by Jani Kay
“Of course I understand all that. I’m nervous, not an idiot.”
“I never said . . . never mind.” She shrugged. “All I want to say, is you’re one of the lucky ones. You get the man you really like doing it. Not all girls are that blessed.”
A deep frown appeared between her brows. She was talking about herself. She’d never spoken about her first time, always laughing it off whenever we spoke about sex, so I’d stopped asking because it wasn’t really any of my business, and she’d tell me if she wanted me to know or was ready to share such intimate details. All I did know was that she was very young when it happened. Maybe one day she’d feel that she could speak to me about it, but until then I’d never push her into telling me if it made her uncomfortable.
Maybe she was waiting for me to have some experience so that I’d have a better understanding. I had a strange feeling that reality and fantasy where sex was concerned could be two very different things.
“I know.”
“Considering you’re an only daughter, you’re pretty smart, you know?” Esmé said, smiling at me. “I have three older sisters and they talk all the time, so I’ve learned a lot from them.”
I winked at her. “That’s why I have you, silly. You are my older sister.” Although Esmérelda was only ten months older than me, in some ways she seemed a lot more grown-up. Maybe because she wasn’t as fiercely guarded as I was by my father. If only he knew what my best friend was teaching me . . . he’d probably ban her from my life immediately.
But luckily Mama was best friends with her mother, Teresa, and our fathers drank together at the local bar in town, so at least I was allowed to sleep over at her house occasionally. Tonight would be one of those nights, if everything went to plan.
“Let’s go to my house. You can shower there and I’ll help you get ready. You have to be totally irresistible. Just the right amount of sexy and innocent will drive him crazy.”
“Yes, that what I want. Let’s go ask my father and get it over with.”
It wasn’t a given that he’d agree. Antonio Alvarez was a hard man, and I never knew what mood I’d find him in. Sometimes he’d be in a great frame of mind and be the doting father, but lately he’d been surly and unforgiving. I’d have to be extra sweet when I asked his permission, because if he refused our plans were screwed.
Chapter 13 — Alessandra
My father sat on the big porch drinking his black tea and a small glass of tequila, as was his ritual. Usually he was in a reasonable mood earlier in the mornings, so I’d have a better chance if Esmé and I asked him straight away rather than waited till the afternoon. Esmérelda was smart. She treated my father with respect so that he could never find fault with her. He really liked Esmé, and often said that if he had another daughter, he’d want it to be her. It was a huge compliment coming from my father, one Esmé nurtured so that she’d stay on the good side of him.
So when I walked out onto the porch, I was surprised to find not only my father and his usual two bodyguards there, but also Don Pedro and his handful of goons. I sucked in a breath, all warmth leaving my face. I hated when the Don came over.
“Good morning,” I said, remembering my manners. My father would punish me in some way if I were impolite or rude to his guests. I’d gone to bed hungry in the past for refusing to kiss someone’s cheek on his insistence.
Usually I knew when the Don was going to visit because my father would tell Mama the day before to prepare and cook something special. I’d make it my mission to avoid him by being somewhere else for most of the time, even staying back at school to finish some imaginary project, just because he made my skin crawl. Now I knew the plans he and my father had for my future, it freaked me out completely seeing him here.
When was Papa going to actually tell me? My birthday was only a month away and neither he nor my mother had said a word. I prayed to God that what Esmé had heard and Cobra eluded to was wrong.
That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to have sex with Cobra, though. I still wanted to, even more now after our chat the previous day. And now that I’d entertained the thought of leaving this place behind, I hoped Cobra would take me away with him.
Don Pedro threw his shot of tequila back and swallowed. He grimaced, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. For all his put on airs and graces, he was still just a man underneath the fancy title. He rose to his feet with a wicked grin on his long skinny face, a face that crinkled with pleasure as his beady eyes lingered on my body.
I hate scrawny men.
I hate when he undresses me with his eyes.
I hate him.
