Page 85 of My Darling Mayhem

Juan stepped forward. "Kingston, Gio. This is your family; you're crossing a line. Let me get her and her son to safety before you start this."

Kingston was his other son, the serious one.

They didn't look at their father; they continued to watch Archer, waiting to see what he would do.

"Your men are dead," Gio finally confessed, letting out a tired sigh.

Archer froze, and I knew his breathing had stopped.

Kingston slid his hands into his pockets, and I watched as Juan's gaze slid down, his jaw tensing.

"Don't," he warned Kingston.

The serious twin finally spoke, tilting his head. "He is not a part of our family."

It was as if, on cue, one of his men walked out of my bedroom, holding my property patch.

Gio moved to the left and clapped his hands together softly. "Well, well. Looks like maybe Archer is a part of our family."

"Brother, should we give him a chance to explain why he's still using our territory and recently stole from us?"

"I have never stolen from you," Archer spat, his breathing ragged, "and as I told your father, I was unaware of any territory shift."

Kingston's gaze slid to my brother, and I saw Juan nod. "It's true."

"Who brokered it?" Gio asked, holding my property patch and inspecting all the patches.

"Kyle," Juan answered.

Kingston froze, his eyes swinging back to his father too quickly for me not to notice that whoever this Kyle person was, mattered in some significant way.

"You know damn well I have more men than who was patrolling here. This is going to be a blood bath. Get her and Cruz the fuck out of here!" Archer yelled, raising his gun, surrendering.

My heart dropped. It was like watching a powerful storm bow down to a tiny current of wind.

"Please, just get them out."

I tugged on his arm. "Archer, I'm not leaving without you." But my mind raced to Cruz. Would they do this, knowing he was here?

The sound of a lighter clicking had my head swinging over. Gio held my property patch in one hand, and under it, he held a silver zippo lighter.

"No!" Archer's voice cracked, and then something inside me snapped. I wasn't going to lose him. I couldn't.

Gio smiled. "Not family anymore." The leather caught fire, and I screamed while lunging toward my nephew. Juan caught me at the waist right as the back sliding door burst open. Glass flew everywhere as I ducked down, and Juan's hands came over my head, protecting me. Gunshots rang out, making the couchand chair explode with fabric and cotton. My kitchen table was suddenly flipped over by someone and used as a shield. I crawled to my son's room, glass and debris under my palms and knees as I went. Then, it all stopped in an instant as Archer started screaming.

"Stop. Stop."

Juan was yelling, too. My brother and Archer stood in the middle of the room with arms stretched out, their panic-stricken gazes landing on all the chaos in the room.

Tears streaked my cheeks as I looked up and saw men in Mayhem Riot cuts with guns raised, pointed at my nephews and the men with them. Kingston and Gio had guns extended toward them.

It was silent for two seconds without anyone shooting when all of a sudden, I heard the smallest crack of a door, and out walked my mother, holding Cruz to her chest.

He was crying, and so was she. My chest pinched with something tight, a coil of fear wrapping around my lungs and squeezing as I watched my son helplessly. Everything I had tried to protect him from just exploded in one night all over our living room floor. My mother soothed his back, and a sob escaped my mouth.

Archer had tears in his eyes as he lowered to the ground, sitting on his knees with me.

"Please, let them leave." He cried, and it shattered something deeper in me.

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