Page 42 of Jack of Hearts
Oh God. Oh, almighty God. Were they talking about some kind of criminal activity? Risk her and Lauren’s dream if ... not if,whenthey were caught? They could even go to prison. Did her uncle care so little for her that he was willing to see her hauled away in handcuffs?
She jumped out of her chair, running to the restroom. When she passed her mother, she kept going without a word. She barely made it into the stall before she lost her dinner.
“I don’t feel so well,” she said when she finally returned to the table. “I’m going to cut out, go home, and crawl into bed.” She couldn’t bear spending another minute with her cousin and uncle.
Her mother put her palm against Madison’s head. “You do feel a little warm, sweetheart.”
“Probably something I ate didn’t agree with me, is all.” Or it could be the two evil men at the table who had her wanting to pull the covers over her head, hiding from the monsters invading her life.
How had she agreed to allow Ramon to take her home? Okay, she knew the answer to that one. Because after her uncle had as much as said that he planned to laundry—was that the right term?—money through the bookstore, she’d lost the will to fight anything they threw her way.
She’d never in her life understood what it meant to be defeated. Now she did. But she was Michael Parker’s daughter, dammit. Her father would die before he allowed his beliefs to be taken away. Somehow, she’d find a way to be true to what she believed in, too.
Jose and Ramon had refused to let her call for a taxi to take her home. Angelina had sided with them since Madison was supposedly sick. Her mother had said it was the only way she’d know Madison would arrive safely, and wasn’t that a joke? So here she was sitting in Ramon’s car, alone with him.
“How about making me a latte?” Ramon said when she reached for the door handle.
Her and Ramon alone together anywhere near her apartment where there also happened to be a bed? So not happening. “Not tonight. I’m sick, remember? And by the way, neither you nor your uncle are putting any of your dirty money through my store. Do you hear me, Ramon? It’s never going to happen.”
“I’m really tired of you acting like a bitch, cousin.” He slammed his mouth over hers.
Her stomach lurched, and she shoved him away. “Get off me.” She scrambled out of his car. “You’re a pig, Ramon,” she yelled as she ran, digging for her keys. After fumbling to get them into the lock, she yanked open the door.
“Madison, stop.”
She tried to pull the door shut, but it bounced back when it hit his foot. “Go home, Ramon.” She tugged on the handle.
“We need to talk, you and I.” With little effort, he pulled the door open. “I don’t think you understand the way things are going to work.”
“We have nothing to talk about.” She backed against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. She’d been so stupid in allowing herself to be intimidated into letting him take her home. There was nothing in the foyer to use for a weapon, but after tonight, she was going to keep a baseball bat in the corner.
“Oh, but we do, cousin. I make the rules. The first one concerns your mother.” He leaned against the doorjamb. “You’re taking advantage of her. She deserves better than a life of working as a clerk, or whatever it is you call her.”
“Uncle Jose put you up to this, didn’t he?” The subject had come up at dinner, and her uncle had made it clear that he didn’t like his sister working likea dog, as he’d referred to it. Angelina had laughed, telling him that she enjoyed the time she spent at the bookstore. Madison wasn’t fooled when the subject had been dropped. Uncle Jose didn’t like Angelina’s newfound independence.
“Tell her you don’t need her anymore.”
“No. She likes it here. Uncle Jose can just deal with it. Good night.”
Instead of leaving, he advanced on her. “You need to learn some respect, cousin. Have you forgotten I own half of this place?”
She saw red. “Like hell you do! It was a loan from Uncle Jose, not you, and I’m paying it back with interest. Nowhere does it say you own any part of my shop.”
“Things will go a lot easier when you accept that I call the shots. You have a nice little business here that will prove useful in moving some money around. We don’t want Angelina involved in that, so tell her you don’t need her. As soon as that’s done, you and I will start working together.” He smirked. “Very closely together.”
“Go to hell.” Never would she allow her dream to be tainted by him or anyone else. She’d give it away to Lauren first.
He grabbed her arm, squeezing it so hard it brought tears to her eyes. “One phone call and I can have your business license pulled. Maybe you should try and convince me not to do that.”
Would he dare? Even if he would, and she wouldn’t put it past him, she would die before she’d let him touch her like that. When he leaned his face toward her, she turned her head to the side. “Get out now!”
He laughed. “I don’t think so. You’ve been teasing me since you were fifteen and grew a nice little pair of titties. I think it’s time to pay the price.”
Full-blown panic exploded, almost bringing her to her knees. She tried to break free of Ramon’s hold, but he was stronger and bigger than her. He spun her and then pressed against her back, smashing her chest into the wall.
“Go ahead and fight me,chica. Makes me hot.” He nuzzled her neck.
Use the back of your head to go for his nose.Alex’s instructions flashed through her mind. She leaned her forehead against the wall.
