“I’m sure Cane told you I was engaged to a guy named Aaron.”
“Yeah.” I sat forward a bit. “I remember.”
She rubbed her temple with the tips of her fingers, closing her eyes. “Aaron is going to be in prison for the next fifteen years, and it’s my fault.”
“How?”
Her eyes peeled open, locking on mine. “I’m the reason he got caught by the cops the night he was arrested.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I had to, Kandy! Okay? Aaron was getting out of control, with the way he was selling, and he was starting to use the drugs too. One of Jefe’s people found out he was using the supply, and they came to me, told me that he was a liability, and then he gave me a choice. I could get him caught and arrested so he’d be out of the picture, or they would kill Aaron and make Cane sell the rest of it since Cane was the one who introduced Aaron to Jefe’s product. So I set up my fiancé.” She made a noise of defeat, tears lining the rims of her eyes. “I planted some coke in his trunk and anonymously called the cops to give them a tip that he was riding with it. Gave them his license plate number, name, and all.” She stared hard at me. “I love my family, and I know the last thing Cane ever wants to do is sell that shit again, plus I also didn’t want Aaron to die, so I did what I had to do. I told Jefe he owed me for it. He never promised me a favor, but he knows how hard that was for me to do. I literally hate myself for it, every single damn day since it’s happened.”
“Oh my God, Lora. So that’s why you really came back?”
“Shit, Kandy, I couldn’t stay there anymore. Aaron’s people were starting to ask me too many questions, and I got tired of lying. Not only that, but Buck was sending me threats. I started to feel like I was being watched. My own apartment didn’t even feel safe. I was paranoid as fuck over there.”
“I can only imagine.”
Her face went from soft to serious. “You cannot tell Cane about this, okay? I mean it. I don’t want him to know, because if he does, he’ll be pissed at Jefe, and he’ll blame him for fucking up my life and Aaron’s. Even though he despises Aaron now, he knows how much he meant to me.”
“I won’t say a thing, Lora,” I promised. “You have my word.”
“Good.” She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. “Mom’s making tacos tonight. I’ll go to the store, buy some margarita mix or something for us to drink with it. It’s been a really fucked-up day.” She left the room without another word to me. I heard her tell Miss Cane where she was going, and then she was out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
KANDY
To get rid of the heaviness on my chest, I took a long, hot bath, soaking in the bath oils Cane had bought me when I first moved in. He’d bathed me several times, hoping to soothe me after what had happened. I loved it when he washed me. He was always careful and diligent with his actions.
While I soaked the day away, I glanced at my phone. I was still shaken by what happened. I’d never seen a dead body before. Even though I hated that woman, it didn’t make what I saw any less terrifying.
Cane would be back in town the next morning, but I couldn’t wait a whole day to talk to him. However, I didn’t want to mention what I saw at the psych facility to him over the phone, and considering how he always got me to tell him what was wrong, I decided not to call at all. I washed well, then took a hot shower to wash the oils away.
I wrapped myself up in a towel when I was done and heard a knock on the bathroom door. “Kandy?” Miss Cane called.
“Yes?”
“The tacos are ready! Oh, also Lora told me to tell you to get your a-s-s downstairs and share a margarita with her.”
I laughed. “Great! Thank you, Miss Cane! I’ll be down in a minute.”
* * *
The tacos were incredible. Miss Cane had a real gift. While we ate, I noticed that Lora was putting on her nonchalant act again. For someone with so much guilt, it was surprising how well she hid it. I’m sure the two margaritas she had helped. After dinner, I assisted Miss Cane with cleaning up while Lora scrolled through Pinterest, looking for a new hair color.
“I’m torn,” Lora huffed. “I don’t know if I should go with this neon orange for the rest of spring or a pastel pink? I feel like the orange will make me look spunky as hell, but the pastel pink will make me look all soft and fluffy.”