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I scoff, “I didn’t think I had a choice in the matter seeing as Rey drugged me to get me here.”
Roberto’s eyes twinkle like he just witnessed his child winning their first award. My lip curls in disgust. I can’t believe Valeria came from this sadistic fuck.
“Ah, yes, my son really knows how to get a job done. It’ll make this year’s election quite interesting, wouldn’t you say, Mateo?”
I forgot Rey’s best friend is still behind me. He steps around me and practically slams his glass down on the bar. He swaggers his way toward the door, pausing beside Val’s dad.
“Sure, Roberto, whatever you say. Although, I don’t think it’ll be interesting in the way you think.”
Mateo turns and gives me a wink before strutting out the door, leaving me and Roberto alone. Ignoring the bastard who obviously orchestrated this whole night, I move to the mini bar and grab a bottle of water I find.
After cracking the seal, I turn back to Roberto, “Don’t call Rey your son, it’s fucking weird and we both know he isn’t.”
Roberto moves to sit in the chair I woke up in, sighing loudly as he sits. I read somewhere that manipulators, particularly those who are male and in the older caliber of age, have a tendency to present themselves as harmless by making subtle noises of discomfort when doing simple things—hence, this fool acting like his bones hurt as he sits. He’s presenting himself as frail, harmless, tired of the games and eager to let life pass him by peacefully, but I’m no fool and his lies won’t work on me.
“You’re right Noah, Rey is not my child which is why tonight needs to go as smoothly as possible. For Valeria’s sake.”
I cross my arms over my chest, the plastic bottle popping under my grip, “That’s the second time tonight I’ve been warned about Val’s safety. Maybe if you hadn’t been playing these fucked up games with your daughter, she wouldn’t be in any kind of trouble.”
“Everything I did was to protect both Valeria and Rey—”
“Them or yourself?”
I place the bottle back down on the table and spot a wooden mallet that’s used to break up ice sticking out from behind a gold bucket holding some brand of champagne from the early nineteen hundreds. If I need to, I’ll use it on Roberto until someone decides to save his worthless ass and let me the hell out of here.
I need to find Val and get the hell outta dodge.
“Protecting myselfisprotecting them, Noah.”God, what a shitty fucking answer, huh?“But tonight, isn’t about me, it’s about Valeria and how you can help her make it out of this alive.”
A lifetime of moments passes through my mind, times when Val’s smile brought a little life back into me, moments when her fingers brushed against the ridges of my scars along my arms. The late-night visits when she knew something was wrong and climbed through my window just to be the anchor I so desperately needed. It was Val who pulled me out of every emotional hole I fell into. Hell, she even bailed me out of jail using money she saved up during a summer job.
Maybe it’s a foolish decision to do this, but Val never weighed the consequences versus the actions when it came to helping me.
“What do I need to do?”
Roberto’s eyes gleam like a cat who has finally caught the mouse, too bad for him that I’m a rabid beast. He may think he’s got me cornered, but I’ve got more knives up my sleeves than he has tricks.
“In order to help Val, get out of this, you must become her Judas and join the Calavera Society. Full-fledged initiation. You passed ritual night and from that sinful act, we now have a secret you want hidden. So, by the Society bylaws, you’ve already begun your novice stages. But I must warn you, the tasks ahead of you will not be easy.”
My hands curl into fists, but I keep them tight under my arms, repeating a mantra in my head.This is for Val. Roberto will pay for this.
He stands and walks over to me, his hand out, “Do we have a deal?”
The moment my hand grips his, I know I’ve lost Val forever.
THIRTY-SEVEN
* * *
‘STUPID’ ASHNIKKO FT.YUNG BABY TATE
As soon aswe’re out of the car, the driver opens the door to the main building and lets us in without comment nor acknowledgement, which is just as well since I can feel the heat on my face. I’ve never really cared about being watched, much less being heard, while I’m getting a good fuck, but this feels entirely different.
For one, people here think Rey is my actual brother, so if the driver is achismoso, the news will spread like wildfire. Gossips are the worst but add in the fact that everyone here is a rich snob from hell, my life will undoubtedly become far worse than I can imagine.
The other reason this feels new to me is because of the feelings swarming my body and mind every time I cast a side glance at Rey. Outside of Noah, I’ve never felt a modicum of interest for anyone. Sure, I find a lot of guys sexy and yeah, I’ve fucked my fair share, but it’s always no-strings-attached. No feelings, no emotions, just pure carnal desire.
What happened with Rey just now feels as different as water is to oil.
