Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2)(19)

“I don’t need to hear that.” My canto went wrong. My magic failed me. I’ve never felt so helpless and alone, and I don’t know how to start fixing all the things I’ve said to my family. “Please leave.”

He nods once and moves toward the door. “I’ll send your family back in. We had a deal.”

I sit up, every muscle in my core and arms throbbing angrily.

“What were you thinking?” Mom says. Now that she knows I’m alive, she’s gone from worried to angry. No, the look on her face tells me she’s more than angry. Scared. Disappointed. “What if we couldn’t get to you in time?”

“It worked,” I say and look at Alex. “For a moment, it worked.”

My dad sits on the chair beside me. Alex and Rose hover around my bed with guilty looks on their faces.

“You of all people should’ve known better, Alejandra.”

Alex shuts her eyes, prepared to take whatever comes. There’s a green ring around her eye when she takes off her sunglasses. I can see the bruises on her chest, barely covered by her shirt. “Ma—”

“Don’t Ma me right now. All three of you have no idea what forces you’re dealing with. You’ve put a target on this family.”

“Carmen,” my father says. His voice is even and calm. “She just lost him. Let her grieve.”

My mother’s chest rises and falls quickly. Her brown eyes glisten. My mother doesn’t cry. Ever. Now, she blinks the tears back so not a single one falls.

“Don’t tell me about loss, Patricio. I lost you for years.”

We’re silent.

The steady beep of the heart rate monitor reminds us that we’re here, that there is nothing being said for minutes that stretch out, long and painful. Rose trembles and cries silently. Alex frowns at the floor. They hold each other’s hands, and a distance grows between them and me.

I’m so weary all I say is, “Can we go home?”

Before my mother can answer, a new nurse comes in.

“You’re awake,” she tells me, holding up her clipboard to write something. “I’ll check on you in just a minute.”

“The other nurse already checked them,” I tell her.

“What nurse?” Her smooth forehead crinkles.

“The guy,” I say. I try to think of his name but can’t remember if he ever told us. I look to Alex. “We saw him the other night…”

I leave it implied that it was when we were going to Maks’s room.

Alex shakes her head. “I don’t think he told us his name.”

“What did he look like?” the nurse asks, a hand to her hip. Her voice is high-pitched, and I can sense her sudden nervous energy.

I can’t really remember his face, but I can remember the most striking parts about him. “Young. Long ponytail. Tan. He was wearing blue scrubs and dress shoes.”

“Long ponytail?” Now she looks concerned. “I don’t know any male nurse or attending in peeds who looks like that. Give me a minute.”

“What’s going on?” Mom raises her voice.

The nurse starts to leave. But I have to know. Who was he? Was everything he said to me true?

“Wait!”

“I’m sorry,” she says, “but I have to report this right away.”

Then she’s gone, rushing out the door with her sneakers squeaking against the floor. We sit in silence for a little while longer. Mom keeps pacing and muttering prayers. Dad hesitates before placing his hand on top of mine, like he thinks he won’t be welcome. I’m surprised at how foreign it feels, so much so that I almost pull away. Instead, I just lie there and retrace my steps during the canto—the brightness of our magic and the dark that slithered in there. La Muerte breaking through Alex’s barrier. You have betrayed me.

Then, my nurse runs past my room and points down the hall. A trio of security guards rush in the direction she’s pointing. The static of their walkie-talkies alerts others to a potential threat. I pull off my covers, but my mom presses her hand on my shoulder.

The nurse comes back in. Her cheeks are flushed and she places her hands on her heart.

“What happened?” my dad asks.

“Lula,” the nurse says, her voice slow and deep. “I need you to tell me everything that man said to you. Try to remember exactly what he looked like and what he said.”

You’re stronger than this. That’s what he said.

“Why?” I ask. I rip off the tabs that measure my heartbeat to make the beeping stop. “What did he do?”

“He doesn’t work here.” She traces the symbol of the cross over her chest.

“How can he not work here?” Alex asks. “We’ve seen him for days.”

There’s a loud commotion outside my bedroom. Alex goes to the window and pulls open the blinds. Detective Hill runs past with the three security guards from before. More police officers join them.

“Are you saying someone’s been posing as a nurse?” my mom asks protectively.

The nurse is in a daze, like she can’t believe what she’s about to say. “We caught him on security camera entering the morgue. That’s where the cops are going now.”

I feel my heart sink. “What would he want in the morgue?”