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She looked down at his hand, then up at him. “Right.”
He swirled his thumb over her hand. Goose bumps skittered up her arm.
“Stop that.”
“You like it.”
“I do.” She kept walking, ignoring the stares they got as they made their way to Paco’s trailer.
“They don’t like strangers here, do they?” Jed asked.
“They grow weed in the woods back there. Of course they don’t like strangers. Try not to look so much like a federal agent.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I’ll try.”
They finally reached the trailer. Graffiti marked up the sides of the small single wide, mostly written in Spanish and various gang symbols. The screen door hung precariously to the side and there were what appeared to be bullet holes above the windows.
Elena couldn’t believe her mother had stayed here.
A rough-looking kid about sixteen leaned against the open door of the trailer, making no attempt to hide the gun tucked in the front of his low-riding pants.
She felt the tension run all the way through Jed’s body. She squeezed his hand and hoped he read her signal to stay calm. She’d hate for him to shoot this kid. She knew kids like him. They were more bravado than skill.
“Whatchootwowant?” he asked, a cigarette dangling from his lower lip.
“Paco around?”
“Who wants to know?”
“Tell him it’s Elena, Carla Madison’s daughter.”
The kid threw a sneer at Jed. “Stay right there. You move, someone around here might kill you.”
The kid disappeared inside.
“That boy has a bright future ahead of him.”
Elena sighed. “I’m afraid not.”
A man appeared at the entrance to the trailer, a trail of smoke and the distinct odor of pot wafting from the end of the joint he smoked. He was skinnier than she remembered, his dark pants hanging off him now. His white tank top hung loosely on his skeletal frame, and his dark greasy hair reached to his shoulders. He also appeared to be missing a few teeth as he grinned at her.
“Elena! It’s been a long time, chica. Como estas?”
Elena grinned. “Bueno, Paco. How are you?”
He nodded. “Pretty fucking good. Who’s the guy?”
“This is my boyfriend, Jed. He’s cool. Jed, this is Paco.”
Jed nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Paco nodded back. “He looks like a fed.”
Jed coughed. “I get that a lot. My mom makes me cut my hair.”
Paco laughed. “Ah. I understand. Must please the mamas, no?”
“What can you do?”
