30. Matheus
I move beside Dani, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, the two of us facing my mother.
“You paid a hitman to assassinate Elias, didn’t you, Mama?”
Her watery green eyes darken like they’re filled with poison.
“I had to stay married to that bastard and wait patiently for the business to outgrow him,” she mutters. “Those were the orders from the Hennessy mafia… from my father.”
She uncrosses her legs and sits poker straight, raising her chin high.
“I focused on the end goal. I knew my boys would rise behind him. That one day, he’d be in his crypt. As a mother, I would never turn my back on my children. I stuck it out because I had you…and your brothers.”
Her eyes cut to André. They glitter under the light and her edge of fierceness sharpens.
“No one threatens my boys. Not even Elias fucking Souza,” she hisses. “You kept pushing him to have a part of the business. To get involved. As any dutiful son would. But that eagerness and confidence fed his paranoia. He knew you were graduating…that you were hungry for more.”
She shakes her head and sighs.
“After he almost killed Tommy, I took my children and left. I only went back to him, because my father agreed I could live elsewhere…away from Elias.”
“I remember,” I say thoughtfully. “We moved to the coast the day we got back to Colombia, didn’t we? And Elias lived at the plantation.”
Mama nods. “I had to go between the two houses to keep the bastard sweet, but over the years, I spent less and less time with him. I still had loyal men at his plantation, though. Men who reported to me regularly. It helped me balance his cruelty. When he murdered Giovanni’s dog, I made sure Mag Mel had animals everywhere. When he called André stupid, I sat with him through his ADHD assessments so my boy could understand his strengths. When Elias persistently pushed you away, I hugged you closer.”
Mama runs the tips of her painted nails along the curve of her neck, teasing the thin gold chain next to her pale skin.
“Imagine how I felt when I heard Elias was actually arranging your death, son.” Our eyes lock. “I did what any mother would do…I got to him first. The only regret I have is not doing it sooner.”
My blood boils. Mama had suffered for years. Her life was ruled by men and all she could do was go along with it.
She was trapped.
And rather than disappear in the middle of the night or numb her sorrows in narcotics, she rose to the challenge and made me the man I am today.
My brothers and I are a product of this woman’s devotion.
We all know it.
I lower to my haunches and take her cold hands in mine.
“I love you, Mama,” I declare, thumbing her knuckles. “You know I’d do anything for you too…anything. Why didn’t you come to us?”
Mama clears her throat and squeezes my hands.
“I couldn’t risk your grandfather hearing it was an inside job. He doesn’t tolerate disobedience or traitors. That man’s word is final,” she says quietly. “They were negotiating with a Russian arms dealer at the time and needed Elias on board. He might have been a horrible man, but he had many powerful contacts.”
She holds my gaze.
“Elias was a valuable asset for my family. He was my father’s puppet.”
Mama laughs at that as if it gives her satisfaction.
“I didn”t bother telling your grandfather about the threat on your life. That only gave us a motive. It was better dealt with alone.”
Mama looks at Dani. “Your father had nothing to do with it. No matter how many times my sons brought his name up, I asked for proof, knowing they wouldn’t find any. We were friends once upon a time.”
“I know,” Dani whispers. “He has a lot of respect for you.”
“Why does Blanco think Tommy killed Angelo?” I ask, having heard the truth from Tomás himself.
He’d thought no one else knew.
“The coroner”s report detailed a bullet wound alongside fatal blast injuries. Your brother was the only survivor, Matheus.” Her voice wavers. “Knowing Angelo, I’m almost certain he would have ordered my boy to finish him off. That man would have rather died than be left helpless. I tried to speak to Tomás about it afterwards, but he shut me out. He stopped talking for a while after that.”
She pats her nostrils with the tissue scrunched in her hand.
My stomach burns. Dani folds her arms and widens her feet, grounding herself.
There are layers to all of us, and even if the outside ones are thick and ugly, the deeper layers can be fragile and sensitive.
Tomás had already confided in me. He told me the truth.
That’s why he stopped speaking straight after the blast…he was traumatized by his actions. It wasn’t planned or intentional.
Tomás was just a boy following orders like he’d been trained to do.
And I’d take a guess Blanco saw the report before Mama had the chance to destroy it.
My big brother has lived in his nightmare ever since that day, much like Dani has lived in hers. She physically escaped the barn, but her mind is still there. They’re both victims of trauma.
We’ve all suffered at the hands of Elias Souza.
When I turn it all over in my head, I was lucky to escape his attention. The cruel tasks my brothers had to endure screwed them up for life.
They became suspicious of everyone––yet somehow managed to let my mother’s influence live within them.
