Page 21 of The Bronze Garza

“But—”

“Look, I’m tired as fuck. Haven’t seen my family in over a year. Just, please, for the love of God, be quiet so I can get some rest, yeah?”

What a prick! I’ve not seen my family in over sixteen months, but he doesn’t see me being a class-A jerk.

Ugh. To think I’ve been entertaining thoughts of him and me.Blech.

“I’m sorry, did my father forget to tick the ‘be kind to the traumatized victim who might be scared and confused and full of questions after rescue’ box on the Red Cage application form?” I snap back.

“Pretty much.”

I signal the stewardess, and when she comes over, I ask sweetly, “Do you have noise-canceling headphones?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Excellent. Can you go get one for Mr. Assface over there, please? He’sverytired, misses his momma—bless his soul—and needs to rest. But Reuben and I here have things to discuss and we don’t want to disturb his beauty rest. He’s an eight-hours-of-sleep kind of man. Has to maintain that flawless face, you know.”

“I—uh, of course,” the stewardess replies with a slightly confused and uncomfortable smile.

Reuben wipes a smile from his mouth with his palm, dropping his gaze to the table between us.

And, I might have imagined it, but I think I just saw a slight twitch of Torin’s lips.

I pick up my tea and take a long, obnoxiously loud sip. “So,Reuben,where were we before we were sorudelyinterrupted?”

~

Something shifts inmy chest as the wheels hit the tarmac. I’ve not slept a wink for the entire 10-hour flight. I’m too anxious. Wired. Agitated.

I’ve chomped my fingernails down to the cuticles.

Across the aisle, Torin is awake and watching me, expressionless and blatant. His stare feels like an interloping laser beam burning everything away, flesh and bones and shame, and seeing the very shape and color of my soul. I feel soseen. Haven’t I longed to have those same eyes on me? Dreamed of those eyes?

However, now that I know he’s a grade-Ajerk, I don’t care for his attention. It’s effortless to ignore him, block him out. No more passionate fantasies. The only thing I feel toward him now is contempt.

“Come here,” he voices at me.

Dramatically, I glance behind me, then at Reuben, then across to him again and touch my palm to my chest. “Uh,me?”

He just stares.

After spending the last sixteen months being bossed around and controlled by men...Ido notthink so. If I’m truly free, then I’m not about to submit to anyone’s command if I don’t feel like it. Especially from boorish assholes like him. “No,youcome here.”

He drags his thumb back and forth across his bottom lip, regarding me. It’s so damn distracting my daring glare falters.

You don’t like him anymore,I remind myself.He’s an ass, and you don’t like him anymore.

Then, he shrugs, shocking me when he gets up and comes over to me.

He rests his palms flat on the table and leans down so his face is close to mine, his muscles bunching under the cotton of his long-sleeved shirt.

I swallow. All bravado gone.

Okay. Alright. Yeah, so, him being this close, so close I can feel his breath on my upper lip, is unnerving as all get out.

There’s no air.Why is there no air?

Crackling waves of asphyxiating static bounces off him, wrapping around my throat like crooked fingers, stealing all the oxygen from my lungs.