Page 40 of Torched

“I’m not blind.”

This isn’t going anywhere. Fighting him will only make him angrier, and if he’s angry, he will not let this go. He will find a way to destroy me and as much as I would love to play this little game with Kane Carrillo, I don’t have time for this.

“I like your brother.” It’s not even a lie. I like Liam. He’s handsome, he’s sweet, and he’s nothing like all the other criminal men in my life. Including Kane. There is a softness in Liam’s personality that makes him human.

“Bullshit!” Kane booms, loud enough to make everyone in the restaurant look our way. My gaze cuts from the corner of my eye to see every set staring at us now, before trailing back to Kane. “You are up to something, and I’m going to find out what the fuck it is!”

“Kane! That’s enough!” Liam finally sticks up for me, alleviating the weight on my chest. I understand he can’t go fully against his brother, since they already have more than enough friction about me, but it would’ve been nice if he had my back just a bit more. “You said you wanted to get to know her, not drill her like a fucking cross hearing.”

“And you don’t know me well enough if you thought that was true.”

Guilt washes Liam’s face, but I can’t really blame him. I guess if I was him, I would’ve tested myself as well. But I’m not going to play their game. Not when my game is way more fun. If there is one thing I’ve learned growing up around barking dogs, the quieter you are, the louder they sound, and the more they look like rabies-infected strays.

The louder Kane yells, the more composed I look without even trying.

I relax my shoulders, letting my back fall against the chair as I give the pitbull in front of me a coy smile. “I know why you don’t trust me, Kane. In fact, I can’t really blame you. Growing up around Junior, I can understand why people are scared his sick behavior rubbed off on me. But to be honest? I’m so sick of everyone judging me for my last name.” I keep a steady voice, doing everything in my power to not throw my glass of water in his face just for the hell of it. Just to make sure I look like the woman attacked by one of the most well-known criminals in the city. He’s making a fool out of himself, and I’m only going to add to the dramatics by keeping my head cool. “I like Liam. And if Liam likes me back, I’m not going to stop dating him just because you have an issue with the rest of my family. I moved here to start over. Not to start a war between the Reyes and the Carrillos. Romeo and Juliet might be the most romantic love story of all time, but it’s not exactly my style.”

“Actually!” His grin is wide and wicked as he darts forward and jabs a combat knife down on the table next to my hand. I jolt in my seat, my heart jumping with me. “That’s the best comparison, the only difference being inthisstory?” His eyes darken. “Juliet will be the only one thatdiesat the end.”

I swallow, my heart pumping like it just got off a rollercoaster.

“Leave her the fuck alone,jackass.”

Something inside of me snaps, a string just cut loose by the menacing glare he’s giving me. He means it. I know he does, because I mean the next words that roll off my tongue just as much.

“You threaten me again, and I will rip your throat out with a smile on my face.” Unlike Kane, my voice is calm and collected, but when he snickers sinisterly, I understand he doesn’t care one bit.

“Ah, see, she’s crawling to the surface.”

“You don’t scare me.” I pick up my glass of wine to keep my hands busy, then take a big gulp. The fruity redness burns through my throat like a whiskey with how worked up I am.

“That’s your first mistake,” Kane snarls. His eyes turn almost black, his shoulders expanding even more as if he’s literally turning into a monster in front of me. The air’s thicker, the lump in my throat growing as I grind my teeth together. Never giving him the satisfaction of showing him the slight fear that he might actually kill me with an audience. “You should be really scared,Reyes. Because I’m the last one you want to see before you die. And if you double-cross my brother, youwilldie.”

“Kane, that’s enough!” Liam gets up, his glare drilling down at his brother, who keeps smiling at me like a fucking lunatic.

If there was any chance to win Kane over, I know now that option is useless. I need to put my focus on Liam, because he’s clearly the only option.

“Watch your back, Reyes,” Kane whispers, then gets up. His entire body comes forward, hanging over the table until he’s only an inch away, pulling my glass from my hands. “Because I sure as fuck will be watching it.” His breath flies over my cheeks, lifting the hairs on the back of my neck before he straightens his body and finishes my drink in one big swallow. Then he throws the empty glass on the table, connecting with the porcelain of the plates and shattering into a dozen pieces.

“Disgusting,” he spits. “Just like you. Have a great night,perrito.”He turns his body toward his big brother. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Just leave, asshole.”

Kane does exactly that, leaving with their right-hand man and most of their team, while two of their men stay seated at the bar of the restaurant. My glare stays locked with their backs until they’re out of sight, and I finally push out the breath that was trapped in my lungs.

Joder, I didn’t expect Kane to be this angry. Sure, I knew I was going to have to win him over, but I didn’t expect him to declare war before we could even order. Or call me a fuckingdog.I need more eyes on him because I’m sure he’s watching my every move after the way he just introduced himself.

“I’m sorry, baby.” I lock eyes with Liam. “I really thought he wanted to get to know you.”

“I didn’t.” A server comes to pick up the broken glass, but I swish him away. “Your brother has some serious anger issues.” I try to hide my raging heart or the desire to snap at Liam for not sticking up for me. But I have to be really careful right now, so I stick to my disappointed stance. There is a big chance half of this restaurant will report back to Kane if I turn into a raging bitch as soon as Kane has lifted his heels, just to get in the crime lord’s good graces, and I need everyone to see he’s the maniac attacking an innocent woman. Not the criminal that is correct for not trusting his brother’s new girlfriend.

“He does,” Liam concedes, offering me a slight smile. “Let’s just order, and then we’ll head to your place and crawl into bed. We’ll deal with Kane some other time.”

You’re damn right I’ll deal with Kane some other time. In fact, he’ll have no idea what he’s signing up for. I might be a woman, but this woman doesn’t let anyone intimidate her. I will get back at him for embarrassing me the way he did, but Liam is right. Not now.

“I’m really not hungry anymore.” I am fucking starving, but I don’t really feel like looking into Liam’s face and pretending everything is fine. The adrenaline is still pumping through my veins, and I need to get out of here. There is no way I can keep up this sweet smile when I want to snap at everyone just to release my roaring energy.

My lips curl and I muster out a tear. “I’m tired. I just want to go home.Alone.” That’s probably not what he wanted to hear, but since I was just verbally attacked by his brother, I’m sure he’ll forgive me. I’m not in the mood to put up with Liam either.

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