every note, every dream to shelter and clothe and keep food on the table for his child. To attain money in any way he could, whether by theft or by making it honestly. His only alternative: die trying.
And for a moment, it seemed that even the neighbors quieted to hear it. The entire complex. All of the East End.
When Selina glanced back to her sister, Maggie was staring at her, mouth closed. Eyes bright with tears.
And it was the understanding on her sister’s face, the way Maggie’s damp eyes flicked to the bruises on Selina’s own…
Selina made herself stay seated for another minute. Two. Five. Ten.
Maggie went back to watching the movie. The neighbors went back to screaming and cursing.
Then Selina casually rose, gently setting Maggie’s blanket-wrapped feet on the couch before padding for the bathroom. She wondered if her sister saw her scoop up her phone.
Selina shut the bathroom door and ran the sink faucet on full blast.
She managed to close the lid on the toilet, at least, before she slumped onto it and covered her face with both hands, breathing hard between her fingers. The room pushed in, and she couldn’t get air down fast enough, deep enough—
Her hand slid to her chest, as if she’d somehow will her lungs to open up—her lungs, and Maggie’s lungs, wrecked and failing. There are countless other desperate patients waiting for lung transplants, the doctor had said this afternoon. I would not count on it as an option.
Unless you were rich enough to buy your way up that list. Or to buy yourself a pair on the black market.
Selina took gulping mouthfuls of air, hands shaking so badly she lowered them to her knees, gripping tight. They were fighting for twenty years at best. At worst…
The rate at which the disease has progressed and Maggie’s resistance to the drugs are cause for concern, the doctor had gone on, speaking more to his flock of interns than to them.
Maggie hadn’t asked him if she could be in the musical. Her sister had known. She’d known that this thing that made her come alive with joy, that gave her whatever slim shred of hope. It didn’t matter how many fights Selina fought for her. How many stores she looted with the Leopards. The blood and the bruises and the cracked ribs could not buy her sister a new set of lungs or a cure for this disease or a chance to stand on that school stage and belt her heart out.
Sobs threatened, shuddering beneath each breath.
Selina covered her face again, as if she could hide it—the tears that rose up within her like a tidal wave, that she pushed back and back and back.
Hands trembling, she grabbed the phone off the narrow sink counter, fingers shaking so wildly she could barely text Mika: I need another fight. ASAP.
Mika replied a few minutes later, If you need cash, I’ve got you covered.
Tempting, but too many complications. She wouldn’t be able to repay Mika. And though she trusted her Alpha, this was the East End. Everyone needed cash, and Mika might be ruthless in getting it returned to her.
Fights are fine. Then, after a heartbeat, But thank you.
Mika’s response came instantly: Anything I should be concerned about?
Not because she cared, but because if it was something that threatened the Leopards, she needed to know.
Just personal shit.
Whether the Leopards knew her sister was sick, she wasn’t sure. She had never told them, and Mika wasn’t the type to ask.
Mika replied, You healed enough from last night to do it?
No. Yes.
Selina blew out a breath, tears sinking back into her. Shutting off the faucet, she listened. The musical continued on—along with the neighbors’ fighting.
She could steal the money, of course. Had done it in the past with the Leopards. Even enjoyed the puzzle that some burglaries offered: how to break inside a place, how to ease past the guards or security systems, how to avoid leaving a trace. But to go it alone…She hadn’t done that yet. Wouldn’t risk jail, not with fighting as a relatively safer option.
Mika only said, I’ll ask Falcone.
Selina flipped her phone shut and flushed the toilet. Mercifully, her hands had stopped shaking by the time she emerged into the living room, where her sister was still bundled on the couch.
Maggie picked up the remote and paused the movie. Looking Selina over with eyes that missed nothing, not even the cell phone clenched in Selina’s hand, Maggie asked quietly, “Can’t