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“That’s my default face.”
“Sure, sure.” Achilles took another sip of his drink.
“Fuck you. I don’t need this shit.” He threw some bills on the counter and left, the laugh of his friend following him.
Nobody seemed to fucking understand. He couldn’t walk into her life, unleash himself on her. She was the light. He was darkness. She was small and delicate. He was big and burly.
He stepped into the cool night, looking for his car, when he smelled her delicious scent. Mary.
She stood next to him, looking up at him. “You’re leaving already?”
He saw her eyes flutter before focusing on his lips. Knowing that she was just as aware of him as he was her made everything worse. So much worse. He clenched his hands to prevent them from reaching out to her. He couldn’t just pull her to his chest and have his way with her.
Or could he?
No. Focus, Diaz. Focus!
“You can have anyone. Why me?” Tomorrow, she would pick one of his men. This was his last chance to ask her.
“You’re nice to dogs.”
“What?” Of all the answers he expected, that wasn’t one.
“The first time I saw you was at Jazzy’s wedding. I went onto the deck to get some air, and spotted you with a guard dog, petting him.” She chuckled. “Guess I’m a sucker for people who like dogs. I believe that a man who’s nice to a dog can’t be cruel inside. That’s when I knew that I’d always be safe with you. So, that’s your answer. I chose you because you make me feel safe. Because I know, no matter how big and strong you are, you will never hurt me. And also, because it feels right. Don’t expect me to explain the how or why. Some things can’t be explained. But if you don’t want me, I will pick another. I can’t fail Zoe.”
It took courage to say all of that, so he could do no less than be honest as well.
He sighed, suddenly feeling tired. “I’m thirty-two, you’re twenty-one. You have your whole life ahead of you and I’m not going to screw that up. You have no idea the things I’ve done and witnessed. There’s a beast in me so volatile it would scare you to even scratch the surface. I know why you—”
Her lips thinned. “‘You know nothing, Jon Snow.’”
“Who?”
She shook her head. “It’s a character from a TV show. Never mind. If you don’t get that reference, nothing I say will make a difference.”
With that, she dismissed him and turned back inside, as if never having heard of this Jon Snow guy was a capital offense.
CHAPTER 8
HECTOR
Today was Doomsday; the day that Mary would choose a husband. It was that disconcerting thought that woke Hector up before the crack of dawn. He’d been punching a bag ever since. Almost an hour in, the sweat was pouring off his body, but he still felt like punching through a wall.
Close to six, the first guys trickled in. Some went straight to their lockers, changing clothes to work out. Others just came in early to coordinate their new assignments.
When he saw Achilles walk in, followed by Walker and Cortez, he couldn’t be happier. He left the punching bag and jumped into the boxing ring.
“Who wants to go a round?”
Suddenly, everybody made themselves scarce. Jess shook her head as she walked past him with a huge coffee mug.
“Cortez, wanna go a round?”
The guy shook his head. “Mymamacitalikes my face just the way it is. Smooth and pretty.”
“I thought she had dumped your ass?”
“She had. But then I gave her a puppy. Chicks are crazy about puppies. One look at the little ankle biter and she took me back.”