Yoli, in particular, would be devastated.
She hated the thought of her sister crying herself to sleep at night, like Angel had done so often after her mother left. Yoli had shared a bed with Angel for the first four years of her life, and had been more like a daughter to her than a sister. Angel’s arms ached at the thought of not being there to comfort her, to hold her when she got hurt, to hug her close and smell her hair, to kiss the curls on top of her sweet head. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
She brushed them away impatiently.
“You’re leaving,” Ricky accused.
“I’m getting a job.”
“You can get a job here.”
Sure she could. Waiting tables at Esperanza’s until she was twenty-one and serving drinks at the Round-Up after that. Or she could skip those middle steps and move right into the position Yesenia Montes had just vacated.
The job she planned on doing in Las Vegas wasn’t much better, but at least she wouldn’t be shaming her family while living under her father’s roof. And what other options were available for an uneducated girl with no job skills? She could work in a fast food restaurant or as a maid, and only make enough money to cover her own expenses.
If she could do it any other way, she would.
She took her brother by the hand. “I’m doing this for you guys. The money I send back will help Dad pay the bills.”
He glowered at her, trying to jerk his hand away.
“I have to go today,” she said, almost choking on the words. “Tell Yoli and Daniel I love them. And know that I love you.”
His face darkened with resentment. “If you loved us, you would stay.”
Agony washed over her. “Please,” she whispered, holding his hand, squeezing it tight. “Don’t say anything until tonight.”
He nodded once and she released him. Without another word, he ran out the door and across the front yard, meeting Yoli and Daniel by the side of the road. Angel went to stand at the window, waiting there until the bus came, like she always did.
When Yoli turned and waved, like she always did, flashing her gap-toothed smile, Angel felt her heart tear in two. She lifted her hand and waved back, like she always did, and as soon as the bus pulled away, she sank to the floor in the living room and cried.
She cried for her mother, who’d brought a new baby into the world even though she couldn’t take care of her other five children. She cried for her father, who’d never gotten over her mother, even though she wasn’t worthy of his love. She cried for Juan Carlos, whose criminal career was probably flourishing in juvenile hall, and for Ricky, who rarely had good days at school and wouldn’t have one today.
And finally, she cried for her little sister, who needed her most.
When she was done she felt worse instead of better, but she deserved that. She chased down an aspirin with a Coke and spent a few moments resting with a wet washcloth over her swollen eyes. After some of the tightness in her chest eased, she got up and started cleaning. She wanted the house to be perfect before she left.
Soon the breakfast dishes were put away, the laundry was done, the floors were swept and the counters cleared. Her ride wouldn’t come for a few more hours, and she was too antsy to sit still. To kill some more time, she went to her studio to get ready.
She showered and dressed and applied her makeup with shaking hands. Nothing too heavy, just a little mascara and a touch of lip gloss. She wanted to get hired, but she wasn’t a tramp. Not yet. Besides, men liked young, innocent-looking women, did they not?
Unable to meet her eyes in the mirror, she left the bathroom. For the third time in four days, someone startled her on her own turf. Dylan Phillips burst through the front door of her bedroom and pulled it shut behind him.
“Snell’s after me,” he panted, bracing his back against the door. A pulse beat rapidly at the base of his throat. “He just stopped at my house.”
“What did you do?”
He gulped and shook his head, refusing to tell her.
“Oh, Dylan,” she said in an admonishing tone, moving toward the window. If he got arrested again he’d be leaving Tenaja Falls the same way Juan Carlos had, in the back of a police car. Sure enough, Deputy Snell was driving his black-and-white cruiser along Calle Remolino, slowing down in front of her house. He must not have seen Dylan come this way, because instead of parking at the curb, he floored the engine and took off.
“He’s gone,” she said, turning back to Dylan.
He sank to a sitting position against the door, relief washing over his fine features. He was kind of sweaty, and his thin cotton T-shirt clung to the lean muscles in his chest. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bust in on you like that.”
It was her turn to shrug.
His eyes cruised over her. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” she said quickly.
“You look pretty.”
She warmed at the compliment. “Thanks.” Nice clothes were a luxury the Martinez clan couldn’t afford, but she was wearing her newest jeans and a slinky purple top. It was cut lower than her usual style, revealing the V between her breasts. His gaze lingered there, and she went from warm to hot.
Suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted to do to kill the time.
Dylan was a convenient distraction, but he was also the only boy she’d ever really wanted to sleep with. Her experience with Chad had been more about punishment than pleasure, and her embraces with Tony had never ventured beyond a chaste kiss.
Her pulse pounded at the thought of being with Dylan before she left. This was her last chance. Her last choice.
Although she was far from worldly, she knew that taking off her clothes for strange men would change her as a person. The idea of letting them ogle her naked body made her feel dirty.
Dylan made her feel… sexy. Wanted. Beautiful.
This might be her last opportunity to be with him, or anyone, before she became jaded. She might not ever see him again. She might not ever see herself.
The misery she felt a few short hours ago didn’t disappear, but it receded into the background, replaced by a weighty feeling of power and a comforting physical excitement. Her chest rose and fell with every breath, holding his attention.
Unlike her oblivious ex-boyfriend, Dylan Phillips was easily captivated.
There was also something different about him today. Normally, he kept his eyes on her face, only letting them drop to her chest when he thought she wasn’t looking. She didn’t know what he’d done to get in trouble with the law, and she didn’t really care, but it must have been pretty bad. It seemed as though his wild, defiant side had taken over, and he was staring at her openly, not bothering to hide his desire.
She moistened her lips slowly and fidgeted with the spaghetti strap of her tank top, tracing the bodice with one fingertip. “Do you want to sit on my bed?”
His gaze jumped back up to hers. Although it was obvious he wanted her, he was tired of getting jerked around. The sexual glaze in his eyes didn’t clear; it just took on a more predatory edge. “Only if I get to fuck you on it.”
A thrill raced through her at his words. She knew he was insulting her, repaying her for toying with him one too many times. The last thing he expected was for her to agree to his terms. “Okay,” she said anyway, doing exactly that.
20
Dylan regretted the words the instant they flew out of his stupid mouth. He liked Angel, he respected her, and
