He crouched down in front of her. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded.
She sighed and looked at Hunter in the backseat. “I see you were right, still waters run deep.” She looked back at Nicolas. “My home was bombed three days ago.”
“Joder!” Nicolas said with feeling.
“Nicolas,” Aliana reprimanded.
“Leave the kid alone. Fuck is the appropriate word,” Zed said.
“Who are these men?”
“They’ve come to protect me, my mom, and my grandmother.”
Nicolas eyed her knowingly, sadly. “All of you have been threatened. By who?”
She didn’t want to tell him. She couldn’t.
“If you don’t, I will,” Hunter rumbled from the backseat.
She stayed silent.
“It was your brother, Mateo,” Zed answered.
Nicolas closed his eyes and stood up. He walked away from the car. Hunter bolted out of the backseat.
Nicolas turned to face him. He looked him dead in the eye.
“I’m not leaving, I just need to think a minute,” he said fiercely.
“Wanna take a walk?” Hunter asked in Spanish.
Nicolas nodded.
Hunter saw Lottie walk toward the car as he and Nicolas began walking down the block.
“Who are you?” Nicolas asked after they walked two blocks.
“I’m an old friend of Ms. Novak’s.”
“You look like a cop or something.”
“I’m a SEAL.”
Nicolas stopped in the middle of the uneven sidewalk. “For real?”
“Yep.”
He blew out a breath and started walking again. “You probably think I’m scum.”
“Why do you say that? Do you think I would judge you because of something your brother did? That’s bullshit.”
“Didn’t Ms. Novak tell you I’m part of my brother’s gang. I’m in Los Demonios. That means I’m part of something that did this. Fuck. Why didn’t I see this possibility?” Kid sounded just like Aliana with the way he beat himself up.
“Hell, dude, I was part of Las Nuevas Espadas. I didn’t get out until I was almost eighteen and joined the Navy. I wasn’t responsible for everything my gang did.”
“Yeah, but gangs are worse than what they were in the olden days.”
This time it was Hunter who stopped walking as he barked out a laugh.
“Olden days? Jesus, Kid, just how old do you think I am?”
“Forty-five?” he asked tentatively.
“Try thirty-one. I need to start wearing a higher SPF sunscreen.”
“So maybe they haven’t changed much. Drugs?” Hunter nodded. “Hookers?” Hunter nodded. “Shakedowns?” Hunter nodded. “Turf-wars?”
“Oh, yeah. Somehow I managed to keep my hands clean. I never killed anyone. I dealt a little, but I stayed away from the hard stuff. I took a lot of heat for being a pussy. I was an enforcer, but mostly just intimated people because of my size.”
Nicolas looked him up and down. “Yeah, I could see how that would work. But you got out. I’m going to get out. I have Ms. Novak. Most of the good ones don’t have anyone like her. They don’t have my opportunities, but I’m helping them.”
Yep, it was just like Aliana had suspected.
“What have you been doing?”
“I’ve skimmed a little off some deals and got them on buses out of town. I got three of them off to different families in the Midwest through a church program. We got one girl, a working girl, into a rehab center up in the Valley. She should be getting out next week.” There was such pride on the kid’s face. Hell, he should be proud, but scared. Why wasn’t he scared?
“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”
“I’m doing the right thing. Ms. Novak does the right thing. She stands up to gang members at school. She expels them. She tries to make the school a bully-free environment. It doesn’t work, but she tries. I’m just following in her footsteps. Plus, I read this great book,” he said excitedly.
Hunter pressed the bridge of his nose. Holy fuck, if this kid was caught, they’d make an example of him for sure. He was going to be gutted.
“Let’s table this for the time being.”
“Okay. You want to talk about Mateo, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Look, he didn’t bomb Ms. Novak’s house.”
“I know he’s your brother, but he attacked her. Five days before her house blew up, he attacked and cut her. It was him.”
Nicolas stopped short. “So she wasn’t in a car wreck, she should have told me then.”
“You know that’s not her,” Hunter said.
“He is a dead man walking,” he said in an ominous voice.
Hunter put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t say things like that.”
Nicolas shook off his hand. “He’s a dead man,” Nicolas said tightly. “What did he do to her?”
“He used a knife on her. He cut her.”
“Goddammit, she’s the one good thing in my life besides my mother.”
“Then he bombed her house.”
“No, he didn’t do that,” Nicolas sounded tired. “If he wanted her dead, she’d be dead. There is no way that the bomb wouldn’t have worked.” Nicolas raked his fingers through his curly hair. “He was trying to kill her in a way I wouldn’t associate with him. But if Mateo had planted the bomb, she’d be dead for sure. He’s offed at least three people, one a social worker with a bomb. There was nothing left to identify.” Nicolas shuddered. “This wasn’t him, he might have ordered it, but he didn’t execute it.”
“What are you thinking?” Hunter asked.
“Somebody wanted her to live. Somebody in Mateo’s personal posse, my guess it’s Rafael Lopez. He came up on me and Maria talking. I think he overheard us, but it never went anyplace. I was sweating bullets for a couple of days.”
“For fuck’s sake, you should have been.” Hunter squeezed his shoulder. “You need to stop this happy horseshit.”
