Chapter 22

Lilly

The brothers all gather around in the chapel, most of them grumbling about an outsider calling church.

“We’re not her lapdogs. What right does she have to demand we have church?”

“She’s not an Ol’ Lady why the hell is she even in church?”

“Does she really need to fucking be here? Can’t Snoopy tell us what the fuck is up?”

Rodeo slams his hands on the table in front of him. “Everyone, shut the fuck up,” he seethes. “Mythic and Snoopy have found new information that we need to hear. You will show her respect while she’s in this room. Do you understand me,” he asks, looking around the room with a glare.

When no one is stupid enough to defy him, he looks to Mythic, and with a sweep of his arm, declares, “The room’s yours.”

Not even a week ago, we had to convince this man to let her in the door. But now, he looks at her with sympathy in his eyes. What the hell is going on?

Clearing her throat, Mythic stands from Snoopy’s lap. Well, that’s a new development.

“Look, I know you don’t trust me. I know you think I should’ve let you know the minute I had Lilly, but I had to know if she, hell if you all, deserved my help.” Looking at me with a small smile, she talks only to me, “You deserve everything I can offer and so much more, Lilly. It’s been a very long time since I felt a connection with anyone. You made me open up. Made me see how wrong I’ve been all these years. I thought I could hide from the world, hide from him, but it left me leading a very lonely existence.”

Snoopy reaches over and grabs her hand, as she continues, “I told you I’d do anything I could to protect you, no matter the cost to myself. Enterrador is aware someone helped you in Flagstaff. All he knows about me is I have blue hair, but I imagine sooner rather than later, he’ll figure out who I am.” She pauses and takes a deep breath.

“He’s coming,” she says before the brothers erupt in anger.

“How the fuck do you know this?”

“Maybe she led him here?”

“Enough,” Rodeo roars.

“You broke through the encryption,” I ask quietly from Gunner’s lap.

With a nod, she says, “We did. With some work, we were actually able to gain access to years of data stored in the system. All the way back to when he first bought the house for Alex.” Looking away from all the eyes on her, she takes a deep breath.

When she doesn’t continue, Snoopy tells us, “It’ll take some time to go through everything. But right now we have a bigger problem. Not only do we have less than a week before he plans to come for Lilly. One of the girls here was sent by Enterrador. She’s the one who’s been feeding him information and delivering his gifts.”

“What?” Cessy exclaims. “None of my girls would do that.”

“I didn’t want to believe it either, Cess. But there was a call between her and Enterrador just yesterday,” Rodeo says, hanging his head.

“Well, who? Which one is it?” Havoc asks, cracking the knuckles on his hands.

“We don’t know,” Mythic replies. “She was sent back here at some point with a burner phone. And she’s been to the compound in Juarez. That’s all we know.”

Looking at me with tears in her eyes, I know what they're thinking. “It’s not Rose. She wouldn’t,” I whisper shaking my head in denial. Looking around I realize, Ma and Rose aren’t here. Do they really think my sister could do this? After all we’ve done to keep her safe?

“The man who told Enterrador you were back home is the father of Rose’s children, Lil. Who else could it be?” Snoopy asks.

Slamming his hand on the table, Havoc growls, “I want to see this tape.”

Looking at my brother sympathetically, Snoopy tells him, “I thought you would. We have it cued up and ready for when church is over.”

Nodding, Havoc rests his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands while Angel rubs his back.

“I can’t do this. I refuse to believe it was Rose. I just won’t,” I tell the room of people, shaking my head.

“No one wants to think Rose would do this, Lil,” Rodeo tells me softly. “But honestly, we have no clue what happened to her after Wrecker sold her to the cartel. And we all know how much she misses her children. Plus, we don’t really know anything about her relationship with their father. They could’ve easily used any of that as leverage against her.”

“I know you can play videos in here, Snoop. I’m not waiting until after church. I want to see it, now.”

Snoop looks to Mythic, and she nods her head. Then he glances at Rodeo who with a harsh breath also nods his head. The two get up and walk out together, getting whatever the hell they need to show me exactly why they think my sister could do this to me. Why they believe she could turn my world upside down, helping that fucker make my life a living hell. Being the reason I walk on eggshells every day wondering if he’s coming for me. Wondering each day if that day would be the day he sent another present or came to take me in my sleep.

It only takes them a few minutes to bring in whatever they need, and the video is beamed on the wall. Everyone sits in silence watching the interaction between the man who wants me and the one who's already had my sister. Nothing in the call gives us any clue who he’s talking to. They're basing their whole assumption that it’s Rose on one thing. Her children's father is the one in the room he’s talking to after the call ends.

I bristle when Enterrador calls me his prize.

“I’m no one's prize,” I seethe.

“We know that, Lil,” Cess says, reaching over to take my hand. “But can you see now why they think it’s Rose?”

Snatching my hand from her, I peer around the room. “Do you all think this?” My eyes track from Havoc, who turns away from me, to Mythic and Snoop. Then over to Cess and Venom. They all look back at me with sadness. None of them want to say it out loud. Say they truly think my sister could be capable of this.

Turning to Gunner, I whisper, “And you? What do you think?”

With a shrug, he looks down at my legs. “It looks pretty bad, baby girl.”

Standing, I throw my hands in the air. “Rose is not the one he called. Do you know how I know?” I scream looking around the room. “ Because one”—I say, holding up a finger—“she’s my sister and would never put me through what she’s been through. And two”—I say, pointing to the wall where the paused image still flickers—“whoever he’s talking to on that phone doesn’t know I’m home, and Rose does.”

Grabbing my waist, Gunner turns me to face him. “Rose knows, how?”

When I move away from him, I can see the hurt. “Because I called her three nights ago when I got back. You may have kept me hidden here, but I was not going to let her continue to think I was missing.”

Stepping away from the man I love and almost all the family I have, I walk to the door, turning just before I reach it. “That is not Rose. But whoever it is… will die. By my hand or his,” I say, pointing to Enterrador’s henchman. “Now figure out how to end this. He will come for me in six days, and I’m not hiding anymore.” With that, I twist the knob and storm out, slamming the door behind me as I walk away from church.

I am no one's prize, and I am so done with running from this man.