Faded Gray Lines Read online

  The crisp air suddenly became sticky and humid. “That won’t be a problem. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m already on some leads.” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about the inconsistency I’d found in her actions, but something held me back.

  Stupidity? Yeah, most likely.

  “You have one week to clean this up.” The finality in his voice swirled the tequila and beer together in my stomach. “Don’t make me cross the border myself to handle it.”

  “Sí, puedo hacerlo.” Yes, I can do it.

  It was the last thing I said before he hung up. His words echoed in my head, sending me into a downward spiral that opened scar tissue long healed. Or maybe it’d never healed. Maybe I’d just put so many bandages over it, they’d finally fused with my skin.

  It didn’t matter. Nothing could’ve protected me the moment I first saw her dressed like the sun about to be devoured by the night.

  Nine

  Mateo

  October – Four and a Half Years Ago

  “Let me go!”

  The frantic tone in her voice commanded my attention. Normally, I was oblivious to the incessant chattering of the women who hung around this corner. However, her frightened voice crashed through the barrier I kept between myself and the rest of the people in this part of town. I knew she didn’t belong here without looking up. A voice that sweet and innocent could never blend in among the jaded reality I lived in.

  Lost little lamb. Shame.

  I forced myself to tune her out. On the streets, we kept our heads down and our minds on our own business. Less blood spilled that way, and I dealt with enough of the stuff during normal business hours.

  Just as I counted through the money I’d been paid, a gruff voice carried from across the street. “This isn’t a freeway, baby. This here is a toll bridge, and you’re about to pay up.”

  “Stop it! Don’t touch me!” The innocent voice from before shifted from sweet to terrified. It unsettled me, and I fought a natural instinct to look up.

  Not my problem.

  “Check it out, Julio. We got us a fighter on our hands.” He laughed, and she screamed. “I love when they’re like that. It makes it better.”

  Her scream was what did it. Glancing up, I finally saw her—a ray of sunshine bathed in darkness. Golden hair tumbled down her back and settled at the top of her ass. The yellow dress she wore stood out like a siren among the crowd of working women who ignored her pleas. They couldn’t be bothered. She wasn’t one of their own, and time was money.

  If I had any common sense, I’d have followed their lead. The darkness had always been where I’d felt most comfortable. It was where I’d found a brotherhood who never judged me for who I was or how I survived.

  But the fear in her voice called to me, her yellow dress drawing me in like a moth to a flame. Her eye caught mine, and something passed between us. I knew in that moment that getting too close would end with incineration.

  I didn’t care, though, because when they touched her, I saw black.

  Not red.

  Black.

  Cold, blinding, uncivilized rage. A need for them to die a slow death.

  The whole time my feet moved, I cursed myself. This was stupid. Part of me wanted to turn around, finish my deal, take my money, and forget I’d heard her voice.

  That was the smarter part.

  But the part that kept walking had taken control. I had no idea if that part had a hero complex or just a death wish.

  Maybe both.

  The man groping her had his back to me, so all I saw was his bald head. Which was convenient because when I flipped him around, the tattoo that covered it all the way to his chin provided the perfect target for my fist. Bone splintered against bone, and the girl gasped, stumbling backward as the guy hit the ground with blood spurting from his busted lip.

  “Don’t just stand there, Julio,” the guy ordered. “Kick his ass!”

  When I turned to take care of Julio, I saw her eyes. They were deep pools of dark-cinnamon stained with raw emotion and untold truths, and she wielded them like a weapon. It wasn’t like me to leave a man unfinished, but they held me captive. Within that split second between Julio rushing forward and me reaching for my gun, they widened in fear. It wasn’t because of my gun. I had it tucked away on the side facing away from her. No, the panic on her face was for me, and what she did next had me breaking all my own rules.

  As Julio rushed, the girl jumped in front of him, blocking his path with her arm outstretched. “No!” she screamed, her limbs shaking. “Leave him alone!”

