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"Oh, give it a rest, angel," he said, exasperated "Oneyou, the next minute you like it"

"I haven’t liked it for a long tih my teeth

"Is that so?" He cocked his head at o that I last rinned "That you did, el That you did"

I rippedOutside the air was cooler, the sky layered with pink, blue and orange, like the sand art I used to see in the gift shops along the Mississippi coast As alked toward Jose, looking ht, I asked him, "Are you sure we can trust Dom?"

He shook his head "Can I be sure? No But he knows if so, he will pay for it in the end Or, his family will pay and he will have to watch"

"Does everything have to be a threat with you?" What I really wanted to do was call him a sick fuck but he’d heard it too many times already

"If there are no threats, then people die I don’t feel like dying anytime soon Do you? Does Ca I had some lip bal hot shower, then a drink or two, then a few hours by myself to think

No Not by myself With Caot to the car, he was turned around in his seat and speaking to Violetta At a closer look, he was holding her hand as she lay in the back My lungs pinched at the sight, as silly as it was Poor thing was in agony and I was getting jealous

"What are you doing?" Javier asked hi up

"He’s holding my hand, what does it look like?" Violetta asked snidely She looked like utter shit Her face was ashen, her forehead thick with sweat, her lips dry and cracking A shiver occasionally rocked through her despite my leather jacket that covered her shoulders that Caotten out of the trunk

Camden looked to me and said, "She’s in a lot of pain"

I nodded "We’re taking her to the doctor now"

"Took you long enough," she said, then groaned I noticed Ca her hand harder I looked behindthem with a look of utter disdain

"Javier," I said carefully, slowly, until he looked ather?"

He looked at the piece of paper that Doiven him "Outside of town I knohere this is Take your first left until you see signs for the highway Take it west"

I did as he suggested, hoping the cops wouldn’t pull us over for driving with one headlight It was Mexico but Aguascalientes was a lot more civilized than Mexico City and Veracruz had been

We drove for a few miles outside of the suburbs before we came to a ranch house that was surrounded by darkness, only a few lights on inside It looked like a far in my head You know, like a doctor’s office or a hospital

"This better not be another vet," Ca medication now that we’ve run out"

"Not a vet," Javier said with impatience "Pull up beside the truck there This is Alonso’s house He’s part of my … family"

His cartel I wondered if he was still on the "payroll" as Dom seemed to be, if he too was banished back to Mexico when Travis up and switched sides More andout that Javier didn’t have the power I once thought he did

We got out of the car, Ca her Javierthat Ca to help her himself – and went for the front door The path lit up fro the doorbell and aited a few rey hair and lasses "Si?"

"Alonso," Javier said "Como est a?"

"Javier?"

"Si"

Alonso rattled off so in Spanish and eyed the rest of us

Javier waved in our direction, said so else Probably that ere two gringos and inconsequential

Alonso sighed dejectedly and opened the door wider, quicklyfor us to coh, Alonso staring at his tattoos with a mix of curiosity and revulsion He then looked to Violetta’s arrimly

"Okay," Alonso said

Javier took her froave us both a steady look "He’s going to fix her You stay here If you move, if you run, I will kill you That is all"

Then he, Violetta and Alonso disappeared down a darkened hallway until they entered a brightly lit roo as she turned her head to look back at us Then they disappeared behind a dark door, the latch echoing in the quiet house

Camden watched the door for a few moments before he folded his arms and looked at me