Page 41 of Bad Men

I didn’t. I’d been hoping to take her back somewhere quiet and get lost in her. But if she was tired, I could wait.

“Up to you,” I replied.

She seemed to think about that for a long moment before responding. “Do you know any quiet places we could drive to?”

I knew several. The city may have been an ocean of people and buildings, but there was always an isolated location if someone was looking for one. Only, the majority of those places were used to … discard, of certain problems. Something told me that wasn’t what she meant.

Some freckly brunette with enormous tits and lips so plump she might have been having an allergic reaction to a bee sting, replaced Mia. She gave me a few sidelong glances I ignored as I led Mia out the door.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked as I pulled open the passenger side door for her and watched her slide into the seat.

I closed her in and made my way to my side before answering, “Thought we could head back to my place.”

She snapped her belt into place across her lap with a resounding click. “Is Nero okay with that?”

I shoved the keys into the ignition and pulled the car onto the road. “He’s going to have to be.”

I was still fuming. Part of me, a part I was keeping stubbornly slathered with the greasy remains of my anger was still terrified. It was a jumbled mess of confusion packed tight with irritation and brewed with anger, so much fucking anger at everything. At Nero for his stupid and careless mistake, at myself for not having the guts to free us of the quicksand pulling us under, but mainly at Mia for whatever voodoo bullshit she had us under. That was the only explanation I could come up with to justify why I wasn’t removing her from our lives forever. It was the only thing that explained why the thought of anything happening to her had my hands trembling. I concealed it by tightening my fingers around the wheel.

“Why are you still here?” I blurted before I could stop myself.

Mia’s chin turned from the passing rush of buildings and faces to tilt in my direction. I didn’t have to look to see the question in her eyes; her curiosity seemed to echo in the heat that crawled up into my cheeks.

“What do you mean?”

There was no taking it back now.

“Why are you here?” I repeated, gesturing with one hand to the filth and misery that made up our part of the city. “We both know you don’t belong here with the rest of us. You deserve better.”

“What’s better?” she countered.

Her oblivious response fueled my irritation. “Better than all this. Better than working yourself to death, better than getting shot in the street just because you took a wrong turn. Your parents used to tell everyone about your AP classes, all your awards and honors, and all the schools that wanted you. You were supposed to get out of this dump. You were supposed to—”

“Merry some rich guy, buy a two story with a picket fence and have two perfect children?” she finished for me.

“Yes! No!” I smacked the leather pad over the horn, releasing a blare that startled even me. “But you could be doing anything you want. Why didn’t you go to school somewhere far away in some fancy city?”

She snorted a laugh. “What’s a fancy city?”

I ignored her snark. “Why did you stay, Mia? You could have had a free ride to any school you wanted.”

I caught her shrug from the corner of my eye. “I know I could.”

It wasn’t arrogance in her voice. It was the quiet murmur of someone who had something just inches from their grasp before losing it.

“Where did you get accepted?” I hedged.

She jerked up the same shoulder again. “Columbus, and a few others.” It was pure luck the light took that moment to turn red, forcing me to stop when my head snapped in her direction. “I know what you’re going to say,” she interrupted before I could open my mouth. “Why didn’t I go? Why am I still here?” Her brown eyes met mine with a wisdom I knew I wouldn’t like. “I was going to. With me gone, Eduardo’s monthly payments would have gone down, taking some of the pressure off my parents. But then Dad had that work accident and pulled his back. He was in bed for months, and mom got diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis. I couldn’t leave them. Eduardo wasn’t going to give them a break, give my dad a chance to get better when he couldn’t work, so my mom had to take two jobs, nearly killing herself in the process. So, I stayed. I got a job and here I am.”

“That’s…”

Insane! I wanted to snap.

Stupid.

Selfless.

Kind.

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