I am going to be a mother.

How am I supposed to tell Santi that we're having a baby? We haven't even been dating that long. Will he be happy or upset by the news? So many questions, so many doubts but one thing's for sure...I'm having this baby with or without him. I want to keep my child.

"Gabbs, are you okay?" I looked up to the sound of Nessa's voice. We were all still locked in my bathroom. I was glad to have them here with me, they understood my worries better than anyone else, they were women but above all else they were the only people I could trust to keep this secret quiet.

Well, at least till' I found the right time to tell Santiago.

"I'm still in shock, that's all." I answered my friend. "I wasn't prepared for this. A baby will change my life forever...and Santi's too. What am I going to do?"

Mom walked over to me and hugged my side. "Santi will be supportive, mija. He won't leave your side. He adores you."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yo se que esto no estaba en tus planes, Lucia. Pero un hijo siempre es una bendicion de Dios." Grandma Marlina said wisely. (I know this wasn't in your plans, Lucia. But a child is always a blessing from God)

She was right. I shouldn't be upset about having this baby.

Sure, I had never pictured myself being a mother at a young age but everything happens for a reason. This baby was conceived with love...the love Santi and I feel for each other.

"I don't want anyone to find out" I spoke to all of them. "I need to tell Santiago first and then we can tell everyone else."

****

I was hanging out with Nessa and Sofia in the living room watching a movie while my mom and grandma went off to the kitchen to start dinner for all of us. Sofi was engrossed on the film and Nessa was dozing off in her seat.

I felt someone sink down next to me, he picked up my legs and put them on his lap.

"Santi told me you weren't feeling well. What's wrong?" Joel put a hand over my forehead, feeling my temperature.

I smiled and slapped his hand away. "I'm fine, now. Why would he tell you out of all people?"

"He called me before going into his meeting to run some errands for him and asked me to check on you when I got home."

Santi asked his brother to check on me? He must be really worried if he asked Joel to do that for him.

"Well, you go tell your brother that everything is okay. Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Did the doctor already take a look at you?"

"He left a while ago." I lied, "Said I probably got sick from eating too many tostadas."

That made him laugh.

This was the first time I ever heard him laugh. He'd been acting so carefree and friendly around me these past few days, it was refreshing to see this side of him.

Could this mean we could all get along better? Could a reconciliation between Santiago and Joel happen in the near future? That would make Don Ernesto extremely happy. I could see how much it hurt him to see that his sons don't get along.

"If Santiago made those tostadas, I'm not surprised you got sick."

I narrowed my eyes. "Like you could do any better!"

"I'll have you know I'm an excellent cook."

"Bullshit"

"I'm serious!" he said with a large grin. "I'll cook a nice meal for you and Santi one of these days. Just so I can rub it on his face a little too."

"It's happening now! You can't back down on your word."

Before he could make another promise he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Speak of the devil." Joel smirked, putting the phone to his ear. "You've got perfect timing, brother. Gabby was -"

Joel's joking attitude changed to one of concern as he listened to Santiago.

I couldn't hear what Santiago was saying but the look on his brother's face was enough to let me know that something was wrong with Santi.

"What's your location?" Joel said. "Sofia, get Daniel and Leo...tell them to get in here! Hurry!"

Sofi got up and hurried out to get the two men.

"Santiago? Santi? SANTI!" Joel yelled into the phone, after not hearing anything back he threw his phone against the wall.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Santi?" I choked out. The thought of something bad happening to Santiago increased my anxiety.

Sofia came back with Daniel and Leo, two other bodyguards followed behind them.

"What's going on?" Leo asked his cousin.

"Santiago just called him that he's being followed by four vehicles, he thinks Hector is in one of them. We need to go!"

"Son of a bitch! I need backup!" Santiago's frantic voice called out through the walkie-talkie strapped around Joel's waist. "They're shooting at me. I don't think I'll be able to hold them off much longer."

The group moved into action, my friends and I followed after them. Three black SUVs and a yellow Hummer were waiting out front, ready to go.

"You girls have to stay here." Joel said to us when he noticed us trying to get in the truck with them. "It's too dangerous to bring you along."

"I'm going with you. I won't get in your way!"

"No"

"We can't bring all of you" Daniel looked at Sofi and shook his head. "Get back inside."

"Just take me." I pleaded. "I promise I'll stay in the truck. I just want to make sure Santiago is safe."

"Gabby! It's too dangerous" Nessa gave me a look reminding me I was also putting the baby in danger.

