Chapter 5
Kelly
“Kelly, wake up.” Someone with a feminine voice nudged my shoulder. “Kelly,” she drew out my name.
“Yeah? Oh. Yeah. I’m up.” I mumbled and blinked my eyes open. My butt was numb and my back was stiff, so I arched it and exhaled an exhausted breath.
“You can get up. We have a comfy recliner in another room you can sit in.” The woman smiled. Her warm brown eyes were kind and non-threatening.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I got to my feet quickly and went over to Cass. “Everything checked out perfectly with her. What time is it?”
“Almost ten.” Slay crossed his arms over his chest. He was sitting on the bed next to Cass with his long legs stretched out and his feet were crossed at his ankles. “Jefe made me leave you alone until now. We had Silvia wake you up, so I didn’t freak you out.” He sounded a little annoyed with me.
“Wow. It’s so late. I’ll get out of here.” I grabbed my things.
“Not yet,” Slay said in a non-negotiable tone.
“Why?” I stiffened. “She’s fine.”
“Can you please stay a little longer? Go have a bite to eat or a drink in the bar. Just another hour.” Slay turned his attention to Cass. He seemed genuinely worried about her.
I sighed. “Fine. One more hour.”
“Thank you. Take this for your time.” He reached his fist toward me.
I opened my hand and he placed a wad of cash on it. “Um, this is…”
“Not enough, but it’s all I had on me. If you need more, Jefe will cover me. I appreciate you coming out on short notice and taking care of my girl.”
“What I meant is, this is too much.”
“You haven’t even counted it.” Slay smiled for the first time since I got here. “I’ll be offended if you give any of it back.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to offend you.” I looked at the bills, noticing several one-hundred-dollar bills.
“Good,” Jefe said from the door. “I’ll take you to the bar.”
I nodded and peered at Cass. “You know where to find me if you need anything.”
“I do,” Slay replied.
Admittedly, I was happy to leave the bedroom. It meant I was closer to going home, and I couldn’t wait to take a shower and climb into my bed.
“We’ve got burritos, chips, salsa, guacamole, and pozole to eat. Behind the bar, you can have whatever you want.” Jefe led the way down the long hallway.
“Sounds amazing. I am a little hungry.” My stomach growled just thin.
Jefe smirked, showing he’d heard.
How embarrassing.
“The guy sitting at the bar…” His words faded as we neared the entrance. “Just leave him alone and he’ll leave you alone.”
“Should I be worried?” Maybe I didn’t want to go into the bar after all.
“Not if you leave him alone.” Jefe gave me stern look. “I’ll be in and out. So will others and they have all been told to not mess with you.”
“Thanks.”
We entered the room and Jefe pointed to the left. “Help yourself.”
The food smelled amazing and I wasn’t the kind of girl to pass up a free meal. I also wasn’t shy about eating in front of people. In the lounge at the hospital, somedays I had to eat on the run and that could be messy.
Music played in the background and a few people were at a table eating and drinking beer. There was a man hunched over the bar watching something on his phone. One of the women from earlier was next to him.
Jefe went over to the table of men, while I made a beeline toward the table of food. I grabbed a plate, a foil wrapped burrito that had carne asada written in black marker, then some chips and guac.
I took my plate to a table away from the others, sat on a chair putting my back to them and dug right in. Fortunately, I had a full sports bottle of water, so I didn’t need to fetch myself something to drink. I really wanted to fly under the radar, eat, and go home.
My first bite was almost orgasmic. I shut my eyes and nearly moaned out loud. But I didn’t. I forced myself to keep those embarrassing sounds to myself.
The burrito was like a full-on Mexican meal at my favorite restaurant but wrapped in a giant flour tortilla. It had tender carne asada, refried beans, Spanish rice, fresh Pico de Gallo. Except I felt it was missing something…
I took a chip, scooped some guac onto it and smeared it on my burrito and took another large bite.
“Oh, yeah. That’s it.” I hummed, savoring the deliciousness in my mouth.
“You okay over there, Nurse Kelly?” Jefe’s amused voice made me want to crawl under the table. “Tequila will want to know he’s made a chick moan with his burrito.” He said burrito in a thick Spanish accent which made it sound super dirty.
Oh, God. Kill me now.
The men in the room roared with laughter.
“Maybe she needs him to wash it down with his frothy cock… tail,” another man said. The men laughed louder.
“Yes, ese! Yes,” a man cried, laughing.
“You’re so bad, Dom,” the woman at the bar said. “You too, Skillz.”
Dom and Skillz. Two names I recognized. They were the bikers flirting with me earlier. They were probably trying to get a rise out of me after their president told them to stay away from me. Well, I wouldn’t let them get to me…
“Sure,” I shouted over my shoulder at them. “Go tell Tequila I need him to come right now.”
The room fell silent.
Yes, girl. That’s how we do it. I grinned, taking another bite.
“Did she say what I thought she said?”
“Yes, Skillz. Are you deaf?” Dom, I presumed, asked.
“The slut doesn’t even know him.”
I set my burrito down and wiped my hands and mouth. Did she call me a slut?
“Whoa, Letty. Be careful or she might kick your ass,” the guy at the bar said. Oddly, his voice seemed familiar. Like really familiar in a sarcastic dickish way, but I couldn’t worry about it now.
“Are you joking right now, GQ? I know how to fight.”
“Then let’s take it outside, Letty.” I stood from my chair and turned around. “I know how to fight too, and no skanky chick is going to call me a slut. Only my friends can do that.”
“You did it now.” The guy next to Letty, GQ, nudged her. “Go find out what happens when you’re called out for being a bitch.”
I kept my gaze locked on Letty, doing my best to intimidate her so I didn’t have to show her what I was made of.
“It’s not like me to get involved in women’s business, but Kelly, you’re a guest here and I need you well to take care of Cass.” Jefe moved into the middle of me and Letty. I couldn’t see her or the guy at the bar.
“That’s fine. Another time perhaps, Letty.” I returned to my chair and resumed eating. No chance I’d let her chase me away.
“All right. I’m going to check on my wife and child.” Jefe left.
My ears dialed into Letty and the guy named GQ whispering, but I wouldn’t let them bother me. I took out my phone and sent Kevin a text.
Kelly: I’ll be home in 30mins. I’m bring you the most amazing burrito ever.
Kevvy: Good I’m starving
Kelly: Of course you are. Haha.
“Fine!” Letty yelled. “But don’t come crawl back to me, when you need your dick sucked!” She stormed out of the bar.
“Another one bites the dust,” Dom said. “Now all the girls have rejected you. Sucks for you.”
“Sucks,” Skillz said through his laughing. “He won’t be getting any sucking.”
“You both can fuck off!” GQ yelled. The next thing I heard was his stool falling over.
I waited several beats before turning around to see if my suspicions were correct and the barstool was on its side, and it was. But what drew my attention more was GQ limping away.
“Don’t mind him,” Dom told me and waved his hand at GQ. “He’s never been the same since his accident.”
“What happened?”
“A garbage truck ran him over last summer,” Skillz replied. “It’s totally fucked up.”
“That’s awful. Poor guy.” I knew how challenging his recovery had to have been. Had seen many horrifying injuries over the years. My mind ran wild imagining a mangled mess.
Shaking the images out of my head, I collected my things and tossed my paper plate into the trashcan by the buffet table.
“See ya,” I told Dom and Skillz.
“Leaving already?” Dom asked.
“I’m going to check on Cass once more, then head out. Take care.” Hopefully, Slay didn’t try to convince me to stay longer. I was confident Cass would be okay.
And I just wanted to go home.