Page 78 of Fierce Monarch

I’d sent them running myself.

That first taste of responsibility had set me on the right path. That reminder that I protected mothers and daughters, sisters, and wives humbled me.

Mama Ophelia had changed everything.

And now she was gone. Dead on the floor of the bodega she and her husband had saved for a decade to buy.

All because Cash wanted to prove a point. Just because he didn’t try to run me over didn’t mean he didn’t do this to get back at me.

“She was, and where were you?” Siska, Ophelia’s teenage granddaughter, snapped at me. “You’re supposed to protect us, and what have we gotten? Huh?”

“Years of peace,” her mother said. Aliska took her grieving daughter in her arms, wrapping her tightly in a warmth I’d never experienced. It looked comfortable, and for a moment, I ached for it so fiercely I wanted to turn away. Aliska turned soft eyes to her daughter and wiped her tearstained cheeks. “It isn’t her fault that Mama’s dead, Sis. She didn’t drive the car.”

Maybe not, but I was still to blame. If I had taken Cash out sooner, their bodega would be safe. They wouldn’t be facing thousands of dollars in damage and lost wages. They wouldn’t have to see their life’s dream up in flames.

They wouldn’t be burying their matriarch.

Aliska tightened her hold on her daughter when I stepped forward, that mama bear instinct out in full force, but I just grasped the girl’s shoulder gently.

“I will fix this,” I promised, staring directly into red-rimmed blue eyes.

“You will?” She sounded more like a kid than she had the entire time I’d been there, and it killed me that she had to deal with this so young.

“Yes. I’ll make them regret this. Mama Ophelia deserved a better end, and I’m sorry she didn’t get it.” Turning to Aliska, I nodded to the glass-covered floor that had come from the car slamming into the building. Fuck, the building itself probably had structural damage. The guy had been doing double the fucking speed limit before he’d crashed.

They were lucky Mama was the only one dead.

“We’ll pay to get you up and running again and cover any bills you have in the meantime.”

Aliska shook her head immediately. “Oh, that’s not?—”

“It’s very necessary. You paid for our protection. This is what that looks like.” I moved my hand to her shoulder, squeezing gently. “We’ll pay for the funeral too. I want Mama to go out in style. Money isn’t an object.”

“Mama didn’t care about things,” Siska said softly.

“No, she didn’t, but she was traditional. Bury her according to the customs she preferred. It’s the least I can do.”

Aliska wanted to argue again, but I stepped away, unwilling to hear it. Mama Ophelia deserved the best, and I wasn’t going to let her family worry about a single thing while we sorted through the aftermath of her death.

“Grey will be in touch tomorrow to get repairs started and settle the funeral costs. I’ll send over a guard to watch the place full time until it’s fixed enough to lock up. Until then, we’ll have our people over here more often, but let us know if you need anything else.”

We left to soft thanks from both of them, and every word grated on my nerves.

They shouldn’t be thanking me. Not when I was the reason their family member had just died. “Hey, wait!” I turned just in time to watch Siska skid to a stop behind me.

“If you’re going to knife me, you’ve got to be quieter next time,” I joked. Grey growled beside me, and I was suddenly grateful that Dominic was outside. He wouldn’t have enjoyed the joke either.

“You promised you’re going to make them pay. Did you really mean it? Because I want a trophy.”

“Siska! You are not asking Ms. Marcosa to bring you back a body.” Aliska’s horrified voice carried until everyone in the vicinity stopped.

To Siska’s credit, she didn’t even flinch. “I didn’t ask for a body. I asked for a trophy.”

Okay, that was funny.

“She’s like you as a kid,” Grey whispered, and I seriously had to work to keep the laughter in.

Aliska muttered under her breath—swear words, I was pretty sure—before pointing toward the back hall. “Upstairs, now!”

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