“What’s going on with those guys from the club? You never told me.”
“That’s because I don’t want you involved in anything. You got your studies to worry about.” Palo rubbed his head again and looked down at the ground.
“Palo. Look at me.” My voice was firm. “I need to know. I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t go out with my girls because of your fucking gang!” Palo massaged his hand and looked at me.
“Both of them are being taken care of. You’re right, I should have told you. They were connected to El Diablo and I suspected them already. They were on my list to let go of. Now it’s a little more personal because you’re my baby sister and I ain’t going to let nobody harm you.” Passion permeated his voice. I waited for a beat.
“Palo. What aren’t you telling me? Don’t do anything stupid.” I forced a cup of coffee into his hands. It nearly splashed out of the cup. He jumped back a little. I wanted him to know I was pissed.
“Watch it!” He steadied the contents of the cup. “Look. It’s deeper than that if you want to know the truth. They were setting up a prostitution ring. Keep your mouth shut. I knew they were doing something but I didn’t pick it up quick enough.” My stomach tied up in knots. I wanted to vomit.
“Were they-” I started. Palo closed his eyes.
“Yes. I suspect they were. But I have enough evidence gathered to get them put away. I can leak some things to the police,” he said.
“Are you fucking serious? I cannot believe you! You have to leave Las Balas.” My blood pressure rose and was about to skyrocket.
“Calm down. Have I ever not protected you?”
“But-”
“Let me ask you again. Have I ever not protected you?” His eyes were fierce as he asked.
“No,” I answered quietly.
“Then. Let it go. Go to your class.”
“What are their names?” I wanted to know.
“No way in hell I’m giving you names! You’re going to be nowhere near this.”
“You involved me when you joined Las Balas, estúpido!” I didn’t give him time to reply. I stormed out of the kitchen and swiftly grabbed my books. School would be my sanctuary now. I had to get out of my brother’s house. I’d been there long enough. I got in my car and drove to school. My phone pinged. Palo.
“Don't be angry. It's handled.”
Yeah. right. He would never leave them. I’d told him explicitly I wanted no part and now I was knee-deep in it. Because of me, a meeting was being called and two slime buckets were trying to use me for a pro’ ring. Disgusting. I diced through the morning traffic, working to cut off time and be on time for class. But now to top it off I was going to be late. My mood-o-meter was on shitty now.
The phone buzzed again. I pressed the button for Bluetooth.
“Palo, don’t even-” A pause.
“Palo? Should I be worried?” Diego’s husky laugh entered my car.
“Ah- sorry. I was talking to my brother earlier. I thought it was him.” Dead air sat between us for a minute.
“Okay... I wanted to hear your voice and say good morning.” He skipped over it. I didn’t want to discuss it anyway.
“Good morning.” My mood-o-meter was right back up where it belonged. He’d called at the right time. I kept an eye on the traffic as it started to bottleneck. “What are you doing today?”
“I’m going to pick up the keys for a new property I’ve invested in.”
Diego didn’t strike me as the type of guy to be involved in real estate. I’d learned over the years not to judge a book by its cover, however.
“Okay. What type of investment is it?”
“Hmm. It’s a warehouse, a business,” he replied calmly. I nodded my head.
“So have you always been doing that? How did you learn to ride bikes?”
