, but yes. He should make a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank you Jesus!” My aunt crosses herself.
My eyes close, and more tears stream down my cheeks.
“It’s very important never to clean a loaded weapon…” The doctor goes on about gun safety, a lesson I don’t need, and all I can think about is getting to Deacon.
Things have gone from bad to worse, and I need him to hold me. I’m so afraid.
“If you’ll just excuse me.” My stomach is churning. “I need to go to the restroom.”
I barely make it out the smaller room when I have to lean into the garbage can beside the door and throw up.
“Oh, Carmie!” Valeria is with me at once, sliding her fingers through my hair, pulling it away from my face. “Honey, it’s going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry.” I take the tissues the doctor hands me, using them to dry my face and wipe my mouth. “I’m so sorry. I think I’d better go.”
“Are you okay, Miss Treviño?” The doctor watches me, and I nod.
“I just need to lie down.”
Pulling out my phone, I punch up the Lyft app. As I do so, I notice the slight bruising around my forearm. Valeria notices it as well and steps between me and the doctor, who is explaining what comes next for my brother.
The bullet exited his torso, so he doesn’t need surgery. Still, the doctor says he’ll have to stay in the hospital a few days.
My phone pings the Lyft is here, and I head for the door. I’ve got to find Deacon before Mateo does.
A red bloodstain mars the fluffy white rug covering the dark wood floors of my bedroom. My brother’s gun is in front of the chair where Deacon sat. It brings on a fresh wave of tears, and I stumble to my bathroom to grab one of the thick white towels.
Placing it over the stain, I collapse to my knees, pressing my hand to my lips. Beto’s going to be okay, but I don’t know where Deacon is. Reaching out, I take the gun and carry it to my bed, pushing it between the mattresses.
I don’t know if the police will come here or if Mateo’s explanation will cover what happened. I know nothing about this man my brother wanted to set me up with—who he is or why he’s here.
My limbs are heavy as I crawl onto the comforter and lift the burner phone to try one more time. I dial Deacon’s number, and the robot voice answers. My hands drop, and my eyes close.
Pain twists in my chest, and I feel like I can’t breathe properly. “Where are you?” I whisper, turning my face to the pillow. “I need you…”
“Where is he?” The stern voice pulls me from a dreamless sleep, and I blink around my bedroom confused.
Sunlight streams through the window and Mateo stands over me. His eyes are red and lined, and his jaw is set.
“What time is it?” I can’t believe I fell asleep.
“It’s almost nine.”
Almost nine? I sit up too fast, and my head spins. Nausea rises in my throat, and I jump out of the bed and go to the bathroom, turning on the faucet.
Mateo is right with me. “Where is your boyfriend?”
“Would you get out, please? I need to use the toilet.” He glares at me a moment before going to the door.
I push it closed behind him and turn the lock. Leaning over the sink, I hold cool water to my neck, too my cheeks. The nausea slowly subsides, but my eyes are swollen. I look pretty rough. Chewing my lip, I realize I left the burner phone in my bed. Shit.
Quickly using the restroom, I open the door and find Mateo looking through the papers on my desk. “What are you doing?”