Suddenly, it’s no longer my mom who holds me. Instead, I’m bundled in the blanket on Julian’s lap, his strong arms wrapped around me as he cradles me against him, rocking me like a child. I can hear my dad’s voice, the timbre low and soothing, and I know Dad is consoling Mom, trying to calm her in her pain. At some point, he and Julian must’ve come into the room, but I don’t know how or when it happened.

Eventually, Julian carries me to the shower. It’s there, away from my parents’ eyes, that I’m finally able to regain control. “I’m sorry,” I whisper as Julian towels me off and dresses me in a thick, terrycloth robe. “I’m so sorry. Where’s Rosa? How is she?”

“She’s all right,” he says quietly. His eyes are bloodshot, making me suspect he didn’t sleep much last night. “Well, as all right as can be expected. She’s still in her room, but Lucas spoke to her and said she’s doing better. And you have nothing to be sorry for, baby. Nothing.”

I shake my head, the awful guilt seizing me again. “I need to go see her—”

“Wait, Nora.” He grabs my arm just as I’m about to rush back into the bedroom. “Before you do, there’s something you and I need to discuss with your parents.”

“My parents?”

He nods, looking down at me. “Yes. That’s why I called them here. We all need to talk.”

“The Sullivan crime family?” My dad’s voice rises incredulously. “You’re telling me that the men who attacked my daughter are part of the mob?”

“Yes,” Julian says, his face hard and expressionless. He’s sitting next to me on the couch, his left hand resting on my knee. “It’s something I discovered last night, after we returned from the hospital.”

“We need to go to the police right away.” My mom leans forward, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. “Those monsters need to pay for this. If you know who they are—”

“They’ll pay, Gabriela.” Julian’s gaze turns to steel. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s because of you, isn’t it?” my dad says savagely, getting up in a sharp motion. “They came after you—”

“No,” I interrupt, shaking my head. I’m still reeling from what I just learned, but if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that for once, Julian’s business is not at fault. “It was random, Dad. They had no idea who Rosa and I were. They were just”—I shudder, remembering—“just doing it for fun.”

“Fun?” My dad stares at me, his features tense with anger as he sits down again. “Those assholes thought hurting two women would be fun?”

“Well, technically, they wanted only Rosa,” I say dully. “I just happened to intervene.”

Julian’s hand tightens on my knee as he glances in my direction. For the first time this morning, I see a flash of fury behind his emotionless facade. I have no doubt that he blames me for this—for using my birthday to manipulate him into going to that club, for trying to rescue Rosa on my own.