"Da fuck? You're getting married?"

The scene is the Dawnwood South Taco Shack, and the exclamation spits from the most terrifying woman Beli Lapran has ever met: a Latin demon - all muscle, metal piercings and vicious tattoos.

Her future cousin-in-law, Nora Mariana Delrio.

"Married! Jesu Christo, when the fuck were you gonna tell me, Kiki?"

"Who knows," Kyanna shrugs, no love lost. "I guess I had a hard time getting in touch with my big cousin. Maybe because - oh, I don't know - she was locked up in prison?"

Beli grips her cup of diet soda, wondering whether if she stays hunched and inward, she'll camouflage naturally into the leather seat. Kyanna and Nora glare daggers across the table, pausing only to throw back their beers. Nora slams her mug down first.

"Yeah, you turned out so fuckin' good last time you shacked up with someone. You're making a fucking mistake, Kiki."

"Oh like you're one to talk, Miss Two Years for Possession!" Kyanna's mug drop rattles Beli's soda. "This time I know it's real! Beli and I love each other and we're getting married! Right, Bels?"

Beli doesn't dare let out a peep. Nothing to provoke this snarling beast in biker leather and torn jeans. Kyanna and her brothers had made passing remarks about Nora's side of the family - hints about gang violence and drug trafficking - but none of them had prepared Beli for the awful truth:

Nora Delrio was a murderer.

"Um… Nora, what Anna's trying to say is -"

"Who da fuck said you could butt into our family, princesa? Seriously, you're gonna look after my little Kiki? You?"

"I - I mean -"

"Do you see these?" Nora whips off her biker jacket and flexes a bicep. Beli's assaulted by a tattoo of two bloody roses and Nora's stenciled name. "She tell you why I got this ink, princesa? You know why I put this on my body?"

Kyanna massages her forehead. "Ugh, here we go…"

"I did this for my cousin! T'remind me of what's important; to let the whole world know: estas son las personas por las que moriría!"

Again, that warning! Beli is still practicing Spanish on her phone's language-learning apps, and while she's yet to ace a review test, she's fairly certain she can translate that criminal confession. 'These are the people I've killed for her.'

And Kyanna, this secret princess of the Mexican mafia, just rolls her eyes. "You are such a drama queen, NoNo."

Anna, how are you keeping so calm? Your cousin - your cousin -

"Bels? You okay?"

"I … need to use the restroom…"

"Pfft! Drinking kiddy soda and she's wimping out already!" Nora's laugh haunts Beli as she runs from the table.

Nora's right. She really is weak and timid, a frightened little rabbit. Hardly the person to rely on in a pinch. The break-in last spring taught Beli that much.

The washrooms stink of grease and meat so Beli retreats out the back entrance, calming her racing heart with slow, steady breaths. This was a mistake. I should just call everything off and -

"Here the fuck you are! I wasn't finished with you, princesa!"

Nora, she's come after her!

Anna's cousin is clearly drunk off her rocker, wobbling forward and slurring her speech, but inebriation just makes Nora Delrio all the more dangerous, all the more unpredictable.

"Call off the fuckin' wedding. I mean it. No fuckin' way a puta like you can take care o' my Kiki!"

"N-Nora -"

"Whaddaya gonna do if some jumped up coke-fiend comes atcha, huh?" Nora flicks her wrist and a switchblade flips into her palm. The blade gleams with dark, drunken intent.

"Whatcha gonna do if they come at Kyanna with a knife?"

Beli narrows her eyes. "Nora Delrio, put that away." This is a family restaurant! At any minute, parents with little children could walk across this and -

"Oh? You gonna stop me? You gonna be a hero, princesa? Show me whatcha got!"

Nora lunges, and the scream rings across the entire parking lot.

"Aaaaaaah! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Let go!"

Tears don't become Nora Mariana Delrio, and neither does a furious anger suit Beli Lapran, but here they are - Nora, writhing on her knees, arm twisted behind her back. Beli stands behind her, one hand around Nora's wrist, the other applying a constant pressure just above her elbow.

