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“Right. And I’m not asking for acceptance, just that you can understand why I’ve done this. You should get it. You went after that jerk for doing something to someone you cared about. Imagine what you’d do if that guy killed your brother?”
“I get the concept of revenge, Mariana.”
“HELP!!!” A piercing scream rips around the cabin, and I clench my jaw.
“Ignore her,” I say, but I can see he’s uncomfortable. “I don’t know who she thinks is going to help her.” I brush it off, but there’s a loud thud from the room.
We both look at each other. What the hell is that bitch up to? I unbuckle my lap belt and go to the bedroom. Banging on it with my fist, I yell back. “What the fuck are you doing in there?”
There’s no answer, so I wait, but it goes silent. A moment of concern seeps into my mind, but the image of Elias’ coffin being lowered into the ground banishes it.
“What’s the plan when we get back?” Kai asks, bringing me back.
“We need a little family meeting. I’ll get them all there, and then they can decide what to do with her.” I turn and bang on the door again. “You hear that? You’ll have my brothers to answer to soon enough.”
I come back and sit down. “Will you help me deliver her? Set this right?”
“Do I have a choice?” he asks.
“Of course, you do. I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you.” I reach out for his hand and squeeze it.
~
The rest of the flight is uneventful, but I feel on edge and can see Kai is the same. I'm hoping it’s because of his fear of flying. Maybe wishful thinking.
I’ve texted everyone to meet me in two hours to discuss a family matter. That should give us enough time to land and drive to the warehouse. Nobody has come back with a question as to why. Typically, when you need backup, support, or are in trouble, they all drop everything for you. We all do. I hope they still see it like that when we arrive.
We land, and I’m impatient to get moving, but Kai comes to play bouncer when I go up to get the door. I nod, and we unlock it quickly, expecting Naja to try something, perhaps. She’s sitting on the bed, though, calm and collected. Her ties are loose, and the room’s been ransacked. I shake my head.
“Check her,” I tell Kai. He gives me a look but moves into the room, takes her arms, pats them down, and opens her hands, but there’s nothing she could use as a knife. “I see you’ve come around to our way of thinking, then.”
Kai stands her up and pushes her towards me. She’s still barefoot after I stripped her boots and socks, but she walks towards me.
“Why?” she asks. Her eyes are clear of any sadness, and I can see the resolve harden behind them.
“You’re our property. I don’t need more of a reason.” But I know there’s a deeper question in what she’s asked.
Suddenly, her stance shifts, and I feel her hand smack across my cheek. It explodes with a fiery sting. I step back, and Kai’s already pulled her arms back into his hold.
I flick my hair back and look at her. Feisty. “Carmen didn’t manage to break that defiance, I see.”
“And she never will,” Naja spits back at me.
I let the words hang in the air. I know what Carman does, and most of the time, it works. “We’ll see.”
It’s my turn now. I wrap my thumb around my fingers as I pull them into a fist and strike out right over her cheekbone. My knuckles connect and send her face in the other direction. She doesn’t scream or shout, she just takes it.
“Mariana!”
I shrug at Kai. “Come on. Time to go.”
It’s not the back of the car this time, but the trunk we shove Naja into. Maybe her reality is starting to sink in as she seems more cooperative. Kai follows on his bike, but the conversation I want to have with him swirls in my mind as we drive across town. I showed him all of me, told him my secrets, but didn’t tell him the details of our family. That’s all clear for him now. And I’m hoping it’s not too much for him to take.
Another strand of guilt begins to fester as I run through the different excuses and reasoning in my mind. But I can’t fix anything yet. I have to deal with my brothers first.
We’re running late, which is only a good thing. It means everybody is here and I can see that from the cars lined up in the lot. Kai pulls up next to me and kills the engine of his bike.
He helps drag her from the trunk, and I tuck my arm into hers and walk her in, pulling and dragging her along with me. My guess is they’ll be in the office, so we head there first, but as I draw closer, my heart rate spikes, and my nerves take over.
