“I doubt that.”
“Hey.” I half turn so I’m facing her. “Lived on the Rez a few years. Many hogans aren’t much better than this. Some worse. Don’t need to apologise to me for poverty.”
“I work.” She sounds indignant.
“Expected that.” I point to the closed bedroom door. “You responsible for him? No parents?”
Her voice breaks slightly, “It’s just us.” Her lips purse. “Now I’ve got to find some way to get to work in the morning.”
“It might have sounded rough, but your car got you home.” I’m planning to get Blade to look at her car and sort that dying engine out if it’s possible to extend its life.
“The brake light’s out.”
“Drive it to a shop and get it replaced. Hell, it’s only a bulb…”
“I can’t drive it anywhere.”
She’s the most careful, most law-abiding driver I’ve ever met. “If you’re headin’ to the nearest shop, cops will probably let you off. ’Specially a pretty thing like you.”
Clearly unconvinced, she looks like she’s going to cry. “If you hadn’t told me, Tse, I wouldn’t have known. I’d have driven, been pulled over…”
Data, Mouse, data.Why is she so worried about being stopped? Why does she drive so fucking carefully?
The answer hits me in a flash as my computer like brain joins the dots, ignoring the things that don’t fit, sifting through those that do. “You’re illegal.”
Chapter 4
Mariana
“You’re illegal.”
I knew I shouldn’t have let Tse into my home. Knew I should have shut the door in his face. If he hadn’t been so kind today, or looked so beautiful, making my lady parts tingle in ways they never had before, I probably wouldn’t have let him inside. Now he’s guessed my secret. For the life of me, I don’t know how he’s been clever enough to put it together.
Staring at the opposite wall, I want to know, realising I’d do myself no good to deny it. “What gave it away? How did you glean that from just a broken brake light?”
He grins. I don’t know how old he is, but when his face relaxes, it takes years off him. His eyes seem to twinkle. “I’ve a talent for sorting through facts. No, it was more than your brake light. Little things that might have passed other people by, like your reluctance to say much about yourself.” He moves a little closer, and his slim hand with long slender fingers reaches out and touches my chin, a gentle persuasion to get me to look him in the eyes. “Let’s get your mind eased on one thing. I’ll go get you a new bulb, fix it, then you can stop worryin’ about getting to work. But on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Is he going to ask for something I’m not prepared to give?
After a rapid shake, as though he’s guessed what I’m thinking, his head tilts to one side. “I’m curious. I’d like to knowhow a young woman like you ends up lookin’ after her brother. My price? Your story.”
If I tell him everything, he could turn me in to the authorities. I bite my lip. I’ve tried so hard to stay under the radar, been so careful. Done everything by the book. But nowadays, the book seems to have been tossed out of the window, and I’m the only one following it. He could stir up trouble…
“Stop what you’re thinkin’.” His voice is sharp. “I’m not going to turn you in, even if you’re not supposed to be here. I’m in a one-percenter club. We don’t agree with citizens’ laws.”
“But how do I know I can trust you?” I feel my cheeks start to glow. “And why the hell should I say anything just to satisfy your curiosity?” He goes to speak, I shut him down. “It’s dark, you haven’t seen the graffiti which I’m sure has appeared again today. Everyone hates illegals, they all hate me. Why should you be any different?”
“I’m Navajo,” he leans back on the seat, “well, half of me is. Believe me when I say I understand discrimination.”
I breathe in. “As a Native American you’ve got more reason than anybody to want people like me out of your country.”
“Doesn’t work that way.” He’s dismissive. Then he points down the trailer. “Drew get much shit at school?”
He doesn’t. There’s a reason for that. Standing, I go to the fridge, thankful that at least that’s working, then bring two more sodas back. I stay on my feet for a moment, undecided, before taking my place beside him again.
I pop the tab on my drink, then just hold it. “I’m from Colombia,” I start. “My first memory of my dad was good. It’s not clear, but I sense him loving his little girl. That was before he enlisted in the army.” I pause, even as young as I had been, I’d noticed the change. “Some of what I think I remember, I was told by Mom. The things he was asked to do. Government-sponsored wiping out of villages. They condoned,encouraged,soldiers torape the women. I suppose it affected him mentally, but you could say he brought his work home. He became violent with my mother.”
I pause, risking a look at his face. His mouth is set, and his dark eyes flare.
