14th Deadly Sin

CHAPTER 20

MAYA PEREZ HAD two babies. One was growing inside her body, fourteen weeks old now, and very precious to her. The other baby was this market. It had been her father’s, and he had poured everything he owned and earned into keeping the shop open, to put food on their table and because he wanted her to have something of value when he died.

Then, a month ago, his cancer had killed him.

Ricardo Perez hadn’t lived to see his grandchild, but he had felt the baby was a blessing and he had left Maya the deed to the store that had been named Mercado de Maya for her.

And she loved this place: every hand-lettered sign, the shelves her father and uncle had made from scrap lumber. She knew where every box, bottle, and tin belonged. Now that she was pregnant and on her own, the store meant survival.

She had moved upstairs to her father’s flat and intended to run this place and bring up her baby right here.

There was no way she would let anyone steal from her. It was just not happening.

Besides, there was something else.

When the men in the police jackets came to the store, she thought they were looking for information on the check-cashing-store holdup on Tuesday a few blocks away. But when she saw the masks and the guns, she knew that as soon as they got the money, they would shoot her.

Like they had done to José Díaz.

Maya was having physical sensations she’d never had before. Tingling, light-headedness, her blood pounding almost audibly. She knew that this was her body reacting to the fear of imminent death. There was no way to run or to hide, but she was thinking clearly and she was determined. She thought, No way they’re killing my baby.

She kept her father’s little Colt in her pocket. And when the man reached over the counter to get his hands on her money, she saw her chance.

She had the gun pointing at his heart, her finger on the trigger, and she said very clearly and firmly, “Drop your gun.”

Maya barely saw the second man move, he was so fast. His hand came down hard on her arm. She got off a shot, but even in that split second, she knew her shot had gone into the floor.

After that, the bullets punched into her and everything went black.