Prologue

Iraced to Josiah's house after he called me to meet him at his house. His dad escaped custody.

Motherfucker escaped.

How the fuck did that even happen?

I pull up onto their street and park a few houses down the street from their home.

A set of headlights appears in my rearview mirror as a car parks behind me. I'd recognize that car anywhere. Josiah steps out of it and walks over to my passenger side. I roll down the window, and he dips his head inside. He places one hand on top of the car.

"Thanks for coming. Follow me," Josiah instructs.

We walk up to the house, and I notice all the lights are on inside despite the signs that someone's home, it"s eerily quiet.

"Something's not right," Josiah whispers as he pulls out his Glock from the back of his jeans. I follow suit and pull my gun out.

"Fuck," he whisper-yells.

"What?" I ask, wondering what he"s looking at. As we approach the front of the house, that's when I see it. The door has been kicked in.

"Shit," I mutter under my breath.

"Go in the back," Josiah says. I nod and do as he says, keeping my head low as I pass by the windows on the side of the house. I let out a breath, not knowing what the hell I"m walking into.

Once I reach the back door, I peek into the kitchen window for any signs of movement but don"t see any.

It"s still quiet.

Too quiet.

Sudden commotion and yelling coming from inside the house have me on full alert.

POW!

A gunshot roars into the air.

"FUCK!" I burst through the back door. Pointing my gun straight ahead, I walk through the kitchen. The drawers are pulled out, a pot of water has boiled over on the stove, and chairs are knocked over.

Shit! This is not good.

I quietly walk down the narrow hall when my foot slips. I hold onto the wall to break my fall.

"Fucking Christ!" I whisper-yell to myself.

I look down to find the source of my almost slip.

My stomach travels up to my throat when I notice I"m standing in a puddle of blood.

What the holy hell?

The smell of copper makes my stomach turn, ready to let loose the tacos I ate before I got the call. I hear excruciating weeping as I follow the blood trail, my gun in hand. I move cautiously until I reach the end of the hall. My steps falter as I take in the scene in front of me. Josiah is holding onto his mother, who is drowning in a pool of her own blood.

What the fuck?

"Oh, God, Mom. I"m so fucking sorry. I"m so sorry." Josiah quietly sobs as he rocks his mom back and forth in his arms.

I scope out the surroundings, and my eyes land on Josiah"s dad, a bullet between his eyes. Josiah"s chrome gun lays on the ground beside him.

"Fuck. Jo. Fuck." I place the end of the barrel of my gun against my forehead and pace up and down the hall.

"He fucking butchered her. He fucking killed her," Josiah cries without looking at me. The front door creaking open alerts me that someone has entered. I point my gun in that direction.

"Police! Put your gun down!" Two cops enter and pointed their guns at me.

"Whoa. I"m a friend of the family. We walked into this." I lower my gun to my side.

"Slowly set your gun down on the floor and kick it toward me," he instructs as his gun follows my every move.

I do as he says without a fight since I'm not trying to die tonight. He picks up my gun, hands it over to his partner, and holsters his weapon.

He looks at the corpse on the ground and shifts his eyes toward Jo's mom.

"Josiah. It's Detective Carter. I need you to step away from the body."

Josiah shakes his head, ignoring him.

"Josiah. I need you to step away from your mom so I can help her."

Josiah continues to cry softly, saying I"m so sorry on a loop.

"I"m Detective Carter. What"s your name?" he asks me as I stand frozen in place, trying to wrap my head around what the hell I walked into.

"Seb," I say without glancing in his direction. My eyes are still locked on Josiah and his mother. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of death and blood, but this right here…this is beyond fucked up.

"Ok, Seb. I need your help to remove Josiah from his mother. Can you do that for me?"

"Seb. Did you hear me?" he repeats.

"Yeah." I swallow the lump in my throat.

Lowering myself to the ground, I place one hand on my friend's shoulder. "Josiah, you need to step away and let them help your mom. Ok?"

He swats my hand away and glares at me. His eyes are bloodshot, puffy, and red from his tears.

