9. Santiago
SANTIAGO
With both hands clenching the steering wheel, I glanced out the window.
The harbor landscape, with its tall cranes and hundreds of stacked shipping containers, spread out across the distant skyline.
And while I drove the van, to my left was Ariyan, checking his phone for directions.
To be fair, when he asked me yesterday if I was free, I’d had other things in mind.
Turns out, he needed a hand picking up some flowers for the hotel and just didn’t know how to operate a van alone.
“Not to be rude, or something…” I started saying, grabbing his attention. “But shouldn’t you have a driver for stuff like this?”
“I do, or at least I did, until he was arrested for DUI.”
My brows snapped together, and looking away from the road, I stared at him. “For real?”
“Yes.” His eyes didn’t leave the screen. “Take a right here, please.”
Pushing the blinker down, the annoying sound bugged my ears until I took the turn and it shut off.
“And aren’t there any other drivers?”
“I’m searching for one—turn right again.”
I took the turn.
“It’s not that I don’t like helping you, yeah?” I opened my palms before holding the wheel again. “It’s just that I wonder why you keep giving me all this extra work.”
“So you noticed it, huh?” Placing his phone down on his lap, he turned to look at me.
My lips stretched into a half smile. “Kinda hard not to.”
“And here I thought I was being subtle…” He sighed.
“What are you hiding, boss?” I grinned, too full of myself.
“Well…” He tapped his lips. “If I’m being honest, I find you very reassuring, Mr. Rivas.”
I sat up in my seat, eager to hear more. “Reassuring?”
“Yes.”
I was used to getting hot, sexy, stupid, but reassuring? That was new. And to be honest, I wasn’t even sure what it meant.
“So… that’s a good thing?” I asked, brows pulled close.
He chuckled. “It is.”
“Cool.” Pursing my lips, I focused back on driving until—
“How come?”
“You really are fishing for compliments, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know what you mean.”
He shook his head, and I caught the smile on his lips from the corner of my eye.
“Somehow, I know that whatever task I hand you, you’ll do it well, and so it calms me knowing you’re around. Keeps me at peace.”
We pulled up at a red light, and I turned to look at him.
“If that’s the case, I’m even more reassuring outside of work.”
He side-eyed me, but the barely there smile on his lips said it all.
“Green.”
“Huh?”
“The light. It turned green.”
“Oh—” I gasped, then grabbed the steering wheel and kicked the gas. The van started moving, with Ariyan’s soft chuckle in the background.
After a while of driving in silence, I glanced around, my brows creasing together.
“Say, boss… you sure we’re at the right place?” I asked, as I highly doubted that a flower shop would be located in such a bad neighborhood.
Looking up from his phone, Ariyan’s forehead creased. “Oh.” His eyes dipped back to the screen. “I don’t understand… I put in the right address.”
Seeing the street was clear, I stopped the van at the side of the road.
“Let me see.” I placed one hand behind his headrest and leaned closer to check the map. “Looks like you’ve confused east and west.” I pointed at the address on top of the map.
His brows rose, his lips slightly parting. “You’re right. God, I feel like such an idiot.”
“You’re not. It was just a mistake.” I lifted my head up, realizing only then how close we were, barely a few inches apart.
Being so close, his addictive scent hooked me like a drug.
My throat dried at his proximity, and I swallowed hard, dropping my gaze to his lips just as he darted his tongue out to wet them.
My breath caught, and like a fool, I glanced back up to find him looking at me through lowered eyelashes.
The urge to close the gap between us and take over those pink lips was untamable, and so I leaned a bit closer.
Ariyan’s breath shuddered, and I thought it was my cue when he snapped out of it.
“Let me type in the right address,” he said as if we didn’t just almost kiss.
With one hand still draped behind his headrest, I let out a deep sigh, then collected myself back together.
“Sure.” I pushed my hand through my hair, then put the van back into Drive.
What a bummer.
He began giving me new directions, which I followed, while my mind was still obsessing over that kiss we nearly shared.
Fuck. There was no question about it; he wanted me.
He wanted me bad, but being him, he probably resisted it because of work.
Yeah, that was it, or else, why would he check out my lips like he was dying to have a taste?
I knew lust when I saw it, and his eyes practically blazed with it.
And not just now, but whenever he looked at me, it was like fire burned behind those golden irises of his, infecting him with the same possession that tainted me.
All he needed was a slight push in my direction, and that would be it.
He’d be mine, and I’d finally be able to move forward, as I knew my obsession would pass the second I got to taste him.
Now, I only needed to figure out how to make him trip.
Given the way he looked at me just now, like he was ready to jump me, I bet it wouldn’t be hard.
“Turn left here,” he said, breaking the silence.
“You know, maybe you can make me your personal assistant or something?” I suggested while taking the turn.
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you seem to like having me around.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Not that I blame you.” I paused, noticing we were driving into a dead end. “You sure that was the right turn?”
“Yeah, oh, wait.” He tapped his phone, an annoyed look on his face. “I have no reception… Hold on a second, I’ll turn my phone off.”
“I’ll just reverse while you’re at it,” I said as this crappy alley was too narrow to make a U-turn. Checking the mirrors, I shifted gear into reverse and began driving when out of nowhere, two men walked behind the van.
What the fuck?
I slammed the brakes so fast Ariyan’s head jerked forward, his phone dropping.
“Mr. Rivas—”
“Hold on,” I told him, eyes narrowed at those men who, suspiciously enough, were dressed all in black.
