Mateo has the decency to look ashamed, and I know how he feels. I’m in it with him. Mateo sighs. “I should never have touched her, knowing she was in school with you. I’m sorry. But that was even more reason to tell me.”
It’s rare to find Mateo so honest and remorseful. Mostly, it only happens around his sister. He loves her so much, even if he often doesn’t show it in the way he should. But he genuinely adores her. I know he would get her out of the arrangement with Greco if he could. I know he worries about her being married to him. His hands are tied. A lot like Angelo’s are. Though I doubt he loses much sleep over it, even if he cherishes his little girl more than most dons.
“I don’t always want to be the weak girl running to her brother for help.”
“I’m your brother. It’s my job to protect you, and I have failed you.” He exhales heavily, his sigh laden with resignation, before he leans down, kissing her brow. “Take some pain meds and try to sleep.” He hands her a bottle of water and some pain pills, before getting out of the car.
“That bitch is dead,” he grits out, flexing his knuckles. “I know we don’t touch women, but that whore deserves to die a gruesome death for what she has done to my sister.”
“I agree, but it’s not worth the risk. Angelo isn’t the only father with pull at this school.” Nicole’s father is a wealthy businessman with several ties to local, powerful politicians. If his daughter was suddenly found murdered, questions would be asked. “Let’s rough her up a bit and scare the fuck out of her so she doesn’t even look at Natalia again.”
“Watch over her,” he says, glancing over my shoulder. His gaze narrows with familiar suspicion. “And keep your fucking hands to yourself.”
I flip him the bird. As if I would take advantage of his sister in that condition.
When I slide back into the car, as Brando leaves to go with Mateo, Natalia is already asleep. I prop her feet on my lap, removing her shoes gently so I don’t wake her.
I stare at her, for longer than is socially acceptable, admiring her effortless beauty and the strength that emanates from her in waves, my heart throbbing with longing. I want to take care of her. To nurse her back to health. To fuss over her and let her know how much she is loved. But that can’t be my role. It won’t ever be, and the thought saddens me.
To distract myself, I attend to calls on my phone until Mateo and Brando reappear.
Mateo opens the back door, his features softening when he looks at his sister. “She won’t be expelled. The other four girls are being kicked out, but I couldn’t get them to agree to expel Nicole. The whore covered her tracks well, and Daddy is a big donor.”
Well, shit. “You have a plan?”
“Hell, yeah.” A smirk tugs up the corners of his mouth. “Take Natalia home, and get Brando to watch over her. I’ll call the doc, and then you can meet me at the address I send you. Let’s teach this little bitch a lesson she won’t soon forget.”
14
Natalia
I’m dozing in bed when my brother’s signature rap sounds on my bedroom door, rousing me fully. “Come in,” I croak, wincing as I move to sit upright in bed.
“You look like shit,” Mateo says, striding through the door, carrying a tray.
“Lovely to see you too,” I deadpan, biting the inside of my cheek as the pain around my ribs throbs.
He sets the tray down on my bedside table, helping to prop me up against a mountain of pillows in front of my headboard. Then he carefully sets the tray on my lap. “Mama made you chicken noodle soup. She told me what the doc said. I’m glad they didn’t break any of your ribs, but bruised ribs are painful. You will need to rest up a lot, sis.”
“I don’t need another lecture.” Mama and Papa were furious when Leo brought me home and they found out what had happened. Leo assured Papa he and Mateo had it under control, and Papa looked proud that Mateo had stepped in and handled the situation. The doctor came then with a portable X-ray unit, checking nothing was broken. I am badly bruised, and my ribs ache like a bitch, even after swallowing some heavy-duty pain meds, but it could be worse.
“What happened?”
“It’s handled,” Mateo says, flexing his hands, and my gaze flits to his torn knuckles and the hint of blood still hiding under his fingernails.
“Tell me. I’m not a little kid anymore. I need to know what I’m facing when I return to school next week.” The doc has signed me out for the rest of the week, and I didn’t protest. Frankie will come over every day after school with my homework and assignments so I don’t fall behind. My GPA is good, and I don’t want it to slip. Though it’s probably an impossible dream, I still intend to apply to NYU to study medicine.
“I know you’re not,” my brother says, tucking my hair back off my face. “If I shelter you, it’s only because I care.”
I clasp his strong, warm hand in mine. “I know you do, Mateo, and I love you for it. But I need you to stop sheltering me. I will be by myself before too long, and I need to be prepared for the world I’m stepping into. I need you to tell me the worst of it, and I want you or Leo to teach me self-defense.” I need to be able to protect myself from my future husband because I know what he plans to do to me.
Slowly, he nods, and his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Okay,tesoro. I will tell you what I can, and I will speak to Leo about training you after your ribs have healed.”
“Thank you.” My answering smile is grateful.
Mateo lifts the spoon, closing my hand around it. “You eat. I’ll talk.”
I take a sip of the delicious homemade chicken noodle soup, groaning as my taste buds explode in my mouth. Mama is the best cook. If her life had turned out different, she could have opened a restaurant.
