my arms. “Adelita, was it?” Adelita nodded her head. Phebe sighed, then said, “What Sia said is true. I know this . . .” She closed her eyes and took a minute. When they opened again, she said, “Because I was taken too.” I heard a grunt behind me. AK was there in the doorway with Vike. AK’s expression was severe as he listened to his old lady speak. “I was taken from the commune I used live in to one of the camps. I was taken by the camp’s leader. The camps were run by the Klan Tanner used to belong to.” Phebe glanced at me almost apologetically. But I didn’t care. Whatever it took to convince Adelita. I knew mentioning my old Klan would help. I’d told her this was the deal made by our fathers, but I imagined it was different hearing it from a survivor’s mouth than from mine. “It was a holding camp. We were there until we were moved to Mexico, where Quintana’s men would seize control of the girls and do with them whatever they wished.”
“No,” Adelita protested, head shaking. But her voice was nothing more than a whisper. It shook, and I knew she believed what Sia and Phebe were telling her.
My grip on her arms loosened and I started running my thumb back and forth over her bare skin. It was gonna be hard for Adelita to hear. And even harder for her to cope with. “You must be mistaken,” she said and glanced back to me. I saw the fear circling in her dark eyes. “My father . . . he is not a bad man. Not in this way. He wouldn’t do this.” Her voice caught. But like the perfect cartel princess she was, she tilted her chin and added, “I am not taking your experience from you. Your truth. But I am sure you’re mistaken as to who ran this operation.” Adelita brushed her hair from her face. “There are many cartels in Mexico. The Quintana cartel is not built on the victimhood of abused women.”
“We’re not wrong, sweetie,” Sia disagreed and tried to give Adelita a small sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. But it was all run by the Quintana family.” She went to stroke Adelita’s arm, but pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Garcia . . . I was his girlfriend. I wasn’t his slave. He told me things . . . He worked for your father. He spoke of you to me on occasion.” She looked sad. “And I accidentally ended up in one of the camps. I saw one of those hellholes with my own two eyes, darlin’. It’s all true.”
“No,” Adelita argued again. “I can’t believe it. I won’t! My father wouldn’t be involved in something like this. He mustn’t know. Someone must be doing it under his nose. Using his name to get ahead.”
“Princess,” I said, impatiently, “They are responsible for this. Our fathers are in this together. I sure as fuck know my old man is capable of this. More than, in fact.”
“My father can’t be.” I heard her voice break. She was freezing in my arms. “I don’t care what anyone says . . . I won’t believe it’s true.”
Silence grew thick in the room, until, “Is . . . is his name Al . . . Alfonso?” A small, whispered voice reached us from the back of the room. Adelita tensed. Phebe looked behind her. At Saffie. Lilah was holding Saffie’s hand, shock on her face, I guessed from the fact she’d spoken. Never saw much of the red-headed kid. But every time I did, she looked like she didn’t know what good looked like. Fuck, from what I knew of her, she hadn’t had anything good happen to her until she came here. Kid had been to Hades and back, and returned a fucking walking shadow.
Saffie came to stand beside Phebe, nervous eyes darting all around the room. I heard a creak from behind me. When I looked back, Lil’ Ash was beside AK, his eyes fixed on the timid kid. He was rocking from side to side like he was gonna take her from the room if given half a chance, just to get her out from all these people. AK kept his hand on Ash’s shoulder, keeping the prospect in place.
Phebe wrapped her arm around her daughter. Saffie looked at Adelita with huge, tortured eyes. “Is . . . his name . . .