Page 157 of The Slayer
“I’m not hurting you,” he snapped at her. “Am I hurting you right now? Do you see me hurting you? You are freaking out by yourself.”
She sucked in a startled breath, because she realized he was right. He was just standing there, looking at her like she had lost her mind.
“W-why aren’t you hurting me?” she asked, her voice shaking as she looked at the door. “W-why did y-you bring me in here if—”
“I’m trying to help you,” he said in a low, cautious voice. “I’m not gonna rape you. Are you listening to me now?”
“I—” She looked to the door again and then nodded. “Yes.”
“You have to take off your clothes,” he said slowly. “If they come up here and you’re not naked, we’re both dead.”
She let out a sob and turned back to the door, flattening herself against it. “I don’t want this to happen. Why is this happening to us?”
“I’m not gonna hurt you, but you need to make them think I’m hurting you. I sent a message to Marcos. We just got to stay alive until he gets here. You have to get undressed. We both do. We’ll fake it.” He gripped at the back of his shirt, pulling it off in one quick movement. “It’s not real. It’s fake.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered as she glanced over her shoulder and stared at his chest, because so much about him looked like Chuito. The stars on his shoulders. The snake on his arm. The cross over his heart. It had different names, but it was still so horrifically familiar. He had more tattoos than Chuito, but there was so much that was the same. “Why do you look like that? Why do yousoundlike that? I don’t want you to sound like that.”
He gave her a look of disbelief. “I thought youlikedLatinos.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t like you.”
“Mami—”
She screamed, because hearing a man who wanted her to strip naked for him, who looked like Chuito, call her that was too much.
It waswaytoo much.
“Ay Dios mio,” he groaned behind her but let her scream. “Fine, scream, chica. Be a princess. Scream your head off when I’m risking my neck to save your skinny gringa ass. That’s what they wanted to hear anyway, fucking sickhijos de putas.”
Actually, the screaming helped.
So did crying, and she sank down to her knees and let out a sob when her throat got raw. Then, as she sat there on her knees, she realized that this boy reallywasn’thurting her. She turned back, looking up at him standing there, huge and imposing.
“Are youreallytrying to help us?”
“Duh.” He held out his hands. “I’m not raping you, am I?”
“W-why?” she asked and then wanted to kick herself. “I mean, why would you want to help?”
“Scream again, and I’ll tell you,” he countered with an arch of his eyebrow.
She screamed, and it was easy, but then when she stopped, she heard Chuito from downstairs. Alaine put her hand on the door, hearing Chuito’s agony that was so much worse than hers. He kept screaming, now completely in Spanish, and she wondered what he was cursing about.
She turned back to Junior. “What is he saying?”
“Coño, no.” He shook his head as he gave Alaine a look of horror. “You don’t want to know. I don’t even know where he got an idea like that, but he’s being really graphic about it.”
“What is it?”
“He says he’s gonna rip off Angel’s balls and feed them to him.” Junior winced and looked to the door. “I thought all the rumors about him were a myth. He sounds fucking serious. I’ve seen a lot of nasty shit, but that’s grim.”
Alaine took a shuddering breath. “Tell me why you’re helping us.”
“Marcos, your boy Chuito’s cousin, he’s my bro. His wife, Mrs. Rivera, she’s my teacher. She’s helping me graduate so I can get a real fucking job for the green,” Junior explained simply. “I owe them.”
“Are you still in high school?” she asked. “Why are you here? Why would you get yourself in a situation like this?”
“You should be happy I’m here.” He snorted in disbelief. “You think I love this? I needed to protect my family, chica. I got four sisters.Four. Can you imagine what that’s like in the hood when motherfuckers like those bastards downstairs are around every corner? I thought Angel was different. That was my mistake. Now I’m gonna fucking die to save your spoiled gringa ass. You don’t want to know what my people do to traitors. Unbelievable. Scream again before they come up here.”