"Lemmie go! Fuck, fuck!"

"Let go of the knife, Nora."

The switchblade clatters across the concrete. Beli releases her grip and Nora scampers away, eyes trained on her master assailant. "Da fuck did you do to me?"

"It's nothing special, really. I just pinched your body's pressure points. Any contact on those nerves will send intense pain through the body."

"Motherfucker, I thought that yoga shit was all about stretching and crap. Ahhh, fuck."

Nora drops to a crouch, rubbing her wounded arm. Risking a chance, Beli sits with her.

"Last spring, one of Kyanna's clients from the salon broke into her apartment. We were out at the time - Philly was safe with us - but it scared us both. So we agreed to take self-defense classes together so we could both protect what was important to us."

Nora looks at her, quiet and thoughtful. "You really love my cousin, si?"

"Kyanna and Philly mean the world to me."

"Don't gimmie that. You ain't been there for Kiki like I've been. I'm the one who kept the players off her back, who made sure her mama had spendin' cash. The one who taught all the bitches to lay off her."

Beli nods. "Kyanna was like a sister to you."

"Meh, she was the only one who didn't treat me like the piece o' trash chola I was. 'Course, the minute they lock me up, some smooth-talkin' shit bag picks her up, knocks her up and throws her out. I ain't ever letting no one treat Kiki like that again."

"I won't leave her, Nora. I couldn't live without Kyanna."

Nora hugs her knees to her chest, rocking on the spot. "After you left the table, Kiki - Kyanna, she told me why you two asked t'meet. Said it's 'cause I ain't gonna be in her wedding party. I ain't welcome."

Oh, Anna…

Watching Nora Delrio break down sobbing is like watching a sabre-toothed tiger roll onto its back for belly rubs. It should not be possible. And yet Beli finds herself sitting beside the tough-as-nails street woman, rubbing Nora's back and hushing her like a small child.

No more running, Beli. You have to do this.

"Umm, when Kyanna asked you to meet us, it was because there was something I wanted to ask you." Beli steadies herself to pop the second-most important question of her life. "Nora Delrio, would you be my maid of honour?"

Now Nora stares as if Beli is the sabre-tooth tiger.

"I mean, all my friends are in my bridal party but I couldn't possibly pick one over the others! I wouldn't want the rest feeling left out and -"

"You don' even know me. The fuck you want a shit-sack like me being your number two?"

"Kyanna's told me all about you. How, growing up, you were her hero - the big sister she looked up to. Nora, she wants you back, she just doesn't know if you're still there for her."

"I ain't slingin' rock no more, honest."

Beli swallows. "I mean, it's just a big shock, you understand? Knowing her cousin did… that to two men."

"Whoa, whoa - that was just for cash, y'hear? And where da fuck did you find that video, anyway?"

"Video?" Beli blinks. "Nora, I'm talking about… you killed two people! Your tattoos! Estas son las personas por las que moriría?"

Nora stares at her for the longest time. Then she bursts out laughing.

"You thought -? Fuck, princesa, we gotta punt you back t'grade school. Matado means 'killed'. Moriría? That's 'die for'."

Nora taps the two roses on her arm. "I ain't ever capped nobody, princesa, but for Kiki and Philly? I'd take a bullet fer 'em. They're the people I'd die for."

Beli blinks for the longest time, feeling her cheeks flush. "Oh, I -"

"Izzat why you couldn't talk inside? Figured I was -?"

"I mean -"

"Hey, I just grew up in a rough neighbourhood! … But thinkin' all that stuff about me, you still wanted me at your wedding? Damn, girl. I guess you are more than just a nice piece of ass."

"Huh?"

"S'nothin'. 'Kay, I'm in. Nora Mariana Delrio - your maid of honour." She smirks. "Heh, you know what this means, right? This bitch gets t'plan your mothafuckin' bachelorette party!"

"B-bachelorette -?" Oh dear…

When Nora Delrio next shows up in town, there's a wicked smile on her face, a boisterous clap on Beli's back and a beer thrust into her hand.

A third red rose is tattooed on Nora's arm.