“Sit down,” Mickey told me. He was smoking a cigarette at his desk, which surprised me. I had never seen him smoke inside his office. “Wester told me you were looking for intel on your girl’s rental. You could have come to me about that, you know.”

“I didn’t want to bother you.” I had mixed feelings about Mickey and I had since I had started working for him four years earlier. I knew that he and Ryan had issues and I knew that Mickey skirted the law, and downright ran over moral boundaries, but at the same time, he had always been good to me. He had believed in me when I had been adrift, no clue what to do with my life, frustrated with my family, and feeling like I had lost any sense of purpose.

Mickey was the kind of man who didn’t doubt himself. His confidence was boundless and that had served him well in business. He was also shrewd. So I trusted his assessment of any situation. “So we have a couple of things going on here.” Mickey took another drag on his cigarette and rocked back in his chair.

I sat across from him and I waited, restless, running my palms down my thighs. I wasn’t going to like whatever I was about to hear, I was convinced of it. “What’s up?”

“So the house is a dead end. It’s owned by some bullshit LLC that has only been around for two months and has no other transactions. I’m going to see who owns it but right now that information is hidden by a fake name that holds an additional LLC. So they have buried it a little, but there is always a way to get to the bottom of the hole.”

I nodded. That sounded actually worse than what I was expecting. It meant my suspicions were on point. Something was off in that house. “What’s your take on surveillance equipment being there?”

Mickey just shook his head. “No point in speculating.”

It was hard not to do just that. I couldn’t imagine what Miranda might be involved in. She hadn’t even been in town for years. So I didn’t think it had anything to do with her, which made it unnerving. I didn’t want her to be collateral damage for something shady she wasn’t even a part of. “So that’s it?” I asked, and I realized I sounded impatient, frustrated.

Mickey dropped his cigarette onto the tile of his office floor and twisted his boot into it. There was still a cloud of smoke lingering in front of his face and I was slightly bewildered as to what the hell was going on with him but I wasn’t stupid enough to ask.

“No, that’s not it.” Mickey shot me a wry look. “I found your brother. He’s living in Texas on the Mexican border, working at a hotel. His name is Miguel Gonzalez and he spends a great deal of time with a well-known drug gang. He also crosses the border daily, claiming to be a Mexican citizen with a day visa to work in the US.”

For a second, I wasn’t even sure how to feel. I had known Max was alive. I was completely convinced of it. Yet hearing confirmation of that didn’t give me the feeling of relief that I expected. I had thought that I would feel triumphant that Max was the manipulative piece of shit I had always known he was. Like hearing he was alive and just skipped would give me the proof I had always craved. All those years of everyone believing he was a charming guy and now I could say definitely that they were wrong.

Yet I just felt… flat. It didn’t matter if people had ever believed me. It wasn’t and had never been my job to go around warning everyone what an asshole Max was. His life was his to fuck up and the people he surrounded himself with now were most likely his evil counterparts. They didn’t need a warning from me.

But Miranda. There was Miranda.

A week ago I would have given anything for her to admit that Max was not all Mr. Nice Guy and she had, although reluctantly. But now? After a full week of spending time with her, of loving both her body and her spirit, freely, without guilt, the last thing in the fucking world I wanted was for her to be hurt. Even if that meant I wouldn’t be right.

“Any chance of him being on the move any time soon?”

“I doubt it. It looks like he’s been there almost four years. He seems entrenched and since he is playing an illegal, he doesn’t have much freedom of movement. He has to cross back over the border every night or lose his day visa.”

“Except that once in the US, he can assume his real identity at any point and no one will be able to do anything about it, or hell, even be able to prove he was living as Miguel Gonzalez. There are only about a million guys with that name.”

“That’s true. Was he wanted as Max Garcia?”

“No. If he was, the cops would have been at my door right away.” It didn’t make any sense to me why Max would ditch out on everything in order to live the life of a day laborer in Mexico and Texas. There was no heat on him in Miami that I knew of and if he wanted to tell Miranda and my parents to fuck off he could have. I seriously doubted that any sense of guilt would have sent him fleeing versus just being honest about his lack of interest in a further relationship. “Are you sure you have the right guy?”

Something was off. Max wasn’t known for being a hard worker.

Mickey shot me a look. “You doubting me?”

“No, I just don’t think my brother would be cool working as a grunt. It’s not his style.”

“Then I would say he’s hiding from something. The question is, what?”

That was the million-dollar question. “I have no idea.”

“By the way, I looked into your girl.”

