Page 79 of Promise to Break

Liam walks into her personal space, causing Julian to stumble a step. "What are you doing here, Ugly Birdy?"

I'm about to intervene, but before I can, Julian asks Maricela, "Is he blind?" before hugging her, too, as if it's an everyday occurrence.

Julian's family was never on my radar much. His mother's a kind woman who cooks delicious food, and his father is a respectful man who never did ill to anyone. Julian, however, is a slimy fucker.

"Touch my girl like that one more time, and you can forget about your NFL career."

"Killian," Maricela starts.

I look at Julian, who looks like I made his day.

"You told me you were mine, Maricela, so don't you dare say you're not, or I swear—"

"I don't want your girl," Julian interrupts. "I want my own boy, and if he's a daddy like that journalist guy that Mari dreams about, all the better," he sings.

I am going to kill him. "Who does she pine for?"

"The prof, Maverick, something. Blond hair, dirty mouth, hot accent. Oh, yeah, Hope. Maverick Hope. I hope his dick—"

Raven covers Julian's mouth, cutting him off. So, fine, he's gay. I get it, but since when was Maricela looking at Maverick, of all people?

"Don't start," she says before I can reply. "I don't want Maverick." She laughs at the show Julian makes of licking Raven's hand.

"So where were we?" Julian says. "Oh, yes," he says, turning to face Liam. "We were talking about how that British fucker refers to my Sunny. Who do you think you are?" Julian is a big fucker, and with a future NFL career expected, he practices every day.

"Juli, estas loco." The Juli in question just shrugs. I'll give him one thing: he's a brave one. He outed himself to the son of a mob boss, who's known for his lack of acceptance, while insulting the future heir of the British mafia. He's a crazy fuck indeed, and Maricela is right to call him that.

"Still, don't touch her like that," I insist.

Julian frowns. "I'm a tactile person. I need to touch. I'll hug the girls who are like sisters to me and who you and the Brit will bury yourselves in. Mafia or not, no one will speak about Sunny like that."

"Sunny?" I know Raven loves this guy, and Maricela does, too.

"Sunshine is too cliché, man. Now, where's my crew of future players?" he says, scanning the area.

Maricela looks as if she's about to murder me. "I don't know, and since you two didn't let me speak, you'll have to figure it out yourself. I'm going to work."

Raven follows her while Kai clasps Liam on the shoulder, probably trying to keep him from going to kill Dear Juli. "He's not worth it," Kai says in a low voice that only the three of us can hear.

"No, and Dear Juli is right. Why are you always calling my model-like cousin ugly?" Liam and I have a good friendship, but he knows that if push comes to shove, I'd kill him for Raven.

"I don't touch her, and I won't, just like I promised until the expiration date. But I'll speak to her as I see fit, mate. And that fucker will pay for disrespecting me. Bloody idiot."

"You will not, because he's under my protection."

Maricela stops what she's doing with the lights and smiles at me. Fuck. What's wrong with me? Since when do I stop Liam from killing people? He once killed a man who smiled at him wrong last year. It's who Liam is.

"Fine, mate. As you say." And that's that.

When they crowned me as the king of the deviants, it was agreed that the king had the responsibility of stopping the others from going too far. This role isn't used by me a lot, but on the rare occasions it is, it's unmovable.

"Hey, you three," a woman who looks as if life put her through the ringer calls with a deeper voice than that of Morgan Freeman. "Are you all just going to stand there like prey for the narcos? Fuck my ass and call me Lily. It's the Fierro boy." Her short hair resembles a bird's nest, and her nails are painted bright red. I narrow my eyes.

"Who is this creator of God?" It's Kai who speaks now, his voice low because the woman, for lack of a better description, is heading our way.

"I don't know, but she knows our Killer here."

"I'm the director of this place, the nana of dreams, and I know that one."

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