deep breath as we approached the door. Beauty must have realized I was nervous. She held me back and let Maddie and Mae enter first. I heard the other women speaking quiet words of excitement.
Beauty moved before me. “Has Tanner told you much about most of the women in that room?”
“Some.”
“Did he tell you that Mae, Li, Grace, Madds, Bella, Phebe, and Saffie were cult girls? Like, a batshit crazy religious cult that abused them for years until the Hangmen brought those assholes down.”
Tanner had told me. And he had told me how his father was responsible for funding the cult among other shady deals. He hadn’t known. It was another deal made by his father without Tanner being involved.
“I know some.”
Beauty nodded. “Sia is Ky’s sister, and she’s with both Cowboy and Hush.” Tanner had told me that too. “Letti’s one of my best friends, but the bitch is a fucking psycho and likes to kill just as much as the men in that bar.” I swallowed, my nerves worse than ever. “My point , darlin’, is that no one is judging you for having a creep as an old man.” Although her words were meant to offer comfort, they were veritable bullets to my heart. Because she was right. My father . . . he was an abuser. “Girl, pull up those cartel-princess panties and come make some new friends. None of us are fucking normal in this club; think of us as one weird, dysfunctional family.”
Laughing, I let Beauty lead me into the room. The minute she shut the door, all eyes were on us. Beauty didn’t let the silence reign for long. “Y’all remember Adelita?”
Mae smiled at me as she fed Charon on the couch. The other women nodded. Most smiled and waved. But my eyes found the small redhead who had haunted my dreams over the past several days. Her eyes were on me as she leaned into her mother’s side. “Hello,” I said to the group.
Beauty took hold of my hand. “Let me introduce you properly this time.” She took me around the room, and I shook hands with each one. And like Beauty said, each was kind and gracious. When I sat down, it was beside Sia.
“Hey, you’re a crime-world brat too!” She laughed at my stunned reaction. “I’m Ky’s sister, so I know what it’s like to have an old man in this life. Although he didn’t have much to do with me. Asshole.”
“Then yes,” I said, “I’m a crime-world brat too.”
Sia clinked her glass with mine. As the wine filled my stomach, I felt myself relax.
“Tell us, Mae,” Beauty asked, “Did labor hurt like a bitch?”
Mae laughed. “Yes.”
When Lilah made a small terrified sound, Beauty grimaced. “Sorry, Li.” Lilah smiled nervously and rubbed her round stomach.
“But worth it,” Mae said, just as Charon stopped feeding and fell asleep in her arms. A pang of envy pulled in my chest as I watched Mae with her son.
Conversation carried on around me. Saffie got to her feet to go to the attached bathroom. Seeing Phebe go to the kitchenette in the room to make herself a drink, I got up and went over to where she was standing.
“Adelita?” Phebe said.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, the devastation in my heart leaking into the tone of my voice. I shook my head, fighting back the embarrassed tears that were threatening to fall. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what he was doing. If I did, I would have stopped him . . . somehow . . . I would have made . . . she would have been safe, I—”
Phebe’s hand came down to rest on mine. Her touch stopped my words. I stared down at her hand on mine. Her pale skin, and lightly painted nails. When I looked into her eyes, I saw sympathy in her gaze . . . and I realized it was sympathy for me. “My father touched me as a child.” Phebe looked across the room at Lilah. A tragic kind of smile pulled on her lips. “Lilah is my sister. Did you know that?” I nodded. Tanner had told me so. “He hurt her too. Sent her away and into the arms of monsters—devils disguised as saintly men.” Phebe let go of the mug she was holding and took hold of both of my hands. “We are not our fathers, Adelita.” I felt my heart crack. “None of us are our family members, friends, or torturers. We each