Behind me, Esmé whispered, “Fuck.”
Then, “Fucking lecherous bastard.” The words hissed from her lips, but she quickly covered them with a cough.
She always swore when something threw her for a loop. I nearly burst into a nervous giggle, but I managed to keep my shit together long enough as Don Pedro took a few long strides toward me. His bony hands pinched my shoulders and he waited for me to kiss him on both cheeks.
Inwardly I shuddered, but I made an effort not to let that be my physical response. I didn’t want to anger my father or the Don today. My plans hinged on getting out of there as soon as possible.
“The Don has graced us with a surprise visit today. He will be staying for dinner. I want you and Esmérelda to help Mama prepare the food.”
God, no.
Esmé stepped forward. “Good morning, Don Pedro. Hello, Mr. Alvarez. I was just about to ask you if Alessandra could come to our house for dinner tonight? It’s my sister’s birthday today and Mama has been slaving over the hot stove for two days to prepare a family feast. She’ll be so disappointed if Alessandra isn’t there; she thinks of her as her baby daughter.” She looked up at my father, giving him a megawatt version of her most winning smile. “Of course your whole family is invited, but since you have a guest, Mama would be happy if just Alessi came tonight.”
My father’s brow knitted together. He wasn’t used to anyone throwing his plans into disarray, and the Don’s unexpected arrival would already have ticked him off. Esmé was treading on dangerous ground.
She didn’t give up. “We’re more than happy to stay here to help Mrs. Alvarez in the kitchen, if you could excuse Alessandra from dinner this one time. As you said yourself, Don Pedro arrived unexpectedly, and there is no reason he shouldn’t have a wonderful meal under your generous hospitality tonight.”
Holy cow. Where had Esmérelda learned to speak like that?
My father looked at Esmé with as much surprise as I did. He scratched his chin and looked over at the Don, who was standing there with ultra-thin lips, his eyes narrowed at Esmé in dismay.
“I have something important to talk to Alessandra about. That’s why I came here today. I’ve traveled far to be here. I’m sure your mother will understand if Alessandra isn’t there tonight. I’ll arrange for a bunch of flowers to be delivered to apologize for her absence.”
Crap.
The Don moved to my side and placed his skeletal arm around my shoulders, pulling me toward him. My head screamed no as my body tensed and my back stiffened. I couldn’t help it. I pulled away from him, hardly able to believe that he’d act so openly in front of my father. It felt creepy, especially since boys had never been allowed around me. My father was so strict about it that the Don’s behavior couldn’t possibly be considered acceptable in public.
Mama stepped from the front door onto the porch. She never came out to greet anyone unless my father called for her, so her behavior surprised everyone. She nodded politely and greeted the Don with a smile, welcoming him to our home before she turned to my father.
She took a deep breath before speaking. “Antonio, I’m sorry to interrupt but I just wanted you to know that Teresa just called to confirm that we’d be coming to Christina’s birthday dinner tonight. Remember I told you about it last week? She’s been cooking for two days, and she is expecting us at six.”
Mama
wiped her hands on her apron nervously. She was lying for me? She’d never done anything like this before. Surely this would earn her the wrath of my father later.
She licked over her lips, and put on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I told her . . . um, I hope you don’t mind . . . but I said we had an unexpected visitor and were unable to come.”
“What are you talking about, woman?” My father’s voice was not kind.
Why is she doing this?
Her nerves must have failed her because she dropped her eyes for a moment before lifting her chin and speaking. “I told her that in our absence, we’d send Alessandra and Eduardo over to represent our family. I know you wouldn’t want to let our dearest friends down, and she was delighted to have the children.”
I watched as my father snorted and closed the gap between him and my mother. Oh God, I didn’t think he’d hit her in front of Don Pedro, but there could always be a first time. After all, he had lost it in front of the bikers all those years ago when Cobra had stopped him.
Closing my eyes, I sucked in a breath. This was turning into a disaster.