To outsiders, Tomás comes across as cold, and shut off. Some might say evil.
But he took me under his wing when Elias ignored me.
He saved Carina from his father when he gave the order to kill her.
He let Dani escape when Elias would have burned her alive.
We all wanted that bastard dead, but loyalty was bred into us from birth.
Ironically, that same family allegiance backfired on Elias when he threatened my mother’s loyalty to her son.
“I always knew I was your favorite.” I smirk, making her smile a little too. “When were you going to tell me about Angelo, Mama?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your exams.” She reaches for my cheek. “I have your father’s ring and planned to explain everything. Elias stole it from Angelo in the morgue. But bad things kept happening,” she explains. “Our family has had a lot to deal with lately. Every time I thought about sitting you down, something else happened. If it wasn’t the hotel explosion in Miami, it was trouble with Giovanni. You disappeared after that…”
“Mama…where am I?” A deep, croaky voice comes from my right. “What the fuck is going on?”
“André!” I straighten and meet my brother’s confused expression. “Finally decided to join us, cabron. It’s okay, brother. You”re in the hospital.”
He swallows and tries to sit up, groaning.
I shoot out a hand to stop him. “You were shot, Dré. Take it easy. Do you remember?”
Dani moves to the foot of the bed and crosses her arms.
The creases on André’s brow deepen and his eyes dart around the room, taking in his surroundings.
“Yeah…I remember…” he says slowly.
I grab a glass of water from his bedside table and hold it out for him.
“Here…have a drink.”
Rather than taking a sip, his gaze drops to the tube attached to the inside of his arm. The steady tempo of his heartbeat picks up.
“Where’s my wife?” He bares his teeth. “Where’s Sin…Mat…where’s my wife?”
André drags off the thin sheet, knocking my arm and almost spilling the water.
“Wait, Dré…you were heavily sedated after surgery. Stay in bed before you?—”
“I don’t give a fuck about me, Mat!” he interrupts, wincing when he tries to move his legs.
“Where is she? If I didn’t save her…fuck…” He covers his eyes with his hand and breathes through his nostrils.
“She’s with the twins, Dré,” I explain. “They came early.”
His hand falls and his eyes find mine, dark and intense.
“She—She had the babies?”
“Yeah…” I smile. “You’re a father, Dré.”
Mama stands, leans into André, and kisses his forehead.
“They’re healthy and very beautiful, son,” she confirms. “Sinéad has had to split her time between her husband and her newborns. She’s with them now.”
“Who’s looking after her, though?” He struggles to move again, snarling in frustration. “Who’s looking after my wife? Get me the fuck out of this bed. I need to see her… I need to see their faces.”
“André,” Mama scolds. “You’re in no shape to move. Please?—”
“No, Mama,” he grits out, straining and grunting. “I have to see her…now. Don’t get in my way, for fuck’s sake. Jesus fuck, Mat. Help me out of this bed.”
I take hold of his hand to offer support, feeling his muscles vibrate from the energy he’s trying to muster. If he’s not careful, he could black out or rupture the internal sutures.
“Dré, listen to me,” I urge. “Sinéad misses you like crazy, but getting worked up won’t help. She’s okay, I promise you. Relax.”
From the corner of my eye, Dani darts into the corridor. While André rips the needle out of his arm and detaches himself from the heart monitor, she returns with a wheelchair and maneuvers it towards the bed.
“If it was me, I’d want to see my husband straight away too,” she mutters.
She’s right. Nothing would stop me trying to reach Dani, either.
I help André to his feet and throw an arm around his waist, supporting his weight. The gown he wears is twisted and his thighs are on show.
When he clumsily drops into the chair and growls from the sudden, hard fall, his eyes settle on Dani.
“Don’t get your hopes up, se?orita,” he deadpans, purposefully trying to wind me up. “My wife is my one and only.”
“André!” Mama shakes her head. “You’re incorrigible.”
I’m used to my brother”s flirty ways and sexual persona. It’s who he is and how he deals with things. A big part of him lives within me. However, this time something feral fires up inside and I can’t shake it off.
“She’s into younger guys,” I add, unlocking the brakes. “Guys with more mobility, cabron.”
Dani laughs quietly and smiles over at me.
“Yeah,” she says to him with her eyes on mine. “Matheus is my one and only.”
André drags a hand through his thick hair and exhales, the exertion too much.
“About fucking time, you two hooked up,” he mutters. “Now, hurry the fuck up, Mat. Push me faster. I have my babies to meet and wife to kiss.”
When we zoom into the corridor, he adds, “I had crazy fucking dreams that Uncle Angelo was your father, Mat, and Mama killed Papá. What meds did they give me?”