“I didn’t choose it. Why guns?” Keith countered.
“It’s business.”
“It’s power,” he corrected me.
I shrugged. Even after being so alike, how were our families opposites?
“Drugs destroy lives; guns end them. It turns out we’re the kinder ones of the two,” I responded.
Keith smirked. “No one’s kind in this business, Eloisa – not even us.”
That comment hit home.
“I should get going,” he said after a few seconds, clearing his throat. I could only muster a small okay.
“I’ll drop you off,” Keith offered.
I shook my head. “I drove here.”
He only nodded, and with one last look, he got up and grabbed his bag before slightly pinching my nose.
“Ow,” I mumbled, rubbing my nose, frowning at Keith. He chuckled before heading out.
What am I getting myself into?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Keith
I had never been one of those guys who found someone special and was so fucking delusional about the realities of their relationship that they believed they could fight their fucking way out of everything just to be with that person. But look at me now – I was already talking about standing up to Eloisa Castillo’s brothers and father.
Hell, I hadn’t ever even been introduced to any girl’s parents before. This is why I always thought that women who were already committed elsewhere were the best match for me. They had zero fucking expectations, except for great sex.
When Eloisa came to my life, though, I got so in over my head behind this one girl in a matter of weeks! I could not believe I missed my lecture just to sit and stare at her draw smileys over her pancakes while eating at the café.
She does not look this adorable when she’s holding a gun to your head, a voice in my head taunted me.
But I couldn’t help it. I really wanted to take things further with her. I wanted to ask Eloisa out, so I did. Everything she said afterward about our families also made sense to me, although I couldn’t really relate. She had a better and healthier relationship with her father, and she did not want to do anything to ruin that. Well, I fucked my father’s wife before going to college, so we weren’t exactly on the same page.
When I started talking to Eloisa, my sole purpose was to spite my father. However, I understood her, and I didn’t really want to force things on her. I could just wait until she’s ready. Besides, I need to stop being so hung up and start thinking about other things too, right? But no matter how much I tried, everything seemed to take me back to her. I smiled as I remembered Eloisa’s sweet little smile and pretty eyes, as well as how she looked stunning with her hair in a bun when I despised that thing on anyone else.
CHAPTER NINE
Eloisa
When Keith left, I focused on the rest of my school work, knowing that it would be a great distraction at the moment. It was only when my phone started ringing that I realized it was almost getting dark.
“Hey,” I greeted Allison as I answered her call.
“You need to get here,” was all she said. Her voice indicated that something happened, and that made me get up quickly.
“What’s going on?” There was silence for a few seconds, and I began shoving things in my bag.
“Nothing. I’ll tell you when you get here,” Allison replied evasively. Then, the line dropped.
“Is everything okay?” Jona asked as I hurried over to the counter to pay.
“It’s Allison,” I said, unable to supply more information. Jona nodded understandingly.
I drove back to the dorm as fast as I could. When I reached the dorm room, I slammed the door open. “You scared the sh—” The rest of the words instantly dried up in my mouth at the scene that welcomed me.
“Father.” Fucking hell, they know.
My father sat on my bed as Allison stood near the door, arms crossed over her chest. She tapped her feet against the floor – a sign that she was scared. Aiden stood next to Father, one of my books in his hands.
“It took you long enough,” Aiden mumbled before shutting the book and placing it back on the side table.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked.
“Excuse me,” Allison quickly excused herself, closing the door shut behind her. I wished she took me with her.
“How else do you expect us to check up on you if you refuse to answer everyone’s calls?” My father uttered, looking up at me.
I wanted to be angry at him. I really did. But he wasn’t. “I’m not the one who’s angry,” I muttered, looking down at my feet.
“I was not angry. I was busy,” he said gently, extending his hand for me.
“Still, you should’ve called.” I sighed in defeat as I took Father’s hand and sat next to him.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know my anger was completely unjustified.”
I cracked a smile, but then Aiden spoke. “Did you know that Keith Carson was studying at your college? It surprisingly happened right after that night.”
I froze. “Is that what you’re here for?” I felt my heart break into two.
So, they did know, and that’s what this visit was about.
“Aiden,” my father scolded him sternly before assuring me, “No, I wanted to see you. I wanted to—”
“See if I had been doing what?” I interrupted. “No, I did not know Keith Carson was here until two days ago. He doesn’t even live here at the dorms.” Some of that wasn’t a lie.
“Why didn’t you call?” Aiden asked.
“Why didn’t you?” I shot back at my brother, who turned to look at our father.
