pte

ing Eileen. She had slept deeply, the kind of sleep that only came after emotional exhaustion and the fragile hope of progress. La

. She lay still, listening. He was giving orders-telling Tommy and Mike to b

hemselves. But underneath the glitz, it was one of José's fronts. Everyone in the underworld knew it. Beneath the bass-thumping musi

nd the slamming of doors. The house finally quieted. She exha

urled up and breathing softly. A wave of tenderness crashed int

alongside a younger maid. T

ma'am," the yo

ied, reaching for a cof

Mrs. Maya," she

bout the previous night, about the bar and the cop

se yesterday. Could you run out and get some? I thi

ocelyn said, un

ce until they heard

cheese in the fridge,"

e you have this morning... it'

ening. "I got it. His name is Detec

Maya said, her voice ting

rd. Mrs. Maya had bought it for her last week, slipping it to her lik

ld love to work wi

een investigatin

can give you real intel-re

can bring him down. We

pe, her expression unreadable. Eileen hesita

gave her a

a breath a

ya gulped down a glass of water, trying to steady her nerves. The cool morning breeze drifted

h

in

or the phone. The

are

oat tightene

I am, but I'm inside

very use

ly came

call

O

re. Are you a maid? A

ing to prove I

now this is

r and drank like she'd been wal

e because I wan

o to pay for every s

ve me s

you're real.

a sign-anything. But the older woman looked just as te

. And they had e

ng up against

thought of freedom, of holding Henry in her arms again. She th

uldn't bac

ty

ipment comin

Tommy and Mike-a

it? Guns

know it's going stra

t t

ow. But it

heck i

want you in or dead. You should know these a

might not really know the Santiago'

ike that, he

Maya sat down slowly, their bodies tense, their faces pale.

o the kitchen r

orning,"

. Maya replied, try

een said with

f, but he was more interested in the game paused upstai

and cheese," Mrs. Maya

Mrs. Maya kept busy scrubbing the already clean kitchen counters, folding napkins that

way. She avoided eye contact, afraid that if he looked too closely, he'd see the guilt etched into

is pho

ood ra

the phone. He went silen

r the bridge. I'm bringing backup. It'll be a b

shook as she set

eat beading in her n

his gun. He called three more men, gave th

slammed b

ir in the kitchen, breathing l

eating. The women asked him simple questions-how was his

knew th

d them, they wouldn't

ts. Her stomach twisted with anxiety. She needed to know what was

her eyes

one lis

hing tha

this

were days the thought of going aga