“No. I won’t let you hit her.” I pressed my hands against his stomach and tried to push him back, but it was like trying to move a concrete pillar. It was unmovable and could only be torn down by a bulldozer.
“I don’t need you to defend me,” Yoli said. “Hit me, Jefe.” She lifted her face to him in pure defiance against me. My gosh, she was crazy.
“Fine, have it your way.” I stepped to the side. “Go ahead and punish her, El Jefe,” I told him, utterly disgusted.
He grabbed my hand and led me out.
“No, I want to be slapped!” Yoli yelled after us. “Punish me for hitting your Chiquita. If you don’t, I’ll do it again.”
He stopped hard.
“Don’t listen to her.” I stood in front of him and cradled his face in my hands. “She’s just trying to get a rise out of you. Don’t let her manipulate you.”
“What were you doing in her room?” He lifted me off the floor and I straddled his waist, letting him carry me back to his bedroom.
“I was in Letty’s room first.”
“I saw.”
“How?”
“There are cameras everywhere. I went to check on you, and discovered you were gone. I panicked.” He gave me a chaste kiss. “If you needed a phone so badly you could’ve asked me. This isn’t a prison, Mija. You’re free to come and go as you please and move about the clubhouse. You don’t have to be afraid of getting into trouble.”
“If that’s true, can I use your phone?”
At his door, he punched in the code, then carried me inside. His silence was deafening and his grumpy expression made me uncomfortable.
He sat on the edge of the bed with me on his lap.
My legs remained hooked around his waist and my arms were looped around his neck. We stared at each other for a long second. I sensed there was something he didn’t want to tell me.
“What is it?” I asked.
His dark-as-night eyes drilled into mine. He was so handsome with tan skin and a five o’clock shadow that was always there. Everything about Andy appealed to me. His muscular body. His tattoos. His grumpy expression.
Sure, at first, he just seemed like someone I would never be attracted to; gruff and unrefined. But the more time I spent with Andy, and the way he treated me, he was everything I never knew I needed. Protective, maybe a bit over-the-top, like five minutes ago. Sensual and passionate. Funny when he wanted to be. Kind and loving, as displayed with his mother.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. “A helluva lot worse.”
“I don’t understand.” Was he talking about my situation or something else?
“Your face is everywhere. Around town. On the dark web. Miguel is going all out to find you.”
“I knew he would.” My stomach tightened. “I should leave.”
He firmly gripped my bottom. “No. It’s too dangerous. You’re safer here.”
“But what about you and everybody else?”
“We’re a ruthless biker club, baby. We can handle a war.”
“Hearing that doesn’t give me comfort.” In fact, quite the opposite. “What does war mean?”
“Just saying, there are a lot of Kings who would help us. We’re everywhere in the country and outnumber Miguel’s goons. But I’m going to try to avoid war.”
“How?” It was like he had a secret that might bring down my brother. Incriminating evidence, a smoking gun.
“I’m not ready to tell you. You need to trust me. Can you do that?”