That made me frown. “Why? I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“I had to. She was connected to him. Looking for him meant looking into her.”

A niggle of concern made my chest tighten. I didn’t want my fantasy shattered. Though I couldn’t imagine what he would tell me that I didn’t already know. Miranda was genuine in her belief that Max was dead. “And?”

“There was some kind of incident where a gun was fired… drugs all around. But there were no charges filed.”

“Drugs? That can’t be right. Miranda doesn’t do drugs.” That seriously bewildered me. “Possession? It must have been my brother’s stuff.”

“Someone broke in, presumably to steal the drugs, but Miranda fired at them. The reports are very vague but for whatever reason no charges were filed against Miranda.”

I had no clue what to make of that. It seemed to me like my brother’s dirty hands were all over the situation. But it made me wonder what Max was doing and what exactly Miranda knew.

The image of her with a gun in her hand popped into my head. She had looked awfully comfortable.

I was in love with Miranda.

But now I was wondering who the hell Miranda really was.

 

 

Making smoked mahi with a pineapple chutney, I was checking the sear on the fish when I heard it again—a weird clicking noise from the unit next door. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, or if there really were unexplained sounds emanating from the other side of our shared wall, but it seemed like every day there was something that set me on edge.

I hated it.

Everything else in my life was perfection. I didn’t start classes until the summer session so I had time to kill during the day. I had gotten a part-time job at a restaurant, figuring I needed to learn to take the heat of an actual kitchen, as opposed to cooking just for myself and Alejandro. So far it was educational and everyone was friendly.

And Alejandro.

We were barely in to his thirty days and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was falling in love with him. He was the most bewildering combination of sweet and forceful. He had a tenderness that made me melt. I knew I was skating on thin ice but I also knew I couldn’t resist him. There was no way I could cut our time together short, not when every moment was fun. He made me laugh, he made me feel beautiful. He made my body do things I hadn’t even known it was capable of.

I also knew that I would be pregnant by the end of the month. It felt destined to happen. The thought gave me all the feels. All the warm and fuzzy and loving thoughts and sometimes I wondered if Alejandro might want to stick around.

But the only thing interrupting all my unexpected bliss was the weird lingering feeling that something next door was off, and that it involved me.

So turning the stove burner off, I decided that enough was enough. I was going to make someone answer the damn door if I had to pound on it all night. If the dinner I was making for Alejandro got ruined I was really going to be pissed, but I needed answers.

Getting my phone, I marched out the front door and knocked aggressively on the door. Nothing. The wind was blowing up in pre-storm gusts and I pushed my hair out of my eyes. I knocked again to no answer.

Going back through my house I got my gun, then went out the back door. I peered in the windows of the kitchen. With a start I jumped when I realized there was a man staring out at me.

Max. It was Max.

My entire body went cold and I froze, wanting to blink and make sure I wasn’t seeing things but afraid to open my eyes again and there be nothing there. Before I could react and actually do anything, the door opened and an arm grabbed me and hauled me inside. The gun went flying out of my hand.

Instinctively, I fought, but strong arms wrapped around me and pinned my arms at my sides. I would have kicked but then there was a voice in my ear, familiar, echoing the past. “Stop, Miranda. Why are you fighting the love of your life?”

Goose bumps rose all over my flesh. I went still again, shock and memories washing over me. “Max?” I whispered, tears suddenly in my eyes. The timber of his voice was more mocking than I remembered, but his scent, his feel, shoved me backwards in time to countless days and nights when I had felt safe and loved. Proud to be with him.

“The one and only.” His arms relaxed slightly. “If I let you go are you going to fight me?”

“Of course not. I didn’t know it was you. I just saw a man.” That wasn’t true but for whatever reason I felt like I needed to say it. Distance myself. I tried to turn but his grip tightened again.

His lips burrowed into my hair. “You look good, Mandy. Sexy.” He inhaled a deep breath.

It made me shiver. I was confused that he was here after all these years. And he sounded… predatory. “Where have you been?” I whispered, taking in the stark kitchen around me. It was mostly empty except for a table to my right. “Why haven’t you contacted me? We had a plan.”

“Things changed. I had to think on the fly.” He kissed my head. Then he started to slowly turn me again.

And suddenly I was face-to-face with my ex. Who I had never intended to be my ex. Who I was certain was dead. And everyone else was certain had just run off.

