Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Reinaldo
B urying my nose in Jasmine’s hair and inhaling her honeysuckle scent calmed the raging beast within me. It was as if I could physically feel my blood pressure dropping to a healthy reading. Her arms wrapped around my torso as she laid her face against my chest. It took a moment for me to realize she was crying. Loosening my grip, I palmed her cheeks and tilted her face toward mine. “Why are you crying?”
She blinked, her blue eyes staring up at me. “I’ve been so scared. I was afraid something terrible happened.” She shook her head. “It was a feeling I couldn’t shake.”
“ Sí , something did.” Ignoring the others in the room, I turned to mí madre . “Jano and I need to talk to you. ”
“If this is about Herrera’s yacht, su padre already told me.”
My brother inhaled. “There’s more.”
Madre visibly paled as she sat on the sofa and reached for Viviana’s hand. Her lips began to tremble. “Not su padre .” She shook her head. “No. No. No.” Each word was louder than the one before.
Jano and I went to her, both of us on our knees near her legs. “Bella was attacked tonight,” I said in the calmest voice I could muster. “Herrera had Volkov send a team of men in response to the bombing of his yacht.”
“No,” she wailed. “It’s not true.”
“One of the crew was able to send a distress call,” Jano said, his voice as flat as mine. “The Coast Guard found Bella approximately fifty miles west of where it had been.” Jano reached for her hand. “There’s no way to say this to make it better. He’s gone. The staff” —his nostrils flared— “all of them—executed.”
Madre leaned forward and clung to both of us. For what seemed like an eternity, the only sound I could hear was that of my mother’s sobbing. And then I realized she wasn’t the only one. When I stood, I searched for my wife.
Jasmine was sitting on the side of Mia’s bed, the two embracing and crying.
Jano and I had done our share of shouting and yes, even crying. We had an over three-hour flight to work out our sorrow. Now our focus was on revenge.
Silas had left a message on Jano’s phone about Mia. That voicemail was our solace as we headed west. Losing Papá was heartbreaking. If we’d lost everyone, we would have burnt the world down until there was nothing left but a smoldering pile of ash.
Once in the air, Jano contacted Silas and told him to keep all news away from the women. When it came to delivering such heart-wrenching information, it was better for it to come from us rather than hearing from a talking head on television.
The news outlets were filling the airways, podcasts, and social media with sensationalized stories about drug lords Elizondro Herrera and Jorge Roríguez and their deadly feud. Pictures of Herrera’s young family showed in a split screen with his burning yacht. The anchors and podcasters made Padre out to be a monster, a criminal solely responsible for every illegal drug-related death in the Americas. Our madre didn’t need to see or hear that.
“What happens now. Will there be a funeral?” Jasmine asked when we were alone in the hospital cafeteria.
I shook my head. “No. It would be a target, and Jano isn’t going to allow that.”
“I’m sorry. I was scared to meet your father, but he was nothing but nice to me.” A tear streamed down her cheek. “He was so excited about a grandchild.”
Wiping her cheek with my thumb, I caressed her soft skin. “Death is part of life. We all know the risks we take.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I don’t want you to die.”
My lips quirked. “I don’t plan on it. Not anytime soon. ”
“What will happen to Bella?”
“She’s been seized. The government will take her and sell her.” I clenched my jaw. “They’ll claim they’re selling her for unpaid tax debts, but in truth, they’re doing it to make a mockery out of mi padre’s life.” I reached over to Jasmine, holding her hands in mine. “When we first heard, Jano and I” —my nostrils flared— “you, Mia, Madre.. .” I blinked away salty tears mi padre would never want me to shed. “It’s a miracle you weren’t on Bella.”
“What about all of us? Will the government come after you and Aléjandro?”
“We’ll need to lie low, but soon, we will be up and running. Only now, Jano is in charge of everything.”
“What about your mother?”
Forcing a smile, I said, “ Preciosa , you haven’t seen our home yet, but it’s big.”
Jasmine grinned. “Like Bella is a big boat?”
“ Sí . It’s very big. How do you feel about mí madre staying with us? I know that’s not what every new bride wants to hear.”
She squeezed my hands. “I think I’d love that. Do you know what today is?”
“The day we will meet our nephew?”
Jasmine’s eyes widened. “A boy? They’re having a boy.”
“Shh.” I laid my finger over her lips. “We don’t know that and if you say anything, Jano will never trust me again.”
“How long have you known?”
“Just since we left for Kansas City. ”
Jasmine reached for her cup of coffee. “How did things go in Kansas City?”
“We took out Myshkin—both of them—so you will never need to be scared of Zhdan again and the connection with Myshkin and Herrera is broken for good.” I nodded. “We accomplished our goal.”
“Good.” Jasmine reached for her phone. “I should tell you that I received a text message from my mother.”
My brow furrowed as I took her phone and read the message. It was dated two days ago.
“Jasmine, this is your mother. I’d like to talk to you as soon as you feel comfortable. I’ve missed knowing about your life. Maybe you can make a little room for me, now that you’re married. To reach me, follow this link.”
“Did you click the link?” I asked.
Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. “I didn’t. Something felt off. For one thing, how would she know we were married? It wasn’t like Dario had it published in the newspaper.”
“We filed a marriage license.”
“Again, why would she be informed?”
“Myshkin knew,” I said, thinking about the problems he caused in Kansas City the night we wed. “Your mother is definitely connected to Myshkin.”
Jasmine exhaled.
“We helped the famiglia out with their problem. Now they’re going to help us out with ours. ”
“Is that why Dante is here?”
I nodded.
“You didn’t answer my question about today.”
“It’s our one-week anniversary.”