Page 14 of King of Hearts

I let out a laugh, licking my finger. “I’m sure they’re not worried about backlash.”

Hector’s head tipped back as he drank.

“Well, she’s hot, so if you’re not going to make a move…”

I diced a few more pieces of tomato before looking up at him and smiling.

“Trust me. If I wanted to mark her, everyone in the fucking city would know, and not a single soul would fucking touch her.”

My cousin laughed, shaking his head along with me. We both knew how this worked. If there was a girl I didn’t want anyone to touch, I’d get a heart inked in black, positioned over my heart. It was the El Peligro way, but that wasn’t even what I was talking about. On her she’d get my name or an identical heart tattooed on her chest. That ink held other meanings as well. Sometimes it was just a bribe to get men into the gang. Something my grandfather had started as a symbol of honor had been twisted into bribery by my father.

If you didn’t get your girl marked, other men in the gang could have her. Rape wasn’t an issue in El Peligro because any female inside knew the score, but once that ink was on your skin, your body belonged to El Peligro.

If I had a girl I didn’t want anyone to touch, I’d be there to make sure no one touched her. Simple as that. I didn’t need to ink shit into my skin for it, but if that were to happen one day, then fine…I just wasn’t counting on it, and I wasn’t getting involved with the gang my father ran. There was no place for me in it, and I would never accept it even if there was.

Chapter Seven

September was already almost over,and I’d been successfully sleeping in my car for two weeks. I had an entire routine down. At night, I’d park over by the stadium, close to the girls locker room door. It worked because first thing in the morning, I could sneak in, shower, and get completely ready without anyone knowing I was there.

Even if anyone did see me, they’d just assume I was there for a sport…though on second thought, with my baby bump, they might have a few questions. Still, didn’t matter. I had a groove going. On the weekends, I’d go home and stay at my mom’s, do all my laundry, and then repeat the whole process. I’d spend as much time as I could working in the library or at random food spots. I’d use coffee shops mostly, but every now and then I craved dessert, or something different.

I had been tempted to stay in a hotel a few times, and there were definitely a few conversations I had with myself about why I was being so stubborn, but the only credit card I had belonged to my stepdad, and while I hadn’t previously minded putting it to use, I did now. I had to learn how to care for not only myself, but my baby too. I was still looking for a place to stay, but for now, the car worked. At least until the temperature changed.

I had just shut the shower off in the private stall I’d snagged when I heard someone laughing. Freezing in place, wrapping a white towel around my body, and wringing my hair out, I waited to see if they’d moved on or stayed put. I had never had company a single time I had showered or gotten ready in the locker room, so maybe it was just someone passing through or grabbing their things.

A second later, I felt the stall shake as someone probably pushed into it a little ways down. The water came on a second later with a girl giggling and laughing. My clothes were on the bench outside of the stall, so they didn’t get wet, but that meant whoever was out there would see me. I decided to stay put until I knew they were in the shower.

I cradled my arms to my chest, waiting, and then I heard a familiar laugh.

“Why did you pull me in here?”

“Because I know what you want,” the girl responded.

My gut sank as I processed what was about to happen.

“So you saw me lifting weights and thought it would be a good idea to have me come in here with you…to do what exactly?” asked the smooth-as-velvet voice, and I could picture his lips slinging to the side in a mischievous smirk.

“I thought maybe I could help you work out. You seem stressed…” The girl sounded like the one I had seen at the yogurt shop…the same one at the wedding with him over the summer.

“How do you suggest we do that?” Juan asked.

God, I was two seconds from putting my finger down my throat. Were they really going to fuck right here in the locker room? What sort of bad luck did I have that this would happen to me?

“I don’t think this is going to go the way you think it is. I didn’t sleep with you after the wedding, and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression,” Juan said gently.

My heart leapt a little. He was shutting her down. I walked closer to the door, trying to get a peek at the couple, but I couldn’t make anything out.

“I’m not asking for anything, just like I didn’t back then. Just let me make you feel good.”

That didn’t sound good. Fuck, was this bitch about to…

“Fuck, Angela…shit.” Juan made a startled sound through the shower corridor. He sounded like she had just taken his cock into her mouth. It didn’t exactly sound like pleasure, but I’d been known to make sounds that seemed like I was being murdered when I came, so I couldn’t really tell.

Either way, her mouth was on him, and I wanted to scream.

He made a strangled sound again, the echo of the water hitting tile stopped, and all that was audible was the sound of her gagging every few seconds.

Anger flared to life inside my veins like an angry virus. Juan wasn’t mine; he could never be mine, but he sure as fuck wasn’t about to be hers. Maybe one day I’d look back on what I was about to do and think better of it, but right then the only thing on my mind was making this pain in my chest stop.

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