“I thought you were dead.” Tears sprung to my eyes. I reached out to touch him, tracing a line down his cheek and over his mouth. He looked older, harder. Thinner. He had a scar under his left eye, straight and sharp. Like a razor blade. There were dark smudges under his eyes, like he hadn’t slept well in ages. “I was sure you were dead.”

His head tilted. “Sometime I wanted to be.” His hand covered mine. “So how do I look?”

I was too stunned to be anything but honest. “Like you’re being hunted.”

He gave a sharp crack of laughter. “You could say that. But you, on the other hand, look like life is treating you well. You look hot as hell.”

Lust had appeared in his eyes and I felt the first tremors of alarm, thawing my icy numbness. “Thank you.” It should have been a compliment that made me feel good, but I just felt unnerved.

There was no attraction to him. I was staring at him and I felt no love, no desire. I didn’t want to hug or kiss him. What I felt was unease, and an overwhelming sense of anger and sadness and confusion over what I had thought ten minutes ago was love lost. “I don’t understand,” I said, because I didn’t. “Where have you been?”

His thumb stroked the back of my hand on his cheek. “Somewhere safe. Somewhere where I could keep you safe.”

I had no idea what that even meant. I dropped my hand. Touching him felt strange, foreign. “Everyone told me you were alive but I said if you were you would have contacted me. It’s been five years.”

His head cocked. “So because you thought I was dead you decided it’s okay to fuck my brother?”

It was like being slapped. All the air whooshed out of my lungs. I was first and foremost stunned. But then I was scared. “What are you talking about?” I whispered, which was a stupid thing to say. If he had been here, watching, listening, then of course he would know. I wondered who the Conrad guy had been. A lookout? But Max the cat had been a message.

I had never been afraid of Max, but now the chill that rushed over me indicated that my body was aware of what Max was capable of, even if my brain couldn’t seem to comprehend it.

Max, his hair shorter now than it had been when we dated, shook his head slowly back and forth. “Don’t play dumb. It worked for you when we were together but I’m not buying it now. You’re thirty years old.”

Bewildered, I just stared at him. “What are you talking about? I never played dumb!” A horrible thought occurred to me. Maybe I just was dumb. Because I wasn’t following.

Max took a step back. He bent down and picked up my gun, which had fallen in the doorway when he grabbed me. Suddenly I wished it was still in my hand.

“Mandy. Come on. You were the perfect girlfriend because you knew how to play the dumb blonde. The big tits, the tight ass, the friendly smile. You could make the most badass drug dealer feel like he was safe with me. With us. Because you were guileless. It was an amazing act.”

Except it hadn’t been an act. I had never known what was going on, until the end. When Max had told me he was being framed. When I was spending the night with him and his apartment was broken into and I pulled the trigger on his gun while Max was in the shower, defending myself against the intruder. I hadn’t shot at the man, more over him, as a warning, but it had been terrifying.

The tumblers of the combination lock fell into place mentally. I had given Max a cover. So Alejandro had been right. Max was not a good guy. And I was stupid to put my faith in him.

Yet it didn’t make any sense. “Did you love me, Max? Or were you glad to leave me behind?” I couldn’t prevent the bitterness from seeping into my voice.

Max leaned against the counter. “Don’t be like that, sweetheart. You know I loved you. I still love you, even if you’re fucking my brother.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to stay calm. I could hear my frantic breathing, more out of anger than fear right now. “Don’t throw that in my face. Not one fucking word in five years? Was I never supposed to have a life? Was I supposed to wait forever? You said you would contact me! You had to know that if you didn’t for five whole years, I would assume you were dead.”

He held his hands out in a conciliatory manner, as if I were being a hysterical female. “Calm down. Yes, you made a logical assumption. No, I didn’t figure you would wait forever. But, I didn’t think the guy you would choose would be my brother. You can’t blame me for being pissed about that.”

“I can blame you for a lot of things.” My nostrils flared. “And you still haven’t given me any explanation. Why are you creeping around in this empty apartment instead of just announcing yourself?”

“I didn’t want to scare you.”

That was bullshit. There were better ways to handle a reunion. “You have had me totally on edge. I thought I had a crazy stalker watching me.”

“Just me and I’m no stalker.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t believe you. This is all insane.”

“You don’t believe I’m not a stalker?”

“I don’t believe you’re hiding out over here just to ease me into the idea that you’re still alive. I think you have a plan and since you blew me off for your last plan, I think I’m entitled to know what the hell it is.”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

“Don’t pretend to be an obscure philosopher.” I stared him down. This was just completely and utterly surreal. Back in the beginning, when I had been desperate for Max to still be alive, I could have never imagined this outcome.