"Go back inside and let my family know what's going on. I promise to take care of myself." I said to my friends.

Time was ticking and my friends knew the more time we argued, the more time we wasted so they finally gave in and helped me get in the vehicle. The guys and I rode in the Hummer, leading the rest of our people to Santi's location. The only time we spoke was when Santi gave us directions through the walkie. He was not aware that the group brought me along and the guys didn't say a word to him. They knew he would be furious when he figured out they allowed me to come.

Minutes later we reached a dirt road surrounded by trees and heard the screeching of tires ahead of us. The red Camaro came to a stop in front of us and the three trucks and black car chasing after it spread out around us with no way to escape.

The guys rushed out of the truck and Joel gave me a pointed look to stay where I was.

I watched through the window as they rushed towards the Camaro and opened the door, our men were out of their trucks with guns pointed and ready to fire at anyone who tried to get close to to the guys. Joel helped his brother Santiago out of the car, there was a grimace on Santi's face as they dragged him over to our truck.

He had been shot in the shoulder.

I swore out loud, and climbed out of the Hummer. "Santiago"

He jerked his head up at the sound of my voice. Glancing around me I noticed Hector standing in front of a black car smirking in my direction.

"Gabby, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was worried about you." I helped Joel lean him against the truck and looked up at his pale face. His clothes were soaked in blood and the wound on his shoulder kept bleeding a lot. "We have to get you to a doctor."

"No, no, no. The bullet only grazed my shoulder. Just tie something around my arm to stop the bleeding."

I reached over to undo the tie around his neck and then proceeded to wrap it tightly around his arm, he let out a low hiss when I finished tying a knot.

"How foolish of you to bring out your most prized possession, Santi." Hector smiled knowingly. "Salvador would kill you if he found out you brought his daughter out here."

I crossed my arms, trying to put on a fearless look. "Why don't you give it up, Hector? You know you don't stand a chance against us."

"Look around little girl. You're outnumbered, you're the ones who don't stand a chance against us!"

"What do you want Hector?" Santi growled at the man.

"It's simple really..."he shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I want you to help me get rid of The Gulf Cartel once and for all. You know I've always wanted control of their territory. Now that Salvador left Martin in charge there's no reason for you to keep that alliance between your cartel and theirs. It's a new generation of Dons...time to join forces with the new big boys in town, don't you think?" he gestured to his people and himself.

"You think I would be able to trust you bastards after what you did to my merchandise?" Santiago scoffed. "I've never liked the way you handle business, Hector. You act without thinking and you don't respect the sacred codes of the Mafia. With a leader like you... your cartel will never be better than mine.

"I beg to differ. It's always handy when I know someone who knows every tiny little detail of the way you run your organization."

The traitor.

Who would have the guts to betray the most powerful cartel in Mexico? That person must have worked with the Sinaloa Cartel very closely, most importantly...Santiago must have trusted this person for the last few years.

From the corner of my eye I glanced at Joel but he looked just as pissed as Santiago.

Who could it be?

"Quien es el traidor?" Santi asked. (Who's the traitor?)

The passenger door on the black behind Hector opened up and we all watched as Diego "Chamuco" stepped out dressed in very expensive clothing, the type of suits the guys and Santi would wear all the time.

Diego?! My friend Diego? The one who had been fiercely protective of me and the girls when we arrived to Mexico?

He had lied to us. When he asked Santiago for permission to go visit his mom in Sinaloa it had been an excuse to get away behind our backs.

Chamuco grinned at our shocked faces. "Surprise."

"You son of a bitch!" Joel tried to lunge at him but his cousins held him back.

Anger flitted through me as I watched him stand next to Hector.

It all made sense now. How Hector found out the location of the club when we were attacked for the very first time by him and his men. How they managed to steal the very well hidden merchandise of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Diego was considered the leader of all the men working for the Sinaloa Cartel, he knew every decision and step made by Santiago. He was the only one out of all bodyguards who had a close interaction with all four of the guys.

"Why would you do this to us, Diego?" Santiago spoke through gritted teeth. "I trusted you."

"Was your concern for me and my friends all an act?" I asked.

Unconcerned about me now, Diego laughed at me. "You really thought I didn't know you were Salvador's daughter? We've been keeping an eye on you and your family for years! My plan was for you to end up with me, not with him." he said referring to Santi.

"How perfect would that have been?" Hector clapped his hands. "You with your father's enemy cartel."