"Don"t fucking touch me," he snaps through clenched teeth.

The paramedics arrive, and two officers yank Josiah off his mom.

"NO! LET ME GO! SHE FUCKING NEEDS ME! Please," he begs while being dragged away outside, his clothes and hands covered in blood. "GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!"

"Jesus Christ," Carter curses under his breath. "What the hell happened here?"

I can't answer him because I am focused on the sound of Josiah"s wails. I haven"t seen him this broken since Elisa died.

Shorty. La Reina.

Fuck.

La Reina was born strong, like a superhero with a protective shield, but she's human, just like the rest of us. She's not made of armor. Not even the most powerful shield will protect her heart and soul from a brutal attack. I don"t know if she will survive this when she wakes up and learns that her piece of shit father butchered her mom. Shorty has gone through so much. The beatings, the mental and emotional abuse she endured for years, and the aftermath of being kidnapped and almost dying in a car accident. What kind of monster does that shit to another human being?

"I need you to step outside, son, so the crime team can process the scene." Carter breaks my trance as he leads me out the front door.

"Where"s Josiah?" I croak, noticing the red and blue lights and yellow tape surrounding the house.

I look around until I spot Josiah sitting on the snowy ground with his knees tucked into his chest and his head resting on top of his crossed arms.

I sit beside him in silence, listening to the chatter from the cop"s radio and random voices whispering around us.

I"ve never seen anything so horrific in my life.

It looked like their dad drained the blood out of her body. The paramedics step out of the house, pushing a body wrapped in a black body bag on a stretcher. Minutes later, another stretcher follows it down the walkway.

Josiah is frozen like a statue.

He hasn"t said one word.

My phone vibrates in my pocket non-stop, but I don"t have the strength to check who"s calling.

Carter approaches us and bends down in front of us. "Josiah." I"m so sorry for your loss. I- I..." He sighs and rubs his hands down his face. "I need you to come with me to the station for your statement."

Josiah doesn"t respond. He just stares off into the distance.

Carter looks to me for help, but I"m so fucking lost I can"t think.

"As soon as we have your statement, I"ll take you to see your sister. I know she"s in the hospital." That snaps Josiah from his trance, and he looks up at Carter. Josiah turns to face me, a void in his eyes.

"Oh, fuck. I can"t tell Sade," Josiah rasps, turning back to Carter.

"She has to know, Josiah. It will be better if it came from you," Carter explains.

After some convincing, Josiah agrees and stands up, snow covering his backside.

"Josiah." He turns to face me. "I"ll meet you at the station, all right?"

He shakes his head, "No, go with Sade. I'll meet you there." I nod and watch Josiah walk to the cruiser.

"Once he provides his statement, he'll be taken to the hospital for an evaluation," Carter tells me.

"You"re not going to arrest him, right? It was self-defense."

"I can"t say for sure until I get his statement."

"What about my gun?"

"Once we process it, you"ll get it back." Carter reaches over and pats me on the back.

I receive a text message as I pull out my phone, I walk on autopilot toward my car.

TIA: Sade"s awake!

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

What fuckery Twilight Zone did I end up in?

Jesus.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

Red. It's all I see now.

I park my '67 Impala in the hospital's visitor parking lot. Shutting off the ignition, I rest my head against the headrest, wondering how the fuck I am going to break the news to my Reina.

Fuck.

I can't think straight.

Breathing out a heavy sigh, I snatch the keys from the ignition, tossing them and catching them in one hand, and then I slide out of my seat. I tuck my keys in my pocket and pull out a new pack of cigarettes.

Tapping the end of the pack and removing the plastic, I pull out a cigarette and light the fucker up.

"I'm so sorry, Reina," I whisper to the stars with my eyes shut, holding back the emotions that are ready to spill over.

After a few drags, I tap the ash from the butt taking another hit and blowing the smoke in the other direction.

My phone dings for the twentieth time. Sighing, I put out my cigarette, tossing it in the bin.

Gio: where u at, bro? Our girl's awake.

Me: On my way up.

