The door to our room bursts open and bounces off the hinges.
Miller scans the space until his sights double-take on me. He turns around and shoves Ricardo. "I fucking knew you had her here, you bastard."
Ricardo throws up his arms and feigns complete ignorance. "I had no idea. London and your girl must have been hanging out. I simply just returned home, right girls?"
I swallow and don't say anything because I don't know what the right thing to say is. Anything out of my mouth would be incriminating and there's no telling what Ricardo would use against me if I tried to cover for him.
London on the other hand goes right along with it. "Yeah, Daddy's right." She reaches for her empty glass. "Cora and I were having a drink and catching up."
Miller storms over. "At ten in the fucking morning?"
I go to shrug but end up wincing, my hand still holding onto my injured arm.
Miller yanks a gun out of his waistband and points it at Ricardo, backing him up until he's flat against the wall. "What did you do to her?"
My mouth drops open at seeing him like this. Miller is always calm and collected, never talking at a louder-than-normal volume. He's serious and solemn, and right now, he's a version of himself I have never witnessed before.
"I must warn you, Miller. You are inmyhouse, with a gun pressed tomyhead. I don't care what connections you have, you're making a mistake, boy." Ricardo doesn't seem all that bothered like he has a trick hidden up his sleeve that will get him out of this situation without any danger coming to him. Or he's just that fucking crazy and doesn't give a fuck that a gun is trained on his forehead.
"I don't give a fuck whose house I'm in." Miller presses the end of the barrel into Ricardo's temple. "You don't fuck with Cora and get away with it." He glances over his shoulder. "Up, now."
It takes me a second to realize he's talking to me.
"Both of you," he continues. "Up. Walk to the door."
Ricardo dares to move but Miller shoves him into the wall again.
"Do not fucking test me, Gardella. I will plaster your fucking brains on the wall and deal with the consequences later. I don't fucking care who you think you are." Miller shoves the gun harder and takes the opportunity to check on us as we approach.
Once we're near the door, he positions himself between us and Ricardo and lowers his weapon.
"We're leaving."
"The hell you are. You can take your bitch, but you aren't taking my daughter. Not unless you want to pay for her." Ricardo spits on the floor near Miller's feet.
Miller takes his free arm and shoves us through the entry and aims the gun lazily at Ricardo's leg. He pulls the trigger, the sound loud and reverberating through me.
Ricardo falls to the ground and blurts out every obscenity he can muster. "I will fucking kill you, son. You don't know who you're messing with. You're going to regret this."
"The only thing I'm going to regret," Miller tells him. "Is not killing you right now." He turns around and pushes me and London in the direction of the front door. "Keep moving." He only looks back once, and I assume it’s to make sure Ricardo isn't following us.
"Oh my God," London says, her voice breaking.
Once we're through the front door and out onto the sidewalk, Miller points his gun-laden hand toward his Porsche. "Get in, both of you, now."
London reaches the car first, not hesitating as she opens the door and climbs through to the back. I slide into the passenger seat and Miller slams the door behind me.
"Are you okay?" I look back at London as she's cramped into the small space.
"I'm good."
I hold onto my arm and breathe through the panic that consumes me. Miller wasn't supposed to find out. No one was. This was all a secret, one that none of them could find out. Now, not only does he know something is going on, but he fucking shot Ricardo and threatened him.
What if Ricardo retaliates by killing my parentsandeveryone I love?
"What the fuck were you thinking?" I blurt out the second Miller is in the car.
With his hand still gripping the gun, he shoves the car into gear and takes off, his tires peeling out on the pavement.
