Iwas standing by the coffee machine in the corner of the tiny kitchen, trying to wash the taste of whiskey out of my mouth, when Maria appeared beside me. She didn’t speak right away, just poured her own cup and took a slow sip.
“You holding up?” she asked finally.
I shrugged. “Better than some.”
Her gaze followed the line of the bar to where Gabby was laughing with a couple of club girls, tossing her hair and glancing towards Jay every few seconds like she was keeping score.
Maria leaned in just enough for only me to hear. “Watch that one.”
I frowned. “Gabby?”
Maria’s mouth curved, though not quite a smile. “You shook her. Takes a lot to do that.”
My chest tightened. “I didn’t do anything.”
Maria’s eyes slid back to me, steady and knowing. “You kissed him,mija. In here, that’s not nothing.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “That wasn’t—” I stopped myself, jaw locking. “It just happened.”
She sipped her coffee. “Things don’tjust happenwith men like him. Not when the whole room’s watching.”
I gripped the edge of the counter, wishing the floor would swallow me whole. “You think I asked for it? You think I wanted a target painted on my back?”
Maria shook her head. “No. I think you’ve both been carrying that longing for a long time. I saw it in him back then, before you left, and I see it now. Just be careful. History draws eyes and enemies.”
I couldn’t answer. My throat was too tight, my pulse too loud.
Maria reached over and squeezed my hand once, firm and warm, before walking away and leaving me with the bitter taste of whiskey, coffee, and the truth I didn’t want to face.
But Maria’s words clung to me like smoke.
I’d just left the kitchen when Gabby appeared out of nowhere, her perfume hitting me before her words did.
“Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?” Gabby’s smile was all sugar, but her eyes were daggers.
I rolled mine and kept walking, but she slid in front of me, heels clicking against the floor.
“You really think you’re special?” Her tone was soft, almost pitying. “Jay’s good at making a girl feel that way. He’s good at a lot of things.” Her tongue flicked against her teeth, her eyes glittering. “Did you like listening to us just now? He’s always rougher after a kiss. It winds him up.”
Heat flared in my cheeks, part fury, part shame, but I forced my smirk. “Please. If you were half as good in his bed as you are at running your mouth, maybe he wouldn’t look so bored every time you open your legs.”
For a heartbeat, her mask slipped, eyes flashing, before she leaned in closer. “Funny thing about men like Jay,” she murmured, “they’ll tell you what you want to hear but never the whole story.”
My chest tightened. “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“Oh, but I know about him.” Her lips brushed my ear, her words like poison. “You think he wanted your brother back in? Think again. When Caleb begged for a vote, Reaper was the first one to say no. Said he’d be dead weight, a liability.”
My stomach dropped.
Gabby pulled back, her smile cruel and triumphant. “So, go ahead, trust him. Just don’t cry when you find out he buried your brother long before they buried the coffin.”
Then she straightened, smoothed her hair, and walked back towards the bar like she hadn’t just shoved a blade between my ribs and twisted it.
I stood frozen, her words rolling through me, colliding with the kiss still burning on my lips. Why kiss me if he was going to fuck her? The answer was obvious and ugly, because it shut me up. Because I meant nothing to him. Just like when I was leaving town and he let me walk without a fight.
The burn in my chest wasn’t jealousy—it was humiliation.
But I couldn’t leave. Not then. Staying there was still my best shot at finding the truth about Caleb, even if it meant swallowing every bitter word Gabby had shoved down my throat.
