If Ana Sofia sees this fucking goose egg growing on my flesh, she’ll kill Enzo without a second thought.
When I shift my body away from them to look at the culprit, I’m shocked to see that he’s nowhere to be found.
And neither is Thiago.
Chapter Eight
“I’ll fucking kill him,”my sister seethes after I explain how I got the bump on my forehead.
“Wanna do it together?” Guillermo asks as he dips the white, plastic spoon into his Raspado. “I never did like Lorenzo so I can think of a few things we could do to teach him a lesson.”
“No one is going to die over this,” I intercede loudly before I let out a heavy sigh. “I kind of deserved it.”
“No you didn’t,” Ana Sofia snaps at me. “Any man willing to lay his hands on a woman is a piece of shit that deserves to be taken out.”
“I attacked him first,” I remind her with a shake of my head.
“I don’t give a fuck,” she barks.
“Here, hold this to your bache,” Guillermo instructs as he hands me his cup of shaved ice. “It won’t do much for the pain, but the cold should help start to bring it down enough that maybe Vicente won’t notice.”
I give him a grateful smile as I press the cup to my bump. Maybe he’s right, however, Papa isn’t the problem right now. It’s my sister whose anger will only be cleansed with the blood of the man who did this to me.
I lean against Thiago’s car as the cold sensation begins to take over me. A slight shiver goes through me when I notice Ana Sofia’s eyes are narrowed as she glances up and down the street.
“Where did this pendejo go?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I reply truthfully.
“Probably ran for his life,” Guillermo says with a chuckle as he dips his spoon into my sister’s cup. “Did he have anything to do with that, Tati?”
“No, he tried to stop it.”
He nods as he slips the spoon between his lips thoughtfully. “At least he’s smart.”
I let my eyes linger on him as he swipes another spoonful from Ana Sofia’s cup. Guillermo isn’t exactly tall, but he’s not short by any means either. He’s got the scars of war prominently displayed on his arms, and a long, thick line across his neck where one of the Vargas boys made an attempt on his life. That mistake cost them the ten men they sent for him and from what I’ve been told and read in the newspapers, there was a mass of broken bodies left in the wake of their attempt.
He reaches up to scratch the back of his head, and I notice his slicked back, straight black hair is starting to show slivers of grey. I don’t spend too much time wondering why since he’s not much older than me—the wages of war weigh heavily on anyone involved.
He smacks his lips together as he turns his attention toward me, then raises an eyebrow. I shake my head as I look away, hoping that we can go back to Navolato before Papa sends the cavalry.
“We need to get going,” I tell my sister as I hand Guillermo his plastic cup. “You know how Papa is and if I’m one minute past the time he expects me, Altata won’t stand a chance.”
Ana Sofia purses her lips and glances away for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“Estas bien?” she asks me one more time.
“I’m fine,” I assure her with a smile. “I promise.”
She hands her half eaten Raspado to Guillermo with a nod, then turns on her heel. “I’ll meet you at home in an hour,” she calls over her shoulder.
Her tone tells me that this is a request and not to do my usual drive around town until I feel like I can give Papa a proper report of things. And even though it seems like she’s giving me roughly an extra fifteen minutes, she really isn’t.
“Tati,” Guillermo begins thoughtfully as I turn to head toward my car. I stop to glance at him. His eyes linger on La Carnicera before they finally turn to me. “If you ever need anything, let me know, okay? It doesn’t have to go through your father or El Governador.”
The look on my face must be screaming incredulity because he chuckles and shakes his head, “Nothing likethat.Unlike Lorenzo, I know how to treat women and I actually have a really great girl at home.”
My face flushes red with embarrassment and he grins, “Thanks, though. That was a nice pick-me-up.”