driver had stayed by the main door. When I faced Luis, my only true friend left here in Mexico, from childhood, I let my eyes fill with water and held up my hand, showing the ring. Luis’s eyes fell in sympathy, and his face paled somewhat. “Adelita,” he whispered. I shook my head. Luis was the one person I could let my guard down with. The only one who truly knew the real me, and . . .
“Tanner,” I whispered, and my voice caught on a pained breath. “Luis . . . what about Tanner?”
Luis rushed over to me and took me in his arms. I cried into his shoulder, hearing him lock the door behind us. Luis let me cry until my legs felt weak and all the energy had drained from my body.
Luis and I sat on his small couch. He held my hand, just like he had done, years ago, when I’d fallen for the prince of the Ku Klux Klan . . . when Tanner had had to leave me . . . and in the months, then years, when I didn’t hear from him. When he didn’t return.
“Diego was always determined,” Luis eventually said. He sighed and faced me. I knew my face would look tired and worn. Luis squeezed my hand tighter. “When?”
“Three weeks,” I said, my voice broken with sadness. I laughed without humor. “I’m sure you’ll be told come morning.” Luis was the priest my family used—the entire cartel used. My father had helped him achieve his goal of becoming a priest—of course, having someone loyal and connected to the family worked in our favor. But Luis was also my friend. And the only person who knew about Tanner and me. I had told him in confession.
Luis nodded. “And you still haven’t heard from Tanner?”
“No.”
Luis ran his hand over his face. “I . . . I don’t know how to stop this for you, Lita. I have no idea how to make this go away.”
“Refuse,” I said, joking, but wishing it could be true. “Refuse to marry us.”
He leaned against me. “I wish I could.”
“I love him,” I said. The only other sound in the room besides our breathing was the small clock on the wall. “I still love him, Luis. So damn much.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I wish I could stop, but I don’t know how.” My vision blurred with tears. “I just wish I could see him. I wish I could talk to him. Hold his hand . . . see what he looks like now.” I smiled. “If he has more tattoos. If he has grown out his hair.” My chest ached with the pain of his absence. “If he looks older . . . if he still rarely smiles . . .”
“Lita—”
“I know it’s futile, Luis. I know I am to marry Diego. And I know the life I am bound to.” I faced Luis. “I just needed to speak to someone who knows about us.” I glanced at the seat beside me. And I could see the ghost of Tanner beside me, his hand holding mine. He was so clear to me he could have been sitting here with me only yesterday. Memories faded over time, yet my memories of Tanner never did. They were vibrant and rich in color. Just as alive as he was to my heart.
“It was always a doomed love, Lita,” Luis said. I knew he wasn’t being harsh. It was true. “The heir of the Ku Klux Klan and the Quintana cartel princesa. In every way possible you were not meant to fall in love.”
“I fell in love with his soul, Luis. Not his skin color or the family he was raised in. And he fell for mine.” I exhaled a long breath. “In a perfect world, we would be together.”
“Lita, you and I know that this life, the life we belong to . . . it is far from perfect. The world he is from . . .” Luis paused, seemingly struggling for words. “I mean, he didn’t like you at first, simply because you’re Mexican. Strongly disliked you, Adelita.”
“I know.” It was true. But hate eventually turned to love.
“It’s been over two years, Lita . . .” Luis’s voice drifted to nothing in the stale room. “He hasn’t returned—”
“It’s not safe,” I tried to argue, but I felt the seeds of doubt start to plant in my stomach.
“No word, Lita. The Klan and your family are still as