Me:
How is she?
Louie:
She’ll be happy to see you.
What the fuck is that supposed to mean? She’ll be happy to see me? Does that mean she’s not happy now?
Pocketing my phone, I settle into the plush leather seat and pick up the envelope on the table in front of me. I rip it open and pull out the photos inside. My stomach drops, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the jet just took off from the runway.
Staring back at me is the face of the only person in this world that I love. Laura. What the fuck? I’ve kept her secret. I’ve made sure he didn’t know abouther. How the fuck did he find out? There’s a note with my father’s handwriting scrawled across it.
Kill her. Kill your weakness, mijo. If you don’t, I will.
The threat is there. If I don’t kill Laura, he will. And what he’ll do to her will be far worse than anything I can imagine. But I can’t do this…
I climb out of my seat, walk as calmly as I can manage into the bathroom, and slam the door shut. Leaning over the toilet to empty the contents of my stomach.
Kill her.He’s asking me to do the one thing I can’t fucking do. Anyone else but her. I need to figure out a plan. I need to get rid of her, get her away and out of his reach. There has to be a way to do that.
As soon as the jet lands in Vegas, I ditch my father’s security and go in search of Laura. It doesn’t take me long to find her. She always did stand out in a crowd. The most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.
The words keep repeating in my head.Kill her.Kill her.This is going to kill me, because when my father finds out I’ve betrayed his orders, blood or not, hewillkill me.
I lean against the wall and watch her. She’s sitting on a park bench with one of her friends. Two seconds later, she’s looking around until her eyes connect with mine. A huge smile forms on her face and then she’s up and running across the street.
The moment she reaches me, her arms wrap around my neck. My lips land on hers. “Fuck, I missed you,” I tell her.
“Not as much as I missed you,” she says.
When my arms tighten around her waist, I feel nothing but skin and bone. She’s lost weight. “You wanna go somewhere?” I ask her.
Laura bites down on her lower lip and nods her head. “Give me a sec. I need to go and say goodbye to Heather.”
“I’ll be right here.”
My eyes never leave her as she talks to her friend. It’s not until I watch Laura take a bag of white powder from the other girl’s hand that I start crossing the road.
Snatching the bag from Laura’s hand, I throw it at the other girl. “Get that shit away from her. If I ever see you give her anything again, I will kill you.”
“Emmanuel, stop!” Laura gasps. “I need that.”
My glare turns to my girlfriend. “No you fucking don’t,” I tell her.
“Yes, I fucking do!” she yells at me. “You don’t know. You’re never here. I need it.” She holds out a hand to her friend.
“Do it. I dare you,” I threaten the girl, who shakes her head and turns away.Smart.
Taking hold of Laura’s hand, I drag her away.
“What the fuck, Laura? What was that?” I ask her.
“It’s nothing,” she says.
“Nothing? You’re doing drugs now?” I hiss.
“Pfft, like you’re one to talk. You think I don’t know where they come from? Who they come from? From your father?From you!”
