Until I saw who was at the park. It was her hair that tipped me off. Mahogany.
“We can’t go that way.” I dug my nails into Kenzie’s arm.
“Why not?”
“Rosa’s there. With like ten men and they all have tattoos.” Before they could see us, I yanked her back behind the corner. “This was so stupid.”
She sighed. “I admit I didn’t think this through. You think if we called Dad, he’d ground us forever or just until we moved out?”
When I saw the group of men coming up on our left, I knew the jig was up.
“Call him,” Kenzie begged. “Hurry up.”
“Let’s cross the street.” I reached into my clutch for my phone.
“Rya,” she whispered. “Run.”
I took one look behind us to see that one of the men had a rope in his hands. Kenzie and I took off down the street, a sob sticking in my throat.
“Here, little red riding hoods!” the monster called. “You lost? I can help you!”
I managed to dial Dad’s number, but it rang and rang until his voicemail clicked on. “He didn’t answer.”
She tugged me. “We have to run. Go, Rya.”
We made a mad run for the next street over, managing to lose them for a few seconds. Kenzie used the time to take her heels off. My blood sang panic in my veins and I tasted the metal tinge of fear on my breath. We cut across a stop sign, ignoring the car owner’s honk of anger, ending up on a street that looked familiar.
“I know where we are.”
“Which way do we go?” Kenzie cried, looking back. She whimpered. “Hurry, Rya.”
We were on the street with the bookstore. Which meant Romeo’s place wasn’t that far away. “Come on. Follow me.”
Now that I knew where I was going, I ran even faster. Running blindly down the street, my lungs screaming. The men’s feet pounded after us. Their gruff laughter loving the chase. It felt like forever before we skidded around a grouping of messy bushes onto Romeo’s cul-de-sac. Both ends led nowhere, and in the middle was the same sparse park I’d seen the last time I was there. I sped down the sidewalk, pulling Kenzie after me. We bounded up the porch just as the guys made it onto the street.
They took one look at us and sneered, pissed that their prey was about to get away. They took off at break neck speed for us.
“Help!” I screamed, both Kenzie and I pounding on Romeo’s door. “Romeo!”
The door swung open, Romeo on the other end. He had a bat in his hand. “What the hell is going on?” he growled.
We rushed inside. “Close the door!”
He cursed under his breath when he saw them. I saw the leader’s face a second before Romeo slammed the door in it. Kenzie sagged against the wall, her tears spilling over. I couldn’t breathe. I could hardly see anything but the dark evil in that man’s eyes. “He was going to hurt us.”
“Hurt you?” Romeo went over to his living room window, peering out of the curtain. “They were going to rape you both and dump your bodies in the street.”
Kenzie sobbed uncontrollably.
“They’re West Snakes. They’re not Kings.” He marched over to a phone on the wall in the kitchen and dialed a number, speaking in rapid Spanish. He looked at me. Right in the eye. “Go get the kids and move them to my mom’s bedroom. It’s in the back. Go!” he roared when I didn’t move.
“Come on.” I pulled Kenzie with me and opened the twin’s door. They were both passed out. I grabbed for Antony. “Get the other one.” She reached for Gabby.
“What’s the matter?” he mumbled, his sleepy, adorable tone making my chest ache acutely. I wrapped him securely in my arms.
“Nothing. I just missed you guys. Let’s go have a slumber party in your mommy’s room.”
He smiled sleepily and then passed back out in my arms as Kenzie and I carried them both down the hall. I heard the front door slam, followed by screeching tires and then the horrifying sound of gunshots. Gabby’s sleeping body nearly dropped from Kenzie’s arms.
I set Antony on the floor on the other side of the bed, as far away from the front of the house as possible. Then I took Gabby and did the same. I pulled Kenzie down and then I covered the kids with pillows as I prayed with all my heart and all of my soul that tonight didn’t end like I deeply, horribly feared it would.
