“Me too.”
We both reread the message, and the tension fades. It’s done. It’s really done.
“I can’t believe it’s finally over,” she says, an incredulous smile stretching her pink lips. “Stefano’s been harassing me for months, and now it’s finally over.”
“You should have come to me sooner, babe. I could have helped and supported you.”
“I didn’t want to bother you. You had so much going on with your job, and new life, and Lex. I didn’t—”
“You’re more important than any job, K. You’re my ride or die. I need to know these things.”
She laughs softly, returning to her piping bag. “Okay, I promise. Next time some asshole breaks my heart, I’ll tell you immediately.”
“There won’t be any more assholes. I’m the one approving the next ones, remember?” I humor. She snorts, refusing the statement with a shake of her head.
About an hour later, we’re nearly done with everything. The last batch of Snickers brownies is cooking in the oven, and the dishes are almost finished. We’re a mess, with flour and traces of chocolate on our aprons, exhausted by our impressive accomplishment. Never in the past had we baked that many things. Not even for myquinceañeraor her sweet sixteen.
I’m still washing the dishes when the doorbell rings, so Kate handles it. I hear voices but can’t make out what’s being said. However, when the tone rises, I perceive the distress in Kate’s voice.
Fuck…Letting go of everything, I rush out of the kitchen to join her by the entrance. When I see the man she’s talking with, I stop as abruptly as if I’d bumped into a wall. Stefano is trying to come in, pushing against Kate, who’s doing her best to keep him outside.
Pure rage courses through my veins, and I charge at him like a bull. With our combined efforts, we make him stumble back to the porch.
“You stupid as fuck waste of air,” I snarl at him.
“I should have known you were a part of this, you fucking bitch,” he yells at me. Kate seems to be in a state of shock, unable to react, and I make sure to be between them. “Do you have any idea what you two stupid whores did? I had work on that computer!”
“Go rot in fucking hell,hijo de la chingada.”
“I’ll get you for this, you immigrant fuck. And you—”
He turns to Kate again, but I don’t let him, reclaiming his attention with, “If you touch a single hair on her head, I’m going to fucking kill you!”
“I’d like to see you try, you dumb bitch,” he says, intimidatingly approaching me. Fuck, I didn’t think this through.
“If you come near us, I’ll call the fucking cops,pinche puto.”
“Really? Here, call them,” he snickers, extending his phone. “Call them and tell them how you crazy whores hacked into my stuff and destroyed my computer.”
“You dense fuck, we didn’t do shit,” I defend us, whacking his hand out of the way, slamming his phone to the ground. “Now get the fuck away before—”
“Before what?” He looks at his phone and then glares at me, even angrier than before. “You’re like a Chihuahua. What the fuck do you think you can do to me?”
To prove his words, he backs his hand away, ready to violently slap me. A sharp wave of panic hits me, and I mentally prepare myself for the blow. The rest unfolds in a rapid blur as his hand comes down hard across my face, just as Kate pulls me back. The impact makes me stumble into her, the painful heat of it radiating from my cheek to the entire side of my face.
But before I can process any of it, Stefano is brutally tackled to the ground by an unexpected newcomer. Completely stunned, Kate and I stare at Stefano on his back and the feral man administering painful blows to his face. Why is Rafael here? But also, thank God he is.
Still disoriented, I watch asRafael beats the shit out of him, my ear still ringing and pain searing across my cheek. Kate’s the first one to react, trying to pull my brother away from Stefano’s whimpering form. Since I don’t want Rafa to get charged with assault and battery, I go to assist her, but we’re not strong enough. Out of nowhere, two big, muscular Latinos come to help us. Eventually, we tear Rafael away from Stefano, pulling him to his feet.
I’ve rarely witnessed it in the past, but I can see how much my brother wishes he could utter all the thoughts and insults he wants to throw. In his eyes, I can read the hateful things he wants to shout at Stefano but can’t.
The two men holding him back seem to know him, so I guess they arrived with him. Because of their muscular builds, tattoos, and baggy clothes, they’re particularly intimidating.
Stunned and shaky, Stefano rises to his feet, his gestures slow and imprecise. Now that we have three big guys on our side, his attitude has changed entirely—from pompous jerk to scared little boy. My confidence grows as if fueled by his deflating assurance, even though my cheek is still burning.
“You do not talk to Kate, you do not look at her, contact her, or even think of her,” I tell him. “She is off-limits.¡La madre que te parió!If I hear you’ve been trying anything with her, I will fucking rip your balls off myself and feed them to you. Is that clear?”
He hesitates, his eyes going from me to the three guys behind me to Kate. “I can’t believe you planned all this. You’re a crazy fucking bitch,” he bellows at Kate.
