“Not from around here then,” Hector comments.
“No.”
“Right. What font?”
“Script,” I tell him. “She asked me about you, you know. Wanted me to get her an appointment.”
Hector’s hand freezes mid-swipe as he’s cleaning the area on my wrist. “I’m assuming you told her no.”
“I told her It’d be a shame for such a great artist to lose their hands.” I laugh.
“It would be,” Hector deadpans.
“Relax. She’s not getting ink from anyone,” I tell him. “She’s perfect just the way she is.”
“If she’s managed to take you off the market, she must be somethingelse.”
When Hector’s finished, I look down at my wrist. I can’t wait to show Evie. She’s going to fucking hate it. The thought makes me smile.
Chapter Fifteen
It’s been two days since I had that phone call with Emmanuel, when I heard the gunshots in the background. I haven’t spoken to him since. Not really. There have been a few brief text messages but that’s it.
If it weren’t for Paz following me around town and sleeping in his car out front of my house every night, I’d start to think Emmanuel was losing interest in me. Which is what I want. Well, 99.99%of the time it’s what I want. Right now, I fall into that other 0.01%, where I want him to want to talk to me.
I’m on my way to Rachel’s house. She has a couple of days off from the hospital, and I know I’m going to be crashing soon. I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in my own house. I need to know someone is there. Someone who won’t let anyone else in. Someone I trust, like Rachel.
Tapping the button on my steering wheel to activate the car’s voice command, I say, “Call Cabrón,” quickly glancing in my rearview mirror. Paz is following me in a dark, nondescript car. It would blend in perfectly if I didn’t already know it was him.
He doesn’t say much, and whenever he does, he’s polite and respectful. But knowing he’s right outside my house makes me too damn nervous to sleep there.
The phone rings two times before the call connects. “Mi alma, driving and talking on the phone is not safe,” Emmanuel chastises me.
“Neither is talking to a cartel boss, but here we are.” I smirk. “Besides, it’s the twenty-first century. Phones are hands-free.”
“Suspectedcartel boss, mi alma. Those are merely rumors.”
Shit, am I not supposed to say it out loud?It’s the very first thing he told me. I didn’t think anythingof it.
“Well, obviously, you’re not. I imagine that kind of thing would require someone with a lot of smarts,” I joke.
“Exactly. Where are you going?”
“Rachel’s house. I just wanted to let you know that I’m probably going to crash out soon. You won’t be able to reach me for a bit.”
“You’re driving while you’re on the verge of falling asleep? What the fuck, Evie! Pull the fucking car over now,” he yells into the phone, adding something else in Spanish that I have no chance of understanding.
“I’m fine. I’m almost there.”
“Paz can drive you.”
“I’m not comfortable falling asleep around him,” I admit. “If he drives me, there’s a strong chance I’ll fall asleep in the car.”
“Has he done something to you? Said something?” Emmanuel’s tone changes almost immediately.
“No, it’s not him. It’s just… I don’t like people being in the room with me or having access to the room while I’m asleep.”
“Why?” Emmanuel asks.
