Page 10 of Bound By A Promise

I shook my head and let out a long breath.

She continued, “The Roríguez cartel wouldn’t come into being for nearly another decade.”

I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought more about the time when my parents were young. “Did you choose Papá?”

“Your grandfather did.” She turned my way with wide eyes. “I was blessed. Andrés is a good man. I could have done much worse.”

“Even in the Ruiz family,” I said with a bit of snideness in my comment.

Mama’s eyes narrowed. “We don’t talk about family matters. You know that.”

“Uncle Nicolas is good, but Uncle Gerardo?—”

“Ximena,” Mama interrupted, “was a good soul. Things will improve for Liliana.”

Aunt Ximena passed away about a year ago, and while I never remember her being outwardly unhappy, Uncle Gerardo’s new wife, Liliana, is…well, turning into a shell of her former self. We’re all worried.

I leaned back against the seat, seeing my mother in a whole new light. “How old were you when Papá was shot?”

Mama hummed as her eyelids fluttered. “I was seventeen when your father and I were married. This would have been about six months after that. I’d only recently learned I was pregnant.”

“Seventeen,” I repeated, “pregnant and the husband you barely knew was shot?”

“I was probably eighteen by then.” She shook her head. “I was so scared. We had our whole lives to live, and our family hadn’t even started. There was upheaval in the Cruz organization. This time…” She turned to me. “Last night was different. I’ve had my chance at life. All I could think about was you. I was so frightened for you, and then…”

“Luis?”

A rogue tear slid down Mama’s cheek. “After Alfonso was killed, Andrés was very careful in who he hired to protect his family. When Luis came to us, he was a little older than your father. In all those years, he was always professional.” Her smilereturned. “And he loved you children.” She tipped her chin toward the front of the plane. “As does Miguel.”

I glanced up, seeing him staring in our direction.

“I’m so sorry about Luis.”

“I didn’t see Alfonso die. With all the death around us, until today, I’ve never seen it like that, where a strong and vital being is ripped from this world.” She turned her hand and intertwined our fingers. “It’s not something that anyone should see. I hope that you and Catalina can be spared that sight.”

She didn’t mention Em because he was born in the blood and death of the cartel. Seeing death was something Mama couldn’t spare Em.

“You tried to save him.” It wasn’t a question. She’d told me, and I’d seen the blood.

“It was fruitless. I saw a red dot on his shirt. I keep thinking that if I would have said something, but I wasn’t thinking straight. By the time I realized what it was, the shot rang out. He crumpled right next to me. I tried CPR.” Her chin tipped down. “I was pushing. There was so much blood.”

My stomach turned as I recalled the pool of blood near the broken glass doors. By the time they helped me from the sauna, Luis’s body was gone. All the bodies were removed. Em said three Russians were also killed, yet I didn’t see any of them.

“You did all you could,” I reassured.

She lifted her face toward me. “I hope Luis knew how much he meant to our family.”

Memories of Luis’s service throughout my life came to mind. While Miguel was the one who spent the most time with us as children, Luis was often around. Like many men in the organization, he wasn’t outwardly jovial. Catalina and I would try to make him laugh. We rarely succeeded, but we took a simple smile as a win. “I think he knew.” I squeezed her hand. “And now we get to spend some time with Cat.”

Mama nodded with a tired smile. “I’m grateful to Dario for allowing us to visit.”

“I’m sure Cat had something to do with it.”

“Camila, don’t fool yourself into believing that our world is a place where you’ll ever fully be allowed to make your own decisions.”

The small hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention as I pulled my hand away. “Cat isn’t inourworld any longer.”

Mama scoffed. “She will always be cartel.” Her expression sobered. “I’m afraid that the world where she is now is darker. Her husband rules that world,allof it.”