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“Rey, get Tommy and Gabe back in here, and tell Kyler to call Emilio and Knox about this. We’re gonna have to make some moves faster than we anticipated,” Khalid says. “You good?” he asks Vicente with a hand on his shoulder.
He lifts his chin, taking a slow inhale of the cigarette before replying. “Yeah. I’m gonna figure this out,” he says, gesturing toward me.
“You already know where I stand on this,” Khalid says with a stern look.
“I got you, boss. Nothing to worry about.”
Vicente approaches me as I stand in Jian’s arms, and I attempt to take a step back but go nowhere.
“When he lets you go, you’re going to quietly come with me to my office. You’re not going to run or scream or anything stupid like that, are you?”
My eyes track the blood on his face and I shake my head.
“Here’s the phone,” the other man—Rey, I think, says, handing it to Vicente. “I turned it off.”
Vicente slides it into his pocket and takes my shoes. He nods to Jian who releases his hold around my body and mouth.
My first instinct is to run, but there’s four of them down here. I wouldn’t get far and I know it. It’s easy to say what you would do in a situation until your life's on the line, so I silently walk alongside him as we go into his office.
Once inside, he closes the door behind us and walks casually to the area behind his desk where there’s shelving and drawers along the wall. His silence freaks me out. How can you be covered in the blood of who I’m assuming is a dead man and just be so calm and normal?
My stomach is in knots, my heart beats so fast it feels like it might explode in my chest. I search the room for the nearest trash can, because I’m afraid I might actually throw up. My fear is keeping me quiet. Being hysterical right now won’t do me any good, and that’s all I’m thinking about. Myself. If I start crying and screaming and demanding answers from this man, who’s to say he won’t kill me or have his men get rid of me somehow?
He starts unbuttoning his shirt with his back to me. Once it’s off, he drops it onto his chair and turns around, letting me see his sculpted torso. My eyes spot some hair around his belly button, leading down to a spot below his waistband, but there’s something else on his body that’s more eye-catching.
A violent and detailed tattoo in the center of his chest, stretching outwards at all angles begs to be stared at. I can’t pull my eyes away and he stands so still, like he wants me to get every detail. This tattoo encapsulates him.
There’s a demon-like face at the top, the eyes dark and frightening, the brow furrowed. orns protrude from its head, curving and twisting down the sides, the tips penetrating through the mouths of screaming skulls. Piles of skeletons make up the body of the demon, broken bones and splattered blood.
It’s beautifully done and the most terrifying thing I’ve seen, because after what I just witnessed, I know what this tattoo means. He’s on top and is who he is because of all the people he’s slayed. He’s killed to get to this point. He’ll continue killing. He’s not done with this life. It’s ingrained in him. Spanish words stretch from the left side of his body to his right, underlining the demonic portrait.
Slowly, he begins walking, both he and his demon taking steps toward me. My eyes flicker between the tattoo and his face and I move backward until I bump into the couch.
“Do you know who I am?” he questions. I nod my head once. “You’ve known the whole time?”
“I saw some articles.”
“That’s why you were afraid.” Once again, I nod. “But you came with me anyway.”
“I thought maybe you were going legit,” I say in a soft voice.
He chuckles and his bloody hand comes up to lift my chin so I can look him in the eye. “We will always have legit businesses, but I will never leavemi familiabehind.” He takes my hand and pulls me to the couch, sitting me down while he drops to the coffee table in front of me. “We have to talk about what you saw tonight.”
I quickly start shaking my head. “I won’t say anything. I promise. Please.”
“Now, of course, I’d like to believe that. I didn’t anticipate moving things along this fast, because I understand this is hard for most people to wrap their heads around, however, you decided to not listen,” he says, looking down at me with disappointment in his gaze. “And you saw something you weren’t prepared for. In the family, we typically have a way of ensuring people keep their mouths shut, you know?”
My eyes widen and my stomach nearly catapults everything out of my throat and onto his shoes. “I promise. Please,” I say, tears leaking from my eyes as I drop to my knees before him. “I’m not. I wouldn’t. I…I…”
“Shhh.” He runs his hand through my hair, lifting my face and wiping a tear with a knuckle. “We need to come up with a plan. I can’t send you home and trust that you’ll keep your mouth shut. I know you have roommates. You were on the phone with someone before you walked in on me. What did you tell her, little one?”
My heart seizes and words fail me. I should’ve kept my mouth closed. I put her in danger.
“Please don’t hurt her. She doesn’t know anything.”
He sits back, resting his hands on his knees. “I can send someone to be at your side at all times. You can tell your roommates it's for your protection, but it’ll be for ours too. You won’t be able to say anything without us knowing about it.”
“And school and work? He’ll follow me there, too?” I ask, my voice gaining some indignation.