"My sister knows better than to get involved with scum like you." my brother Martin's voice emerged from the trees around us. And with him came my brother Alex and their loyal bodyguards making Hector's cartel outnumbered by a lot. "Orale cabrones!"

That was the signal for the shots to be fired.

Santiago wrapped his body protectively around me, he dodged his way around the bullets to the side of the truck. It was our only shield from the bullet war happening in the front side of the Hummer.

Men on both sides were dropping dead like flies but the number of people from Hector's side seemed to be taking most of the hits. Santiago stayed by my side and he helped out the others by shooting at the enemy from our hiding spot. There was only so much he could do with an injured arm.

I saw my brother Martin shooting at Hector who had managed to get back to his car and he was trying to start the car's engine while one of his bodyguards covered for him and shot back at my brother. There was a look of triumph on Martin's face when my brother Alex managed to take out the bodyguard which gave him the perfect chance to shoot Hector straight in the head, killing him instantly.

Most of the men from Hector's cartel were already dead so we managed to take them out fairly quickly.

"I think it's safe to come out." Santi helped me up from our hiding spot. That's when the door to our Hummer swung open and Chamuco was fast to jump out from his hiding spot and wrap his arm around my neck, his gun pointed at my head.

"S-Santi"

My boyfriend turned around to point his gun at Chamuco. "Let her go!"

Chamuco shook his head. "She's my ticket out of here alive. Put your guns down or I kill her."

"Shoot him." I said to Santiago. He ignored me and ordered everyone to put their guns down, including himself.

"Give me the keys to the truck." Chamuco looked around frantically at the men standing around us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill him.

"Whoever has the keys give them to him" Santi ordered.

The bodyguard who had been driving the truck threw the keys at Diego and he caught them in his hand. He walked backwards to the driver's side of the truck and ordered me to open the door, I opened the door and he walked backwards to take a seat on the driver's seat. With me on his lap and a gun still pointed at my head he ordered me to turn on the ignition, I did so without a problem and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Once he was confident enough none of the guys would be fast enough to grab their gun from the floor he pushed me roughly making me fall to the ground. Without another look at me he pointed his gun straight at Santi.

"I'm not leaving without killing the head of the Sinaloa Cartel. "he smirked.

What no one knew was that Joel had been carrying a second gun tucked behind his back and at the same time Chamuco fired his gun intended to kill Santi, Joel stepped in front of his brother taking the bullet and fired his own gun at Chamuco.

Joel succeeded in killing the fucker.

I looked over to see Santiago holding his younger brother in his arms.

I rushed to their side, Joel had been shot in the stomach and he was losing a lot of blood.

"We have to take him to a hospital." I cried out.

Santi shook his head with tears in his eyes. "We can't move him. Someone get a doctor to come here. GO!"

Martin ordered one of his guy's to go get a doctor and bring him.

"I don't think I-I'm gonna make it, brother." Joel said to Santi through shallow breaths.

"Shut up. Don't waste your energy."

"I took a bullet for you" Joel ignored him. "Don't ever say I didn't care about you, big bro."

"Joel" I shook my head at him.

"You better take good care of her, damn it." he said to Santiago and then proceeded to grab my hand and kiss it. "I know you guys are perfect for each other, I've known it from the beginning but I didn't want to accept it because I've always been jealous of all the things you have, Santiago. You're a lucky bastard."

"I know" Santi agreed with him. "Don't be saying these things now, Joel. You still have to talk to dad."

"Dile a mi jefe que lo quiero un chingo. Que ya voy a estar junto a mama." (Tell my pops I love him a lot. That I'm gonna be with mom now.)

"Joel"

"Cuidate carnal." (Take care, brother)

With those final words Joel closed his eyes.

"JOEL! JOEL!" Santiago grabbed Joel's face in his hands, trying to get him to open his eyes. "HERMANO!"



Two more chapters to go and then the Epilougue! How many of you guys thought Joel was the traitor? You were wrong! Trust me, I was very tempted to make him the bad guy but I've always thought that deep down Joel cared about Santiago. Like all siblings they had their ups and downs but at the end of the day they're family.

If you think the end to Gabby and Santi's problems end here you are sadly mistaken. Life in the Mafia is never easy! You'll find out soon ;)

Song & Video used on this Chapter: La Hummer y El Camaro by Voz de Mando

Pictures on this Chapter: Top Gabby & Joel/ Bottom Gabby &Santi

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