Kenzie rocked back and forth. “We did this.”
The gunshots out front picked up speed, and the screaming and tires did too. It sounded like a war. Like the Fourth of July ten times over. Acid burned in my throat. I’d never been so afraid that I could taste it. Never wanted to be alive more than I did waiting for a bullet to pass through the thin walls of his house.
Kenzie was right. We did this.
“Should we call 911?”
I searched for my clutch but couldn’t find it, dread pooling in my limbs. “I dropped my clutch. I don’t have my phone.”
Abruptly, the bullets ceased. Sirens wailed in the distance. Screaming reached a crescendo until it faded. The silence pulsed in my ears, somehow louder than the gunshots. It was so loud, I could hear Gabby snoring where she was pressed against my side. I rubbed her sweet head, watching the door.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
For it to open.
When it did, I knew that there was no such thing as a crush anymore. That was dipping your toes in the water. When the moment I saw Romeo, I wanted to dive in head first.
His toffee midnight eyes found mine. He tossed my clutch and phone at me. He closed his mother’s bedroom door and crawled over the bed, squeezing in where his brother and sister were. “It’s not safe to leave yet.”
The sound of his voice broke my chest open. I covered my mouth with my hand to staunch the sobs.
“Did anyone get…” Kenzie couldn’t finish.
Killed.
“No. They got away. But they could come back. With backup.”
The silence was only interrupted by the pounding of our heartbeats. None of us moved. No one breathed too loudly. I didn’t look behind me, where Romeo was, or to my left, where my sister was. I couldn’t move my head. I couldn’t help but hear the war that had just ensued on the other side of the front door.
I understood what Romeo meant now.
His world was dangerous.
Truly, hideously dangerous.
At exactly four in the morning, Romeo rose to his feet. “Get him,” he murmured, reaching for his sister.
I scooped up Antony, stiff from sitting for so long and weak from shattering. After tucking them in, Romeo pulled their door shut and then turned to look at me.
There was so much in his eyes, I couldn’t stand to face him.
He grabbed my chin, forcing me to. Severe rage and horror churned in them. “I’ve never been so mad at anyone in my entire life like I’m mad at you right now. And that’s saying a lot, since I never thought I’d be madder at anyone than my dad.”
I was shaking too much. Even my chin quivered in his grip. “Did you, did you… shoot them?”
He shook his head once, his eyes so emotional they looked like two gleaming black holes. “I went to warn the neighbor and got stuck in her living room when the Kings chased them out.”
I didn’t know why, but him having no part in that war outside made me feel better. And worse. So much worse. “Romeo, I’m so sorry. I can’t even say how sorry I am. Kenzie and I were just going to sneak out and have some fun. But we got chased by those men and the only person I knew was you. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t mean to put your brother and sister in danger. To put you in danger. I was so scared. I’m sorry,” I blubbered, falling against him.
He hugged me to his chest, gripping me so tight I appreciated the inability to breathe. My breaths weren’t coming out right anyway. He put his lips over my ear. “Do you have any idea how horrific tonight could have been?”
I shuddered, gripping him to me.
“That’s my world, Rya.”
> I breathed him in, inhaling the sharp scent of pine and fresh air on his shirt.
“You don’t belong in it.”
That time, his statement didn’t hurt. I didn’t want to belong to the world inside Kings River. But I did want to be a part of his. And even though he thought his world and Kings River were tied together, I wasn’t sure they were. Not when he warned his elderly neighbor instead of picking up a gun. Not when he protected me, after I’d put his family in danger.
Romeo was stuck in this world.
But he wasn’t a part of it.
“You hear me?” he stressed, holding me even tighter.
I heard him. But I heard his touch more. I nodded.
“Good,” he blew out, letting me go. “This won’t blow over for a few days. No one knows it was you and your sister that led them here. Where’s your mom’s car?”
“At home. We walked.”
