Chapter Twenty-Six
Zahra
The children were playing outside in the expansive backyard; many booths had been set out for them to participate in different games, get healthy snacks, or get their faces painted with all colorful things.
The tiny voices, innocent laughter escaping through mouths with braces and several ones with a few gaps here and there, filled me with a peace I had never once experienced.
By the side of the booths, clowns made children laugh, and a small kids’ band was also close to that area.
A huge fort was set up close to the building in case the kids were tired from all the fun and games and wanted to rest while they were there and work was being done inside.
The innocence of the surroundings made me smile.
“I have secured a building not far from here; that is where they can rest for the night until the work inside is done. They will come here every day if they wish to have fun. The manager here arranged everything, and I just paid whatever expenses she might have needed,” Elio said.
“It’s like a little camp for them. They don’t look tired at all.” My smile widened but didn’t reach my eyes.
“Hm.” Elio shifted closer, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling my body to his.
“I honestly didn’t think you were this generous,” I told him, accepting the warmth his body provided.
He shrugged. “Children should not have to spend their childhoods being sad. They have their adulthood to cover that.”
I looked up at him, scrunched my nose as I raised my hand, and poked a finger into his hair, pushing his head slightly.
“Ouch,” he said, not a muscle shifting on his face to indicate that my action had hurt him.
“You say the most fucked-up things sometimes.”
“Stating facts is not ‘fucked up,’” he answered.
“Everybody gets sad sometimes; it’s harder on some of us adults because when we were kids, we did not have a childhood.
We did not play outside. Did not laugh freely.
Did not…” He trailed off, his eyes distant as he watched the kids.
“Did not know what true happiness felt like.” His voice was quiet.
A solemn kind of calm washed through me. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Now that we are adults, the least we can do for the children around us is to make sure they do not grow up knowing what being an adult feels like before they actually become adults.”
The care in his voice almost caught me off guard. I had seen how he was with that kid back at the tattoo place, and I didn’t think for one second that though he might have frowned at the kid like he wanted the poor boy to melt, he still cared.
“What do you think of them?” he asked.
“What?”
“What do you think of kids, of children in general? Would you like to have some of your own one day?” he asked, head dropping as he looked down at me.
My hand went to my throat, playing with the butterfly pendant around my neck as I swallowed. “They’re precious little beings; what woman wouldn’t want to have them?”
“I meant you.”
I met his stare. “Are you fishing for something? Thinking of having kids with me? Because if that’s the case, you need to slow down. I don’t think we are there yet.”
He frowned. “Are you uncomfortable with the question?”
“Why would I be?”
“Because you are not answering.”
“Why are you asking?”
“I am curious.”
“Why are you curious?”
“Why are you getting defensive?”
I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue, looking away from him as I looked back at the kids, letting the silence stretch before I spoke. “Yes, if I could, I would have loved to.”
When there was silence from his end, I looked up at him, expecting the question I saw in his eyes.
“I can’t have children,” I informed him, a tremor in my fingers as they stroked the butterfly.
“What?”
Not wanting to see what he thought in his eyes, I looked away, back to the innocence of our surroundings, before I answered. “How do you think they made sure none of us got pregnant?” I asked. “No female Plant can have children. We can’t reproduce because we were not made to reproduce.”
He stiffened beside me, and my heart almost sank.
“Does that change anything for you?” I let the question slip out before I could stop it.
With a snap, he was turning my body to face his, and with great effort, I met his gaze, which was angry and harsh. “Do not speak nonsense.”
I bit my tongue.
“Do you remember what they did to you?”
I dragged in a breath and let it out. “When they took us to the—When we were fourteen they took us somewhere before we were prepped for penetration. It was a doctor’s place.
I don’t think it was registered, but it was an equally big organization, too …
I didn’t know then; they just made us sleep, and when we woke up, we were taken back.
But as I grew, I learned it was tubal ligation. ”
“So, it can be reversed.”
“In some cases, yeah. I went to reverse it … but the doctor told me there was a lot of damage and the possibility of me ever getting pregnant was, well—zero to none. And we’ve had sex unprotected a lot of times and nothing—so … yeah.”
A familiar look flashed in his eyes.
I pursed my lips before speaking. “I’ve had years to get over that fact, Elio; you don’t have to pity me.”
“I do not pity you. I pity the people who did this to you.”
I laughed, but he did not join me.
Pulling me into a hug, he whispered in my ear, “I promise you, Zahra, when I find the people who did this, the world will know.”
The tone of his voice told me he meant every single word he said.
It sent a chill down my spine—but my mind loved the idea because it was what I also wanted, and with him by my side, I was more assured that we would find them, and we would rain hell-fucking-fire until there was nothing but ashes beneath our feet.
