Page 67 of Taming Liberty

“Shut up, boy!” the man roars.

He shoves Angel’s chest. “Answer me, coward. Are you going to see the whore or not?”

Angel takes the man’s hands off him and holds them at arm's length so he can’t push again. The man jerks out of his grasp and pins him with a sneer. Angel may be the spitting image of his father, but he didn’t inherit the bitterness on the man’s face.

“Yes, Papá. I’ll be seeing Julia.” That’s his only response before he turns and starts toward the door. I quickly follow after him.

“You’re a disgrace to this family!” the man yells. “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Angel doesn’t flinch at anything the man spews, nor does he slow. We make it outside, and I think that’s the end of it, but his father follows us out onto the porch despite Luis’s best effort at holding him back.

“Don’t you dare come back here!” his father screams. “You’re not welcome!”

Angel gets to Luis’s car and opens the passenger door, silently ordering me inside. As soon as I slip into the seat, he slams the door and walks around to the driver’s side.

I spot Luis through the windshield, keys in hand. He and Angel argue for a minute before Luis hands over the keys and Angel climbs behind the wheel.

I glance down when I realize I’m clutching the seat as we speed away. I put my hands in my lap and swallow, adrenaline draining from me.

I look over at Angel, but he doesn’t turn to look at me. I’m not sure he even remembers I’m here. He drives fast, even faster than Luis, and he stares out the windshield with eyes glazed like he’s a million miles away.

I face forward and sink into the seat.

It hurts like hell when he refuses to tell me about his past. It’s been a source of insecurity and pain for me for weeks, and I haven’t been able to figure out why he won’t trust me enough to give me even minute details.

Now, I’m starting to get it. More than that, I’m starting to fear whatever it is he won’t tell me. Whatever it is is bad enough for his father to banish him from his home.

Ten minutes go by before Angel pulls into a hotel parking lot and slams the car into park.

We sit in silence, him stewing and me trying to become invisible.

Eventually, I can’t take it anymore. I can’t take the silence, and I can’t take the secrecy. I’m a little scared … but I have to know.

“Angel…” I draw in a breath and turn in my seat to face him. “What the fuck was that?”

15

Angel

What the fuck was that?

My head is already pounding, so Lib’s voice is like a hammer to my skull. I close my eyes and rub my temples, but it does nothing to ease the ache.

I expect her to press me, but she doesn’t speak again. I can feel her stare and wish I could hide from it. I’d say I’d give anything to be alone, but there is someone I’d like to see. The only person who could possibly understand the humiliation and heartache that comes with being ostracized from your own family.

But Lib? I don’t think Lib could ever get it. I want her to. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but this is a part of my life I’ve been too afraid to even share with her, let alone ask for her understanding.

It’s a little late for secrets, though, isn’t it? We’re here in Spain, she’s just met my family. She’s spoken to my dying mother, heard my bitter father, and laughed with my little brother. It’s too late not to give her the explanations she’s wanting. I can’t hide any longer.

I lean back against my seat and open my eyes. When I set my gaze on her, she widens her pretty blue eyes with so much interest and care that I wish I could lock away this part of her before it’s gone forever.

She was never supposed to be mine to have, but now I’m terrified of losing her.

“My father had too much to drink,” I say. “I apologize for you having to see that.”

Lib frowns. “What was he talking about?”

I mean to answer, I really do, but I get lost in my mind and have no idea where to begin. Five years ago? Ten years ago? Fifteen?

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