Chapter 11
Eleven
Shiloh
I let out a huff, pulling my sleeves over my hands as I looked at the various groups of rowdy shitheads still here celebrating the end of the school day. Adrian wasn’t here yet and I was tired and anxious as fuck.
I glanced over my shoulder, and, unfortunately, made eye contact with Nox and Jae who began approaching me from the school building.
Fuck me. Why the fuck did I agree to be friends with them?
I genuinely didn’t understand why the fuck they even wanted to hang out with me.
I knew I didn’t have a great personality, hence why I didn’t have any other friends.
And with all the shit I was buried under I didn’t really think they should be associating with me.
My gut instinct was to say no, but when I thought about it, it made sense to get to know each other when I spent time tutoring Nox anyways. Plus, I didn’t have any other people in my life that weren’t complete shitfuckers. Nox and Jae could be the distraction I needed.
It didn’t need to be a big deal. It wasn’t like we were going to get that close.
And provided I kept my mouth shut about everything Los Siete related, they’d be safe.
I just…I needed one good thing. Even if it made me selfish, even if it made me a terrible person, I needed one good thing to keep me from finding a permanent solution to my problems.
The sound of obnoxiously loud music was getting louder, and I ignored it, mentally cursing the fuckwits who thought they were being cool by disturbing everyone’s peace with their music.
“Hey, Shiloh. Did you need a ride?” Nox asked as they stopped beside me.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, cringing at the awkward staleness of the conversation.
Double fuck me. Why the hell do these guys want to hang out with me?
“?Mi vida!”
I jumped, startled by the interruption, and found Adrian beckoning me from the passenger window of his car.
“That’s my ride,” I said with a tight smile, trying to be polite seeing as we were friends now.
“Oh,” Nox glanced at Jae in some silent conversation before continuing, “okay. Well, see you tomorrow then.”
Nox smiled and they both waved goodbye before I turned to meet my doom, or whatever fate was in store for me.
I slid into the passenger seat as quickly as possible and dropped my backpack between my legs. Adrian leaned across the console, invading my personal space.
“Don’t you dare fucking kiss me,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
He smirked and leaned back, looking over my shoulder out the window and waving. Jae and Nox were staring, and I slapped Adrian’s arm telling him to get the fuck out of here.
I reached over to turn the music down—a Mexican band my brother had liked lamenting the loss of the love of their life—but Adrian smacked my hand away and gave me a glare.
I slouched back into my seat growling with exaggeration under my breath.
He chuckled and finally turned the volume down once we’d made it away from the school.
“Jesus, you’re so easy to fuck with,” he grinned over at me.
I threw up my middle finger, which only made him laugh.
“I guess my dad underestimated just how much bite was in you, huh?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, all five feet and 100 pounds of you managed to stab my dad and put him in the ICU for two days.”
I sucked in a shocked breath that sent my ribs aching.
“Wait, your dad is Kush, I mean, Marcus?” I looked at his profile wide-eyed trying to gauge his reaction. Was he going to retaliate?
“Unfortunately. Although, you probably can’t tell with how much his drug use has aged him.”
“Well, I guess it’s a great look into your near future then,” I scoffed. Jeez, I didn’t even know Kush had kids and I’ve known him my entire life. But I guess kids aren’t a priority to someone like Kush. God, that means Carlos was threatening his little brother right to his face.
“I don’t touch that shit. I’m not an idiot.”
I rolled my eyes. “Says the man who’s a gang member.”
“Says the girl who is about to commit a felony for that same gang.” He gave me a smug look, and I just flipped him off again because he was right.
Fuck, was bribing or threatening a judge a felony?
I guess I’d already been complicit in my brother’s murder by not going to the police, now I’d have another crime to add to my growing list of sins.
“How long have you been working for Carlos then?”
Adrian blew out a breath, his cheeks puffing out. “Almost six years now.”
“How old are you?” I studied his profile, but he looked like he was around my brother’s age.
“Twenty-five.”
“Did you know my brother?” I asked tentatively, scared to learn of any other secrets.
“Yeah, um, Jack and I tended to cross paths for work. It’s impossible not to when our jobs are so interdependent.”
“His name isn’t fucking Jack. It’s Ja-vi-er. Why does everyone keep calling him that?”
