Page 68 of Outcast

I would have asked why, but I wasn't turning around so he could hear me. My path would get swallowed up and we'd be stuck here for another ten minutes. It wasn't that I minded, but as much as I wanted to see Amorette, I hadn't wanted to stay out very long.

Just enough that both Amorette and Esteban saw that I was okay.

Another gap appeared and I cleared it. Then some scrawny ass kid stepped in my path.

"Dance?" His smile was as slimy as his polo. The tourists found us.

"Get lost." I flicked my fingers, but his smile didn't change. He moved closer.

He used his one chance. Shooting out my hand, I cupped his feeble balls, making sure to dig my nails in. At the same time Esteban caught his throat.

I sputtered out a laugh, leaning closer. "If you want to keep your life and your balls, I'd hit up Lorana's. That's where the tourists party."

As if synchronized, we let the kid go, and he wasted no time scrambling back.

I glanced back at Esteban and we shared a smile, before his gaze flicked over my head. Murder entered his expression and he curled his hand around my waist.

Oh fuck. I had a good idea what he was frustrated about. I almost didn't want to turn.

But I did.

There was Amorette, sitting in the center of three of her men, minus Andre, and in the fifth chair was Matías, looking grumpy as hell as he returned my stare.

As soon as our eyes met, I looked away as heat blistered my cheeks. I'd done nothing wrong, but my body reacted like I'd betrayed him. Fuck that.

Moving forward, I switched my attention to Amorette. She had the decency to look sheepish. When I reached her, I nodded my head toward the other table. Smiling at her guys, she excused herself and followed me.

"Why did you bring him?" I demanded once we were seated.

"Grey and Parker didn't want to leave him at home." She gazed at them with too much love. It was going to make me sick.

"I don't want to see him, Amorette." I wasn't kidding.

She shrugged. "So don't look. We're at a different table anyway."

Yeah, she said that, but my eyes had a mind of their own. Every few seconds they wandered to his seat and slid away from his heated stare. He was making a scene with how intently focused on me he was.

Esteban glanced between Matías and me. He seemed torn between staying with me and starting another fight with Matías. Finally, he released the tension in his shoulders and came to stand against the wall behind me.

I sighed. I hadn't realized how concerned I was that they'd start fighting in the club. In our compound was one thing, but in one of our businesses was another. It required paying off a few officials for turning their heads the other way.

We'd had to do that for Parker last year.

"Parker told me about what happened at the school." Amorette flicked her gaze to Esteban and back again. The music wasn't as loud here, but she still kept her voice low so he couldn't hear what she was saying. "Why didn't you call me?"

"And tell you what?" I played dumb. One-hundred-percent.

She reached for my hand and tucked her small hand around mine. "I'm just worried about you."

"Yeah? Well, bringing the man who broke my heart isn't the way to check on me," I snapped.

Amorette pressed her lips together and glanced at Matías. I did too and wished I hadn't.

He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was talking to Ricco and a couple of the guys from the club. They slapped him on the back like a long lost friend. It was hard to see.

I was the Dirty Dog. I wasPapá’sfucking daughter and they all knew he dropped me. Yet they fawned around him like he was royalty.

"I just don't understand..." Amorette trailed off.

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