Walking through the sliding doors, I approach the desk. "Sadie Ramirez," I say to the nurse.

The nurse types erratically on the keyboard.

"Ok, here we go. Sadie…she's been moved to the third floor. Just walk down this hall," she points to her right—"until you run into the elevator." She smiles.

"Thanks."

Following her instructions, I make it to the third floor. I pull my phone out ready to text Gio, when I hear his voice. I look up from my phone to see them approaching.

"It's about fucking time bro," Gio says with Donnie and Ash trailing behind.

Gio gives me a bro hug. When he pulls back, his eyebrow furrows, "Where you been?"

My eyes dart from Gio to Donnie, Ash, and back to Gio. I close my eyes to find the right words, but nothing comes to mind.

"What's going on?" My eyes snap open when I hear Donovan's deep voice. He and Ash are still wearing their suits. They look like shit. Donnie more than Ash, with his hair sticking up all over the place like he was trying to yank it out of his scalp. With his disheveled suit and red and swollen eyes, and his paler than usual skin, he looks like he hasn't slept in days.

I rub my hands through my hair and down my face. I look around the hall, noticing there is a better place for this conversation. Then I see a nurse walking in our direction. "Excuse me." I gently reach out to grab her wrist, startling her.

"Sorry." I release my hold and take a step back. "Is there a waiting room?"

She opens her mouth to respond but pauses when her pager goes off. "Um…" she says while staring at her beeper.

"Yeah, if you go down this hall—" she puts the pager away and gestures with her clipboard—"the waiting room will be on your right-hand side."

I nod, thanking her, and brush past her.

The guys follow me down the hall without saying a word.

Good. The room is empty.

I pace, trying to control the anxiety running through my veins.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mutter, gripping the back of my neck.

"What's going on?" Gio asks.

"Bro, it's so fucked up." My voice full is of the emotions that make me want to cry like a little bitch.

My heart hurts for Shorty.

The pain is too much to hold in.

I feel like I'm ready to explode.

"Josiah and I went to check on his mom." Breathing out a heavy sigh before I continue, I shut my eyes. "He..." I pause, trying to keep my shit together. "His mom and dad are gone." I open my eyes and look over to Donnie and Ash. "They're dead."

A lonely tear escapes from my eyes. I never cry. Not even when my Abuelita passed away.

"Their mom is dead. She's fucking dead," I croak.

I hate this feeling inside of me.

"What?" Donovan's face is full of anguish.

Ash swallows. "Sadie's mom is dead?"

I nod.

"Josiah killed his father."

"The fuck?" Donovan cries out with his eyes wide staggering back with both hands on his head. "Where's Josiah now?"

"He's down at the station being questioned," I answer glancing over at Gio bent over with his ass against the wall, breathing rapidly and deeply.

"Hey. I've been looking for you guys." Tia walks over to us.

"What's going on?" Her eyes bounce to each one of us.

"Tia." I grip the back of her neck and pull her close to me. "Something bad happened tonight and I'm gonna need you to stay calm because Shorty is going to need you now more than ever. Alright?"

"Seb, what are—"

"Prometeme, Tia. Promise me you won't lose your shit."

"I promise." She draws a cross over her heart, but I see the uneasiness in her eyes. Tia has never been good at hiding her emotions.

I take a deep breath and tell her the same story I told the guys.

Tia gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. "No," she whispers, her voice filled with agony. "No, please don't tell me that's true, Seb. Please don't." Tia takes a few steps back until she smacks against Ash's chest.

He rubs her arms up and down. She turns around and buries her head in his chest.

"Oh my god. What about Sade?" She turns to look back at me with wide eyes. "This is going to break her, Seb." Her lips tremble as tears fall.

"We have no choice but to tell her." I pull her into my arms, resting my head on top of hers. "She needs you to be strong for her. Let it all out now, and then get your shit together. The last thing she needs right now is trying to keep the both of you in one piece." She nods against my chest.

Pulling her back, I tip her chin up with my finger. "You got this, ok?"

She nods, wiping her tears away. "Yeah, ok."

Good, because I don't think I do.