Page 27 of Tripped By Love

Marco

THE THING THAT WRECKS YOU

“If I could change

I’d be good for you

Oh, I hate all the madness.”

Performed by Lady A

Written by Tashian / York / Nadkrynechny

My heart beat wildly as Ihung up, realizing the name that had slipped out of my mouth. The endearment that I hadn’t earned the right to use. It was how I had her logged in my phone because she’d seemed that way from the very first moment I’d seen her, covered in snowflakes and twirling in the backyard at eighteen. I’d only been twenty-three, new to Brady’s detail and Garner Security, but even then, I’d known enough to deny the immediate attraction I’d felt to the glowing apparition blending in with the snow. She’d seemed like she’d been sent from heaven to surround everyone in light, whereas I’d been covered in shame and regret from my court-martial.

As I’d watched her spin that day, she’d fallen to the ground and pretended it was on purpose, making snow angels. Arlene had hustled out the back door to check on her, and I hadn’t understood why until later. I hadn’t learned about her history and her parents’ overprotectiveness until I’d spent months with Brady.

“Angel, huh?” Jonas said, drawing me away from my memories. There was a smirk on his face that I ignored completely.

“Are we ordering pizza or going down to the taqueria?” I asked.

“I guess the taqueria since we just had pizza yesterday? But no one’s Mexican food is ever as good as Maliyah’s or Maria Carmen’s,” he said.

I agreed. Maliyah may not have been Mexican, but she’d learned to cook all the classics in Maria Carmen’s home, growing up. There was something in the food they made that was always missing from the meals I got from restaurants. The only food to ever come close was what I ate at Cassidy’s place, which was decidedly un-Mexican but still had that missing quality. Like there’d been some kind of warmth and love infused into it while it was being made.

Jonas and I left the rental car at the house and walked the few blocks to a strip mall where Vazquez’s Taqueria was crammed into a corner unit. The place was barely big enough to seat a couple of people inside, which didn’t really matter because it was mostly known for its takeout.

We’d just ordered when a body slammed into Jonas, making my hand go for a gun that was locked away in the gun safe at Maliyah’s. The tension left my body as I realized it was a teenage girl and not a bigger threat.

“Jonas!” she said before squeezing him tighter and then letting him go.She was a stunning young woman. Dark skin and soft spirals of black hair drifting away from her face with a volume that might seem untamed but instead looked like a masterpiece. Her brown eyes were large, warm, and framed in huge lashes. She was probably close to Jonas’s age but had an aura of strength about her that made me think she’d be blazing trails in her not-too-distant future.

“Mel!” Jonas flushed a thousand shades of red at the physical touch and sort of jerked away from her.

The girl looked up at me and stuck out her hand, completely unfazed by Jonas’s awkwardness. “You must be Marco.”

I shook her hand, trying not to smirk. “Last I checked, that was me.”

She laughed and then turned back to Jonas. “You really leaving for the summer?”

He shrugged, looking down at his feet. “Seems like it. But we aren’t going yet. Not for a couple of days, right, Marco?”

I gave a curt nod.

“Carmella!” a voice growled behind us, and we flipped around to find a guy walking toward us.I wanted to call him a teenager because he couldn’t have been more than eighteen, but he definitely had the swagger of someone much older. There was a look in his eyes that talked of knowledge beyond his years and a toughness to him that screamed from his veins. He was muscled, tattooed, and wore a tank top that showed off both. He had a beanie on his brown hair and a nose ring that glinted above a mouth framed in stubble.

He wasn’t happy to see Mel with us. He draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her up tight against him, and I saw her vivaciousness and energy slip away—submission that shouldn’t have been there in anyone, let alone someone so young.

“Who’s this?” he asked with a narrowed look in my direction.

I was pretty sure the guy was packing heat underneath the tank top. The shape was barely perceptible from where it was shoved into his jeans at the front, and I suddenly wished for my guns that I’d stupidly left in the safe at Maliyah’s.

“This is Jonas’s brother, Marco,” she said.

The boy-man didn’t offer his hand.

“And you are?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow, widening my stance as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“What’s it to you?” he demanded.