Page 119 of Easy Out

Morelli pounds on the door. Seconds later, the door creaks open wide enough for a woman with stringy, brown hair to greet us exposing only half of her slight frame. “What do you want?” Her eyes are unable to focus on our faces.

“I’m looking for my girlfriend Lauren. Is she here?” There is a whimper from somewhere in the trailer. Lauren.

“No.” This woman, I’m guessing it’s the boy’s mom, attempts to close the door but Alessandro blocks it with his foot and forearm.

“Her car is outside.”

“It might be, but she’s not here. I would suggest you leave.” Another whimper sounds a little louder than before. My patience with this woman is dwindling at a rapid pace.

Not that I had any to begin with.

“Shut up bitch,” a man says from somewhere in the trailer. His voice is hushed, but rough and full of venom.

“You need to leave.”

“I don’t think so,” Morelli snarls and bulldozes his way past Manny’s mom.

I follow him and stop short absorbing the scene in front of me. Carlos is sitting on the kitchen floor, leaning against the dirty cabinets with blood running down his cheek and lips.

Their mom, who put on a brave front when she answered the door, now cowers in the corner. She is covered in a rainbow of bruises. It’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.

Blood starts pounding in my ears and my breathing gets heavier when my eyes land on mi cariño. Lauren is standing guard in front of Manny. Fresh tears stream down her face. My fierce girl is trying hard to show her strength.

A man who is twice her size towers over her with a knife in his hand. I don’t know who he is, but it doesn’t matter.

He is a dead man.

“We don’t want any trouble. I’m here to pick up my daughter,” Morelli says as he slowly creeps closer to Lauren.

“This bitch?” He questions, snatching Lauren by the bicep and yanking her away from Manny. I make a move for him, but I’m stopped by Alessandro’s arm.

I growl like a caged animal. I want to rip his arm out of the socket for touching Lauren this way.

“She keeps putting her nose in our business. This girl is nothing but trouble.” Lauren winces in pain as he tightens the grip he has on her arm.

As much as it pisses me off that he’s manhandling her, I’m more concerned about the knife he’s holding carelessly in his other hand.

“I wouldn’t know. I just got her back in my life. Let me take her off your hands and you can deal with your family.”

Manny’s crying gets louder. That seems to irritate the bastard more. Carlos scoots over to Manny and pulls him into his arms. His face is nothing, but hard lines and hateful daggers pointed directly at his father.

We need to get them all out of here before this escalates. Hopefully the police are on their way. Maybe the threat of jail time will sober him up and bring him to his senses.

“I get it now.” He sneers down at Lauren. “You’ve got mommy and daddy issues. You can’t solve your problems so you thought you would create them for my family.” His words slur together, and spittle flies out of his mouth.

Lauren shakes her head. “I was taking them to the baseball game. That’s all.”

“Shut up. You are filling their head with foolish ideas. Yeah, boy.” He directs his words to Carlos but keeps a strong grip on Lauren. Her eyes connect with mine. I plead with her to stay strong and wait. I beg her to let me fight for her this time. She’s likely to kick him in the balls and get herself stabbed.

“I heard you on the phone. Talking about getting out of here. You don’t like this life I’ve given you?”

“Fuck. You,” Carlos spits.

“You disrespectful little shit,” he sneers at Carlos, before lunging toward him with the knife.

I don’t think. I act.

27

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