Chapter 61 Brother's Duty

• (POV: Quino)
• A sudden crack split the sky, shattering every bit of quiet inside me. Weeks gone by like smoke, acting a part - smiling when told, bowing my head just right, folding myself smaller each day to fit into this bargain with Mateo Castillo. Papa said it was necessary. Maybe it was, if we wanted to stay alive. But now, with bullets flying and everything falling apart, all that pretending meant nothing. But this? Open war erupting during the ceremony? Emilio had finally lost his damn mind.
• My men, Montoya loyalists, reacted instantly. They were good men, seasoned, but the shock of an attack inside the fortified hall was plain on their faces. I saw Mateo shove Isabela down behind the altar, his own body a shield. Possessive bastard. But right now, his possessiveness was probably the only thing keeping my sister alive.