Page 62 of Her Passionate Hero

Nicolas nodded.

Hunter saw Lottie walk toward the car as he and Nicolas began walking down the block.

“Who are you?” Nicolas asked after they walked two blocks.

“I’m an old friend of Ms. Novak’s.”

“You look like a cop or something.”

“I’m a SEAL.”

Nicolas stopped in the middle of the uneven sidewalk. “For real?”

“Yep.”

He blew out a breath and started walking again. “You probably think I’m scum.”

“Why do you say that? Do you think I would judge you because of something your brother did? That’s bullshit.”

“Didn’t Ms. Novak tell you I’m part of my brother’s gang. I’m in Los Demonios. That means I’m part of something that did this. Fuck. Why didn’t I see this possibility?” Kid sounded just like Aliana with the way he beat himself up.

“Hell, dude, I was part of Las Nuevas Espadas. I didn’t get out until I was almost eighteen and joined the Navy. I wasn’t responsible for everything my gang did.”

“Yeah, but gangs are worse than what they were in the olden days.”

This time it was Hunter who stopped walking as he barked out a laugh.

“Olden days? Jesus, Kid, just how old do you think I am?”

“Forty-five?” he asked tentatively.

“Try thirty-one. I need to start wearing a higher SPF sunscreen.”

“So maybe they haven’t changed much. Drugs?” Hunter nodded. “Hookers?” Hunter nodded. “Shakedowns?” Hunter nodded. “Turf-wars?”

“Oh, yeah. Somehow I managed to keep my hands clean. I never killed anyone. I dealt a little, but I stayed away from the hard stuff. I took a lot of heat for being a pussy. I was an enforcer, but mostly just intimated people because of my size.”

Nicolas looked him up and down. “Yeah, I could see how that would work. But you got out. I’m going to get out. I have Ms. Novak. Most of the good ones don’t have anyone like her. They don’t have my opportunities, but I’m helping them.”

Yep, it was just like Aliana had suspected.

“What have you been doing?”

“I’ve skimmed a little off some deals and got them on buses out of town. I got three of them off to different families in the Midwest through a church program. We got one girl, a working girl, into a rehab center up in the Valley. She should be getting out next week.” There was such pride on the kid’s face. Hell, he should be proud, but scared. Why wasn’t he scared?

“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

“I’m doing the right thing. Ms. Novak does the right thing. She stands up to gang members at school. She expels them. She tries to make the school a bully-free environment. It doesn’t work, but she tries. I’m just following in her footsteps. Plus, I read this great book,” he said excitedly.

Hunter pressed the bridge of his nose. Holy fuck, if this kid was caught, they’d make an example of him for sure. He was going to be gutted.

“Let’s table this for the time being.”

“Okay. You want to talk about Mateo, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Look, he didn’t bomb Ms. Novak’s house.”