“You are very talented.”
“Thanks. My dream was to own a shop to paint murals on cars but that would require start up money.”
“What is your major?”
“Digital art and design. They really don’t have a major for creative art and painting cars.”
Linda is seriously talented and it’s a shame she can’t live her dream and paint murals on cars. Khalani was right, I instantly like her and can appreciate her passion for art. She has loyalty to her brother and I can appreciate that.
After a while, I excuse myself to go to the restroom. I’m inside the hallway bathroom looking for the switch to turn on the light before I close the door when someone joins me. They shut the door, flipping the lock, and blocking the light coming from the hallway. The light turns on when they reach to flick the switch I was looking for. I almost panic when the light turns on, but I’m shocked by the beauty of the tattoo-covered guy standing before me.
His eyes widen but then his gaze travels slowly over my skinny jeans and black long sleeve shirt. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” he asks.
My brow lifts. “I can ask you the same thing. Who are you? Is it normal for you to lock yourself in the bathroom with someone you don’t know?”
He swallows and the crown tattoo on his neck moves against his skin, revealinghe is a part of the East Hillside Kings. He walks closer and my head tilts up. He is taller than me and close enough that Ican see the teardrop tattoo near his eye, meaning he has killed before. Some guys can’t pull that look off without looking like theyjust walked off a prison yard, but on him, it looks sexy as hell. He smells so good—expensive, yet mysterious—and I find him attractive. His gaze falls on my cleavage and I know he is looking down my shirt from where he is standing. He is so arrogant that he doesn’t care I noticehim ogling me.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,hermosa. Who are you and what are you doing here?” he repeats in a husky voice.
“My name is Luciana, and I’m a friend of Khalani from school. We attend Hillside University together.”
He leans in closer and breathes me in. “I figured. You don’t look like you belong here on the east of Hillside. You are too… delicate.”
I should push him off and tell him to go screw himself, but I don’t. He doesn’t know who I am or what I know, but the point is,I like the attention he is giving me. Him not knowing who I am right now is thrilling.
“I am not as delicate as I look. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”
He chuckles but makes no move to stepaway. He lowers his voice near my ear and whispers,“Are you giving me permission to open the book and see what’s inside,hermosa?”
My head angles slightly toward his cheek,leaving our mouths inches apart. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here?” I toss his words right back.
“Who I am doesn’t matter to someone like you. I’m here because I live here.”
I should take offense at his words, but if he lives here, that means this is Linda’s brother, Smiley. Khalani talked about him a couple of timesand I overheard the guys back at home mentioning the leader of the East Hillside Kings. Smiley is Khalani’s brother’s best friend and his successor after Ramon was killed. I believe his government name is Alex, but I keep that information to myself. It would raise questions I don’t want to answer.
As I licking my lower lip, his eyes track the movement, and thenmy steelygaze flicks to his.“What is in mybook wouldn’t matter to someone like you. Iguess that makes us even. We just walked into the same bathroom by mistake at the wrong time.”
I step back and move around him. When my hand grips the door handle to undo the lock, he turns around, his front is to my back, his hand gripping my waist. My breath comes out short and fast.
He leans close to whisper, “Don’t walk around this house on your own without my sister or me around. Understood?”
“Okay,” I say. He is so close to me that my ass is inches from his lower half. His fingers caress the side of my waist before removing his hand. “It would be a shame to kill one of my own because they disrespected you, Luciana.”
I turn the knob and bolt to Linda’s room like someone’s after me.
Once inside Linda’s room, I close the door. “Everything okay?” Khalani asks.“You look like you saw the boogeyman and came running.”
“I’m fine.” I tell Khalani.“I think I ran into your brother, Linda.”
Linda eyes me warily. “Did he ask who you are?”
“Yeah, but I kept to our story. He wouldn’t tell me his name, just said he lived here, so I put two and two together.”
“You definitely ran into my brother. I didn’t realize he was coming home early. I think you guys better head out before the rest of the East Hillside members show up or worse, the Kings show up and realize you guys are here.”
“Let’s go before Aiden looks up the GPS on the Rover and shows up,” Khalani says.
“He tracks the car on GPS?” I ask Khalani in shock.