Page 79 of No Sweeter Poison

A collective murmur of acknowledgement ripples across the room, some nodding, others vocalizing their yes. I don’t wait for them to greet me as they leave or kiss my hand as a sign of respect. As soon as the seal is broken, Diego heads for the door and I follow, the two of us walking out together.

Lettie meets us outside and we fall into step together, me in the middle, with my brother and sister at my side.

“We may have a problem.”

“Aside from the fact that I just made eleven other families our enemy?”

Lettie’s eyes widen, momentarily distracted from whatever news she was about to share. “What happened?”

“He did the right thing,” Diego reaffirms then turns to me. “They tried to kill Alejandro twice in one summer. That couldn’t go unaddressed.”

A dozen different emotions flicker across our little sister’s face. In the end, she settles for understanding. “Someone will have to answer for it.”

“Not yet,” I say. “Right now, the obvious ones are Lopez and Sandro. This could go one of two ways. They team up and we’re able to squash the threat immediately. Or—”

“Or they garner the support of a few other families and it turns into an all-out war,” Lettie replies.

“All it takes is one. If one is bold enough to stand on their own, others will follow.”

“Could the city fall?” Diego asks.

Both Diego and Lettie look at each other. We turn the next corner and approach the Fitzgerald Room.

“I’ll obliterate eleven other families before letting that happen.”

ONE MISTAKE TOO MANY

Alejandro

“A lejandro?”

I stop dead in my tracks.

Lettie spins around so quickly she almost loses her balance. Her eyes widen and her lips part as shock ripples across her features. Regina approaches, and Lettie’s back stiffens, one hand extending toward me in a way that’s both protective and territorial. She was a kid when everything went down with Regina but Lettie never forgets.

Ever.

“Can I speak with you? Alone?”

“No,” Lettie answers for me instead.

Regina pulls her gaze away from me, settling on Lettie with cool indifference. “Leticia, it’s so good to see you. I can’t believe how…how grown-up you are now.”

“Regina, I can’t believe how completely charmless and without social etiquette you still are.” My sister primly folds her hands in front of her. “It’s impolite to eavesdrop on private conversations.”

If I didn’t know any better, I might be fooled into thinking Regina almost smiles. “Your brother and I have something to discuss.”

“Unfortunately, my brother is indisposed. Why don’t you have your people call our people and we’ll try to squeeze you in for an appointment next summer?”

I chuckle softly.

Regina addresses me this time. “She’s such a smartass. Wonder where she got that from?”

“She learned from the best.” I brush back the hair from Lettie’s face and give her cheek an affectionate pinch. “Go with Diego. Make sure everyone’s ready to go when I’m done.”

Diego takes our sister before she can protest. Regina takes a step back, as if to find a private room to slip into, but I remain rooted in place. She catches on and turns to face me, emotions indecipherable. “Here? Out in the open?”

“I can’t imagine there’s anything so important between us that it’d need to be shared behind closed doors.”