Page 16 of Outcast

I chuckled. "A nuisance. I hate that kind of posturing. I especially hate it when I'm ready for a nap."

Shaking his head, he pushed away from the car. "I just came by to check up on the place. I'm supposed to meet with Andre later about something Rita wants us to do." The fondness for his only child wrapped around his words.

He loved the hell out of her.

I gritted my teeth.

"What's wrong? Rita avoiding your calls again?" He slapped me on the back as he headed deeper into the shop. I walked with him.

"She's a fucking lunatic when she wants something. I just worry about her." I turned my face. Javier was too sharp and he'd see things I didn't want him to see.

But he knew. Everyone fucking knew how much of a hold Rita had onme. If I could just pull her head out of her ass, then maybe she’d see it too.

"Rita has a good head on her shoulders. She's making her own way in life, and I couldn't be prouder of her." His voice turned wistful, and I glanced back.

"You don't want her in the Dirty Dogs? Protected and insulated from the crime world?" Because I sure as shit did.She would always be the Dirty Dogs’ princess and that alone put a target on her back.

What she was doing with the Castillo brothers was also dangerous. Maybe not now, but when they started sending out small firecrackers, they were going to start a fire that burned the hell out of Rita because she was reckless after that fuckwad Matías broke her heart.

Javier's gaze dropped to my jaw and I loosened it.

"The Dirty Dogs isn't any place for her after I'm gone. I had hoped..." he dropped his head.

"Hoped what?"

He didn't raise it back up. Instead, he started to sway and after a few seconds, gripped his chest over his heart.

"What's wrong?" I shouted, jumping forward to grab his shoulders.

His face scrunched in a grimace. "Do–Doctor."

Then he seized up in my arms.

4

RITA

"What's wrong with him?" I glared at the doctor clutching the file in the waiting room. I hadn't been able to seePapáyet.

They wouldn't let me. They wouldn’tfuckinglet me.

"He's out of surgery, and he's doing just fine. Mr. Aguilar just needs time to recover from the anesthesia, Ms. Aguilar." His voice shook on my name. This was the best hospital in our part of town. We sent all of our men here.

This was even the place that treated Parker when he was shot on Dirty Dog property.

He knew exactly who I was. Because of that, he wouldn't lie to me.

The staff would also make surePapáwould be given the best care and attention. They knew that the Dirty Dogs were the only thing standing between them and another more vile group coming in and making demands and unreasonable requests. They'd want to avoid as much conflict and death as possible.

Still, I couldn't stand not being able to see him.

"Um, well," the doctor said as he started patting his jacket pockets. "Do you need a tissue?" He pulled a wadded up tissue from his pocket.

I sneered at it. "What the fuck do I want with that?"

"To..." He motioned to my face. "To wipe your face."

"You're crying, Rita," Amorette said softly at my shoulder as she gently cupped my arm.

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