Page 102 of Faded Gray Lines

“Why is that?”

“This is the part where the hero marries the girl, so she doesn’t have to testify against him in court.” Collapsing against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “If there’s no testimony, there’s no case.”

“Is that a real thing?” I asked, sitting up, my eyes bouncing between the two of them.

Once Brody’s brain registered my question, it took all of two seconds for him to lose his shit. “No. No fucking way.” Pushing off the wall, he came at me with an accusing finger. “I was kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re not marrying my sister. Hell no.”

It wasn’t the way I planned on it happening, and I sure as hell didn’t want it to involve a pending court case, but, regardless, the end result would be the same as I always wanted.

“Why not?”

Brody exploded, his breathing erratic. “Because she’s my family, not a solution, that’s why. I’ll take care of my sister, but you’re not doing this out of some code of honor.”

Jumping to my feet, I kicked my chair so hard, it crashed into the wall. “I’m not! I’m doing this because I love her!”

Thirty-Four

Leighton

Standingin the living room I’d been dragged out of twelve hours earlier felt anticlimactic. Not that I expected a welcome home party from the Houston PD, but the silence that greeted me only served as a reminder that they still had Mateo.

Seeing my brother was the last thing I wanted, so I asked one of the officers to drive me home. As much as I loved Brody, I wasn’t prepared to answer the barrage of questions he’d have.

I surveyed the damage left by the morning’s events. Pieces of broken lamp lay scattered everywhere and chairs had been kicked over as the officers forged their destructive path.

And now I’d forged my own by signing the fucking paper.

I caved and agreed to testify against the man I loved.

Even though I had no plans to follow through with it, just admitting the words to myself made my skin crawl. The satisfaction on Alex’s face still made me stick to my stomach, but he could have his moment. He needed to remember how good it felt because as soon as I figured a way out of this, we were leaving Houston for good.

Kicking my way through the mess, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My face was pale and sullen, my eyes swollen from crying. But it was my clothes that disgusted me the most. The Caliente uniform I wore represented everything I hated, and I wanted to rip it off and burn it in the courtyard.

However, I’d settle for a shower and a pair of scissors.

Stumbling into the bedroom, I turned on the light just as my phone rang. I considered ignoring it, but a sliver of hope bloomed in my heart, causing me to dive toward the nightstand. My hands shook as “unknown” displayed on the caller ID.

Stella...

“Hello?”

“So, we finally meet, Leighton Harcourt.”

I didn’t have to ask who it was. The hypnotic accent and authoritative command in his voice gave him away. “Why, Valentin Carrera, as I live and breathe.”

“For now.”

So, he already knew. Good news traveled fast.

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, my voice surprisingly calm.

“Do you want me to?”

“It would solve a lot of problems.” The logical side of my brain screamed at me to shut up, horrified at the invitation I just presented. However, the side that had just endured twelve hours of hell had already checked out.