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This kills me. I came so far. I was on the doorstep ready to hand myself over, and now Graciela’s sending me back?

I step in close and grab her hand. She flinches back in surprise. I’ve never been this forward with her before. I squeeze hard, staring at her.

“Swear to me you’re going to help kill Ruben. Swear you’re going to make sure Cruz is safe. Swear to me, Graciela.”

She swallows her shock and looks back steadily. “I swear it, girl.”

I hold her gaze. The woman’s a mess. She’s in mourning and clearly something broke in her. But my aunt’s always been formidable, and I believe her right now. If she can do something for Cruz, she’ll do it.

And she wants Ruben as dead as I do.

“Where’s the car?”

“Go over the back fence, through the yard, and out to the street. Don’t worry, the back neighbors are on vacation. Hurry now.”

“How do we get in contact?”

“Tell your husband I will reach out when it’s safe. Now get moving! Go, hurry!”

I take one last look at the house. Please, Cruz, hang in there. I feel like I’m letting him down, but I have to trust Graciela. This is my chance to get my brother back and to take down Ruben too.

I jump the fence and land on the other side, thinking that I’m not running this time. I’m not trying to escape a fight.

No, I’m headed straight into one, and I’m not turning back.

29

BASS

Iwake in the darkness to an empty bed.

I always think about Dario on mornings like this when it’s quiet and I can’t see much across the room. What was he thinking in his final moments? Was he suffering? Was he angry? I dream about him all the time, about Dario as he was, but also Dario as he could have been. Vibrant, charming, outgoing, strong. All that potential gone, his life burned away, leaving the rest of us worse than we were before.

I fantasize about kicking down that door, ripping off his bindings, and dragging him to a hospital, of standing up to my father, of saving the day.

Instead of being the one who killed him. I wish I could have saved him.

It takes a few minutes before I realize Mari’s not coming back.

I check the bathroom first, then the closet, and that’s when the worry sinks in. I find her gun and holster are missing.

I don’t bother searching the rest of the house. I radio the guard captain on duty and tell him to wake everyone immediately.

“Nobody saw her,” the captain says, looking shaken. “I swear to you, Don Serafino, we were careful. Nobody was asleep at their posts.”

“You were watching for intruders, not for a girl escaping in the night.”

He hangs his head in shame. “It’s still no excuse.”

“Make up for it then. Help me find her.”

The men scour the nearest fields until one of them finds a trail. The tracks are old and difficult to follow, but once we start moving I know exactly where she went.

The swimming hole, the wood shed, and the path out toward the road.

The sun’s fully up by the time I stand at the edge of the blacktop staring down at the ground.

“Who would have picked her up?” I ask quietly. My guards don’t answer. I think they’re afraid to speak to me, and with good reason. My beloved wife ran away.