Carrying Maria into her house, CJ followed behind Leo, Mike, and Adrian, who had gone ahead of her. At last, they reached the living room. She placed her still form on the sofa, stepping back to face the boys.
"Is she going to be ok?" Adrian asked, kneeling near her head.
"I feel like I've seen her before," Leo took a good look at her. Mike nodded.
"That's what I thought!"
CJ walked towards them, but pain shot through her back, causing her to fall. The men rushed to help her, but she held up a hand.
"I'm fine, I just tripped."
"Are you-" Leo began.
"Yes," she snapped, "Let's just wait for the others to get here." As if on cue, the remaining four men burst into the room. At the sound of the commotion, Maria shot up, pulling her knees to her chest.
Curiously, they all took a step forward, however, CJ took a defensive stance in front of her. Paulo finally reached the front of the crowd and gasped in surprise.
"Maria Sofía Suarez, what the hell are you doing alive?" Her eyes widened as she saw who was stood in front of her.
"Ay, dios mío, what is mamá going to say? Papá te va a matar, no, te voy a matar!" CJ's mouth formed an 'o' as she watched the two interact.
"Sorry, hermano, but you can't tell papá! You'll give him a heart attack!" Maria spoke at last. Paulo shook his head, muttering under his breath.
"Where have you been then?" he sighed, "Since you're clearly not dead."
"Brasil, me quedé con abuela."
"YOU WERE IN BRAZIL? THIS WHOLE TIME!" he shouted, continuing to berate his sister in Spanish.
"Hey!" CJ interrupted, but her words went unheard. Slamming her fist on the coffee table, she yelled again.
"Shut up!"
The room fell silent. Maria spoke to CJ.
"He's my brother. Five years ago, I faked my death to escape..." CJ sat next to her on the couch.
"I was running away from the last leader of this gang, Andrew Dickson." CJ squeezed her eyes shut to hide the pain behind them.
"I'm going to bed. You guys fix up Maria," she turned to the girl still sat on her chair, "Stay here, rather than the boys' house. You're welcome to any room."
On that note, CJ turned on her heel and walked to the door, trying not to limp, despite the discomfort in her spine.
"Shit, CJ, what the hell happened to you?" At the sound of Leo's voice, she spun around, stumbling slightly, as the blood loss numbed her senses.
"Your shirt is drenched in blood!" Aiden pointed out.
"It's not mine," CJ lied through her teeth.
"Don't bullshit me, Dickson. Adrian, Mike, find a first aid kit," Leo ignored her. A slight inhale came from Maria.
"You're... you're that monster's daughter!" She backed away slightly. CJ shook her head, perching on the edge of a sofa cushion next to her.
"I'm not like him, I swear," she promised earnestly.
"But-"
"She's really not, Maria," Leo stopped her. The other's nodded in agreement.
Soon, the other two men returned with a small, green first aid kit.
"Shirt off, CJ," Leo ordered.
"Not a-" she began.
"Did it sound like I was asking?"
CJ flinched at his commanding tone that sounded so similar to her father's.
"Damn, no need to use your big boy voice on me," she mumbled.
Pulling the ripped fabric over her head, she revealed the damage Romano had done. Purple and green bruises decorated her ribcage.
Deep cuts covered her abdomen, and a large hole sat, still bleeding, just above her pelvis.
"What the hell, CJ? Why didn't you tell us?" Iago cried.
"We had bigger problems," she gestured to Maria, who was staring at her bleeding back in wonder, "and it's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? You're bleeding half to death!" Paulo belted in disagreement. Leo moved to stand in front of her, to whisper in her ear.
"Drew isn't here. You're allowed to show pain, to feel pain. We're here for you." Shaking her head, CJ sat back.
"I'm fine," her voice cracked slightly, betraying her true emotions. Maria's hand reached for hers, but she jerked away, standing in front of the men, all of whom towered over her.
"Look at me!" she began to almost yell, "Look at what he did to me!" Pulling down her bloody jeans, leaving her in just her underwear, she pointed at various scars that littered her upper and lower body.
"I can tell you the exact date and reason I have each of these scars," she breathed. Pointing at the raised bump on her thigh, she looked at Leo.
"July 6th, I was crying. My own mother stabbed me in the leg to shut me up." Her finger traced a series of lines on her abs thay were slightly lighter than the rest of the skin.
"Febraury 15th, my birthday. I hit him. I was five and stupid and I hit him back. He..." she paused momentarily, refusing to allow the tears to fall, "he carved his name into me, his flesh and blood, so I would remember that I will never be able to hurt him."
Aiden winced.
"Five? You were only a kid!" CJ scoffed.
"Like that would stop him. I had no defense against him, no one to protect me. I hated him. I hated myself. Still, to this day I feel like I can't show pain, because I was raised to believe that I'm too unimportant for anyone to want to help me!"
Leo gently pushed her onto the sofa, as Paulo tended to Maria's bruises.
"We care." She lowered her head, letting him clean and dress her cuts.
"When did this happen?" he touched the tender skin around her largest wound, "I didn't see you get shot."
"That's because I didn't," she replied over her shoulder, "some shrapnel got lodged in my back when the building came down."
"How come you didn't shield yourself?" Adrian asked, passing Leo an antiseptic wipe.
"I was- ow, shit that hurt-" she stopped as he wiped the dry blood away, "I was protecting Maria."
At the sound of her name, Maria shuffled closer, holding CJ's hand, gratefully.
"Thank you," she said, sheepishly.
CJ waved her off, letting her know she wasn't indebted to her.
After half an hour of icing her bruises and bandaging her up, Leo finished helping CJ.
"Thanks, for everything, you guys."
"Don't," Dennis smiled, sitting next to her. He had previously stood silently in the corner, observing.
"I think we need to talk, darling," he placed a soft hand on her shoulder, careful not to harm her further. CJ nodded, turning back to Maria.
"Just find yourself any room, goodnight!" she whisked her out of the room.
Dennis looked at CJ, whose eyes had brightened since encountering Maria, and began to talk.
YOU ARE READING
The Mafia Queens
Action"I came because your father passed two days ago. Drew is dead. You know what this means, right? You're next in line." - - - CJ Dickson is pulled out of her life in England and thrust into the USA, where she is supposed to assume her father's positio...
