I keep my gaze on Rico. He looks like steam is about to come out of his ears. His fists are clenched so tight his knuckles are white. He’s bouncing his knee beneath his tightly fisted hand.
I give him a pointed look so he’ll catch himself. He drops his gaze to his leg and stops the movement immediately, unfisting his hands and placing them palms flat on his thighs. He gives me a curt nod of thanks.
“Pretty she is. She could come stay with me if you must have her here,” Emilio says, eyeing me.
Eww, gross. He’s the oldest man here. I don’t miss that Federico shoots his hand out to place on top of Rico’s to keep him in his seat.
“Claude has come to me as a friend. I feel like she’s my responsibility. I’m vouching for the girl. She stays with me,” Federico says firmly.
“Cub, what do you want to do? I’ll come up with the money. I’ve been working on it in case something went south. You don’t have to work it off if you don’t want to.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” Rico bites out.
“You chose a car she couldn’t resist. You used a joke to take advantage of her one weakness. That was my bad.
“I never should have said anything. I made that deal with you, not her. You’re trying to bring a little girl into a grown man’s game.
“My brother would be rolling in his grave to know I allowed this. Give me a month, I’ll have your money.”
“She will make me twice that in a month.” Rico seethes.
“And I’ll get to keep a portion of what I earn for him. With that, I can go to one of those schools Mommy keeps talking about. I’m fine, Uncle Claude. You’ve done enough for me,” I say.
“Oni,” Uncle Claude bites out.
“I’m not a little girl anymore. It’s time I own up to my mistakes. You and Mommy can’t keep digging me out of trouble. Let me make things right and get my life back in order. I can do this.”
“Then it’s settled. Oni stays and she will live here with me. I will protect her like she’s my own daughter.”
Uncle Claude bites out a curse under his breath. Emilio narrows his eyes at me as if he’s trying to see through me. Rico … Rico is glaring at me, and I have no idea why.
“I’ll take her back to the house to pack her things,” Rico says coldly.
Ut-oh. I think I fucked up.
CHAPTER 7
You’re Mine
Rico
“Can you please slow down?You’re scaring me,” Oni says from the passenger seat.
“Fuck,” I roar and punch the steering wheel.
I know my father did what was right, but that wasn’t how I wanted things to work out. Oni is supposed to be with me. Fuck, I sound like a spoiled brat in my own thoughts.
What’s this girl doing to me? I press my foot on the brake pedal and take a calming breath. I need to think clearly and regroup. This isn’t what I wanted, but it can still work.
“Why are you so mad at me? I’m staying in Miami, and my uncle isn’t ready for war. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. I wanted to punch my uncle in his throat. Never in my life have I ever been so angry with him.
He took things too far. The bullshit he whispered in my ear still has my blood boiling. Oni isn’t just a piece of ass because she’s not the right skin color. I’m not subscribing to that bullshit.
Fuck him and that bullshit way of thinking. If he had called Oni a thief one more time, I was going to shoot him myself. I barely held in my rage during that meeting.
“I wanted you at the house with me. I didn’t know my father was going to pull that shit,” I snarl.
