“You demand to have your dungeon close to Ma everywhere we go thinkin’ it’s you that needs to be near her so you can protect her. But you’re wrong, Abel,” Wei went on. “She does that shit. She finds these places so you can live close because she needs to protect you. Like her mother did. Like her grandmother did. I can go on and you know it. You’re ours. Centuries of you in this family made you blood, even if we don’t share it, and you don’t turn your back on blood. We know that. We’ve lived it. Generations of our women have given that to you. Don’t take that away.”

On that, Wei did not wait for a reply, he stalked out.

Chen followed him.

Xun scraped his chair back and did the same.

Snake, Moose, and Jabber followed suit.

When they were gone, Dad turned his eyes from the door and looked to Abel. “Think on this, son, and do not make any rash decisions. I’ll say it true…you take off anyway, I’ll follow you. And from what I heard at this table, I will not be alone.”

After delivering this, he pushed his chair back and walked out.

“Well, that didn’t go real great,” I muttered.

Abel growled again.

I started to look up at him but instead turned my gaze to Poncho when he spoke.

“Got an auntie who’s a bruja.”

“What?” I asked.

“Witch,” he said. “She can see. She can protect.” He looked to Abel. “Gotta have your permission, man, but wanna give her a call. Share. See if she can do anything for us. See if she can call up some visions.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Abel said, “Give me some time to consider that.”

“Don’t take too much,” Poncho advised, then turned soft eyes to me, got up, and left the room.

I watched him do it, then turned to Abel.

“What now?”

“You mean after I successfully fight the urge to rip this room apart and then mind-control every one of those fucks into lettin’ us do what we need to do?”

Oh man.

I leaned in to him. “Don’t do that, honey.”

His jaw got hard and he gritted through his teeth, “I won’t.”

“I think we need to give this some thought. Give it a day or two for everyone to think about it,” I shared.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“We’re loved. That’s not a bad thing,” I pointed out, and his eyes focused more fully on me.