Page 84 of Miguel

Serious my ass. Cubano didn’t understand jack shit about the worry of being a new dad. Of losing sight of your kid and the anxiety that came with that. All the scenarios that played in my head that made me want to lose it.

I waved him off and stepped away from the more crowded area of the party.

My phone beeped and I looked at the app. A red dot appeared, indicating Zeke’s location. I followed it, only to let out a curse at the sight of his second hearing aid laying on the table.

“Shit. This fucking kid.” I shoved my phone into my back pocket and put the second aid away, grumbling as I did so.

I turned again, scanning the property for him.

“Hey, Migue, come take a look at this!” Loco called out from by the grill.

I started to turn, but my eyes snagged along the edge of the wall of our property. Something flew in an arc from over it, landing on the grass.

A second later, an explosion rocked through the compound.

Fire and debris skyrocketed. The ground shook. The force of the explosion shoved me backwards, and I landed hard on my back.

My ears buzzed and I struggled to catch my breath. There were screams, I was sure of it, but sounds didn’t pierce past the drumming of my heart in my ears. My throat felt raw, aching, and it took moments for me to realize I was screaming.

For Lorena.

For Zeke.

And through the haze of ensuing chaos, I couldn’t see either one of them.

Chapter Thirty-one

Lorena

Itrippedastheground rocked and the bomb set off. My palms scraped along the ground, rocks digging into my flesh. It was a pain I didn’t feel, a pain I numbed myself to as the worry took a front seat in my mind.

I pushed myself up. Debris rained down against my head and I squinted against the wall of smoke, Zeke’s name a cry of terror on my lips.

The blast had pushed his body forward. His scream was the loudest among the chaos. I forced myself to a stand, knees buckling and threatening to give in from beneath me. I managed to stay upright and rushed towards him.

The trek towards him felt endless. Yet when I reached him, the relief enveloped my entire soul.

Tears streaked a clean pathway down otherwise dirty cheeks, his confusion, terror, and pain obvious over his small features. When his arms opened, I yanked him into my embrace and stood with him in my arms.

“You’re okay,” I promised against his cheek, though he couldn’t hear, I hoped he could feel the vibration of my voice. And I hoped that brought him comfort.

Gripping him tightly, I lifted him into my arms, holding him protectively against my chest just before I ran away from the fire and smoke, back to where Desi had fallen to the ground. Now that I had Zeke in my arms, the panic came back at full force, along with the crescendo of sound pounding through my eardrums.

I reached Desi, throwing myself onto the ground with Zeke, shaking her shoulder to get her attention.

Her entire body trembled, the fear clear on her expression as she looked up at me with teary eyes.

I signed one handed, keeping the other clasped to the back of Zeke’s head, and screamed, hoping she could read my lips. “We have to get out of the open. We’re too exposed!”

She sobbed her response.

I couldn’t have her breaking down on me now. Not when we had no idea what was going on. Not with smoke in the air and a threat possibly still near. Not with our lives at stake.

I squeezed her arm and pulled with as much strength as my body allowed. She complied with shaking, fearful breaths, pushing herself with great effort to her feet. I kept my hand clasped into hers, juggling Zeke with my arm, but I couldn’t bring myself to put him down or let her go. Holding them was as much for their comfort as my own.

With chaos raining down around us, I guided us away from what felt like a battle zone. We ran, tripping over rocks and grass, though neither of us fell. Sound had been amplified into screams and cries and the tears came to my eyes unbidden. To think only moments before we’d been laughing, drinking. Now there was a bloodbath.

Squinting and wading through the thicket of smoke, we pushed out towards several bodies. Parents screaming out for their kids, club hermanos reaching for their wives while others waved guns around in a panic.

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