“I’ve grown up with this lifestyle,” Manny continues. “I’m used to it. It’s all I know. Everyone in the family is expected to have a certain role, whether it be to kill those who wrong the family, or become a lawyer on my father’s team. Me, I had the desire to kill. I remember one time going out hunting with my dad and a couple of his buddies when I was ten years old. My first hunt and my first kill. I was so fucking happy, I couldn’t stop talking about it for days, like how good it felt, and asking when we could do it again. It worried the hell out of my mother so much so that every time dad and I would go out hunting, she would nearly have a nervous breakdown. That’s why she sent me here to live closer to you all.”

“Really? You came here by yourself?”

Manny shrugs.

“I lived by myself during the week. And every weekend my mom or my dad, or sometimes both, would come.”

“My God, you were only sixteen years old! How did they get away with letting you live by yourself?”

He gives me this, ‘Seriously? We can do anything we want’ look.

“And, I wasn’t alone,” he adds. “I knew who you were, and I knew about Cain, too. That’s why I made it a point to be friends with you right away. Plus, I had Aunt Cecily checking in on me every day, not to mention your dad. Jesus, that’s one scary man.”

I scoff at his remark about my dad. He’s never been a scary man to me. Not until earlier today, anyway.

“What did he do, beat your ass when you stepped out of line? Catch you in bed with all those sluts you used to bag in school?”

We both laugh. Manny was the new guy in school. Tall, dark, and mysteriously handsome, he climbed his way into just about every girl’s pants in the entire school.

“Nah. He didn’t give a shit about that kind of stuff. He just said he’d take me to the spot where he burns and then dumps the remains of his victims if I ever knocked any of them up. He was serious, too. I think that was his way of telling me it takes a special type of person to be able to take someone else’s life. You know what I mean? Here’s the thing, though. That’s not what my parents wanted me to do. They didn’t want me to be a hitman for the family; they wanted me to be a protector, one that kept an eye out for you and kept you safe. We have lots of enemies. People who want to take us out and destroy us. People who know what your father does. All families protect the ones they love the most. So I trained. I trained to be a killer. Not an assassin like your dad. Instead, someone who’s not afraid to kill someone if they attempt to hurt someone we love. My first assignment after your dad trained me was you.”

I do know what he means. I don’t think I could ever kill anyone, but I don’t have a problem with beating the shit out of someone if they deserve it, just like I did with that damn whore Emerald last night. But to actually take someone’s life? I don’t think I could do it.

Something Manny just said doesn’t add up, though. I look at him questioningly.

“Wait. You said you didn’t start looking out for me until a couple of years ago.”

“That’s true. I didn’t.”

“Well then, who did? There’s no way in hell I was left out in the open on my own if this family has enemies.”

“Your mom did.”

“My mom?” I laugh. “She wouldn’t hurt a damn fly.”

“Oh, Calla. There is still so much for your pretty little head to learn. Your mom was an assassin, too.”

I choke on the last piece of toast I just stuffed in my mouth, dumbfounded.

“What?” I shriek.

“I’m not even touching that subject. You talk to your parents about that.”

“Jesus God almighty. I don’t know any of you at all, do I?”

“Yes, you do. You know the real us. The ones that love you.”

I look away, trying in vain to digest this latest piece of information. After my shower, I stared at my reflection in the mirror and searched deep into my soul. I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was, and a lot more like the rest of this family, if I can handle the things I have learned today.

I notice something furtive about the way Manny’s eyes skate over mine. He’s hiding something. Something big. Something he thinks I should know about. He’s envisioning my reaction to whatever he has going on inside of his head. I decide to let him tell me when he is ready.

There is one more question I want to ask. He remarked earlier that everyone is expected to do something for the family. Have my parents deceived me? Do they want me to be a mob lawyer? Was that my intended destiny all along?

I don’t have the chance to ask; we both hear yelling coming from outside. Manny quickly draws a gun from behind his back and peeks out the front window.

“What in the shit? My dad’s here, and so are your parents. Shh.”

He places his finger over his mouth to tell me to be quiet when he gently opens the door. We make our way onto the porch without anyone noticing us. Manny tucks his gun into the back of his pants. We stand there listening to them talk about Kryder and whether or not he has been found.

Manny and I exchange a knowing glance. This is the best news we’ve heard all day. That is, until I hear Cain start to yell when my dad drags a man out of the back of the car. A man Cain punches and manhandles. A man now on the ground begging for his life.

And then I hear a name. Every time I hear that name, think about that name, I see red—the bright color of blood. Heated waves of violence take over my body.

Emerald.

I move, my flip-flops slapping against the gravel roughly. I move until I’m standing next to Cain. Everyone’s eyes are on me. Watching, waiting to see what I will do.

I bend down to eye level with this scum of a man.

“You know what? I don’t think you’ll be around to see what I’m going to do to your daughter,” I hiss. “I do believe my father has plans for you.”

“Fuck you, you little bitch. None of this would even be happening if it wasn’t for you. You all have to find her first, and my little girl has been fucking all of you over left and right for years. Right under your noses. And all the while fucking your man,” he sneers at me.

“Watch it, fuckwad. That’s my daughter you’re talking to. I’d hate to blow your brains out right here.”

“That’s okay, Dad. I can handle it. You see, I get why you’re trying to save your daughter’s life. I really do. You love her, just like any parent should love their child. Just like my dad loves me.”

I lift my gaze from this piece of shit and give my dad a loving look. His eyes turn soft and he nods in understanding. Yet I see a warning look in there, too. One that’s telling me to say what I have to say and be done with it.

“But the thing is... and I would listen very closely if I were you... my father’s love outweighs the love you must have for your daughter. My father will always protect me, just like you’re trying to do for your daughter now. But the difference between you and my dad is, he never loses. Your daughter, on the other hand, lied, deceived, and obviously helped a man who wanted me dead. That doesn’t sit well with me and my family. So while my dad is doing his thing to you, I want you to be thinking about the fact that I’ll be doing the exact same thing to your daughter. Your daughter who was fucking my man, along with many others, I’m sure.”

Then I stand. I’ve wasted enough words on this man.

“You’ll rot in hell, bitch!”

“Probably. But just like my husband said... you and your daughter will beat me there first.”

***

“Please tell me you didn’t grow a pair of balls. I love your pussy way too much, baby,” Cain rasps in my ear.

“Very funny,” I retort.

We all stood there watching as my dad bore his fist into Monty’s face, finally shutting him up, before shoving him into his car and taking off with another man in the passenger seat to places I don’t even want to think about.