“I can’t. It’s what I was meant to do.”
“Fine, tell me about Rafael.”
“I think he lives in the apartments on Eastern and Belhurst. Sometimes, he picks up some extra cash by working as a valet at a hotel downtown. It’s a swanky one near the Staples Center. He gets wax impressions of car keys, so they can steal the car later, or if the guest is local and just doing a getaway weekend, he’ll steal their house keys and break into their home. You should be able to find him there.”
“Do you know the name of the hotel?” Hunter asked.
“It’s the Blue.”
Hunter nodded. He had to try again.
“Nicolas, this has got to stop.”
“No. I’m on a mission.” God, the kid sounded like Cesar Chavez or some shit. A real revolutionary.
“Nicolas, I understand what you’re saying, but until Ms. Novak is in the clear, you need to halt all activities. She’s in too much danger, and the shit you’re pulling will just make her more of a target.”
“You think what I’ve done has something to do with her house being bombed?”
“Yes, I do. Think about it. I’m guessing the kids you got out of the gang go to Bertrum High, right?”
“Yep.”
“So, they’d lay that at her doorstep, wouldn’t they?” The kid’s eyes got wide.
“Fuck. I never considered that. I would never put her in harm’s way.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
“Can you protect her? What should I do? How can I help?” The kid sounded fierce.
“Let’s go back to the car.”
“Who’s the other guy?”
“He grew up around here. Now, he’s really from the olden days, so you can tell him he looks fifty.”
Nicolas gave him a sideways look, “I’ll pass.”
Yep, a smart kid.
“Zed is another Navy SEAL, I’ve got a third buddy who is over at her grandmother’s right now watching her
place.”
“Is―”
“Yep, he’s a SEAL, too.”
“Damn, but still, unless you have all of Las Nuevas Espadas, I don’t think you’re going to be able to take down Los Demonios,” he warned.
Zed was standing outside the car and overheard what Nicolas said, Lottie wasn’t there anymore.
“We’re not looking to take down your brother’s gang. We’re looking to keep Aliana safe. Does that mean taking your brother off the board? Yes, but we want to do this the easy way,” Zed assured him.
“Prison isn’t easy,” Nicolas said.
“It’s better than dead,” Zed said harshly. “He tried to kill a woman who has been nothing but good to you. Look at her,” he motioned to Aliana. She was sitting back with her head against the headrest. She looked pale. She should never have put her hair in that bun. It had probably given her a headache, then with this heat, she must be really hurting. She needed to go home.
“We also want to talk to your sister, Darla.”
“Why?” Nicolas asked. It was clear he was not happy with the idea.
“Ms. Rodriguez suggested she might have helpful information,” Hunter said.
“That makes no sense. She’s been sick. She wouldn’t have anything to say.” He sounded protective.
“Nicolas, if Ms. Rodriguez thinks Darla might have something to offer, she probably has a good reason why,” Aliana called out softly from the car window.
All three males looked at her.
“How far do you live from here?” Hunter asked Nicolas.
“About a mile.”
“Zed, why don’t you take a slow walk with Nicolas, while I drive Aliana home. I’ll meet up with you in thirty minutes at Nicholas’ house, we’ll talk more there.”
“Wanna go to the taco truck on Conroy? My treat.” Zed asked the kid.
“That wouldn’t be too bad.” Nicholas said.
“Make it an hour,” Zed said. “What’s your address?” he then asked Nicolas.
The kid rattled it off, and Hunter plugged it into his phone.
He got into the driver’s seat and turned to Aliana, who looked too pale for his peace of mind. He rolled up the windows and put the air conditioning on max. About four blocks from her grandmother’s, she started to look around.
“Take your hair down.”
“What?”
“Your hair, take it down.”
He pulled in behind Dalton’s truck.
“You really don’t like it when I wear my hair up, do you?” Her voice was husky from sleep. It went straight to his cock.
“Mi Cariña, you have been fighting a headache since we visited your mother, haven’t you?”
She didn’t answer.
“You already told me wearing your hair up in a bun, or whatever that hairdo is, just makes your head hurt more, so take your fucking hair down. This is not about me, it’s about you.” Her already big blue eyes got even rounder.
“Am I Jane?”
“Is this a Tarzan reference?”
She gave a quick head bob as she pulled pins out of her hair. He could give a shit what she called him as long as she wasn’t hurting. He watched as she carefully put them into a certain pocket in her purse. He wasn’t surprised she was so neat and tidy.
“There, are you satisfied?”
“Not quite.” He pulled her close, then pushed his fingers through the wheat, ash, and gold strands and massaged her neck and scalp. She went soft against his front and whimpered. Dalton walked up to her side of the car, peeked in the window, then walked away. Good man.
“Hunter, should you be doing this?” she almost moaned the words, her Czech accent thick.
“Making you feel good? Yes, I should always make you feel good. That’s my job.”
“There are things you don’t know,” she whispered against his chest.
“Don’t start with the happy horseshit,” he said softly.
His heart warmed when she giggled.
Now that she was soft, warm, and pliant, he wanted to ask her again why she had sent him away, but instead, he decided to enjoy the moment. It felt too damn good not to.