Max burst out laughing. “Come here, give Daddy some love.” He reached for me. “I missed you so damn much, Mandy.”

I didn’t mean to step into his embrace. I did it by rote, the memory of all those times he had opened his arms for me and I was excited to be there, feeling safe and loved. Suddenly I found myself there again, his arms firmly around me, my head against his chest.

I told myself it was only natural. That I was in shock. That this was a goodbye.

In my heart I knew that. Not only was I shocked, I felt suddenly heavy with regret, weighted down by sadness. I had spent five years with my life on hold for a man who thought my whole personality was an act to assist him in his illegal dealings. It was beyond insulting. With one fell swoop he had managed to destroy the love I had felt for a decade, because the man I had loved wasn’t real. I had made him up. Ignored the red flags.

So a hug was more for me than him. I wanted comfort from him. I wanted comfort for my grief as I mourned the loss of everything I had ever known to be true. I clung to him, breathing in his scent. He was thinner than he had been. Or maybe it was because I had become used to Alejandro’s overabundance of muscles. Max didn’t feel scrawny or frail. Just wiry and lean. Like he was not living a life of luxury.

“I’m so mad at you,” I whispered. “It was so hard to have everyone telling me you just left me and me saying you wouldn’t do that and now I know you did.”

Max stroked my back and kissed the top of my head softly. “I didn’t have a choice. You can be mad at me all you want but the reality is I just didn’t have a choice.”

“You should have taken me with you.” Though even as I said it I realized he had given me the biggest gift ever in not having done so. I had a life. Without him. A good life. One built on hard work instead of lies and illegal bullshit. I pulled back slightly, realizing my wounded ego and a sense of betrayal were compelling me to say things I didn’t really mean.

Going with Max would have been a disaster. And I didn’t want to see him again after today. Ever.

He smiled down at me as I pulled back from him. “Just trust me.”

That was the last thing I intended to do. I opened my mouth but before I could say what was in my heart—that answers or not, I wanted Max out of my life this time on my terms—he bent down.

Then he kissed me.

 

 

When I got back to Miranda’s place, still puzzling over the new information Mickey had given me, I found the house empty, cooked fish growing cold on the stove. The sauce that was simmering looked like it hadn’t been stirred and was burning. That was odd.

“Miranda?” I called out. I didn’t hear the shower running. I went down the hallway. The bathroom and the bedroom were both empty. I pulled out my phone and called her. No answer.

Now I was getting worried. I hadn’t noticed if her car was on the street or not, so I flipped the blinds in the living room to check. Her car was two houses down on the street, empty. What the hell?

I went back through the house and out the back door. Sometimes she worried when the cat didn’t come back right away. Maybe she went searching for him. But the back yard was empty. I glanced around for any sight of the cat but I didn’t see his Royal Furriness either.

When I glanced at the apartment next door I realized there was movement in the kitchen. Creeping toward the house, what I saw was the back of Miranda’s head, a man’s hand buried in the blond tresses, his other hand on the small of her back. My nostrils flared. What the fuck was going on?

They were kissing.

Miranda was kissing a guy in the abandoned apartment next door.

Fury welled up inside me. No man should have his hands on her. She was mine.

I was moving towards the door, rage pushing me forward, even as I knew I had no exclusive right to her. We hadn’t exchanged promises or words of love and hadn’t discussed what would happen beyond thirty days. Yet it still felt like a betrayal. Only made worse by what I saw when they split apart, Miranda turning as if she had heard me. Or maybe sensed my presence moving outside the window.

My brother.

It was my brother she was kissing.

And then I knew that I had been played. I didn’t understand the game.

All I knew was that act? The sweet innocent naïve woman with a side of sexy? All a fucking lie. She had to have been in this with Max all along. The girl with the gun.

But because I was furious and because I was an idiot and because I hated Max and wanted to punch him in the damn face, I shoved the back door open and sauntered into the kitchen. “Well, this is cozy.”

Max gave me a grin. One that I remembered all too well and despised. It was part smirk part pure arrogance. “Hey, little brother, you piece of shit squatter. What can we do for you?”

Miranda’s mouth was gaping open and she looked stunned. She was pale and she snapped her jaw closed and swallowed visibly. “Max is alive,” she said, her voice trembling.

I frowned. I couldn’t read her reaction. Wouldn’t she have known that? “Looks that way.” I was wearing a suit from work and I tugged on the lapel, testing how tight my jacket was. I wanted a full swing when I slammed my fist into Max’s face. “But give me another five minutes and I’ll have him dead on the floor.”

