Little Broken Bird

Chapter 4

This chapter is the beginning of some of the overlaps with Angel - do not assume it is just copied.  I added details here that were not in the other story due to the POVs.

Tori

Carlos had summoned me by text this morning to meet him in the hospital wing. He'd been gone for a few days and his request had my stomach in knots. Doc motioned for me to enter the first room on the right. When I walked in, I saw Carlos holding the unconscious form of a woman.

"Boss needs you to keep an eye on her," Carlos said as he laid the woman in the hospital bed. Bruises litter her pale skin, but she didn't seem to be injured otherwise. "Doc will come check on her soon. Just don't let her leave, Tori, or it's your ass," he warned.

"Fine, I can play babysitter," I muttered as he rolled his eyes and walked out. I sat in the chair, surfing the net while she slept. Every once in a while I'd sneak a glance. Just who was this chick and why did I need to babysit her? After a while, the girl groaned and then tried to sit up. "Hey there, not so fast. Let me get the doc before you try running a marathon," I told her, pushing her back down on the cot.

She grunted, "Run nothing, I just want the license of the truck that ran over me."

I laughed, "Don't we all, koibito. Hang on." I stuck my head out the door and yelled, "Hey doc, she's awake." When he came in I kinda tuned them out as he asked her questions. It wasn't until I heard her say something about a daughter that I tuned back in.

"Wait, um, doctor, where is my family, my daughter?" she asked. He didn't answer her and just walked out. Fucking great.

She looked at me and I just raised my hands and shrugged, "No clue koibito. They just told me to watch over you."

"Who are they?" she asked. Now it was my turn to stay silent. No way I'm getting killed for this chick.

I sat back down and continued messing with my phone until a few hours later I got a text to take her to Rico. "Okay, time to go koibito," I told her and began leading, well more like dragging her toward his section of the compound.

I stopped in front of the heavy doors and knocked as she looked around. Poor thing was obviously terrified. Don't get me wrong, I felt for her - hell, I'd been in her shoes once, but I couldn't help her, and trying would most likely get my ass shot. Better to drop her off and walk away. If she's going to Rico, then I probably won't ever see her again, or at least not alive.

The door finally opened and Jake answered. He was wearing his usual grouchy face. "Delivery," I said in a high tone, then pushed her to him. "Good luck," I whispered to her and made my escape as quickly as possible. I had no desire to hang with any of the Palmas any longer than necessary. Of all the gangs the cartel dealt with, they were the worst especially when it came to the way they treated women. That poor girl didn't stand a chance if she belonged to Rico. I just hope for her sake they didn't take her daughter too. Age didn't matter to those fuckers.

I headed to the sunroom to see if any of the other girls were there. Things had been busy the last couple of weeks. Something big was happening, but everyone was keeping it fairly hushed. I grabbed some snacks and headed to the large parlor hearing a few voices chatting and giggling. Lexi's head popped up when I came in, "Hey, bitch! Where the fuck have you been?"

I rolled my eyes and flopped down on the sofa with her, holding out a cookie. "Carlos had me babysitting a newbie."

She snorted as Megan giggled, "So where is she?"

I frowned and sat up straighter, "They had me take her to Rico." Both girls instantly sobered and looked down. "Yeah," I drawled, "so I need to cheer up and eat some snacks."

Megan gave a sly grin, "I might be able to help with that." She reached into her bra and pulled out a joint. "Let's get smashed."

"Ewww, is that a boob joint? Gross! I mean, I love you girl, but I ain't smoking that," Lexi choked. Megan gave an annoyed snort as I passed also, then lit it up for herself. We munched and laughed, trying to forget the reality of our lives, if only for a little bit.

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