sorts of things. Mama didn’t know half of those clowns who thought they were important because she was living with daddy. Then she got pregnant.” She paused and closed her eyes again. “Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if she hadn’t had a miscarriage and lost that baby.” “ Huh?” Stunned, he stared at his mother. Miscarriage ? What the hell happened? “ Daddy said she was devastated when she lost their son. It was nobody’s fault, according to the doctor it just happened.” “ That’s possible, right?” He didn’t want to believe that someone messed over a relative of his, even if she was long gone. She nodded. “According to daddy they were in bed together when she started bleeding. After that daddy claimed she changed. Stopped going out with him, became more reserved.” Not knowing what to say, he squeezed her hand. “ Anyway, he finally convinced her to marry him when she was pregnant with me the following year. She was determined that nothing would happen to me. Daddy said she was super careful, wouldn’t let him touch her.” His mom’s smirk offered a clue how her dad felt about that. Curious, he nodded hoping she would continue the story. “ After I was born, mama didn’t want her family coming around and asked daddy to keep them from us.” “ Us? You and her?” She nodded. “Yeah. Daddy had taken over the Cartel by then and he refused to give them anything else. So they started asking mama for money and favors. That pissed daddy off so he took out two of mama’s cousins, said they were being disrespectful.” “ I see that.” He knew he would’ve done the same thing. She chuckled as she leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “Yeah, I told you the two of you were alike.” “ Yeah, you did.” He leaned back in the chair next to her and took her hand. For a moment they sat in silence. “ They killed her.” The soft spoken words were amplified by the quiet of the room. Although he had suspected that’s what happened he had hoped he was wrong. His throat tightened at the pain in her voice. “How old were you?” “ Six. I had six years with her. She’d gotten pregnant twice after me and lost both. The doctor’s told daddy it was dangerous for her to keep trying. So he stopped.” Julio stilled at the implication. He had a strong sex-drive and couldn’t imagine living without it. “He cheated on her.” It was a statement. She nodded. “I didn’t find out until I got pregnant with you. But according to daddy, she found out and was devastated. She wanted to leave him. They argued about it and he promised to stop.” “ Did he?” She shrugged. “He said he did. For a while at least. But she never fully forgave him. She kept trying to leave. Once she made it past the gate before he discovered we were missing. She told me we were going for a walk. I remember being pushed to the ground as bullets flew by my head.” She turned toward him, her eyes like lasers. “That’s when I discovered what being daddy’s daughter meant. Families weren’t safe. Mama screamed and kicked as security threw us into a car and took us back to the house. Daddy ran down the stairs, picked me up and carried me into the house. I remember mama crying in the background, but I was so glad to be safe with my daddy again that I just snuggled closer to him. They argued all the time. Once daddy slapped her and she spit on him.” She sighed. “It was a hard time. I never went for walks with her again. Daddy hired me a nanny and we spent most of our time together. Mama would come and sit with me sometimes but she never took me anywhere again.” The sadness in her voice made his heart ache for her. He threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “ Umm, you smell good,” she said as she inhaled. “ It’s that cologne you bought me for my birthday.” He grinned looking at her upturned face as she sniffed him over like a hound. “ I know. I love