Page 140 of Unspoken Truths

“Ahm, I…”

“Speechless isn’t something I get the honor of making you, Rachelle,” he says. “Look, I deserve everything you want to throw at me. I really don’t know how to get the fuck out of this, except to do what I can to protect you.”

“That feels like a poor man’s apology,” I tell him. “No, thank you. Go away.”

“I’m going to have to agree with my girl here, Romeo,” Lili says, shrugging.

“Why are you answering the door in your pajamas?” Ignacio asks, grunting as he rolls onto his side.

“We’re just getting up,” she says. “I left Rachelle to get dressed while I answered the door. It’s that simple.”

“It’s not safe to open the door like that, even if you are armed,” he says, finally pushing himself to a sitting position.

“Fuck off,” she says, stepping back into the house. Following her in, I watch as she closes and locks the door. “I’ll get dressed and we can go out the back. We’ll just walk to breakfast. That’ll work as cardio.”

Smirking, I nod, putting the stun gun where I found it as I walk to the bedroom.

“I should have known you’d get some in somehow,” I say.

Lili puts the gun safely away before she dresses, and I watch while I put on my socks and shoes. She’s dressed in a cute saddle brown romper and tennis shoes, an outfit I would never think of wearing, but is perfect for her. Sliding past her, I use the restroom and brush my teeth, exchanging places with her once I’m done.

Idly brushing my hair, I walk through the house, freezing as I see Ignacio climbing in the window.

“Dude, what the fuck!” I yell, throwing my brush at him. It hits him in the forehead perfectly, making him curse under his breath as he climbs the rest of the way in.

“These locks suck,” he says. “I unlocked it way too quickly. I think I should stay the night here.”

“Over my dead body,” I seethe. “There’s no way otherwise. I’ll never sleep.”

“Don’t say over your dead body,” he says, blowing out a breath. “That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I can’t sleep without being in the same space as you.”

“I’m alive, you saw proof, I don’t want you bringing your little friends down here with you,” I say.

“They started practice for their respective sports, so they’re a little busy,” he mutters.

“Shouldn’t you be starting with them?” I ask. “I’m only asking so I have another reason to kick you out.”

“I start next week,” he says, closing the window behind me.

“Aye, mas pendejadas,Ignacio?” Lili complains, walking in to join us. “Your lock picking abilities aren’t appreciated.”

“Liliana, you love my bullshit,” he says smugly. “The only reason you didn’t learn is because you weren’t hanging out with us that day.”

A look of nostalgia crosses over her features before they harden.

“Get out of the house,” she says, grabbing her purse. “Rachelle and I are leaving, which means you’re going back to Portland.Vete al carajo,Nacio.”

“It’s very warm in hell,” he says. “I’ll pass on that. Where are we going?”

“Nowhere with you,” I tell him, ushering him out the door.

The only reason I’m able to is because he comes willingly. He’s too damn stubborn and large to be manhandled by me. Lili locks the door, and we attempt to leave him on the porch as we begin walking, only to have him dog our steps.

“If we yell at him, I feel like it’ll be worse than having him follow us like a stray dog, right?” Lili asks.

“Does that mean we can drop him off at the pound?” I grumble.

What is it with the Kings crashing my dates?!

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