“I won’t start. I just need to enjoy this moment. I need it.”
“Good girl.” He stroked her hair until he reached the center of her back. He did it again and again until her trembling stopped. “Do you know how big of a piece of my world you were back then?”
She looked up at him. “Your letter said I was, but after dad, I stopped believing. I wanted to believe so badly, but I stopped.” She pressed her head against his chest. He could feel her tears through his white t-shirt.
“You shouldn’t have, Cariña. It was always true. Even now, what I wrote is still true. It was just you and Mamie and LL. And it was you and Mamie who made me feel clean and good about myself. But I… But down deep, I always felt dirty. Always.”
She lifted her head and stared into his eyes.
“Why? I would have remembered if you weren’t clean, so it wasn’t that. And you were always so good. You did good and were so nice to me. How could you ever see yourself as dirty?”
“I never told you about when I was younger. I didn’t want you to think less of me. I should have known it wouldn’t have mattered to you, but I was ashamed.”
She cupped his cheek, her thumb tracing the crease in his cheek. “Tell me.”
“Mamie isn’t really my grandmother, did you know that? She was the neighbor lady across the hall.”
“No, mi Cariño, I didn’t know that.”
Something eased at her whispered endearment.
“Tell me,” she encouraged.
“I remember things when I was really young. I mean really young. I was probably only two. I knew who my parents were even though there were three men and three women in the apartment. There were four other children living there and a baby, too. I remember they all got food, but when I was given food, my father would slap it out of my hands. I went hungry a lot. I never understand why this man hated me.”
“And your mother?”
“She got slapped or hit if she gave me food, so she just stopped. It was one of the other men who would give me food. He would yell at my father. Eventually, he left with one of the women and two of the children. Even though it wasn’t as cramped in the apartment, it got worse.”
“The adults each had a bedroom, all the children and the baby slept in the living room. The first time I snuck out of the apartment, I was probably four. Hell, Alia, I didn’t even know my real age.”
“Oh, Baby. What happened?”
She had no give for herself, but when he needed some solace, she was right there. Amazing.
“I left because I saw them take out the trash, and I remembered that there had been food on Ricki’s plate. I wanted what was in that trash bag. I went outside to find it and eventually, found the dumpsters for the apartment building. They were overflowing, so I was going through the plastic bags surrounding the dumpsters when Mamie found me. I tried to hide from her. It took her twenty minutes to coax me out from behind the bins. To this day she says it was a miracle that she was taking out the trash at midnight.”
“It wasn’t safe for her, was it? Why was she?” Aliana asked.
“Her cat was sick, so she said she had to get rid of the cat litter or be killed by the stench,” he said with a slight grin. “Spooky was a great cat. He lived for eight years after I moved in.”
“How did you get to move in?”
Hunter thought about that awful night.
“For the next six months, on different nights, I would sneak over to Mamie’s apartment. Things at my apartment got worse because the other family moved out. I didn’t realize what was going on, but I guess my parents couldn’t afford it on their own. All I know is there was a lot of screaming, yelling, and hitting. One night, Dad knocked Mom down and instead of her staying down, she crawled to the bedroom and came out with a gun. I snuck out the door just before I heard the gun go off. When I was at Mamie’s
place, I heard sirens and more shots.”
“What happened when the police came and questioned you?”
“They never did.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Mamie explained it to me years later. She used to work with the county. My mom and dad died on Friday, she called a social worker friend the following Monday. She arranged for me to become her foster child. The social worker went back and found my birth certificate.”
“So, you’re her foster child?”
“Oh, hell no. Never underestimate Rosa Diaz. I was adopted before I was in first grade. That woman works miracles.”
Aliana’s fingers sifted through the hair on the side of his head.
“Why do you think you’re dirty?”
“I was eating out of the trash,” he bit out. “That night I went to the dumpster? That wasn’t the first time, I ate out of the trash can in the house all the damn time. I wore the same clothes weeks at a time. I stunk and didn’t even know it until I started going over to Mamie’s house.”
“I understand that as a child you felt ashamed and might not have been ready to tell me, but you don’t feel like that now, do you?”
He grasped her hand and brought her palm to his lips. “No. No, I don’t.”
“Good,” she said with a fierce smile.
“So, why do you still have some of your same tapes from childhood playing in your head? Why can’t I tell you you’re beautiful? Why can’t I tell you you’re my special piece of heaven?”
She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Hunter, let me go.”
“No. Answer me.”
“That was never who you were, those were just sad circumstances. And I’ve thrown a lot of those tapes away. I have.”
Her look implored him to believe her, but he didn’t. If she had, she wouldn’t have such a high wall built around her heart.
“So, it’s okay that I call you mi Cielito?” he asked.
She cringed. “You’re asking me to believe lies about myself. I have a mirror. I know me. I know the real me. You don’t Hunter. I know me. I’m no one’s piece of heaven. Especially yours. I would just drag you down. You don’t need that. You don’t.”
“Okay, Cariña, calm down. Let’s go back to the moment where you were playing with my hair, I really liked that.”
Her Passionate Hero Page 13