  Whereas before, no one gave a shit to acknowledge her, now, the whole street fell silent.

  Julio leaned over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at me while flicking his thumb in her direction. “Is this bitch for real?”

  I wondered the same thing.

  Ignoring him, I stepped forward and whispered into the girl’s ear. “I appreciate the gesture, but, duck.” When she just stood there, I didn’t bother holding in my annoyed grunt.

  “Duck?” She turned halfway around, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “What does a duck have to do—”

  “Julio, what the fuck?” the bald guy yelled, slapping his palms onto the concrete.

  “Duck!” Grabbing her soft blonde hair, I shoved her to the ground with a heavy hand. Now wasn’t the time for chivalry.

  In a split second, the guy on the ground was on his feet and charging toward me while Julio shook himself out of his confusion long enough to follow suit.

  Since they’d made my life easier by corralling themselves into one spot, I pulled my gun from my waistband and aimed it at them. “It seems you two are determined to make this personal.”

  The bald guy flipped me off, proving he had more tattoos on his head than brains inside it. “Hey, fuck you, pendejo. This doesn’t concern you.”

  “Wrong. You made it my business when I asked you nicely to leave the lady alone.”

  “You sucker punched me from behind!”

  “That was me being nice.” I smirked, and he sneered back at me. “Now, both of you are going to walk away, or you can limp. It makes no difference to me. I don’t give a shit about your kneecaps.”

  Apparently Julio was the smarter of the two, throwing his hands in the air and backing up with a scowl. “Man, a piece of uppity pussy isn’t worth this. Let’s go.”

  Chuckling to himself, the bald guy wiped the blood from his lip and smeared it across his T-shirt. “You’re lucky. Usually, I wouldn’t take this shit, but I’m feeling generous tonight.”

  “I’m not,” I said, shooting him in his right knee.

  “Motherfucker!”

  Everybody moved at once. The bald guy hit the concrete for the second time, and Julio jumped to his side like the obedient puppy he was. Stashing my gun back in my waistband, I grabbed the girl’s hand and jerked her toward the unlit part of the street. She hesitated, staring over her shoulder at the bloody mess that used to be the guy’s knee.

  I tugged harder. “Let’s go.”

  “You...you just shot him.”

  Fuck.

  She was in shock. I didn’t have time for this shit.

  Tightening my hold on her hand, I swung her around, and before she could say a word, I hoisted her over my shoulder. “I warned him I’d do it.” I shrugged under her weight. “It’s not my fault he didn’t listen.”

  She pounded on my back, screaming at me to put her down the whole way to the railroad trestle. Technically, it was only about a ten-minute walk, but with her yelling in my ear and driving fists into my back the whole time, it felt like fifty.

  I knew the area well, and for the most part, nobody cared to hang around here. The roar of trains barreling down the tracks at eighty miles per hour tended to discourage anyone from doing business here.

  My shoulder ached, so I dropped her on the grass just below the tracks. I wasn’t worried. With me standing in her way, there were only two ways to get off the hill: slide down
the steep embankment on her ass or walk the tracks that led over the bridge. It had to be at least a twenty-foot drop off either of the pathetically guarded sides. I doubted her need to escape was strong enough that she’d risk it.

  “Just let me go here,” she begged, wiping away a stray tear with the back of her hand. “I promise I can pay you whatever you want.”

  I hated tears. More so, I hated tears from her. She’d been so fearless when she thought I was in danger that the scared kitten routine irritated me.

  “I don’t want your money. I want an explanation.”

  “About what?”

  “Why did you jump in the middle of my fight?”

  She took a deep breath and shrugged. “It was my fight first.”

  “You think you could’ve handled those guys? You have no idea what kind of shit you walked into tonight.” I waved a hand up and down the length of her dress, noting the expensive material and diamond earrings hanging from her ears. “And from the looks of you, street fighting isn’t one of your strengths.”

