Page 49 of Sinful
"Crystal."
"Good." He walks away.
I head back to my room, face still stinging, mind racing.
She killed Andrés.
I'd bet my life on it.
The way she reacted when they talked about Houston. The timeline. The guilt that's eating her alive.
She tracked down the man who used her and put three bullets in him.
And now Los Coyotes are torturing her father for a murder she committed.
That's why she came back.
Not just because her father's in danger, but because she knows she's the only one who can stop it.
By confessing.
By trading her life for his.
Fuck.
I'm in my room, trying to process everything, when shouting erupts from downstairs.
I'm on my feet instantly, weapon in hand, moving toward the sound.
The main room is chaos.
Members running, voices raised, someone crying.
In the center of it all, Starla stands holding a cardboard box.
Her face is bone white.
She's screaming.
I push through the crowd as Rati—one of the Raiders of Valhalla I briefly met yesterday—rushes forward and slams the box shut.
"Get her out of here," he barks at Elfe. "Now."
Elfe wraps her arms around her mother, trying to guide her away, but Starla can't stop screaming.
"What is it?" Runes demands, striding into the room. "What happened?"
Rati looks at him. When he speaks, his voice is eerily calm.
"Someone dropped this at the gate. Said to deliver it to Starla." He pauses. "It's his hand. They sent us his fucking hand."
The room erupts.
Rage. Shouting. Members reaching for weapons, ready to ride out right now and burn Los Coyotes to the ground.
But all I see is Helle.
She's frozen in place near the stairs. Staring at the box like it's a bomb.
