Malo - Page 27

“Stitches said around four months,” she replies, her voice bubbling over with excitement. “I can’t believe it.”

“You have no idea how much I needed to hear this, Bella,” I tell her, shaking my head. It’s amazing news. In all the mess that has been happening recently, this is the one bright spot I needed—the one sign that not everything is going to shit.

And another fire under my ass to make sure Las Rosas Negras are dealt with, and soon. No way am I going to let her bring our baby into the world if I’m not completely certain I can keep them safe. I have to make sure they’re wiped off the face of the Earth before any of them so much as find out about the pregnancy, or I know that Bella is going to become a target again, and, this time, so will her child—our child.

I push those thoughts down. She doesn’t need me to think strategically right at this moment, she needs me to be happy for her, with her, and I am.

“Have you told Harley yet?” I ask, and her face drops slightly.

She shakes her head. “No,” she admits. I don’t envy her the task of breaking the news to Harley, not that I won’t be there to take some of the heat. I doubt she’s going to take it well. Probably going to see it as another member of the Kings who’ll be at risk if we don’t play our cards right.

“That’s okay,” I tell her quickly, shifting her mind away from that. The last thing she needs right now is stress. She needs to stay healthy, for our baby.

“You should get some rest,” I add, and she shakes her head at me, chuckling.

“You know I’m not an invalid, right?” she reminds me. “I’m just pregnant. Plenty of people go through pregnancies every day without having to go on bedrest?—”

“I’ll be damned if I let anything get in the way of you having a healthy baby,” I tell her. “You need anything, you let me know, okay? We’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs, and leans in to give me a hug. I squeeze her back, holding her close for a moment. And remind myself just how important it is that we take down El Serpiente and his men–for good.

CHAPTER 21

MALO

“Thanks, boss,” I tell Beast once he delivers the news. “I’ll pass it on. Everything else okay down there?”

“Everything’s fine,” Beast assures me. “You stay focused. Don’t need you getting turned off-track.”

“Right,” I reply, and we say our goodbyes. After hanging up, I glance over at Maria, and wonder if she needs to hear this news.

Blue, Maria, and I have been put up in a few rooms at Los Desperados compound. It’s not much, but they’re enough for us to get some well-needed sleep in. Maria had followed me to my room, clearly not wanting to be alone with her thoughts for too long, when I’d gotten the call from Beast to let me know what was going on back in Houston.

They killed Rayo after he’d failed to give them anything useful in the way of information. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me, but still, it’s frustrating to know that we didn’t manage to squeeze out anything worthwhile from him. I tuck my phone back into my pocket, and Maria at once seems to sense that there is something amiss.

“What’s going on?” she asks, doubt nagging at the edge of her voice.

I sit down next to her, at the edge of the bed. Her eyes are wide and pinned to mine, as she waits for me to give her an answer.

“Rayo’s dead,” I reply, finally. “The Kings killed him. He wouldn’t give them any information, so?—”

But before I can get another word out, her face crumples, and she bursts into tears. I’m baffled. Why is she mourning the loss of someone like Rayo? It doesn’t make sense to me. I reach out for her awkwardly, putting my arms around her, knowing I have to do something.

Her shoulders heave as she leans against me, and I rub my thumb over her arm gently until she begins to calm down again. She pulls back, wiping her hand across her face and trying to take a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, shaking her head. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her. I don’t know what else to say. I’ve never been good at handling this kind of emotion when it comes out of nowhere like this but, after everything she’s been through, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s struggling.

“I just… I knew Rayo, you know?” she continues, shoulder slumping down again. “Not that I liked him. I hated him. He was a monster. But at least… at least I knew what I was dealing with when it came to him. That felt like something. The rest of them, I don’t know what I’m up against…”

She trails off again, tears leaking from her eyes once more. She wipes them away quickly, as though irritated they’re even there.

“I’m just so scared that this isn’t going to work,” she admits quietly, gesturing around the room. “That I’ve come here for no reason. Or I’ve just walked you and Blue into a trap.”

“We can handle ourselves,” I reply firmly. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could do that, you hear me?”

She bites her lip as she looks at me, and I take her hands, holding them between mine, needing her to see how much I mean this, needing her to know that I want to help her in any way I can.