Bishop's War (Bishop Series Book 1) by Rafael Hines Read Free Book Online

Michael pushed John down to the floor a second before the tires were blown out and the car crashed into a bodega on the corner. The attackers didn’t let up. Bullets twanged into the car’s metal frame and thumped into the seats. Then Michael was thrown back by a shot to the chest. Husband and wife stared sadly into each other’s eyes. Badly wounded, Michael coughed up blood, then dove onto Christina to shield her body with his. “Mi amor,” she whispered just as the next fusillade of steel jacketed shells came in through all sides, killing them both along with the driver.
    When the shooting stopped John was the only survivor. Blood poured down his face where a sharp piece of metal from the crumpled door frame had viciously slashed him from his forehead deep down into his cheek. He sat up trembling in fear, covered in gore, staring in horror at the bodies of his parents. From above the shoulders it looked like they were sleeping peacefully with their arms wrapped around each other in what John would always remember as a warm and loving embrace, but below there was only carnage where they had both been struck multiple times by the high velocity rounds.
    The hit was aimed at Gonzalo. The killers thought he was the one sitting behind the tinted back windows. His street name, “El Gato Negro,” The Black Cat, was given for his luck at surviving the many attempts on his life as much as for his dark complexion and yellow cat-like eyes.
    Gonzalo was wracked with guilt for being so careless. He blamed himself for the death of his beloved little sister and even vengeance did nothing to cleanse him of his grief. The shooters themselves were quickly tracked down and slaughtered, although it took him another year to capture the two men who ordered the hit: the Davis brothers.
    After the funeral Gonzalo brought the heavily bandaged Juanito home with him. His wife Grasiella could not have children of her own and Juanito became the center of their lives. Gonzalo reduced his workload in order to care for his nephew full time and together he and Grasiella were tireless in their efforts to bring the little boy back to life. They tried everything, but months after the attack he had retreated into his own world. Frantically rocking back and forth, he would constantly touch his own face like a blind man following the contours of the jagged scar. He refused to speak, rarely ate, and would wake up screaming from the nightmares that tortured his sleep. Each night Grasiella and Gonzalo lay on either side of him trying to make him feel safe and loved while he sobbed for hours in their arms.
    Fearing that Juanito was at the point of no return, Gonzalo finally approached his younger brother Carlos who was Felix’s father. Felix was two months older than John and they had been playmates since birth.
    “Carlos, I have something very serious to ask of you. To ask of you both,” Gonzalo said to Carlos and his wife Marci.
    “You’re the head of this family, mi hermano. There is nothing you can ask of us that we can deny.”
    “I’m not asking as the head of the family. I’m asking only as your brother and you or Marci can say no. Her answer is just as important as yours in this.”
    “What is it?”
    “Will you give Felix to me?”
    “ What?!” screamed Marci.
    “I am asking you to let Felix come live with me and Grasiella to save Juanito.”
    Carlos closed his eyes. “You ask too much,” he said.
    “Yes, I know. I knew it was too much before I came. Still, I’m here. I had to come, and I have to ask. If we don’t act now Juanito will be gone forever. Also, know this. Grasiella and I will never, ever try to replace you. You are his mother and father and always will be.”
    Marci and Christina had been best friends. She loved Christina and Michael and their beautiful boy so much that after many tears she too agreed that it was their last hope. The next day they delivered their son.
    For John it was a blessing. Felix had always been a