Page 35 of Outcast

When Ricco was gone, I raised my head. Amorette was still next to me, watching with concern.

She was the sweetest.

"You've got to be fucking shitting me," Esteban growled as his arms tightened around me in a hug. It was hard to twist around, but I managed.

Holy shit.

"Is that?" My jaw slackened.

"Matías." There was a light note in Amorette's voice I couldn't place.

There was no lightness inside of me. None.

It didn't matter that Matías was as darkly handsome as he'd ever been in a pressed black suit. It didn't matter that he had his brothers around him how he'd always dreamed of. It didn't even fucking matter that they all looked intimidating as hell even though Grey had my precious little pearl strapped to his chest.

The only thing running through my mind was how this was Matías' fault.

It was irrational, but I needed someone to blame. The stinging fire burning inside my stomach and chest said Matías was the one to get it all.

It hurt to look at him, yet I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Esteban grunted and I glanced down. I loosened my hands and stopped digging my nails into his forearms.

"Don't think about it," Esteban whispered in my ear.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snarled. This anger was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to lean into it. Revel in it. Fan it enough that it pushed any grief out of my head and heart.

"You have that look about you that you get before you fuck somebody up. Now's not the time."

I glanced up at him through my lashes. He really was beautiful. Rugged, and handsome like any playboy. But ithad been his top tier flirting and playfulness that drew me in that night.

Esteban had an ease about him that everyone liked. A charm that drew people in like magnets.

All of that was gone now as he glowered at Matías. Our shared energy hyped up my already wild emotions and when I glanced back at Matías, I raised myself up to my full height.

On four-inch heels, I was only a few inches shorter than him.

His regret was in his eyes as he stared down at me. For a second it tugged at my heartstrings, but I focused on how my love for this man had done nothing but cause me pain.

This was the last straw. I was done with him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Around us, the crowd was murmuring. Some excited, some shocked. It wasn't a secret Matías still lived, but no one had expected him to come back in such a public way.

"Making things right." His voice was calm, just like he always was. I used to admire his ability to remain so unbothered, but now I wanted to rip his tight control to shreds.

"What thing is that?" I asked, then cocked a hip and pursed my lips. I did not want him here, and there wasn't a way I could make that clearer.

"Being here for Javier."

I swallowed but held his lying gaze.

"Being here for you," he finished softly.

"I don't want you here," I spat.

"Rita," Amorette murmured as Matías blinked swiftly. He wasn't sure how to respond to that.

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