Max took a step forward, bumping Miranda’s shoulder as he shifted, knocking her to the side. The bastard didn’t even stop to help her. The guy had always had the worst manners. “And why would you be attempting to kill me, exactly, Alejandro? You’re the one fucking my girlfriend.”

I wanted to tell him she wasn’t his girlfriend but I wasn’t sure of that fact. “Because you’re a dick,” was my response instead. “Because you have been giving Mom and Dad heartache since you were a kid and you deserve to be put in your place.”

His arms were over his chest. Max looked older, harder. Skinny. I had no doubt I could take him. He may have crazy on his side, but I had strength. As his eyes raked over me I could tell he knew it too. I wasn’t a teenager any more. I had size on him. But he was holding a gun. This was familiar.

“Give me one reason not to put a bullet in your head right now,” he said, his arm raising.

But Miranda screamed and stepped right in front of Max, putting herself directly between us.

“Miranda, move!” I yelled, terrified. “Get the hell out of the way.” I was furious with her, but that didn’t mean I wanted her hurt.

“Listen to Lover Boy,” Max said, staring Miranda down, as he shifted slightly so he could see me in the background. His nostrils were flaring with anger and I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or Miranda or both of us.

“I’m not moving unless you promise not to hurt Alejandro,” she said.

I had to admit I was touched. Maybe she did care about me. Maybe it hadn’t all been an act. “Thanks, Miranda, but I can handle myself,” I said. “I don’t need you to make deals on my behalf.”

“You should be grateful,” Max said. “Because if she wasn’t here you’d already be dead.”

“Why do you want to kill me?” I had to admit, I was curious.

“Because you’re having sex with her, you idiot.”

Interesting. I eyed him. “But wasn’t that the plan? The con? Because there has to be a con. There always is with you. I just don’t get the end game.”

Miranda gasped and whirled around. Her jaw had dropped. “A con? You think this was all some scheme on my part? You’re an asshole.” Her voice trembled in fury. “You’re both assholes. For five years I thought Max was dead. I told you that. His being here is a total shock to me and now I have you believing that I’m some con artist who seduced you? Screw you.”

Either that was feigned outrage or it was the truth. I wasn’t sure which. I wanted to believe her, but I wasn’t sure it would be wise to at this point. Not with Max holding a weapon. “What’s your side of the story, Max? Did Miranda know where you were?”

Her nostrils flared. She was angry with me, clearly. But that was the least of my concerns.

“It’s not really any of your business but I’m feeling nostalgic. It’s almost good to see you, brother.”

As usual, we differed in opinion.

“No, Miranda didn’t know where I was,” he added. “I needed to protect her. If she knew anything she would have some people pressing her for information.”

“But she knew you were alive.”

Max shook his head.

“I already told you that,” Miranda snapped. “And I’m leaving. I don’t want to see either of you right now. Alejandro, you can come and get your clothes tomorrow.”

Hey, now. That was taking a giant leap. I thought it was fair that I would have doubts about what the hell was going on. “Let’s talk about this.”

“I’m done talking.” Miranda started toward the door.

But Max wasn’t about to let her leave. I realized that immediately and started toward her at the same time he did. He was closer and even though I moved fast, he yanked her back by the arm. She squawked and then cried out when he slammed her back onto the counter.

Fury rose up inside, red and hot. “Get your fucking hands off of her.”

“What are you doing?” Miranda asked Max. There were tears in her eyes. I didn’t know if they were from pain or the hurt of betrayal that Max was man-handling her. Or that he had lied to her.

It didn’t seem like they had a mutual plan worked out.

Though they had been kissing when I had walked in the house.

Max’s grip on Miranda tightened as he leaned forward and got in her face. She tried to ease back away from him. I eyed Max’s gun, trying to figure out my next move.

Max was not going to have the last word for once.

I was.

 

 

I recoiled from the expression on Max’s face. It reminded me of when people are high on drugs. His eyes were glassy and wild, a little crazed. Maybe he was on drugs. I didn’t know. All I knew was that this man was a total stranger to me.

I had never been afraid of Max, ever. Now I was.

“What are you doing?” I asked, feeling a fluttering of panic, yet at the same time feeling very pissed off. He had a lot of freaking nerve strolling back into my life and throwing me around. “Back off, Max.”

“I can’t have you leave, Mandy. You need to help me.” His breath was hot on my face. “You know I left because there were guys after me, but what you don’t know is that I stole half a million bucks from them three years ago after I got to Mexico.”

