His expression darkens, but in his gaze there is also resignation. Good. The sooner he gets on board with things, the sooner we can work this out.
“This is a mistake,” he warns.
“Maybe,” I admit. “But it is still mine to make.”
3
ANDRES - PAST
“Watch the door. Make sure no one comes inside.”
My ears perk up at the comment and I inch closer to the door, my curiosity grabbing a hold of me. Most of the students at All Souls Academy have gone for the day. I only stayed behind because I needed to discuss the upcoming match with my coach.
Papá wants me on the wrestling team. He appreciates the team building aspects of the sport and says I could use the practice fighting.
But my family obligations conflict with the team’s schedule and I needed to see if I could find a solution before making the call to quit, because while Pápa appreciates the sport, family comes first. Always.
“Ben, grab her arms.” The voice is familiar, and though I shouldn’t concern myself with the problems of others, I lean forward and peer through a crack in the door. Maxim Sidorov—one of the Bratva bastards—and his dogs are clustered together in the school’s gym.
My lip curls into a sneer. I recognize the two guys beside him as his personal lackeys. Always eager to please their master.Pathetic.They have no mind of their own. A problem that will see them killed one of these days because Maxim doesn’t think. He’s impulsive and quick to react, and the two idiots beside him are only too happy to follow along, regardless of the consequences.
“You don’t want to do this,” a girl says, piquing my interest even more.
I push the door open a fraction more and catch sight of the girl I previously missed. She’s pressed between Maxim and one of his boys, arms twisted behind her back as she’s held forcefully in place.
Maxim stands in front of her, his mouth pressed into a tight line while his eyes flick back and forth between her and the door.
He’s anxious. Reconsidering his move, maybe. It’d be the smart thing to do in this situation, not that I plan to offer him any advice. But assaulting a girl on campus won’t do him any favors. Last I checked, he was on thin ice with hisfamiliaas it was. If he’s caught … I shake my head. It’s a big if. As I said before, the school is all but empty by now, and the only people who know what he’s up to are me and his boys, and I sure as hell am no snitch.
Putting up a struggle, the girl turns her head, searching for a way out of her situation when her dark eyes land on me and recognition explodes in my chest.
Leticia Castro.
Shit.
Does he have a fucking death wish?
Our eyes stay locked for several seconds and I hold my breath, waiting for her gaze to turn pleading, or for her to cry out for help.
But she never does.
She knows who I am, just as I know who she is. And given that fact, she doesn’t expect help from me. She’ll suffer in silence before asking it of me.
A knife twists in my gut at that realization. We’ve never spoken to one another. I’m a grade above her and we share no classes. She keeps to her friends and I keep to mine. Our paths have no reason to cross, which is as it should be.
But her assumption that I won’t come to her aid when she’s clearly in distress grates on me. And the next thing I know, I’m shoving the door open and my feet move forward without any consideration for the trouble I’ll find myself in. Cartel and Bratva brats aren’t meant to mix. Though neither should the Bratva bastard be anywhere near Leticia Castro. It’s the one agreement our three families have made. All Souls Academy is neutral ground, and we are to avoid interaction at all costs.
“Look,” Leticia turns to Maxim and his friends, her voice low and calm, as though she were talking to a wild animal. Attempting to soothe its temper. Taking in the look on Maxim’s face, it’s not a far off comparison. “No one wants any trouble here. If any of our dads found out—“ I see what she’s trying to do, but I’ve been watching Maxim these past few years, and he isn’t someone easily reasoned with.
Smack.
My steps come to a hard stop near the bleachers and my eyes widen as Leticia’s head whips to the side, hair flying across her face. Only Ben’s hold on her arms behind her back keeps her from falling on her face.
Heat spreads through my chest, fire igniting in my veins. Leticia gasps, chest heaving before she whips her hair out of her face and spits a wad of blood on the polished wood floor.
Sonovabitch.
My vision goes red. Only a realpendejowould strike a woman. My already low opinion of the Sidorov spare sinks to new depths.
