“The four girls who attacked you have been expelled, and we paid them a little visit, in case they decided to cause more trouble. We burned their cars, knocked their fathers around a bit, and threatened their businesses.” He smirks. “They were all shitting their pants. You won’t hear from them again.”
“And Nicole?” I ask in between mouthfuls of the delicious soup. I want her to pay as much as the others.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get her expelled. She was too clever.”
“I know that’s why she didn’t join in when the others were kicking me.”
“Her father is a successful businessman, and he heavily donates to the school. He was arguing to have you expelled, on the grounds you started the physical fight, but the principal is no dumbass. She knows a setup when she sees one. And she knows who we are. Papa is very charitable with his donations too. Plus, the doctor’s report detailed the savage beating you took, which was clearly one-sided. She knows this was Nicole’s doing, but she can’t be seen to pick sides, so you are both suspended this week.”
I shrug, because I wouldn’t have been attending school anyway, even if it pisses me off that my pristine record is now tarnished. But that’s the least of my worries. “She won’t stop coming after me.”
Mateo smirks. “Oh, trust me. She won’t even breathe funny at you.”
“What did you do?”
His smirk widens, and he runs a hand through his dark hair, sending waves tumbling over his strong brow. His blue eyes glimmer, and I know he gets a thrill out of threatening people. I should probably be scared of my brother because I know his capacity for violence and cruelty, but it’s never been directed at me. He’s a product of our environment, our upbringing, and I won’t hate him for doing what he has to do to survive and thrive. Even if I deplore the things he must do as a made man. “I always get insurance, and it came in handy now.”
“Are you saying…” I consider his implication. Mateo grins. “Ugh, that is gross. And a serious invasion of those girls’ privacy if you are recording them having sex with you without their permission.”
He shrugs. “It served a purpose with Nicole. I had it doctored to hide my identity, and then I sent it to her father and told him if he didn’t keep her in line I would release it to the school, all over the internet and the dark web, along with her contact details. Every fucking perv would be hounding her, and her reputation would be ruined. Her father can’t afford the scandal, so he agreed.”
I arch a brow in surprise.
“What?” He frowns.
“That was a smart way of handling it, but it’s not what I was expecting.”
“Are you disappointed?” he asks, his frown deepening.
“Maybe it means I’m a bad person, but I wouldn’t have minded you roughing her up a little.” Though Nicole didn’t participate in the assault, she was the orchestrator, and I think it’ll be a long time before I get the image of her gloating face out of my mind. I’m in agony from the damage they inflicted, and I would have liked those girls to feel some pain too.
Mateo fixes me with a disturbed look. “I understand why you’d want that, but I’m not sure I like my little sister thinking such dark thoughts.”
I roll my eyes. “I have the same blood flowing through my veins, Matty. Don’t act so surprised.”
His eyes lower to my soup, and I scoop another spoonful up as Mateo continues. “If it helps you to feel better, we both wanted to beat the shit out of the bitch, but we would never have gotten away with it. Her father has connections within the police and the political system, and it could have caused some issues for Papa, so we had to be smarter about this.”
I sense Leo’s shrewd mind all over this plan, but I don’t say anything, unwilling to insult my brother and hurt his feelings.
He leans in, grinning. “We left all of them with a permanent reminder of this day.” He waggles his brows. “Trust me, none of them will give you any trouble ever again.”
Relief rushes through me. Awkwardly, I lean forward, hugging my brother over my tray. My ribs protest the motion, but I’m too overwhelmed with love to care. “Thank you, Matty. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kisses the top of my head. “In the future, if anyone gives you shit, including that piece of trash you’re engaged to, you need to tell me.”
“I will,” I say, glad I’m not looking him in the face as I lie.
Mateo eases out of our embrace, cupping my face and peering deep into my eyes. “I need you to promise me,tesoro.”
“I promise,” I say, even though I know I will most likely not be able to keep my word.
“I’m going to talk to Papa about him again. See if there is any way he can get the marriage delayed while we work at finding something we can use to end the contract permanently.”
Tears prick my eyes. “Really?”
Pain shimmers in his eyes. “Don’t get your hopes up, Nat.” He smooths his fingers over my cheek. “It’s all but a done deal, and this is a long shot, but Leo and I talked about it earlier, and we are going to put a guy on Carlo. Find out what shit he’s up to, and I know there is lots. If we can discover something he is doing which jeopardizes the business arrangement between us and the Grecos, Papa will listen. But it would have to be something concrete for Papa to have grounds to terminate the arrangement, and Greco is a sneaky shit, so we might not be able to outsmart him.”
“But you’re going to try.” I swipe at the tears spilling out of my eyes. “That means so much to me, Matty. Thank you.”
