Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“Jesus Christ.” I shivered and turned my view back to the congregation of artists.
One was a Black woman with streaks of yellow paint adorning her right cheek as if they were intentional marks of war paint. Her braids were pulled back into a messy bun that contained every shade of the rainbow.
Her canvas was alive with the image of Jackson Square, the iconic St. Louis Cathedral rising majestically against a backdrop of a sunset that bled purples, oranges, and pinks into the sky.
The way she captured the light reflecting off the ancient bricks made the scene pulse with an almost ethereal energy.
I swallowed and looked back at Kaz. “The Colombians are killing and exploiting helpless migrants and it’s fucked up.”
Instead of responding, Kaz kissed Emilio again, walked him back to the front of the stroller, and gently laid him down.
“Our son could have been born in Haiti or some other country in a messed-up situation.” Rage rose within me. “Who is looking out for the people that have no one and nothing?”
Kaz widened his smile and spoke to Emilio, “Do you hear that, little cub. I am about to marry Captain America.”
Against my better judgement, I smirked.
Barely six feet to our right, Max stopped Paolo by another artist and admired the man’s work.
Harlem chose that moment to piss on the street.
I checked out that artist. He was an older gentleman, whose beard was as white as the clouds above. He sat there, painting the vibrant life of Bourbon Street. His canvas was a riot of color, capturing the blur of people as they meandered down the famous street.
Calm washed over me.
Max probably felt the same way I did because he gave Paolo a few dollars.
Beyond excited, Paolo skipped over to the artist’s tip jar, dropped the money in, and then clapped for himself.
The artist gave Paolo a toothless grin and a deep voice left him. “Much thanks, young sir!”
Paolo ran back to Max and giggled.
Kaz got behind the stroller and began pushing it.
I strolled beside him. “Kaz, you can’t say it’s on me. You must give me direction.”
“You know me, mysh. What do you think I would do?”
Explosions detonated in my head.
I sighed. “I have a feeling that you would kill everyone.”
A dark chuckle left him. “You would fight the Colombians due to the migrants. I would fight them for the audacity of them thinking that I would ever need to solve their heart dilemma.”
I let out another long breath. “But, the kids are here.”
“They are.” Kaz nodded and guided us further into the Quarter.
“More men are on the way?”
“Tisha’s men and mine.”
“But that’s not enough to go after the Mexicans, they have way more people than us.”
“Unless we get rid of their leader in prison.”
I glanced at him. “What?”
“That is an option.”
“Killing their leader will piss them off, but. . .could we free this El Cazador?”
“From a US prison?” Kaz shrugged like I was asking him to get eggs from the store. “Yes. But it would not be a legal release. We could have our people go in and break him out. He would be on the run for the rest of his life, yet that would be nothing new to him.”
“Freedom is freedom.”
Kaz nodded again.
“We do that, then the Mexicans are out of the situation. They don’t care about the bankster’s heart. They just want their leader.”
On my left, two young dancers tapped their feet to an upbeat rhythm that echoed off the old stone and brick buildings.
Paolo dropped dollars in their jars, and they tipped their hats to him.
He giggled some more and rushed back to Max.
We continued.
I thought about our current situation. “Alright. We get the Mexicans out of this conflict, and now we have the nasty ass organ harvesting cartel—”
“The one that Delphine probably wants us to destroy.”
“I’m not hating her on that.”
“Yes, but I do not enjoy being pulled along like a puppet.”
“Would you have handled it, if she asked?”
“She would have had to heal you first.”
“So, she probably figures that out and has you get something from the Alligator Don while this heart is there.” My nerves flared. “Do you think she could have timed it all that well?”
“I think that Delphine is a prominent chess player with many tricks under her sleeve.”
“Did she even need the Eye?”
Kaz frowned. “I will be sure to find out next time we see her.”
I stiffened. “Don’t start shit with her, baby.”
My attention was suddenly captured by a man standing on the corner of Royal and St. Ann. He was dressed in a costume straight out of a gothic novel, complete with a top hat adorned with feathers and a cloak that fluttered in the breeze.
“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!” His voice boomed across the bustling street. “Join us tonight for an adventure into the heart of the French Quarter’s most haunted secrets. Ghosts, ghouls, and shadows of the past await you!”