He studied my outfit, eyes bugging out of his head. Hot and angry, they settled on mine. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you go out dressed like that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, wiping my tears. They wouldn’t stop falling. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
He snorted in disgust and then took my hand, pulling me after him. “You need to change. I’ll take you home as soon as Mama gets here. Luckily, she pulled a double last night. Even luckier I worked morning shift.” He kicked open a door in the back of the house and walked over to a dresser.
It was a garage. At least it was supposed to be a garage. The cement floor had been covered in soft black carpet. The space had been carved out into a bedroom. He pulled out a pair of gray sweats and tossed them to me. “Put those on.”
I quickly pulled his sweats on over my skirt, tying the string so they wouldn’t fall. I was too numb to function properly. I wanted my father. Badly.
“Go get your sister.” He plopped down on his bed and put his face in his hands.
I found Kenzie where we left her. On the floor of his mother’s bedroom. I convinced her to get up and led her to Romeo’s room. But before I left her room, I spied the large angel painting against the wall, overlooking the exact space we’d hid. I touched the painting, said a thank you prayer to the heavens, and returned to Romeo’s room.
He watched my sister as I had to manually move her to his bed.
“She’s in shock,” he decided. “Are you?”
I shrugged. “I can’t feel anything.”
“You’re crying.”
I touched my face, my fingers coming away soaked and shaking.
He sighed. “Come here.” With a gentle tug, he took hold of my wrist and pulled me to his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. Far too better at this lifestyle than I ever wanted to be.
“I want to go home,” Kenzie whispered, hugging herself.
My brain was shell-shocked. I jumped when I heard something bang from outside of the house.
“Shh,” Romeo soothed. “It’s my mama. I’m going to get her keys and drive you home.”
The moment he was gone, Kenzie looked at me. “Has Dad called you?”
I checked my phone. “No.”
“That means they don’t even know we’re gone. Don’t say anything about this. Do you hear me, Rya? Nothing.”
I nodded, unsure why she was so against it. She’d been the one to suggest we call Dad to begin with. But she was so upset, I gave in. “I won’t.”
“This never happened.” She wiped her eyes with shaking hands. “I’m never going to another party for as long as I live. Never talking to another boy unless they’re going to freaking Harvard. And I’m never, ever going out at night unless it’s with The Rock.”
When Romeo came back in, he slipped on his sneakers and threw on a black hoodie, motioning us to follow him to the back door across the room. We headed out into the lessening dark of dawn. The street still looked the same. There was no proof last night had even happened. The drive home was quiet. He found our house effortlessly with the minor details I gave him.
Kenzie got out immediately, hugging herself.
Romeo stopped me from doing the same by touching my leg. I turned back to him. “How many of those do you think we’ll get?”
“What?”
“Lucky nights.”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. Rya,” he sighed. “We can talk another time. Go inside. Breathe. Pray. Do whatever you gotta do to remember who you are. I’ll see you at school?”
I nodded, slipping out of his mother’s car and into the side gate where Kenzie had left it open, along with the window. Our TV was still on and our door was still locked. If I listened carefully, Dad’s snoring could be heard from within the walls.
I got undressed and put on my pajamas, slipping dazedly into my bed. Kenzie slipped in beside me. We hadn’t slept together since we were four and were both positive the creepy clown that she’d gotten from our grandparents was haunted.
We clung to each other.
And even though the night had been against me, I didn’t think Kenzie would ever be again.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ROMEO
Time spent in war had physical effects on the brain.
Time spent in happiness only lasted for a moment.
Perhaps that was why I understood things better than a girl like Rya. A sheltered girl who thought she could handle the darkness of Kings River. Maybe that was why I was so infuriated with her actions.
Or maybe it was the fact that in the moment of panic of losing her forever, I didn’t care about what I should or shouldn’t do. I had to admit something to myself I’d only skimmed the surface of. I had to face an emotion I’d never felt for anyone but the twins. I cared for my mother and father, but not the way I cared for Gabby and Antony.