I got up, offended. Here I thought that he genuinely cared about me. They didn’t really care about anything except for that damned business. “If you’re here to lecture me about anything that involves the Carsons, I do not have time for that.” I found myself getting angrier than I was supposed to be.
“Eloisa, that is no way to talk to your brother,” Father reprimanded me.
I scoffed. “Why are you here, Father?”
“To see if the news is correct,” he replied simply. “I’m leaving a guard here at all times.”
“I’m not going to let you do that.” This was the first time I had actually said something so loudly against my father. I saw anger wash over his face, but I continued, “This is the one place where guns and fires do not surround me. I don’t want you to take that away from me.”
Father didn’t answer for a moment. He looked at Aiden, who seemed extremely pissed.
“I told you,” my brother uttered.
I frowned. “What? What happened?” I piped in.
Father didn’t look at me as he got off the bed, fixing his coat.
“I told him that you knew about that boy, and you still didn’t bother telling us,” Aiden replied.
“I thought the Carsons and Castillos reached an agreement. What happened there?” I shot back sardonically.
“Just because we’ve reached an agreement doesn’t mean you get to go out with that pathetic excuse of an asshole,” Aiden spat.
My blood began to boil. Not only were they so distrusting of me, but Aiden was also extremely rude, and Father wasn’t saying anything to stop him.
“I’m not going out with him. Is that what you think?” I laughed, unable to believe that I was trying to get rid of my actual feelings for people who never trusted me in the first place.
“Eloisa,” my father uttered, shaking his head disappointedly.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “What do you want from me, Father? Is that how little it takes for you to trust me?” I asked, looking up at him.
“I trust you, but I also need you to be safe.”
“I’m safe; I know how to protect myself. Besides, I don’t think he wants to hurt me,” I told him honestly.
“Why would he? He gets to mock us just by—” Aiden stopped talking when Father glared at him. “I will kill him,” he ended up s
aying.
“Can you stop for a minute?” I snapped at him before walking out of the dorm.
Father ran after me. “Eloisa, you know I trust you. I don’t trust that boy, and I don’t want him to be of any harm to you. Do you understand that?” He placed a kiss on my temple as he patted my head.
“I understand. I promise you that he will not harm me.”
He took a deep breath, nodding.
“I missed you,” I uttered, hugging him tightly.
Father chuckled slightly. “I missed you, too, but I see that you get your stubbornness from your mother.”
I grinned against his chest. “I’ll stay away from him,” I promised.
There was no denying that the tension between Keith and me was something that I had never felt before. But I had to try to keep a little word of my own father.
“I know you will,” was the last thing he said to me before we said our goodbyes.
Apparently, Aiden was too pissed and decided to head to the car without saying goodbye, and I couldn’t care less. At least I got to make up with Father, and on his way out, he even gave Allison a little pep talk about how she should not be afraid of them, and the way she acted made me laugh.
When Father was gone, my mind was like a jigsaw puzzle that did not fit together at all.
“I was literally heading to the party when they got here. I shat my pants – almost,” Allison confided.
Fuck, the party. “Allison, I don’t think I’m going.”
“Eloisa—”
“No, don’t make me,” I uttered, cutting her off.
Despite the sour look on her face, she nodded. “Your boyfriend’s gonna be heartbroken, though,” Allison teased me.
I ignored it. I needed to stay away from him – not only because my father wanted me to, but also because it felt wrong on so many levels. After all, Keith Carson disrespected me in the past, abducted me, and beat my brother up. He had a bad history of being with women who weren’t supposed to be his.
That last thought stuck in my head. Maybe Keith didn’t even like me. Maybe it was the idea of being with someone he needed to be ten feet away from that made him so curious about me. As I laid there in bed, not even listening to the movie I played when Allison left, I started overthinking as much as one could.
“Fuck it,” I told myself loudly after a while. I got up and raided Allison’s secret shelf, where we stashed all the good alcohol. I pulled out a glass and a bottle of wine before playing an episode on one of my favorite shows as I slipped into my silky pajamas.
This is how I will be spending my Friday night. At least it would save me from more family drama. And a possible heartbreak.
After losing count of how many glasses of wine I had, I was a little tipsy. It was already past midnight, so I wonder why Allison hadn’t come yet. I fell over to my bed in a failed attempt to grab my phone. And as I did, I read a text from Allison.
