Page 51 of Spark

She sighed into him, pushing back on his chest, her hands feeling the warm, hard muscles there. “Good.” He let her push him back to the couch, catching her wrist as he fell back, pulling her down with him. Laughing, they settled in, her body lying partly on his.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Mia bit her lip, chewing the skin inside her cheek as nerves got the better of her. “Well, there is this cop…” she started, feeling him tense up under her.

“Okay.” His voice did not reflect the tension she could feel coming from his body.

“Well, the neighbor.”

“The one you punched?”

“Yeah. That one.”

“Nice,” Aurelio intoned, patting her arm. She rolled her eyes and gave him a look. “Sorry, continue.”

“Thanks. So, he is a detective. One of the detectives in charge of breaking up gangs, especially gangs that steal cars.” The words hung in the air.

Aurelio’s eyes were unfocused.

She waited, but after a moment of silence, she kept talking. “He moved in the shortly after we met. He has a vendetta against car thieves. He said they stole his car. A yellow Shelby Mustang. Just like yours.”

Aurelio's face darkened, his hands settled on her arm, holding her. “Baby is mine. I built her.” His tone was firm. “She was scraps that I put back together, piece by piece, for five years.”

“Okay,” Mia conceded. “Aurelio, you're hurting me.” She smacked his hand.

Shaking his head, he focused on her and let go. “I'm so sorry!” he apologized, inspecting her arm. Faint lines from his fingers could be seen against her pale skin, fading as they watched.

“It's okay, but what was that about?” she asked, holding his hand.

“Like I said, I built Baby from nothing. I scavenged for her parts, hunted, bartered, and gave away so much to build her. She is mine.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Five years, that’s what it took to build her. Five years of blood, sweat, and tears. But I was determined. She was going to be the escape at the end of my servitude. When the five years were up, I was gonna hop behind the wheel and just drive.”

Mia had so many questions but stayed silent, not willing to risk the moment he was sharing with her. “Right on the cusp of the five years, Baby was finally done. I was ready to leave when she suddenly disappeared.”

“Who?” Mia couldn't stop herself.

“Baby.” Aurelio looked at Mia and gave a soft sad smile. “Boss sold her to some douche, and he took her. I offered two more years for the information I needed to get her back. Of course, she was in the hands of a detective fresh out of the academy and on the fast track.”

“Oliver.”

“Yeah, Oliver Jones.” Aurelio furrowed his brow. He placed his head in his hands, sighing.

“Well, that explains why you said not to bring Baby.” He gently grabbed her chin. “And it is Baby, not Beast, beautiful,” Aurelio said, giving Mia a smile.

“I didn't want to use her name, just in case. Keep going; that's still only seven years.”

“Well, Mac came into my life when I was two years in, and I was stupid. I didn't even think, but when Boss said no kids were allowed around, I offered one year for him to let Mac be. Boss was oh so happy to open that line of negotiations.”

“Wait, one year?” she said, remembering Mac's words from the other night. “But Mac said it was two?”

Aurelio's expression turned hard once more. “Mac was a stupid kid,isa stupid kid. One day, the boss came in pissed about some shit. He was taking it out on my guys, and I stepped in, letting him rail on me instead. It’s better that way.” He gave a small chuckle. “Mac had formed an attachment to me; he thought I was a hero. When he saw the boss go to punch me, he snapped. He grabbed a wrench and went to hit him. I saw it coming, grabbed the punk, and stopped him, but I was too late. The damage was done. Boss ordered that the kid be ‘taken care of.’ The guys that Boss keeps as guards would have killed him, so I offered two years to spare him.”

“Oh, Aurelio,” Mia said, kissing his chin and brushing her lips along his jawline.

“I took off after Boss left, drove to Mexico, and sat at the border. I knew if I crossed over, all my guys, Mac included, would suffer. He'd make them pay for me leaving. I could not do that to them, so I turned around and swore to let this be it.” He looked so serious with furrowed brows. The anger she had seen before was there, and it scared her.

“So, three months?” she prompted, hoping to bring him back to her, to this room and away from his painful memories. It worked; Aurelio gave her a grin and a wink.

“Yes, finally. Freedom is right there. I have all the remaining jobs lined up. Nothing is going to stop me from walking away this time.”

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