“I’m sorry I never told you who her father was,” I whispered.
Brody’s hand covered my back. “I’m sorry you never told me about a lot of things. I could have protected you both.”
I stiffened, the regret and pain in his voice sending a chill down my spine.
Oh, God, he knew about Finn.
“No one could have saved us,” I assured him. Visions of my mother’s stone face burned into my memory.
He turned me to face him. “Our family can keep her safe.”
Looking straight into his eyes, I smirked. “Mommy and Daddy? No thanks.”
“No,” he said, his fingers squeezing my shoulders. “My new family. Yours now too.”
Jerking away from him, I walked back into the dining area and stared out the window. “Don’t lump me in with your cartel world, Brody.”
“Mateo told me he loves you. Do you believe him?”
I watched traffic rush below me. “I don’t know what to believe. I’ve been lied to my whole life.”
“I watched his face when he saw you at Caliente,” he said, moving to look out the window beside me. “The man is as steeled as they come, but the moment he laid eyes on you, he crumbled.” He hooked a finger under my chin, turning my face toward him. “Do you trust me?”
I nodded. “With my life.”
“And I trust him with mine. More importantly, I trust him with yours and Stella’s. I make no excuses. He’s done some fucked up and immoral things, but so have I. Our way is ugly, but it always evens the score. However, mostly, our way protects its own.”
I laughed. “Val said the same thing.”
“You spoke to Val?”
I nodded. “He asked me not to implicate Mateo.”
“Did he threaten you?” Brody’s hands fisted by his side.
I smiled. “Not any more than you just did. What kind of criminal organization are you people running here anyway?”
By the look on his face, he didn’t find my joke amusing. “One that lays down their lives in the name of family…not takes it. Do you understand the difference?”
I thought about Mateo and his promise to die for a daughter he’d never met. “More than you know.” A beat of silence passed between us before Val’s parting words echoed in my head. I placed a hand on his arm. “I need to see your tattoo.”
He tensed under my fingers. “What?”
“Please,” I whispered. I hoped he wouldn’t make me grovel, but if that’s what it took, I would. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Without another word, Brody slipped off his jacket, and opened his shirt, dragging it over his shoulder to reveal a skull tattoo covered in black roses.
My voice caught in my throat. “What does it mean?”
“Badge of a leader,” he said so matter-of-factly it almost sounded normal. “It signifies we belong.”
Seeing that same tattoo on my brother strengthened my resolve. “Val also said the cartel doesn’t strike their own unless struck first. Is that true?”
Fierce loyalty flashed bright in Brody’s hazel eyes. “Absolutely. Once we take the oath, inner-cartel violence is one of the worst crimes a soldier can commit. No action can be taken without Val’s approval.” He hesitated, looking away. “Well, not without consequences.”
“So, in someone’s mind, having something stolen from them would constitute the first strike, right?”
“I guess so. Why?”
Because what was stolen was power, and the first strike was me.
I wanted to break down. I wanted to collapse in my brother’s arms and scream for time wasted fighting with Mateo when the man arguing with Luis was right under my nose. But, I didn’t. Instead of drawing more attention toward my brother, I’d agree to his terms, and bring it on myself.
“I’m just trying to understand the world I’m about to be bound to,” I answered.
Brody’s eyebrows lifted in cautious hope. “Does that mean…?”
“Mateo didn’t do this.” I waited until he’d fixed his shirt before diving into unholy matrimony. “What do we have to do?”
Digging into his pockets, he pulled out a vinyl booklet and rectangular card and dropped them on the table. “I’ve got Mateo’s passport, and social security number. You just have to take them to the Harris County Clerk’s office over on Caroline Street and ask for Melinda.” I was still focused on the documents he’d tossed on the table when he lightly tapped my cheek. “That’s important, Lil’ Bit. You must ask for Melinda. Usually, both parties have to be there, but she owes me a favor and will push it through. Ask her for a Declaration of Informal Marriage.”
I blinked up at him. “What’s that?”
“A common law one with official documentation.” He shrugged, a little grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Basically, if you agree you’re married, they say, ‘why the hell not?’ Since you have a child, it proves you’ve been together for a long time and holds legal validity. Just to cover our asses, I had the lease for your apartment in San Marcos put in Mateo’s name.”
“But how is that even—?”
He leveled a stare at me. “Do you really want to know?”
It sounded easy. Way too easy. “And that’s legal? I still can’t be forced to testify?”
“As much as one with all the bells and whistles. Provided you pay them the required thirty-one dollars, of course.”
“Fine.” I sighed.
“You’ll need to tell them you’ll testify so they’ll go ahead and charge him.”
I bit my lip and winced. “I did that already.”
I waited for him to ask for an explanation. Hell, he deserved one and even though I knew a shitstorm waited to rain down on me for my snap decision, I’d give it to him. Instead, he just rolled his neck.
“Well, okay, that just expedites things, I guess. I’m sure they charged him last night, and he’ll be arraigned today. After that, we can post bail.” Reaching for my hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Ready to do this?”
Mustering all the courage I had, I nodded. “No.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Mateo
The three blue walls surrounding me bothered me more than the steel bars keeping me in. The longer I stared at them, the more they seemed to close in on me.
Maybe that was by design. Maybe they wanted the unfortunate asshole who found himself sitting on the hard bench painted the same disgusting teal color to feel like he was drowning in his own stupidity. I’d stared through the bars of a holding cell more times than I cared to remember, but not once had I ever wavered in my loyalty to the cartel.
That was before they threatened her.
Atwood may have told me more than he’d intended, but it wouldn’t help me if my mouth was covered in so much bureaucratic red tape no one could hear me expose him. Besides, I didn’t want to sell him out yet. Not only did I have bigger scores to settle, Atwood was the only one keeping my daughter safe. I’d let him bask in his false sense of security for now. Until someone else could do a better job of protecting Stella, he was more useful to me alive.