Page 77 of Explosive Prejudice

“A title, you say?”

“Yeah. A title.”

“What other titles did I earn?”

Placing the mugs in the sink, he turned to face me. “Crazy son of a bitch.”

“Funny.” I smirked, getting closer until he was pushed against the counter. “We share a mutual title, then.”

Resting his hands flat on the counter and leaning back, he gave me a mischievous smile. Once again, I found myself too close to him. It was insane how my body acted on its own whenever he was in my proximity.

“I also call you a mutt,” he purred, the word coming off so sexy out of his filthy mouth.

Grabbing his jaw, I tilted his head so he’d look me straight in the eyes, then shifted even closer, our hips nearly touching. “A mutt, huh?” A half smirk drew on my lips. “That’s rich coming from a puss.”

Putting his hand on my chest, he snorted. “Well, I am rich. Filthy rich.” The next thing I knew, he pushed me aside and walked back into the living room.

Shaking my head, I turned to look at him, thinking how much I enjoyed this dynamic. I noticed it back when he was Llorón and I was Nero, but we both had the ability to dive deep into hard conversations before rising back to the surface, only to tease and flirt with the other.

“I have one question, though,” he said, cutting the light atmosphere with a hard look. “What happened to the monster who raped your sister?”

“Nothing.”

His forehead creased as he looked confused.

“Thanks to her dancing, Carmen got a scholarship to this prestigious school. Her rapist was a classmate. A rich, privileged pig who got away with it because he simply could.”

Crossing his arms and tucking his hands underneath his armpits, he shook his head before letting out a deep sigh. “No wonder you hated me so much, then.”

“But you’re not the same.” Shay-Lee looked at me wide-eyed before he schooled his features.

“Don’t get me wrong. I have no doubt you use your money and connections to get shit done, but not like this.” I knew Shay-Lee did bad things, such as beating Andrei and breaking his arm, but I couldn’t act all self-righteous, considering the number of limbs I had broken in my life.

He sighed. “You give me too much credit. I’m a piece of shit, and we both know it.”

At least he owned up to it, but again, I was in no place to judge. “Actually, I did a little digging,” I said, scratching my jaw.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “How so?”

“I did some research about the girl who killed herself last semester. Laura.”

Shock crossed his features, telling me my suspicions were right.

“You got rid of those twins not only because of what they did to Jordan but also because they raped that poor girl. Didn’t you?”

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. “I did.”

“And why’s that? Why care about a girl who probably meant nothing to you?”

Anger stirred within his eyes. “Because she was a human being.” He took a deep breath, clenching his fists. “I am many things. I’m cruel and unfair. I’m selfish and vain, but I’m not a fucking rapist.” The way he spat that one word with nothing but disgust told me everything I needed to know. “Truth is, I should have done a lot more and a lot sooner, but I didn’t,” he hissed, angry with himself.

“You did something, and that counts.”

We held each other’s stare again before he picked his phone up off the table to check the time. “It’s almost evening. I should go.”

It never occurred to me that at some point he’d have to leave to go back home, to a place that scared him.

“You don’t have to go.”

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