My back was against the countertop and I gripped it tightly, trying to lean as far away from him as possible. I couldn’t even see Alejandro any more but I knew that he would be well aware of the gun in Max’s hand.

“What does that mean?” I asked in a low voice. I felt I had to placate him, keep him calm. The gun kept brushing against my leg, and I knew it was loaded, which was terrifying. “Is someone after you?”

I knew Alejandro was probably assessing the situation but he wasn’t between me and a potential bullet. There wasn’t much he could do. I didn’t think Max would kill me, but immediately I realized that was a stupid assumption. I hadn’t ever imagined that Max was alive still, let alone that he would yank me by the arm and slam me into the kitchen cabinets.

“Yes, they’re after me. You can only hide your identity so long, you know?” He reached out and touched the ends of my hair, lifting it and studying the strands. I was almost positive now he was high on something. His movements were strange, his eyes manic. “But you’re going to help me.” He raised the gun and ran it down my arm. “Do you understand?”

I swallowed, the enormity of the situation really kicking in. I cursed myself for dropping the damn gun. He was bullying me with my own weapon. “You know I’ll help you if I can,” I murmured.

“I need you to help me steal from your celebrity friends. I want access to their houses, yachts, parties.”

“What?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. “Are you insane? I can’t do that!” One, I would never betray a trust like that. Two, he would never get away with it. “There are cameras and codes and it’s not like there is just money lying around anyone’s house.”

“I think your mind is straighter than I even remember,” he whispered. “You don’t get it.”

“I don’t.” I stared into his eyes, this man I had loved. It was like Pet Semetery by Stephen King. Where a loved one dies and you desperately want them back after they’re buried, but when they rise they’re different. Distorted. Not right.

Max wasn’t right.

A shiver rolled up my spine and settled into the roots of my hair.

“Just do what I tell you to do and everything will be fine, Mandy.” His fingers buried in my hair and he twisted the strands painfully. My eyes started to water, blurring my vision. He leaned in farther and farther, so that his forehead touched mine and I was forced to blink.

I was terrified as I contemplated action. I could knee him in the balls but I had the feeling that he would either punch me straight in the face or shoot me. I could hear my frantic breathing and smell the sweet sweat of my fear. I decided my best bet was to get him to back away from me. His back was to Alejandro. Even if Alejandro believed I was in collusion with Max, he would still use the opportunity to tackle Max. He was waiting. I could sense it.

So I had to get myself from Max. After I reassured him. “Kiss me, Max,” I whispered. “Please. I need you to love me.” The words brought bile up into my throat but I knew I sounded sincere in my pleading. I was pleading. For my life.

The corner of his mouth turned up. “I’m going to do more than kiss you.” With gun in hand, he roughly grabbed my breast.

It occurred to me I could die right here, right now, maybe even by accident. If the gun went off…

But suddenly Max was sailing back away from me, removed from my space by Alejandro grabbing the back of his shoulders and tossing him against the wall. Alejandro took his wrist and slammed it down on the table, sending the gun to the floor. For a split second I couldn’t remember if the safety was on or not, but there was no gunshot ringing out in the room so I felt the air rush out of my lungs in relief and I ran over to grab it. Max was scrambling for control, trying to get off the wall and reach for the gun, but Alejandro was pounding him with his fist.

Blood flew everywhere when Alejandro connected with Max’s nose, the crack audible. There were legs distorting my view as they both moved, Max angling for escape, but I managed to grab the gun with both of my sweaty and slippery hands. I scooted backwards on my ass and screamed, “I have the gun, Alejandro!”

It came out louder and more hysterical than I intended and it snapped me out of my fear. I had the gun. I stood up and pointed it at them. “Max,” I said, and this time my voice was even, normal volume. “I’m not keeping your secrets anymore.”

He couldn’t answer me because he was trying desperately to get a punch in on his brother, but mostly he was deflecting blows.

Alejandro’s suit jacket ripped at the shoulder.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called 911.

Five years. Five freaking years.

Then he showed up and threatened me? Now that I had the gun I was seething with anger. I felt no need to call off Alejandro.

Max could rot in prison for the rest of his natural life. I shivered as the 911 dispatcher asked what my emergency was. “My ex-boyfriend pulled a gun on me,” I said.

And just like that, everything I had ever known about the past shattered, shards of broken glass flinging through the air like the spatter from Max’s broken nose.

I realized I didn’t know anything about anything.