All I wanted was to get away, and I didn’t want my mother to suffer because of me. She was lying as much as Esmé was. Christina had had her birthday celebrations over the weekend when I’d slept over at their house. It was a night of nachos and tacos, nothing extra special, because she wanted to keep it low-key. She and her boyfriend, Miguel, were leaving for Las Vegas, and she told everyone not to be surprised if they came back married since she was eighteen and could legally do so.
Stunned, I watched my father stop short in front of my mother and smile. “You did the right thing. We need to keep to our family commitments. I just wish you’d reminded me earlier. Why don’t I remember anything about it?”
Seeing my chance to get free of the Don’s sickening grip on my shoulder, I moved toward my mother and stood beside her to chip in. “Oh, it was because I blabbered all night about the science project at school, because I need good grades if I want to be a nurse. Remember me telling you about that?”
Papa swung to me, recognition lighting his eyes. That part was true.
The atmosphere at the dinner table had been so thick after something had gone wrong with one of my father’s deals that I’d tried to make conversation just to get through it.
The Don smirked. He really was ugly when his top lip curled up, baring his gums. A shiver went down my spine. If he touches me again . . .
“I don’t think you’re going to be a nurse, sweet girl.” He cleared his throat. “Your papa and I have an arrangement. That’s what we need to discuss tonight. It’s nearly time—”
A roar of motorcycles cut off his sentence. My head jerked around to see Cobra and his brothers driving through the open gate. I coughed as dust billowed everywhere yet I’d never been so happy to see someone arrive.
Chapter 14 — Cobra
Hammer could speak enough Spanish to get by, and while he’d gone to buy a few packets of smokes and some beer earlier in the day he’d had a conversation with the guy behind the counter at the little shop on the corner. He raced back to our motel, red in the face from the heat and rushing.
He made wild gestures with his arms as he told me Don Pedro had arrived at Antonio’s place with a full entourage, and that nobody had expected his arrival. Apparently it was unusual for nobody to know he was coming, because everyone was interrelated and knew one another’s business.
Five minutes after his arrival, everyone in the small village already had heard the news via their informal network. The man had babbled on and on, telling Hammer how the Don had cheated him, and how much he despised the man. In the shopkeeper’s opinion, it meant something sinister was going down, and everyone was talking about it because something sinister usually led to bloodshed and friends and family getting killed.
It can only mean one thing.
The fucker was probably there to collect his prize. Alessandra. Fuck.
There was no time to waste. Esmé was bringing her to me tonight, and although all I’d planned was to talk to her and ask her to go back to the States with me, the urgency to get out of this place just escalated a few notches.
I didn’t have any idea if she was aware of her father and Don Pedro’s agreement. Hoping that she wouldn’t be the last one to know, I’d offer her the chance to escape with me and start a new life. If she liked me as much as I wanted her—and I was pretty sure that she did—we’d hopefully end up together.
If she agreed, I’d first need to convince Ryder, Hammer and Razor to help me. And Daemon was waiting for the goods we were bringing with us on the other side of the border. We’d set it all up before we left.
Now we needed a plan of action.
So here I was, rolling into the yard of Antonio Alvarez to check out the Virgin Thief, as the locals called the Don.
“Good morning,” I yelled as I climbed off my motorcycle a good few feet away from the house, my eyes on Alessandra, the girl who all of this revolved around. She smiled sweetly at me, her eyes big and round. I first greeted Antonio, then Maria and Esmérelda as I got closer to where they all stood.
Everyone except the Don smiled back at me. It had been a few years since I’d last encountered him. I’d instantly disliked him then and now I wanted to tear him the fuck apart.
Back then I only wanted to think of him as just another cog in the wheel of our business, yet I couldn’t keep my personal feelings out of it. His reputation of paying for unsuspecting virgin girls had left a distaste in my mouth I couldn’t get rid of, but knowing he was after Alessandra caused my blood to boil and every instinct in my body to protect her came rushing forward.