Shit.
And just as things got bad, they turned worse when three more men walked in front of the van.
“What’s going on?” Ariyan asked after he picked up his phone, his voice on edge.
Well, I couldn’t blame him for stressing out, as I assumed shit like this didn’t happen where he grew up.
“Looks like we’re being carjacked,” I said when his face paled.
“What?”
“Don’t worry.” I unbuckled myself.
From the looks of it, those assholes were only carrying knives and some iron rods, which I knew how to handle just fine.
“What do you mean ‘don’t worry’?” he gasped. “I’m calling the police—”
Placing my hand on his phone, I lowered it. “By the time the cops get here, these guys will be long gone. So, just stay here, okay?”
His eyes widened, pure fear taking over them. “What are you going to— Mr. Rivas!” he shouted as I reached to open the door, then clenched my shirt and tried stopping me. “You can’t go out there. They’re armed—”
“Yeah, with knives.” I placed my hand on top of his, giving him a soft squeeze before I untangled his clutch.
His lips fell open, but knowing he had no reason to worry, I shot him a slight smile, then got out of the van, shutting the door behind me.
Let’s hope they really weren’t loaded.
“Qué problema tienen,” I said, and wasn’t surprised at all when I was answered with a raised knife.
My eyes darted from one man to another, counting five in total. So far, no guns.
Sweet.
The first guy charged at me. That moron didn’t even know how to hold up a knife, making it almost unfair when I disarmed him, yet not enough to stop me from punching him in the face and knocking him out cold.
It didn’t seem like his friends got the memo, and instead of giving up, two others ran at me with raised rods.
While my footwork was a bit rusty after I’d neglected my training for the last few years, I dodged the first guy, got into position, then left-hooked the ever-living shit out of him, quickly positioning back to avoid his friend’s assault, and also sending him to the ground with a jab to his throat.
The guy flipped backward, the rod falling from his hands as he clung to his neck, gasping for air.
Serves him right.
The thing was that most people had no clue what it was like fighting a professional boxer.
You’d think knocking a man out was hard, but you’d be surprised how easy it was.
Getting punched by someone who knew his game was as fatal as getting shot.
And I fucking loved it. I loved how lethal I could get with my bare fists.
Now down to two men, one of them came at me from the back, but I moved fast enough that his knife only scratched my arm.
He was also a moron, and I got the knife from his hold, tossing it away before throwing a perfect overhand punch that hit him across the face.
His eyes rolled backward, and he immediately crashed, leaving me down to the last man.
To be fair, I expected more, but sadly, I didn’t even break a sweat.
Disappointed, I planned to unleash my frustration on this asshole who was swinging the metal rod in front of him like he planned on hitting some fucking pinata.
Only he seemed to be a bit scared, as unlike his friends, who were now lying on the ground with a concussion or two, he didn’t swing at me.
Instead, he stayed rooted to the ground, probably pissing himself.
Being a considerate man, I took the first step and came to him.
He tried hitting me, but I avoided it. Then, without using my dominant arm, I left-hooked him, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.
Guess that was it.
Flexing my fists, I looked around, seeing how all men were alive yet still down. I then grabbed this asshole’s ankles and dragged him away from the van so I’d be able to fucking reverse. Once the road was clear, I jumped back into the driver’s seat to find a stunned gatito next to me.
“Told you not to worry,” I said to Ariyan, who stared at me with pure shock.
His lips slightly parted before he snapped out of it, his eyes pinning on my arm. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not.” He grabbed me. “We need to take care of this—”
His words cut off as he looked up, and once again, we found ourselves a breath away from each other.
“What we need is to get you out of here,” I said as I pushed a stray hair away from his stunning face. His mouth opened and closed before he pressed his lips together and nodded.
“Okay.”
He went back to his seat, clearly shocked over what had just happened.
All I wanted was to calm him down, so, without saying a word, I placed my hand behind his headrest as I glanced back and began reversing out of the alley.
Quickly, we were back on the main road, and this time, I chose to ignore Ariyan’s directions, as it looked like it was the one thing he wasn’t good at.
To his credit, it made sense, as no one was that perfect.
But the longer we drove in silence, the more worried I got that he was in shock.
While I wasn’t a stranger to street fights, he probably was, and seeing me beating those guys up might have scared him.
“They’re still alive,” I said, hoping it would help.
“I don’t care about them.”
I glanced in his direction to see he was staring ahead.
“Oh… that’s good?”
“You… you really know how to fight, don’t you?”
His voice was low, almost monotonous, and so different from his usual sweet tone, but I ignored it, answering his question.
“Yeah. I told you I used to box and shit.”
“What do you mean by ‘shit’?”
I shrugged. “My dad was a boxer. He owned a boxing gym, and he taught me how to fight since I was a kid. I used to compete until I got locked up.” I let out a short laugh. “Actually, I had my last match the day I was arrested. “
He stayed silent for a while until—
“Did you like it?”
“Boxing?”
“Yes.”
I turned my head to find two golden eyes locked on me. His stare was so intense, it made me hot.
“Like it? I’d die for it.”
Something crossed his face before he retreated into himself and leaned his head back against the seat.
“Do you mind driving us back to the hotel? I’m afraid I need to rest after this incident.”
“What about the flowers?”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I’ll have them sent to the hotel.”
I wanted to touch him, to make him somehow feel better, but guessing now wasn’t the time, I kept my hands to myself.
“Whatever you say, boss.”