Page 105 of Rematch
Papa and Tatianna weren’t able to tell me much - they hadn’t been told much themselves. All they knew was Max had been in another “accident.” At this point, we all knew what it was code for.
I didn’t know how much Tatianna knew about Max’s relationship with his father, but she knew enough about the lifestyle to read between the lines.
By the time we reached the hospital, her tears had dried, replaced by a fiery rage. She stormed through the parking lot of the hospital and through one of the private entrances of the hospital, her dark curls bouncing behind her.
Inside, her eyes scanned over the nearly empty waiting area until her eyes fell on her ex-husband.
Rafael was standing on the other side of the room, an unlit cigarette wedged between the frown on his lips.
Tatianna walked right up to him and slapped him so hard the cigarette flew out of his mouth.
Even Adrian, who’d been pacing a few feet beside him, stopped and raised a brow in surprise.
“You bastard,” Tatianna yelled, raising her hand to hit him again. “What the fuck did you get him into now?”
Rafael caught her wrist before her closed fist could come down. “I had nothing to do with this,” he replied. “He caused this all on his own.”
Tatianna yanked her arm out of his grasp. “After last time, you promised you’d keep an eye on him!”
“He doesn’t need a babysitter. Besides, it’s not my fault he can’t take a gunshot. If you’d let me raise him-”
“He’d be dead,” she snapped. “Hell, for all we know, he might already be!”
Rafael’s shoulders fell at the idea. Sighing, he lay his hands on her shoulders. “Listen,mi amor, we have the best doctors on our payroll working on him.”
She scoffed. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She shrugged off his hands. “What the hell happened?”
The sliding doors behind us opened again, and we all turned our heads to see who was entering.
“What isshedoing here?” Tatianna hissed as her eyes fell on the petite woman shuffling inside.
“Rafael,” the woman spoke, her voice small. She slowly crept up to Tatianna and Rafael, afraid they might bite. “I…I got a call to come here. That my son…” Her voice started to crack as she trailed off.
“Oh, great,” Tatianna said, turning back to Rafael. “You’ve pulled both of them into your bullshit.”
Rafael sighed in frustration. “This is not my fault.”
“He’s right,” the woman chimed. Her eyes lowered. “It’s mine.”
Tatianna feigned a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey, you don’t have to keep defending him. Whatever this is about, I’m sure he could’ve done something about it sooner.” Her gaze was lethal as they turned back to Rafael. “Couldn’t you?”
I saw Adrian roll his eyes as the two of them began to bicker again. Quietly, he drifted off from Rafael’s side and went down the hall.
I followed, quickening my pace to catch up to him. “What happened?” I asked.
He glanced down at me. “An accident.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.” I stood in front of him, blocking his way. “Tell me.”
His brows stitched together as he examined the determination and worry in my eyes. “How much do you know?”
“Enough to know bullets were involved.”
He nodded. “Come on,” he said, stepping around me. “Walk with me.”
I struggled to keep up with his long, quick strides as they picked up again.
“An enemy’s crew ran them off the road,” Adrian explained. “Chased them down, then beat and gunned Max down.”