  “Why did you?” she asked, looking up at me with those damn inquisitive eyes. “Jump in the middle of my fight, I mean.”

  I had no good answer for her. I had no idea why I was doing this. I just knew I couldn’t stop. Answering her with the truth was out of the question, so I coughed and turned my head, hoping she’d leave it alone.

  She didn’t.

  “He could have shot you, too, you know.”

  “They weren’t wearing jackets.” She furrowed her eyebrows, and I sighed, forgetting normal people didn’t understand such obvious things. “If a man isn’t wearing a jacket, he’s not packing.” To emphasize my point, I lifted my black leather jacket and dropped my gaze to my gun. “No place to hide it.”

  “If they weren’t armed, why’d you shoot him?” she repeated.

  “That’s a question for another day, little lamb.”

  She frowned. “Little lamb?”

  I should’ve shut her down right there. I’d just saved her ass. However, my lips moved before I could stop them. “You looked like a lost little lamb out there, all alone in the middle of a pack of wolves.”

  Her eyes lowered to my mouth, and she swallowed hard. “Are you a wolf?”

  Unlike the women I’d spent the night ignoring, this girl screamed modesty. Something about her called to me, and an absurd thought began to take hold.

  I wanted to keep her here forever. I wanted to hide her away from everyone and everything, taking her out only to admire for myself. She seemed pure—like an angel sent to counteract my evil. The brightness to my darkness.

  I thought about her question and wondered if I should tell her I wasn’t a lamb or a wolf.

  I was the man who brought them all to slaughter.

  I didn’t do either. I sat down next to her and gauged her reaction. When she didn’t flinch, I extended my hand. “No, I’m just Mat—”

  I thought about Emilio and how my name was finally making a buzz within the ranks of the cartel. I highly doubted she had any knowledge of my world, but I couldn’t take the risk.

  Changing my mind, I created a persona just for her. “I’m just Matty.”

  Tilting her head back, she glanced upward as if looking for something, then a gentle smile curled the corners of her lips as she lowered her chin. “Hello, just Matty. I’m Star.”

  Ten

  Leighton

  Present Day

  I yawned just as my ass rang. Jerking my phone out of my back pocket, I scanned the caller ID, praying for a call from Alex. Instead, my mother’s number lit up my screen, and I swallowed back a groan, silencing the call.

  Nope. Not today. Not ever.

  I was surprised it’d taken this long for her to contact me. Two days must have been torture for her to keep quiet, knowing the prodigal daughter had returned home and not contacted her. Even though I’d expected it, I couldn’t make it easy on her. Four years of pretending each other didn’t exist didn’t evaporate overnight because we now lived in the same city.

  I held my phone steady in my hand and waited. Surely, she wouldn’t disappoint me. Right on cue, it rang again, and I smiled, reminding me that only three things in this world were certain: death, taxes, and my mother’s inflated ego.

  Silencing it for the second time, I tucked it back into my pocket. There wouldn’t be another. Mother would consider that rude. Not to me, of course, but to her precious image. Third time was not the charm to Mayor Donovan. She considered it to be a strike.

  Whatever. My mother was the least of my problems. I still hadn’t heard from Alex, and Brody was giving me the silent treatment. Then there was the whole issue of my past busting through a bathroom door and turning everything I knew to shit.

  I glanced at my phone again, groaning to see it was already one o’clock in the morning. I’d worked a double shift and after lying awake tossing and turning last night, replaying Matty’s every touch, I’d gotten maybe two hours of sleep in the last twenty-four hours. By the time the last beer had been drunk and the door was locked, I was beyond exhausted.

  Wiping down the last of the sticky bar, I eyed the cushy mat covering the damp bar floor. As disgusting as it was, I halfway contemplated curling up on it for even a moment of rest. Shaking my head, I tossed the rag into the sink and leaned over the bar, burying my face in my hands.

