Page 29 of Savage Devil
“He’ll get leave.”
“But—”
“Let me handle it, okay? Shit. Boy or Girl?”
Huh. It takes me a second to understand his questions. “Oh. Boy.”
“What’s his name?”
“Luis,” I tell him.
Antonio nods to himself for a second before a wide grin splits his face. “So, I’m an uncle.”
I muffle my laugh with my fist. “Yeah, fucker. You’re an uncle.”
Silence stretches between us, both of us thinking of all the things that have gone wrong and all the possible things that can still happen. It’s times like this when I can’t breathe. When the pressure builds too much, and I need to find a release. I’m tempted to call some random. It’d be easier if I called Sarah, worked out some of my frustration while Antonio was here but that’s not a tree I want to be barking up right now. Fucking her holds zero appeal for me. I don’t know what is wrong with me but obviously something is. Maybe it’s just her. Our last fuck was awful. But…whatever. I can’t leave Antonio and Sofia to deal with Raul on their own whenever he wakes up anyway.
My family might be fucked up, but we do what we can for as long as we can. Let’s hope we all have enough fight left in us to deal with whatever comes next.
Twelve
Iwake to Luis’s garbled baby jabbers and roll over to find the space beside me empty. A glance at the beside clock. It shows that it’s just past nine. Emilio must have left sometime after I fell asleep. I pick up my Luis almost as though I’m on autopilot and go through our usual morning routine.
Nurse. Fresh diaper. New clothes. When he’s all set, I put him down on the floor with some of his toys and get myself ready, taking a five-minute shower with the door open to try and wash away some of the strain of last night.
Clean and feeling more awake, I straighten up the small mess Luis made before we head downstairs. I pass my mom’s room on the way, her door open and the bed empty. I wonder if she ever came home last night. I need to talk to her but I’m not sure what to say.
The entryway and kitchen are a disaster. A lamp is laying on its side, shards of glass scattered in the general area. There are blood smears across the floor. Chairs toppled over and dirt from a potted plan strewn about.
I sigh, already knowing I can’t leave it like this. I deposit Luis on the floor in the living room with a few of his favorite toys and turn on some cartoons. “Mommy will be right back.”
I grab a garbage bag and the broom, cleaning up all of the dirt and glass and throwing away anything not salvageable. Luis wanders into the kitchen a few times, so the clean-up process takes a little longer having to go back and forth and pause long enough to play with him for a few minutes before he’s distracted enough for me to slip away and finish my task.
The blood has stained the off-white tiles leaving them tinged with pink, but I’ve been scrubbing at them for close to half an hour so it’s as good as it’s going to get. I’m just about to go dump out the blood-tinged water when there’s a knock at the door.
I dry my hands on my pants and head over to it to answer, surprised when I find Jae standing on my doorstep. “Hey,” I say opening the door wider for him to come in.
His hair is disheveled. Instead of being neatly pulled back into his usual bun, it hangs over one side of his head, and a sprinkling of scruff covers his jawline. “Hey. Sorry. I would have come sooner, but I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Is everything okay?”
Luis chooses that moment to crawl into the kitchen. His eyes light up when he sees Jae and he stretches his little arms up in the air. His way of demanding to be picked up. Jae complies, bouncing Luis in his arms for a second. “Hey, little man,” he coos, and I don’t bother fighting my smile. Jae has always been great with Luis. It’s why I always felt like a jerk for never giving the guy a chance.
“So, what brings you by?”
He turns to face me, and his expression grows stony. “I was at the precinct all night. I know Miguel was arrested.”
“Oh. That.” I’m not sure what else to say. He works for Miguel. They were kind of friends despite the age difference between them. I know Jae looked up to him almost like a mentor. “Did you see my mom?”
He shakes his head. “No. She was at the hospital with Miguel. She called me for help but then I found out what he was being charged with …” He hangs his head. “Did he… “
“No. It wasn’t me. He didn’t.” I shake my head. “Not me.”
He exhales a relieved breath. “Your mom seems to think—”
“He did it. He all but admitted it in front of me. He isn’t innocent.”
He jaw clenches. “I kinda figured.”