He gave me an incredulous look and shook his head, “You really don’t know shit about what your brother was doing, do you?”
“I think we already fucking established that,” I said bitterly.
“Look, it was an inside joke. Someone called him Jack, apparently that was the real name of The Joker from Batman. Your brother…” Adrian paused, and I studied his profile, waiting for him to continue. “Your brother was a little unhinged when he was working.”
I swallowed, trying to reconcile with this new version of my brother.
“Anyway, I’m sorry that you had to see his death. You didn’t deserve that. And you definitely didn’t deserve what Pedrofilo and my dad did to you.”
“So, why does Carlos have you chauffeuring me around?”
Adrian sighed and flicked his gaze to mine as we pulled into the parking lot behind the courthouse.
“I may be a sabueso, but I’m going to be more than that soon. Keeping you alive and well is my current task.”
My brows furrowed with confusion, but I shook my head, not caring enough to ask him what he meant.
“You know, you’re working for a man who is gambling with your brother’s life. And he will use your brother, regardless of whether or not I follow his orders. It’s only a matter of time.”
Adrian’s jaw tensed and he reached across me to the glovebox. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the gun sitting inside, but it still made me tense. He pulled out the envelope and closed the glovebox.
“I know. But it’s not gonna be today, so don’t fuck this up.”
I took the envelope, zipped it inside my backpack and gave him one last glance before leaving the car. I wiped my sweaty palms on my leggings and tried to walk casually around the building to the entrance.
A security guard eyed me as I entered, and I gave my best smile.
I was forced to walk through a metal detector while my bag went through an X-ray machine, before reaching a reception desk.
A young woman was standing behind the desk and looked to be packing up her things to leave despite it being only 3:45 in the afternoon.
“Excuse me,” I interrupted, and she looked up expectantly. “I’m here to see Judge Spinner, can you tell me where I can find him?”
She looked me over slowly before nodding and giving me directions to his chambers. I gave a polite smile and tried to walk as calmly as possible to his office.
I let out a shaky breath as I stood in front of the door marked with his name. After a minute of praying I didn’t get arrested for what I was about to do, I knocked. A soft ‘come in’ resounded from the other side and I entered the small reception area.
It was dimly lit with an orange hue from a lamp in the corner. An older woman sat at the desk squinting her eyes at me as she lowered what I assumed were a pair of reading glasses.
“Yes?”
“Hi. Um, Judge Spinner, I have an, uh, appointment,” I stuttered.
“Name?”
“Hannah Bell,” I smiled forcefully, my heart thudding loudly in my chest. Fuck’s sake, I need to chill.
She glanced at her computer then up at me with a quick smile.
She balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear as she held a finger up at me.
After several seconds of silence, she addressed the person on the other end telling them I was there to see them.
She hung up and motioned for me to proceed to the room to my right.
There were books and stacks upon stacks of paper covering every inch of the space.
I was surprised that anyone could work in the mess.
I cleared my throat, catching Spinner’s attention and he lifted his gaze from the file he was reading.
He smiled kindly at me and the pit of nervousness in my stomach tightened painfully.
This guy is working for Carlos? He looks… nice.
“Let me just grab your file. Miss Bell, correct?”
I made sure the door shut behind me before stepping towards his desk. I swung my backpack around my front and pulled out the envelope, placing it on top of the pile of paperwork he had just been reading. The man’s wrinkled face scrunched with confusion, and he quickly opened the envelope.
I watched him pull out a piece of paper, his eyes scanning whatever was written on it. He gulped, his eyes widening as he checked that the door was closed. Spinner spent several moments sizing me up before eyeing the paper once again.
“I’ll…” he paused to clear his throat and remove his glasses, using a handkerchief to swipe his forehead. “I’ll have it done by the end of the week.”
Was that it?
Spinner gestured for me to leave. I nodded and nearly tripped over a stack of books on the ground as I rushed out of the room.
I didn’t hear what the secretary said as I sped walked out of there, my pulse whooshing in my ears.
I was sweating, my heart pounding, as I ran across the parking lot and desperately ripped open the passenger door.
“Drive!” I shouted breathlessly as Adrian stared at me in surprise.
He pulled away from the curb and looked over at me while I tried to calm myself down. I kept looking behind us, certain that the police would suddenly be following.