Page 60 of King of Hearts

His warm fingers threaded through mine, tugging me out of the closet.

“Let’s eat.”

Chapter Twenty-One

It wasclose to ten at night, and my cousins and other men employed by El Peligro sat around the table. Forties and glasses full of Patrón sat in front of each person, and a few blunts were being rolled at the end of the table while a few men patrolled the property. My mind kept wandering thinking of how Taylor was settling in my bed.

I had stared at her the night prior, standing over her while she slept, just watching as her chest rose and fell. I stared until the image of her being held by her hair finally left my mind, then I reluctantly tucked myself in the damn chair. I wanted to respect her, not overwhelm her…but now that she’d told me I could sleep in the bed with her, it was all I could think about. Even if it wasn’t smart, even if I shouldn’t.

“So, this deal…what are you planning to ask for?” my cousin Luis asked between sips.

“In order for it to work, you’d have to marry her before he can really discover that we’re fucking him over,” Hector added, taking a drag from his joint.

We’d lightly discussed the terms, how he’d snuck in terms without Taylor knowing, and how we could have the same courtesy when getting our deal together. Honestly, Ivan could fuck himself with the deal. All I wanted was for Taylor and the baby to be safe. I didn’t want anything he offered, but El Peligro was already foaming at the mouth as opportunity came knocking.

“This whole thing is still crazy. I didn’t even know you had a girl…just last week, I was talking about that Angela chick coming by, and here you have this side piece. She’s so fucking hot, but—”

Rage sputtered in my chest, running down my arms. I wanted to slam my fist into his ugly mouth. “Shut the fuck up, Kane.”

The man, who was barely older than me, held up his hands in surrender. “Jesus, sorry bro. Just saying, she’s not marked, and neither are you. If I had known she wasn’t, I would have moved in so much faster.”

He laughed, slapping hands with the guy next to him. I knew them well enough from parties and other shit throughout the years, but I was ready to throw them both out on their asses.

“Taylor doesn’t need a mark.”

Hector looked over at me, his eyes hooded while his high kicked in. “And you…do you need one?”

These fucking marks. It was tradition for El Peligro men to mark if they were taken, so if they were to ever die in a fight, by their bodies we’d know that there was someone left behind. The women wore the mark of their man so there weren’t any issues with other men trying to step in and make a move, especially if the man was out on a job. In some cases, there were members that traveled to the border and back, forcing them to be gone for weeks at a time, if not longer.

“She’s pregnant, dumb fucks.”

My cousin kept his eyes on me while a cloud of smoke billowed in front of his face. “Then put a ring on it, primo.”

I shuffled the papers in front of me and sipped on the whiskey I’d poured. “Let’s move on, finish this up. I want to go to bed.” I also didn’t want to talk about this shit anymore, not with how suspicious my cousin was already. He knew why I was hesitating, and it had nothing to do with Taylor.

“We have to give him the final answer soon, which will require another meeting. Where is it going to be held?” Kane asked, finishing off his blunt.

“I’ll let you know. I need to talk to Taylor about it first.”

Everyone around the table chuckled, shaking their heads. I stilled, halfway to standing, and looked back and forth between their expressions.

“What?”

“Nothing, primo. It’s just…Manny never ran things like that, and neither did my pops,” Hector joked, putting his hands behind his head.

“I’m neither of them.” I reclaimed my chair, waiting to hear them out.

Kane and Luis started talking to each other in Spanish toward the end of the table while Hector ran a hand over his bald head.

“It’s just…the women aren’t involved. I know you said she was your equal, but I thought that was just to piss off the old man. She can’t have that place here. You can’t make your decisions based on what she says…you’re the king, and we’ve never once had a queen.”

I stared at each of them through the thin cloud of smoke hanging over the table. The tone in the room had grown somber, and I knew, depending on how I answered, things could go poorly. I didn’t want to fight with my family, but all of this just felt like one big-ass lie, and I was merely playing a part.

Something I was eager to put an end to.

“You’re right.” I dipped my head, scooping up the cards I’d been shuffling. “You don’t have a queen, probably never will…butIdo. It’s her life, her future. She’s mine, which means you will show her respect, you will answer to her, you will lay down your life for her. Do you understand?” I met each stare, each gaze…and once each of them nodded their agreement, I stood. “We’ll meet up tomorrow.”

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