Gonna be out late. I found myself someone cute. ;)
I laughed to myself as I sent her an emoji and tossed my phone away. I wish I were Allison. Maybe it would be easier to find someone interesting when the person you’re attracted to wasn’t a rival gang leader’s son and soon-to-be don from a family that didn’t get along with your own.
Just then, a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I groaned as I pressed pause on the remote control before leaving the bed. If that’s Allison, we could cry together about having an awful taste in men.
Before I reached the door, someone called from the other side, “Who do you think you are?”
That voice wasn’t Allison’s. Oh, fuck.
I pulled the door open. “What are you—”
Before I could complete my sentence, Keith walked in, fuming in anger, causing me to take a step back. “Do you think it’s funny? Do you like torturing me, Eloisa?” I could tell he was drunk, too.
“You’re not supposed to be here, Keith,” I replied instead.
“Fuck that,” he responded angrily.
I rolled my eyes, going around him to close the door, hoping to keep others from hearing us. As I was checking the lock, I started, “We’re both drunk. I’m not arguing with you. I’m sorry; I was—” I stopped talking when I turned around, my back hitting the door as Keith placed one hand on either side of me, practically trapping me between the door and his body. Oh, boy, he is pissed.
“I waited for you,” he uttered. When I didn’t say anything, Keith’s patience snapped. “I waited like a damn fucking fool! You know I’m never like that, right?” Then, a little softly, he said, “You know I never did that for anyone, right?” His eyes studied my face intently, looking for an answer.
I felt embarrassed. Not only did I not have any answer for him, but my silky clothes hugged all my curves, and I didn’t have time to cover up with a robe.
“I couldn’t… I’m sorry,” I muttered, unable to meet his gaze.
Keith took a step back, curing. “I should’ve known. When your dumb brother and father were here, I—”
“Don’t talk about them like that. You have no right to do that,” I interrupted. No matter what I felt for Keith, he shouldn’t disrespect my family.
“Or what? You’re gonna do what?” he asked condescendingly.
A pang of anger hit me. “I will do nothing because you’re acting like a foolish baby. So what if I didn’t come? It’s not like you didn’t have anyone else there!” I was harsh, I knew it, but it was the truth. I was also starting to get annoyed by being everyone’s center of attention.
“I wanted you to be there, not everyone else,” Keith uttered.
“Too bad!” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I can’t do this. Fuck this,” he said, running a hand through his hair and then fixing his jacket.
“Then, you should leave,” I suggested. Maybe that’s what’s best for both of us.
Keith faced me. “Do you want me to leave, or are you just saying that because you’re daddy’s little girl?” he said mockingly.
I scoffed. “Get out.” I controlled my voice since I didn’t want to be too loud and nasty. I just didn’t like where this was going.
“I don’t believe you,” he replied, shaking his head.
That pissed me off again. If he said something stupid one more time, I would hit him. Still, I tried to be diplomatic. “I don’t want to get into this with you, Keith. Please leave,” I said.
“Or what? You’re gonna start crying?”
I raised my hand to slap Keith, but he was quicker than me. He caught my wrist and pulled me closer to him, his grip tight.
“I’m gonna kill you,” I managed to say. I was breathing heavily, and our faces were only inches apart.
“I’m all yours,” Keith muttered, his voice deep and low. His eyes went down to my lips again, and I saw his Adam’s apple as he gulped. After a while, his grip loosened. “Fuck, Eloisa, I—”
I cut him off by doing something unexpected. I kissed him.
To continue the story: Cruel Family Part 3
More Books by Scarlett Winters:
Ruthless Legacy Series
Cruel Heir
Cruel Hearts
Cruel Family
Cruel Vows
Cruel Traitor
Cruel Ruler
The Steel Kings MC Series
Creed
Marshall
Dice
Torque
Cash
Sean Collins
The Steel Kings MC Complete Boxset
Alpha Agency Protectors Series
Counter Terrorism
Outlaw
Ice Princess
Cowboy Bodyguard
Accidental Wedding
Closely Guarded
Witness Protection
Legal Angel
Alpha Agency Protectors Complete Boxset
Deep Woods Alpha’s Series
The Bear Master of Kodiak Island
Freed By the Mountain Man
The Mou
ntain Man’s Muse
Loved by the Mountain Man
About the Author:
Amazon Bestselling author Scarlett Winters.
If you love steamy romance-short stories, with insta love, dominant alpha males, and happily ever after endings, just feel good and spicy. Then you will love my stories! I love to interact with my amazing readers and can't wait to get to know you!
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Cruel Hearts : An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance (Ruthless Legacy Book 2) Page 5