That was the difference. I cared for them.
The same way I did for Rya.
But of course, it was during the same moment she had the epiphany I’d been hoping she would have. She saw my world. Ran for her life in my world. Hid for it too.
I saw the realization in her eyes. The stark truth taking the soft jade and making them jaded. Rya finally understood what it meant to know me.
And I wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore.
She wasn’t at school the next day. I didn’t have her number, but I did know her address since I’d dropped her off. None of Sergio’s men knew she’d been the one to lead the West Snakes on our territory. Because one, it didn’t matter. They were already close by. And two, the Snakes were that close for a reason. To come onto our territory so easily meant they weren’t as worried as the Kings wanted them to be.
Diego was talking about it with a group of guys that I knew by face and name, but nothing more. I was on the court, sweating like crazy in the late heat that night. Even though basketball wasn’t possible anymore, it didn’t mean it didn’t give me a release.
A shrill, baritone whistle rang out across the neighborhood park.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, Sergio stood. Covered in tattoos, sin, and a tattered white tank top.
Diego looked at me. “He wants to talk to you.”
My heart did that drop, shatter, harden thing it had been doing since I was old enough to understand. My face, however, didn’t show anything. How could it? Weaknesses were dangerous.
I bounced my basketball to my brother, whom I barely knew anymore, and jogged across the park, the street, and then came up on Sergio.
He nodded toward his house. “Let’s talk.” The garage was up and there were a group of Kings inside, one of them being Raf.
Seeing him made my mouth sour. Raf was weak. Always had been. He talked a lot of game, but he couldn’t play. There’s no way they got to him unless they had something on him. Like the fact that he was probably into Rya’s sister. Getting into it with an outsider was a problem when Sergio wanted to keep the family tight. Since Sergio was Rosa’s cousin, she was no doubt the mastermind behind their relationship, his betrayal,
and ultimately, Raf’s life ending.
Acrid, pungent smoke filled the room; a joint passed between them. Some nodded at me, the older ones who knew my dad, and others ignored me completely. To some, you didn’t matter unless you were part of the crew. Which I think made a huge impact on kids my age. A lot of us didn’t matter. And in an effort to do so, we signed our souls over to a gang that wouldn’t save it.
Like my father had done.
“Have a seat,” Sergio ordered, pointing at a small table and chairs in the corner of the room covered in cards and dice.
Cold sweat beaded on the back of my neck, but I made sure that when we locked eyes, he saw nothing of substance. I reeked of empty.
But he reeked of even less.
“When do you graduate?” he asked, sitting down across from me. He picked up the cards and started stacking them.
I hated him. Deep down inside, I knew he was the person responsible for my dad going down for that botched robbery. Papa had a hand in it; he was an adult and he had a choice and he chose wrong. But they both should have gone down. Sergio shouldn’t be the chief when he was a snake himself.
“First week of June.”
He nodded slowly, as if he were contemplating my life. When really, everything he did or said had a point. “Been hearing some things.” He dealt me a hand.
“What are we playing?”
“Blackjack.” His cold black eyes landed on mine.
I turned my cards over. A king and a joker. That couldn’t be a coincidence. My heart began to race. “Funny. I’ve been noticing some things too.” I held his gaze. Staring down the black, hollow place his soul used to be.
He blew out a small breath through his nose. Sergio didn’t like being challenged or undermined by anyone. Especially not by me.
“I can make things hard for you, Rome. I keep them easy out of respect for your father and your mother. Your brother’s repaying the debt. Eventually, so will you.” He gave me one more card without me asking. It was a queen of hearts. “Maybe if I talk to that sexy little chica you seem so fond of, your motivation might pick up.”
Hot rage sliced through me. I broke my mask for just a second, but it was all he needed.
Romeo and the Angel: Impossible Crush Chronicles Page 9
