Mateo Santiago novel · Chapter 16 of 24
Chapter 16: The Border
The white boundary stones stood in the dead grass.
Mateo stopped the truck a hundred yards short of them and got out.
He put both hands in his jacket pockets and leaned on the fender.
"I'll hear everything," he said, "and I won't move unless you say my name."
"Say it only if you mean it."
"I know," I said.
I walked the last stretch alone in my denim jacket.
My mother's ring was on my hand, and the wind pushed my fringe in my eyes.
My father stood on the Black Lake side of the stones.
He was by himself, in a pressed shirt and a sheepskin coat, without his Beta or a single hunter in sight.
He looked tired, and old, and warm, and more like a father than he had since I was a child.
My whole body wanted to run to him, and I hated it.
"Mija," he said.
"You came."
"You said her name," I said.
"I said I'd give it back," said Aurelio.
He took off his hat and held it against his chest.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Mateo Santiago are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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