Page 10 of Love Above Law

Closing my eyes, I take a moment to collect myself before I continue. "I was startled awake one morning by Santino, Hugo and another man I had never seen before barging into my room. I was ordered to strip. I of course refused. My first thought was this was it, I was about to be raped. But I wasn't going to go down without a fight. It hadn't taken long for Hugo to over-power me. He held me down while Santino placed a gun to my head." I stop mid-story and get lost in my head for a few minutes. I don't know how many minutes pass before I realize Agent Stamos repeats my name three times in a row. Shaking myself out of my daze, I regard the agent once again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to zone out like that. It's just—."

"You don't need to apologize, Leyna."

"Anyway, Santino wasn't there to rape me. He was there to prove his suspicions. The third guy was a doctor. I was forced to strip naked so the so-called doctor could examine me; all while he and Hugo watched. Having a gun held to my head as a strange man not so gently confirmed my virginity was one of the most terrifying and degrading things I have ever experienced. And with all due respect, Agent Stamos, this will be the first and last time I tell the story because retelling it is just as humiliating."

The moment the last word leaves my mouth I am startled by a crashing noise followed by a loud piercing roar coming from behind the two-way mirror. What the hell? I turn back to Agent Stamos. "Is everything okay in there?"

"I'm sure everything is fine," she replies with a forced smile. Agent Stamos is about to open her mouth again but is cut off when the door to the interrogation room opens. Standing there with a wild look on his face is Agent Taylor. His look of displeasure is directed at his colleague.

"You're done in here," he breathes heavily, nostrils flaring.

My eyes dart back and forth between the two agents. Stamos must sense something in Taylor because after a few beats she nods toward him before her attention is on me once again. "I think we've talked enough for now. I'll be in town for a few more days so if I have any more questions; I know where to find you. Agent Taylor is going to take you to see your brother. He's been in contact with Mr. Martinez, so he's expecting you."

The moment Agent Stamos steps out of the room, Agent Taylor's body loses some of its tension, and his face softens. Several seconds pass with the two of us never breaking eye contact. I don't exactly know what to make of Agent Taylor. He can only be described as intense. He's a stranger yet he looks at me as if he wants to consume my entire being. The funny thing is, I think I want him to. Agent Taylor stands over 6ft tall. He towers over my 5ft 4in frame. He has brown hair buzzed close on the sides, and the top is left a few inches longer. Its current messy state looks as if he's been running his hands through it. His hazel eyes look tired but no less striking under his dark brow. With the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows I can see the array of colorful ink on his arms. Besides the suit and badge, Agent Taylor looks nothing like I'd imagine a Federal Agent would look.

Using the same smooth, rumbling voice he did just a couple of hours ago when he found me locked away in that room, Agent Taylor strides up to me and holds out his large hand. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you out of here." Without hesitation, I place my small hand in his. The warmth of his touch instantly calms me. With a shuttered breath, I stand from the chair and allow him to lead me out of the room, down the hallway of the police station and outside to a black SUV.

No words are spoken as he opens the passenger door. Once I slide in, Agent Taylor reaches around me, taking hold of the seat belt, and proceeds to buckle me in. The entire time I hold my breath while his face is a mere inch from mine. He smells of mint and some sort of woodsy cologne. "Breathe, baby," he whispers into my ear just as I hear the click of the belt and the way he says baby sends tingles down my spine.

When Agent Taylor pulls back, I expel the air I was holding in my lungs, and it dances across his face. His eyes are so intense. For a brief moment, I think he's going to kiss me. Only he doesn't. The moment he steps back and closes the passenger door taking his heat with him, I feel a loss I can't explain.

Five minutes into the drive Agent Taylor is the first to break the silence. "I spoke to your brother earlier. He knows you're safe and that you had to be taken in for questioning."

"Thank you, Agent Taylor," I reply softly.

"Lex," his gruff voice echoes through the inside of the truck. "To you I'm Lex."

Not knowing what to say to his request, I nod in agreement. A few tense moments pass, and I watch the veins in his arm bulge as he keeps a firm grip on the steering wheel and notice a slight tick in his jaw. Then finally he speaks again. "I know you have been through hell these past several weeks, and you must be confused with having to face new adjustments, but I have to ask—do you know who your brother is? Do you know the things he's involved in and the kind of company he keeps? Because I have to say—."

"I know exactly who Gabriel Martinez is, Agent Taylor," I snap. I'll be damned if I allow anyone bad mouth my brother. "Let me tell you the things I do know. My brother is the most important person in the world to me. He may be flawed, and I am not naïve when it comes to things he has done in his past or the present, but he is my blood. My brother is all I have left in this world, and nothing you say to me will ever change the way I feel or where my loyalty lays."

Turning onto a dirt road, Lex pulls off to the side and shifts the truck into park. Twisting in his seat, he reaches into the back and rummages through a duffle bag, pulling out a cell phone. "Here," he says handing me the phone. "My personal and work numbers are already programmed in there. I want you to call me day or night. I don't care when or why. If at any time you feel like you need an out, I can help. If you need me, I'm there. Even if it's to talk."

Excepting the phone, I take in the sincerity of his words reflecting in his hazel eyes. "Thank you."

Continuing down the dirt road, we come upon a gate, and it slides open letting us drive through. "Stay put," Lex orders when we stop in front of a large building. Five men are standing out front, and my eyes zero in on one in particular—Gabriel. Opening the door, Lex takes my hand and helps me down. "You okay?" he whispers in my ear, and I look at him.

"Si. I'm good." I then turn away from Lex and meet the warm dark eyes of my big brother. "Hermano!" I cry and break off in a run. I don't stop until I'm safely in Gabriel's arms.

"Shh, hermana. You're okay," my brother soothes. Clutching the front of his shirt, I dry my face. "Still wiping your snot on me," he chuckles.

"Shut up, Gabe," I laugh through my watery smile.

"Let's get you inside," he says, and I agree. "You can go now," Gabriel sneers over my shoulder toward Agent Taylor who is still standing by his truck with his eyes trained on me.

"Gabriel Martinez!" I chastise.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Lex assures me. "I need to get going. I got a fuck ton of shit to clean up and about a month's worth of paperwork waiting on me. Just remember my offer stands," he reminds me before sliding back into his SUV and leaving.

The moment he's out of sight I'm once again hit with an overwhelming sense of loss. "Let's get you inside and settled," Gabriel breaks through my fog. "And after, we're going to discuss what that fucker meant by his offer still stands."

I roll my eyes. "Forever the big brother."

7

Lex

The entire morning turned into one big shitter the moment we stormed Santino's estate. First, I can't begin to explain my actions earlier when I threw a chair across the room, while Kurt, Kai, Mackey, and I listened in on Stamos questioning Leyna. I don't know what came over me. Rage filled me the moment she stated someone put their filthy hands on her. From the moment I laid eyes on Leyna I've had an overwhelming need to protect her.