Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Nick
Em nudged me in the side as I offered to drive Liliana back to the apartments.
Although heat filled my cheeks, I was relatively certain the jab wasn’t noticed by anyone else in the kitchen.
Ever since Em had married, he’d been telling me it was time to do the same.
Basically, I’ve told Em to shove his advice up his ass.
Before Isabella walked into his life, marriage was off his radar.
My plate was full with Roríguez cartel business.
Wanderland was busier than ever. My father was stepping back from his duties.
Or more accurately, Aléjandro was forcing him out.
According to el Patrón, the old men had experience, but the world was moving faster than they could adapt.
He saw the cartel’s future in people like Rei, Em, and me.
“Would you like a sandwich for the road?” Viviana asked.
“No, gracias,” I replied before looking at Liliana, now standing. “Unless…”
“No,” she replied. “I’ll eat at the apartments.” She turned to Viviana. “It won’t be as good as your cooking though.”
Viviana smiled and nodded. “Next time.”
“Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the ride,” Liliana said as we walked beyond the front door to my car.
There was something different about her that I couldn’t pinpoint. While she was still the same woman who’d moved into Uncle Andrés’s home after Uncle Gerardo was killed, she was different. It was as if a light had been turned off inside her that now, after a few years, was glowing.
I couldn’t remember Liliana before her marriage.
She was best friends with my cousin Sofia, but back then, I thought of them as children.
As I opened the car door for Liliana, a whiff of lilac filled my senses.
Her slender ankles came into view as her dress shifted when she lifted her sandaled feet into the car. She wasn’t a child any longer.
“No problem,” I replied before closing the door.
Once inside the car and behind the steering wheel, I scanned Liliana’s profile—her delicate features, high cheekbones, and unbelievably long eyelashes. Her subtle beauty was on display.
Maybe it was all Em’s talk of marriage, but something inside me hummed in an unfamiliar way. Liliana was easily eight inches shorter than I and over a hundred pounds lighter; yet she had a strength about her, a resolve that only comes from surviving battles. I knew because I’d survived my share.
Hitting the button, I started my BMW M4. Unlike the flashy cars Aléjandro and Rei enjoyed, my classy sedan slipped in and out of Southern California traffic unnoticed. I waited for the guard to open the gate. “A teacher, huh?”
She turned, her smile radiating. “I can’t believe el Patrón didn’t bat an eye.”
“Why would he?” I pulled the car through the gate and onto the road.
Liliana looked down at her lap. “I’m used to my father’s—or your uncle’s—reaction to any reach for independence on my part.”
“Jano is about moving forward, moving the cartel forward. Mireya, Cat, and Camila went to college. Camila is still taking classes.”
Liliana turned toward me, her suede-colored eyes, large and round. “Did you ever want to go on with your education, after high school?”
“I continued my education, just not the kind you’re going to pursue. Every day there’s something new to learn. My life was mapped out. The Roríguez cartel was my future. It still is.”
“I get it. My life was mapped out for me too…until fate stepped in.”
A scoff passed over my lips. “El Patrón’s gun wasn’t fate. It was what Uncle Gerardo deserved. He was a traitor.”
“He deserved a lot of things,” she said, turning toward the window. “Izzy was talking about how different it is here this time of the year than it is in Kansas City. The only snow I’ve ever seen was in the mountains.”
“I don’t like to be cold. San Diego is perfect.” I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye. “Or would you rather be up north?”
Liliana shook her head. “My parents are in Sacramento. They’ve made it clear that I’m not wanted there.” She squared her shoulders. “I prefer here.”
My brow furrowed. “How didn’t I know that? Why wouldn’t your parents want you?”
“It’s not important.”
“It is,” I insisted. “I can’t imagine my mother or father casting me out—or Mireya for that matter, and Mireya wasn’t born from my mother.”
She turned. “I didn’t know that.”
A smile lifted my cheeks. “We’re learning more than I expected on this ride. Mireya’s birth isn’t a secret. It just isn’t discussed often. Now, why don’t your parents…?”
“They were honored to have me married to a Roríguez lieutenant. They wouldn’t listen to my pleas to stop the marriage. To them, my marriage elevated their status within the cartel.” She looked down. “It didn’t matter what my feelings were.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“I only told my mother once what he was like...after we were married.” Liliana exhaled. “She told me that my job was to obey my husband. If I’d do it better, he wouldn’t…” She didn’t finish the sentence.
My knuckles blanched as I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“After Gerardo was killed,” she continued, “they blamed me for his downfall. My father wanted me to be remarried right away. He considered me damaged goods. Another lieutenant would reinstate their status.”
“Fuck,” I murmured. “That’s bullshit.”
“I owe everything to Mia. She was an angel. She convinced el Patrón to let me stay in San Diego.” Liliana turned my way. “It was when I came to live with Valentina.”
“That was over two years ago. You’re not the same woman.”
Liliana scoffed. “I’m the same person, Nick.”
“No, I’ve seen you at the apartments. The whores trust you.”
“Residents,” she corrected.
Swallowing, I nodded. “Residents. When they’re at Wanderland, they’re whores.”
“They’re sex workers. It’s their profession. They chose it. The term whore is demeaning.”
I turned with a smile. “You’re different, Liliana. When you came to live with Em, you were afraid of your own shadow. You barely said two words. A second ago, you lectured me on etiquette. And more important, you’re right. I’ll do better.”
“You should. Your father has been good to me, but he wasn’t always good to the residents. They think much more highly of you.”
I wasn’t sure how to reply.
Liliana reached over, laying her petite hand on my arm. “Please don’t tell Lieutenant Ruiz. I don’t want the women punished because I said too much.”
“Your compliment is safe with me.”
She released my arm. In some strange way, I felt a void, missing her touch.
“We’re almost to the apartments,” I said. “I sent José a text message letting him know I was driving you. I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.” I turned to her. “Do you want me to stay?”
“No. We have cartel guards. I think I’ll be okay without José sitting in a nearby room, playing solitaire on his tablet.”
I pulled up to the renovated school that Mia had converted into the apartments. “See, you’re no longer afraid of your shadow.”
Liliana smiled as she reached for the door handle. “I’m not afraid of you either. I never was.”
“Really? I’m pretty frightening in a dark alley with a knife.”
“Then I’ll keep to seeing you in the light. Thanks again.” And she was gone.