Page 158 of Shifting Hearts 1
“Bullshit! These are not crates of weapons you are moving. You chose to take innocent lives and sully them with your greed. These women and children have done nothing except be unwanted, and to ruin them on top of that is even more sadistic and sick than imaginable. Don’t you see the suffering all around you?”
Alvarez takes the lead on this one. “Pretty big words coming from somebody who is being given freely back to me to suffer the same fate as these women. Or did you think that I wouldn’t realize what you were doing in that club that night?”
This is a surprise. Could there be more to her?
Alvarez twitches his eyebrow high. “Oh, your little pet project didn’t tell you? Well, isn’t that a cruel twist of fate? You save one of the most prolific assassins in our time, open your house to her, and you don’t even know it?”
Alvarez holds his stomach while a mocking burst of laughter fills the space. I hear my cousins join in, but it is the word assassin that makes me turn to look at Maddy.
“You are not a stripper?”
She pushes away from me and snorts, “I never said I was. You assumed, like you did with all the other things.”
That is true. I never once questioned her about what she was doing there because I never thought it would be important. But knowing she has been fighting this a lot longer than me, makes my heart ache.
She has never had a real man to fuck her or to protect her, it seems. No wonder she holds on to Alexi so tightly. She looks into my eyes, and I wish I could understand what she is beaming at me, but suddenly she takes a big step away out of my arms and calmly states.
“You said you wanted to sell me. And since you know what I can do now, I am sure you can get a pretty penny if you advertise my skills. But the only way I will go with you willingly is if you release Alexi. I will take their place. That is the only condition I will agree to.”
She is sacrificing herself for that waste of space?
“Fuck no!” I roar.
Surprised, all eyes turn to me. I don’t care. I step closer and grab Maddy’s arms. “You are going nowhere except home with me.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t be ridiculous, Alejandro. You made it very clear what your feelings were about me. Earlier, I wanted to explain the situation to you and ask for your help, but now I realize I can only rely on myself. And this is why I came here in the first place. So, don’t try to stop me.”
Alvarez walks closer, and I steel myself to not reach out and strangle him before everyone. I know it would take a mere second before a bullet tears through my chest.
Maddy shrugs my hands off and stands motionless while Alvarez circles her like an appraiser.
“You look to be in good health, and you are right. You should fetch a good price once I inform everyone of your skills. But I wonder if it isn’t worth more to keep you all to myself. You can be my killer bitch by day and my fuck slave at night.”
Unflinching, she pins him down and hisses, “As long as you let Alexi go. She deserves a chance at a normal life.”
She? Who the fuck are we talking about?
“Who would take care of her? She can never go back to the orphanage. And it is very dangerous for a five-year-old girl to be wandering the streets, all alone.”
Helplessly, Maddy looks at me, and I see the begging in her eyes.
Is Alexi the little girl they are talking about. Was this woman sacrificing herself for another orphan? She did say it was someone she loved. Could it be her own little girl? Did it really matter?
Suddenly, it all makes sense. I’ve been such an idiot.
“I will take her. I have somewhere she can go.”
“What the fuck makes you think I will allow you to leave this place alive, cousin? So, you can run back to my father and tell him all about my plan. Fuck no.” Benito’s voice is filled with malice, and I guess I can’t blame him. It must be so disheartening to be such a fuck up your whole life.
“Okay, then you take her and give her to your mother. The little girl will be safe, and you will look like a hero. And since she is so young, no one would believe her even if she told them the truth.”
“He has a point,” Antonio says. “It could be a good misdirection when we come back without Alejandro.”
Benito goes off on a tirade, and while he captures the attention of Alvarez and everyone else in the room, I communicate with Maddy.
Is she yours?
Maddy shakes her head slightly.