  I’d been so focused on what had to be done that I never saw him coming. Mateo Cortes was just a name like Valentin Carrera and Emilio Reyes. Three people whose lives meant nothing to me when my brother’s fate hung on their ruin. I’d come here determined to see this through. Then he showed up and tilted everything on its side.

  I knew when I met him that he wasn’t like any other boy I’d ever known. Matty took my ideal of what boys were like and shattered it. He was dangerous, unrefined, mysterious, and a rush of adrenaline to my veins that had yet to be equaled.

  I came alive when I met him and died the day I left.

  Amanda strolled into the bar from the bathroom, freshly changed from her uniform into a fire-engine red dress cut so low it should’ve been illegal. “Okay, I’m all done with my end of shift duties. I know it’s only your second day, but if you’re sure you don’t mind locking up, I’m going to skip out of here early for my date. I wouldn’t normally do this, but I trust you, and well, look at him.” Turning her phone around, she showed me a picture of a dating site profile. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was a stock photo from the internet.

  “Hot,” I said, forcing a smile.

  Her grin widened. “I know.” Tucking her phone in her jacket, she tapped my arm. “And hey, don’t think I didn’t see tall, dark, and saucy follow you into the bathroom yesterday. What’s up with that?”

  She wasn’t the only one. Everyone saw it, and every eye followed me as I walked out of that bathroom trying to act like my world hadn’t just collapsed. My cheeks heated remembering Brody’s accusing stares and the chair that sat empty across from him.

  “Nothing,” I said, clearing the emotion from my throat. “He just wanted to make sure I was okay. Infection is no joke.” I forced a smile and raised my bandaged hand, wiggling my fingers to distract her.

  She pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow. “How attentive of him. Most of our customers wouldn’t care if we bled from our eyeballs as long as we kept the tap flowing.”

  “Mmhmm,” I answered, stacking dirty glasses onto a washing rack. “Nice guy.”

  She chuckled, and I saw her shake her head out of the corner of my eye. “Okay, have your secrets. The story I’ll make up in my head is probably better anyway. Later.” Throwing her hand in the air, she waved and disappeared through the kitchen.

  The silence felt like an uncomfortable thickness. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, which was stupid because I’d heard Amanda engage the dead bolt on the backdoor when she left.

  I was definitely alone.

  My thoughts wandered back to yesterday when I’d overheard Emilio on the
phone. Obviously, he was involved in something. No surprise there, considering he ran operations for a Mexican cartel. However, it was his remark about the person being in a public office that set the wheels spinning in my head. Whoever he’d been speaking to had a legitimate nine-to-five job with ears in such close proximity it worried him enough to call attention to it.

  I stared down the hallway toward his office, my pulse racing with adrenaline, both from fear and exhilaration. Chances like this didn’t come around very often.

  It was risky, and probably a very bad idea. However, Emilio rarely left the cantina unattended without one of his men watching over it. Quickly scanning the corners for cameras and seeing none, I moved before I could change my mind. I found it odd that a business owner, especially one who stole for a living himself, wouldn’t expect the same and plan accordingly, but Emilio wasn’t exactly a by-the-book kind of guy.

  I wasn’t shocked to find his office locked. An open door would’ve been too easy. Bending down, I assessed the situation and bit back a smile. It was the same kind Mateo dismantled within seconds yesterday. I’d seen him do it countless times in the past, and eventually, watching led to learning.

  Etiquette only took you so far. Skill took you everywhere.

  Pulling a bobby pin out of my ponytail, I stuck the straight end into the lock. I held my breath while bending the pin and searching for the hook. Just when frustration set in, I heard the telltale click, and the lock released.

  Bingo.

  Once inside, I wrinkled my nose at both the mess and stench. Being inside was way worse than the glimpse I caught yesterday. The place looked like a rabid animal had been locked inside and then crawled in a corner and died.

  “Fucking pig,” I muttered under my breath.

  Trying not to touch anything, I got to work. My hands shook as I opened his laptop and hit the power button, my eye twitching as a password enabled screen popped up, denying me entry.