“What kind of sick motherfucker makes someone work for a fucking surprise?” Dog bit out, pinning a glare my way as he slid into the space beside Milk, hitting her shoulder not so gently.
We were at the newly refurbished cafeteria in the building. Some of the tables were filled by other workers who’d decided to have a late dinner too.
“Personal space, Dog? You still smell like paint,” Milk pointed out, biting on a fry, her hair pulled up in a rough ponytail.
Dog directed his glare at her. “And you smell like toilet, but you don’t see me pointing it out.”
“You just did,” she said, offering him a blank look.
“I just did,” he repeated, his gaze lingering before looking away and shaking his head. He reached for one of the burgers on the table, and took such a big bite out of it that his mouth was too full to chew properly.
Upper didn’t speak; when he got to the table, he just started feasting on his burger like it was the last food on earth, grumbling occasionally. Devil was the last to join us after escorting Elio out of the building.
Elio was flying back to Milan early due to work, and I had convinced him to call back Angelo and Casmiro.
He had promised to think about it, but I highly doubted he would, as he informed me that Casmiro was back in his hometown with his family and it would be good for him to visit since he almost died recently, and they had been worried.
He also said Angelo had recently gotten into a relationship, and he wanted him to cater to it adequately.
I didn’t push further after that. I let him be, and he promised to call when he landed, leaving me to deal with Street.
“Did he get off okay?” I asked as Devil took the space beside me, reaching for one of the chilled Cokes in the middle of the table.
“Yeah, a whole parade and shit—they just came out of nowhere like they were waiting for him to exit the building or something—said he’ll call when he lands.” He flexed his shoulder, taking a swig of the Coke, but kept drinking and drinking and drinking like he couldn’t get enough.
Milk rubbed her neck, tired.
Upper looked like death.
Dog was angry-eating, and Devil kept drinking until the bottle was almost empty.
“What kind of drug did you give us?” Upper asked. “I have urges to throw up, but I cannot throw up, and I’m so bloody hungry, but I’m so full.”
Guilt gripped me. “I’m so sorry, guys. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Dog—not being able to talk—just gave me the middle finger.
I deserved that.
“I mean”—I cleared my throat—“at least we got the painting? Right? And now we have a map—”
“And security twenty-four seven while we’re here,” Devil supplied. “I am not happy you drugged us. But I’m happy we’re back in the game.”
“Right after I try not to die from the effects of the drug and scrubbing toilets all freaking day,” Milk said, the side of her head dropping to the table, cheeks pressing flush against the flat surface.
“I helped out?”
Her gaze shifted to me, eyeballs huge like she was possessed, thanks to the stern glare she shot my way.
I shifted closer to Devil, shrinking from her stare—the guy in question threw his hand around my shoulder, pulling me tighter into him.
“What’s the plan now?” he asked.
“We study the map and watch our six because I don’t think it will take people long to figure out we have what they want.”
Dog swallowed, drinking his Sprite and burping loudly.
Milk’s face scrunched up in disgust. “You are so disgusting it hurts my eyes.”
“You love me still, pinky brain.” He smirked her way, and she delivered him the middle finger this time as she raised her head. “The map is all colors of messed up; it will take ages to figure it out.”
“You only think like this because you’re all drugged up. Wait for the fog to clear,” I told her.
“At least we have the penthouse,” Dog injected. “Though Zahra claimed she rented it with invisible savings we all know shit about.”
“Yes.” Upper tilted his head, studying me. “Why did you serve your boyfriend that story, and why did he buy it?”
“He didn’t buy it,” Devil said. “He was the one who rented it, and Zahra—with her pride, she didn’t want Elio to let us know that he did it—made him lie.”
“Still sounds like bullshit to me,” Dog said, his eyes trying to parse out the truth as he watched me.
“Whatever. We’ll have our fun and break for a month, and then head back to Milan.
Elio told me he would arrange a place for us outside the compound, but within the district, so that’s awesome.
But for now—all animosity aside, we need to fill our pockets because a lot was spent on that cruise, and, well, a little thievery here and there wouldn’t hurt, would it? ”
“Sounds like fun if we survive this drug, as Milk pointed out,” Upper said.
“You’ll survive it, and I’ll make up for it—”
“Oh, you will,” Dog said. “All fucking errands will be run by you. You’re our little puppet until we leave Mexico.”
“I accept without complaint,” I answered, knowing it would all be forgotten when we woke up more refreshed tomorrow.
For now, I ate my food.
Easy and jabbing conversations passed around the table swiftly while glares turned into smiles and smiles turned into laughter, and we didn’t even notice when evening turned into night.
I was relaxed, content, in my element, and with my favorite people.
I looked forward to our break because when the time came to work, relaxation would be the furthest thing from our minds, and fortunately, we were more than prepared.