Chapter 20
Yael
“GO AWAY!” Manny shouts, his voice jolting me from my sleep, and beside me Adri stirs.
The smell of alcohol and sex coats my skin.
I roll out of bed, careful not to wake her.
The sun hurts my eyes. I squint, trying my best to make out what’s going on.
Even with the throb at my temples, I look out the window.
Noticing Manny and Ruben arguing with someone standing by the front door of the bodega. I blink trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.
That's when I spot Lenny. Wasting no time, I grab a pair of grey sweats, slipping them on as I race down the stairs and out of the house. Storming across the street, itching for another round with the asshole I sadly share a family tree with.
“What the fuck do you want?” I snarl at my cousin, and he looks at me with disdain before plucking invisible dust from his fancy suit. I swear every day he looks more and more like the tool he works for. Lenny frowns, pulling out a paper from inside the yellow folder and lifting it in the air.
“The Santos family has to pack up,” he says with a coldness that makes me wince. I narrow my eyes, stepping closer. “The fuck are you talking about?”
Lenny laughs, low and cruel. “Are you fucking stupid? Can’t you read, it says eviction.”
I snatch the paper, reading over the words. No, this can’t be happening, not after everything. Not right now. My gaze lifts to his. “You’re so full of shit.”
He shrugs, and I cock my fist, punching him in the face. His nose crunches under my knuckles, and like the bitch he is, Lenny yelps in pain. Quickly pinching his nose to stop the blood.
“Get the fuck out here,” I snarl through clenched teeth.
“No, let him stay.” Adriana’s sleepy rasp pulls me out of the rage.
I glance back at her, and see the determination in her eyes and step back, allowing her to reclaim the stage.
This is her fight after all. A surge of possessiveness courses through me, at the sight of her in my clothes.
Wearing my shirt and sweats—with my cum deep inside her.
My chest swells with pride watching as she approaches the man that drained her, and in a measured tone, she tells him, “Play against me.”
Lenny gives her an incredulous stare, holding back the urge to laugh in her face. “Please Adri, look around you. Get your thug dick, and then come home. Now we’re equal.”
“Equal?” she repeats without a flinch, her voice steady almost amused. “You think I’m just here to get back at you.” Adri shakes her head, scoffing before she continues. “No, Lenny, I’m done. I’m right where I should have always been.”
The street goes quiet, and his smirk falters when Adri steps closer, the morning light catching the edge of her jaw.
“You want to take everything my family built? Fine. But you’ll have to earn it.
” She gestures towards the domino table sitting in front of the bodega.
“Play against me. One game, the winner takes it all.”
Lenny laughs again, but it’s thinner now. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” she tells him. “You’ve been trying to erase me for years. Let’s see if you can do it face to face.”
He hesitates, then nods, ego outweighing reason. “You’re on. Get ready to pack that shithole you call a store.” She slaps him then. The sound is loud and sharp. I step in beside her, making sure no harm comes to her.
“I’ll kill you before you can even consider it,” I warn my cousin as my arm wraps around her waist and I pull her close.
Lenny stumbles back, hand pressed to his cheek, eyes burning with humiliation and rage.
The street hums around us, neighbors peeking through curtains, getting their morning chisme. Adri straightens, chin high.
“Tomorrow,” she says. “We settle this on the table.”
Lenny doesn’t answer, he only glares before he turns, still holding his bloody nose and walks away.