“I’ll be back,” I promise.
Promises in Miami dissolve faster than ice in rum.
Lady’s nails tighten briefly on my arm. “Bebé,” she says, softer. “You come back. Don’t make me go to war in heels.”
I nod once and step out.
My heart pounds hard enough to make my teeth ache.
The hallway outside Rico’s apartment smells like stale smoke and sour laundry. The carpet under my heels is thin and stained in patches that look older than the building itself.
Somewhere behind one of the closed doors a television blares loudly. Spanish soap opera voices scream accusations about betrayal and lies.
Fitting.
Apartment 3B waits at the end of the hall. My hand trembles when I raise it to knock. The sound echoes too loud in the narrow corridor. There’s shuffling inside. Something bumps against furniture. Then a lock clicks. The door opens a few inches.
And there he is.
Rico looks worse than the last time I saw him.
Thinner. Cheekbones sharper beneath skin that’s lost its color. Dark circles bruise the space under his eyes. Scruff spreads unevenly across his jaw like he forgot what a razor is. He smells like sweat and cheap weed and something sour beneath it all.
But he is still Rico.
Still the man who once made me feel small inside my own body.
“Miss me?” he asks with that crooked grin.
My gaze moves past him immediately.
Disco’s old cage sits on a rickety kitchen table behind him.
My cockatoo flutters anxiously from perch to perch, crest half raised, feathers puffed, eyes bright with panic. He makes a sharp sound when he sees me, a mix of relief and outrage.
“¡Mami!” he screeches.
My chest caves in.
“Let me see him,” I say, voice tight.
Rico pushes the door open wider.
The apartment is worse than the hallway.
Dirty dishes fill the sink. Beer cans lie crushed across the floor. The curtains are drawn so tight the room feels dim and claustrophobic, like sunlight has been banned.
Or like Rico is hiding from something.
He shuts the door behind me.
Locks it.
The click echoes through my chest.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I say quietly.
He laughs under his breath.
