Page 139 of Explosive Prejudice

“We could have met outside,” Camilo said, snapping me back.

“You know we can’t. Whenever I leave this place, I’ve got a tail. So make sure to have this hat low when you go out.”

Camilo’s jaw tensed before he sat down on the bed with his back to me.

“Weren’t you the one who begged for us to meet?” Moving to sit behind him, I threw my arms around his shoulders and brought my lips to his ear. “I can’t take this anymore, Llorón.” I moaned the words he told me over the phone last night. “I need to see you, to feel you, to fuck you, or I’ll lose my mind.”

Camilo grunted, then pushed my face away. “Shut it,” he hissed, ignoring my laughter, and stood up.

“When is Dion going to be here?”

“In three hours.”

“And your dad?”

“Half an hour later. I’ll have to set the mood with Dion first.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You better not so much as kiss him.”

A shudder went through my spine at the awful thought. “God, no. But I will make it look like we’re about to fuck, or else my dad won’t buy it.” Besides, from the number of times my dad called me the past week, I had no doubt he was close to losing it. Me sleeping with Camilo didn’t seem to scare him off, but being with a man like Dion? My dad would slaughter Dion with his two bare hands before letting him out of this apartment.

And while Camilo didn’t try to hide his discomfort with the plan, he didn’t try to stop me either. I was about to cheer him up with some kisses when a low meow grabbed our attention, and my new Persian cat, one out of the many gifts Dion gave me this passing week, jumped on the bed.

Camilo reached to scratch her between the ears, and she purred.

“She likes you,” I said, enjoying the comfort that took over Camilo the second an animal was around.

“Make sure to take her with you before you leave.”

I checked my phone for the time.

“Shouldn’t you go and get ready for the ceremony? I can’t wait to see you in a gown and cap.” I winked.

“I’m not wearing that crap.”

I snorted a laugh. “Didn’t think you would…” Pursing my lips, I said, “You know, Rosa will come soon. I talked with her on the phone, and she said she’d be happy to visit me.”

Camilo looked surprised. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I mean, if we’re leaving tonight, I want to tell her goodbye. Believe it or not, I’ll miss her.”

Rosa was always nothing but kind toward me. If everything went to plan, she, too, would be free from my father’s grip.

“That’s nice. She seemed like a kind lady,” Camilo said with a soft smile before going back to petting the cat, who seemed to have fallen for him.

“And speaking of goodbyes, there was something else I wanted to suggest.”

Lifting his eyes from the cat, he met mine. “What is it?”

“Maybe talk with Andrei.”

“Fuck no.”

I stood from the bed. “Camilo, we’re going to leave town tonight and go to who knows where. Don’t you want to make peace with him before?”

He looked away from me, and I sighed.

“You can pretend all you want, but deep down, you miss him. You shouldn’t be so stubborn, not about this.”

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