This was personal. Don Pedro wanted the same thing I wanted. He must have believed he already had it in the bag, or he wouldn’t be there.
My gaze took in his skeletal frame and how fucking old he was. If a prick like that ever came near a daughter of mine, I’d slice his off and feed it to the dogs.
I was a good judge of character—I had to be to survive the lifestyle of a biker. I’d never made a mistake about someone before. My first impressions had always been spot on target.
“We must be talking about a shitload of cash here. No parent would sell out a child to a man like this without a huge incentive,” Ryder said quietly so only I could hear. My fucking thoughts exactly.
I’d confided in Ryder after one of my recurring nightmares, believing the faceless man in my dreams was the Don. “Want me to take him down?”
“Nah, not yet,” I said as we moved closer.
As we climbed the stairs and were within earshot, Antonio hooked his thumbs into the loops of his pants and rocked forward on his feet, a smirk on his face. “Two surprise visits in one day. I thought our business was done? I expected you boys to be close to the border by now.”
“Nah,” Razor piped up. “I got the stomach bug from all the spicy food. Hate shitting in the bush. Too many insects on my ass. Plus we haven’t had enough tequila yet.”
Everyone laughed. Razor was good at providing comic relief when situations were tense, even though he usually didn’t intend to be funny.
I struggled to tear my gaze away from Alessandra. A deep blush had settled on her cheeks, and she looked pretty in a floral summer dress that showed off her long smooth neck and shoulders.
Hammer had made a move on Esmérelda, chatting to her and sharing a private joke they both laughed at. I’d never seen him at ease with a female before, yet he was totally relaxed with the Mexican girl.
“Excuse us, the girls and I need to get started in the kitchen if they want to get away early. Come, young ladies, there are vegetables to peel,” Maria said as she made her way inside.
The girls followed, and as Alessandra brushed past me, our skins touched for a fleeting moment. Something in me stirred. Just a waft of her scent was all it took to get me worked up. I longed to reach out and touch her, make her stop and talk to me, but that would be asking for trouble with so man
y hostile sets of eyes watching. Alessandra kept walking and bit into her lip and fluttered her eyelashes before dropping her gaze.
That was when she stumbled, and I instantly reached out to grab and steady her. She gazed up into my eyes, her blush deepening, and her lips in the shape of an O.
How I want to dip my head and kiss those lips. It was fucking torture being so close and not being able to do anything. Her fingertips rested against my chest, her touch light yet electric, sending crazy signals all over my body and straight to my cock.
The message Esmé had sent me flashed through my mind.
Alessandra needs her cherry popped. Will you do it tonight?
I’d thought it a strange request from a friend, yet she must’ve had a reason for sending such an explicit text. I’d figured it had something to do with the Don, yet it wasn’t something I was taking lightly.
Pedro’s arrival had fucked with my plans, and I needed to speak with Alessandra urgently. Caught up in my thoughts, I was brought back to reality when Pedro’s face appeared in my line of vision. He grabbed Alessandra around the waist and pulled her away from me.
“Come here, little darling,” he said, an ugly sneer on his thin lips. “This discussion isn’t over yet.’
With a cry, Alessandra was ripped from me and the lanky Mexican had her pinned to his scrawny body. Surprise flashed in Antonio’s eyes, but he quickly covered it. Maria spun around and clutched her apron, wringing the fabric with both hands.
“I want you here tonight at dinnertime,” he told Alessandra. “You can’t go anywhere.”
Ryder growled next to me. He was ready to take the fucker down.
The tall Mexican glared at me. “Don’t let me catch you touching her again.”
“Now?” Razor asked behind me. I’d bet his fists were already balled by his sides.
“Relax,” I said, holding both hands up. I smiled at Pedro, trying to appear calm and nonchalant when in fact everything inside me was ready to revolt. I suppressed the urge to let Ryder and Razor loose on the Don and his men. My boys were ready for a bit of action.
