Page 86 of Sovereign Oaths

I wasn’t okay, and I refused to pretend I was, even for the guys.

My body shook. My mind was fuzzy, slipping from the present to the moment I saw Ama take three bullets to her abdomen. There was no escape. My eyes were open, taking in the apartment I called home all summer, but I saw the gray interior of cement walls.

When I closed my eyes, it was worse.

Marco laid me on his bed, covered me with the blankets, and climbed in next to me. He held me for minutes or hours.

Javi kissed my forehead and then left, came back, and kissed me again before leaving.

The trembling never stopped.

I’d been a hostage twice before this mission. Once alone, and with a few women the other. Neither had been too scary. At any moment, I could have gotten myself free. Just like today.

The handcuffs were nothing compared to my strength. I stayed because I wasn’t given orders or any indications I needed to escape. If it had been necessary, they would have given me a signal.

I trusted our teams had things under control. I had no other choice.

They would find the car and trace the SUV.

Derek’s safety had been more at risk than my own. He’d been shot on the street. If one of ours hadn’t gotten to him first, he would have been taken to a hospital and potentially discovered, but the guys had known. Rod would take care of things. There were enough Pack members in the area these days that someone would get to him in time.

I knew that to be fact, so I hadn’t worried too much.

Ama had been my main concern. She wasn’t as indestructible as me. She didn’t have my training. She was just a human.

I’d thought they’d keep her safe too.

Maybe they’d done their best. Maybe they hadn’t been in a position to stop whoever had shot her. Maybe it had to happen. Maybe this was the final piece to bring it all down.

Her time had been running out no matter what had happened today.

Knowing that and accepting it were two vastly different things.

She was a dead woman before I was ever involved. She was a Dias, and the Velez were set on exterminating the family.

Maybe we should take out her mother now before she had to go through the pain of hearing the news. Relieve her of the grief.

It was the only thing I could do for her now.

I lifted my chin. “Does his mom know?”

Marco gazed down at me. “I haven’t heard.”

“We should take her out before. Don’t make her go through that.”

He pulled out his phone and typed but didn’t tell me what he sent.

It might not be the best timeline for the rest of the job. It might throw Alessio over the edge, but I didn’t care. The poor woman already lost her husband. She didn’t need to suffer the loss of her only daughter when her own ending was inevitable.

Javier came into the room and gave me a sad smile before Cruz and Derek followed. I sucked in a breath, and Derek fell to his knees next to the bed.

“You’re okay.”

I pulled away from Marco and wrapped my arms around him. “You’re okay?”

He cradled my head against his chest. “I’m fine. Already healed.”

I closed my eyes and held him. “I was so scared.”

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