Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
MARIA
G rabbing a bag of chips from the cupboard, I’m about to head back up to my room to eat them in peace, when I spot someone out of the corner of my eye.
I swivel around on the spot, my heart leaping up in my chest. Is it whoever sent me that text, finally here to catch up to me? In the last few days since I returned to Houston, I’ve been on edge every second, ready for them to finally come and take what’s there’s - but, as of yet, they haven’t. They’re making me wait, making me sweat. If it wasn’t for Malo keeping me distracted, I know I would have lost it entirely.
But then, I see that it’s Harley, slipping into the kitchen through the far door, trying her best not to catch my attention.
“Harley, you scared me,” I sigh, planting a hand on my chest to still my pounding heartbeat.
“Sorry,” she mutters, not making eye contact with me as she brushes past me and toward the fridge. I hesitate, wondering if I should just leave her to it, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go so quickly.
It’s the first time I’ve seen Harley since I found out about what she went through at the hands of Las Rosas Negras, and I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been playing on my mind ever since. I wish she hadn’t had to go through all of that, but it helps me make sense of how she’s been acting around me since I got here. How can I blame her for being a little off? It’s not like she’ll be able to trust just anyone who walks into this place, not after everything she’s been through. It’s a miracle she can even leave her room long enough to spend time with Bella. If I were her, I’m sure I would still be hiding out there, doing my best not to lay eyes on anyone.
She steals a glance at me, seeming to sense my gaze on her.
“What is it?” she demands, turning to me, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. I part my lips, trying to think of how to put this into words.
“I-I’m sorry for what you went through,” I blurt out, before I can stop myself.
She stares at me for a moment, and I see a red flush hit her cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mutters, turning her attention to the fridge so she can grab what she came for.
I figure I should take this as my indication to leave her the hell alone, but I just want her to know how much I respect her for standing strong, getting out of bed every day, even after everything she’s endured. Not many people could do that.
“With the cartel,” I tell her, and she freezes on the spot. It’s like I’ve thrown her back into the midst of it, and I feel a stab of guilt at once. I wish I could take the words back, cursing myself out in my head for even mentioning it to her. Who am I to bring this up when she’s clearly struggling so much with?—
“You know about that?” she asks, her voice dropping all of a sudden, her defenses down.
“I don’t know the details,” I assure her quickly. “I just… Blue mentioned it to me in passing. That you went through some shit because of them.”
She lowers her gaze for a moment, but then nods.
“I did, yeah,” she admits. Her voice is small, and she looks as though she wants to vanish into herself.
“We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” I assure her, but she shakes her head.
“No, I know I should—I mean, I know I shouldn’t be keeping it all bottled up like that,” she replies, and offers me a small smile. “I just… it’s hard to know how to put that into words with someone new. You know?”
“I can imagine,” I agree. It’s hard to imagine what might have happened if I had been in the same position as her; I know El Serpiente marked me as “untouchable” by the rest of his men, but he always seemed to be hanging it over my head that he could change that at any moment. And Rayo didn’t seem all that interested in respecting that order, anyway. Given the chance, and a little more time, he’d have been bold enough to defy his boss and just take what he wanted from me. I shiver at the thought.
“I know it makes me kind of an asshole at times,” Harley admits. “Bella’s always telling me I should be nicer to people, but it’s just… hard.”
“You’re not an asshole,” I reply quickly. “You’re just… going through something. I get that.”
“I’m sorry if I came across like a bitch to you,” she apologizes.
I shake my head. “You didn’t,” I respond. It’s not entirely the truth, but she doesn’t deserve to beat herself up over the way she reacted to me before. It’s no wonder she had her doubts—as far as she was concerned, I was working for the group that caused her so much pain and suffering in the past. It’s a miracle she didn’t try to get me kicked out on sight.
“Thanks,” she replies. She seems to have softened right in front of me, something easing away. The front she’s had up since the first moment I met her beginning to dip, at last.
“I guess it’s a good idea for us to clear the air,” she remarks. “Since, you know… well, with everything that’s going on.”
“Exactly,” I agree. “I… if you need anyone to talk to about anything , I’m more than happy to listen.”
“Trust me, I’ve done more than enough talking about it already,” she replies, shaking her head slightly, a smile crossing her lips. “I think I’m ready to actually take some action, you know?”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, cocking my head to the side with interest. “What kind?”
“You know how to fight, right?” she wonders aloud, and I laugh.
“I think I’m the last person who should ever be getting into any kind of physical fight,” I retort. “I’m more of a thinker than a fighter.”
She grins. “We’re going to need to do something about that, then,” she says, looking me up and down. “You’ve got a good build for it. You should try some training.”
“Some training?” I ask, sounding surprised—though I suppose it shouldn’t come as that much of a shock to me. I mean, after all, we are in the beginning of this all-out war, and no matter how much I might want to pretend it’s not happening, I need to be prepared to take on whatever comes my way. Maybe if I’d been able to put up more of a fight when they took me in the first place, I wouldn’t have made such an easy target for them.
“Yeah, Bella and I used to do a little together before she… well, you know,” she remarks.
I smile. I’ve heard through the grapevine the news of Bella’s pregnancy, and I’m so happy for her, though it gives me even more reason to want to learn how to protect myself and the people around me.
“I could show you a few things, if you want,” she offers.
I nod at once. “That sounds great. But you better not kick my ass too badly. I’m an academic, not a fighter.”
“You can be both,” she assures me, and I can already see her eyes lighting up at the thought of it. “Come down later today, okay? We can get an idea of where you’re at.”
“That sounds like you’re going to kick my ass,” I protest.
She laughs and shakes her head. “I promise, we’ll start slow,” she tells me. “You’ll pick it up quickly, it’s a lot easier than you think. I promise.”
“I’m going to make you stick to that,” I warn her. “I don’t want to end up covered in bruises.”
“Don’t worry,” she replies, as she grabs herself a drink from the fridge. “It’ll do you good. You’ll feel better, knowing you have some knowledge of how to defend yourself.”
“I hope so,” I reply, but honestly, I know this isn’t exactly about being able to fight better. This is about forming a bond with Harley, deepening my connection with her, making some real friends in this place. I don’t know how long this war is going to last, how long I can expect to be in this place, and if I’m going to stay, then I want to make sure I have people on my side, people I know I can rely on and talk to.
And, after what Harley’s been through, I know she’s better equipped than most to guide me through a survival course in taking down the cartel.