“No. No puedes sentarte ayi y reprenderme por lo que han pasado nuestra madre o nuestra familia. Yo fui la que torturaron, violaron y mucho mas. Fui yo, Damon, Ninguno de ustedes tienen el derecho de enjorse conmigo. Necestiba tomar tiempo para sanar.” I begin to choke on my words and tears threaten to break through as I defend myself to my brother. I say how he doesn’t get to tell me how to heal, even going into how I was tortured and raped. I sense he’s mad in the fact I’ve obviously been here, but he doesn’t get to tell me how much time I needed to process everything that happened. Hell, he doesn’t even get to be mad. None of them do. “I never wanted to tell you everything that happened to me. But you won’t sit here and speak to me for the first time in over a year and berate me for what I needed to do.” I say, tears rolling down my cheeks. I stop speaking in Spanish, switching over to English so nothing we say is lost in translation.
“You’re right. As much as I hate to admit it. You are.” He shakes his head back and forth, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Fuck, Amara. I thought you were dead.” Damon pulls his hands away and I see too how my brother is crying alongside me. Damon clears his throat, and hollers. “Poison! Go get Kat. Tell her to bring in Luna and Widow.”
I hear a muffled voice in the background but can’t make it out. “Who’s Poison?” I question.
Damon chuckles lowly, “One of our new prospects. You’d like her. She’s a riot.”
“She?” I don’t realize it at first, but I smile. I never thought I’d see the day when my brother brought in women as prospects, but I’m so happy.
“Yeah. Zane had a club vote and we decided to follow what the Iron Vex up in New York are doing. We’re pulling in female members. In this day and age we can’t not, you know? Poison is the first female we’ve had in the club besides yourself. Zane has one up in Montana, her road name is Frost. She’s a friend of Elena and Reed with the Skulls Renegade.”
“The one who worked for the FBI?” I don’t remember all the details, but I’m remembering a few.
“Yeah. You’d never know that now, though. Her hair is even redder than yours and she’s got tats everywhere. Hell, I expected to see a blondie goodie-too-shoes when I met her.”
I smile at that, happy about the progress within the club. “I’m so happy to see you’re okay, Amara. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but . . . you’re my fuckin’ sis. You know?”
I nod, knowing very well, struggling to keep my tears at bay.
Chapter Seventeen
You are worth more than your second thoughts and maybes
~ Unknown
Dante
I’m sitting outside on one of the chairs in the back garden, about thirty feet from where Amara gave birth. There’s a small pond a few feet in front of me with various types of fish and plants. Whenever I come out to my father’s estate I prefer to sit out here and enjoy the silence. It’s pristine, and often distracts me from whatever issues the familia is currently dealing with.
Turning my wrist, I see it’s a little past seven in the evening. Three hours since Amara started the call with her brother. Hopefully that means it’s going well.
I lift my glass of tequila up and sip on the chilled liquor. Most people might not enjoy this property due to the high concrete walls. However, the way they’re painted really doesn’t do them justice. My father had slate applied over it, so it appears like the concrete wall is natural, giving it somewhat of a jungle feeling.
“It’s your turn,” I glance behind me and see Amara standing there with a joyful smile across her face.
“I take it your call went well?” I question as she walks around and takes a seat beside me.
She nods. “Yeah, it did. I learned quite a bit about what’s been going on the last year. I have a niece. Her name is Luna. A few of the people at the club had gotten married or had their own babies. My brother . . . he wants to come here and see me. Would you be okay with that, or your father?”
I blink a couple of times. “Of course, we would. Familia is the most important thing, Amara.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I think he said he’d be here later this week.”
I chuckle lowly. “I should’ve known you already told him it was alright.”
“What kind of boyfriend would say no to that?” She jokes, leaning into me.
Fuck. It feels nice having her nestle her head on my chest. I’ve thought about this happening for the last month, her being close with my arm wrapped around her. “I suppose a deal is a deal,” I say, thinking about how to tell her what I’ve been doing. There’s no easy way to explain, but I’ll do the best that I can.
I keep my eyes trained on the pond, watching the fish swim below the surface. “Even though our familia is better for Mexico, Rafael still has allies who are upset about what
