“It’s not your fault,” she continued, reading my toxic thoughts. “It’s only theirs.”
I didn’t have to ask who she meant by theirs since I already knew she was referring to El Diablo, along with the men who paid him for the opportunity to use and abuse whichever woman they picked at their will.
Officer Jacobs.
District Attorney Ellington.
Those two were the worst, not only because they were sadistic bastardos who harbored unquenchable thirst for rough sex with teenage girls, but because they gave Dominic more power than he already had, making getting away from him nearly impossible.
Thanks to Officer Jacobs, we couldn’t go to the police for help. And if we did somehow get past him, an act which would be a miracle, the D.A. would squash any inquiry into Dominic, along with the criminal empire he had amassed over the years without question.
But you see, even though Ellington and Jacobs were powerful in their own right, they had nothing on El Diablo, the murderous devil who held the key to the girls’ and my freedom.
A key which he’d never willingly give up, but one I planned to steal when the time was right.
I was a talented thief, after all.
“I’m supposed to protect you,” I whispered. “But I keep failing to do so. I try, but…”
My vocal cords froze, erasing my ability to speak. Swamped with both frustration and sorrow, I wanted to curl into a ball and scream.
But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—do that.
“One day,” I said, forcing the words to come, “I will get us away from here.” Wrapping an arm around her, I delicately pulled her closer, careful to avoid her bruised side, and readjusted my coat, which blanketed her battered body. “And when I do—you, me, and Chiquita will find our happily ever after. Together.”
A hopeful smile spread across her face. “I want to live in a house with a white picket fence like the one my parents and I had before…” Tears filled her eyes, breaking my scarred heart. “Before they d-died.”
Unlike Ashley, Jade had been born into a good family that had once been filled with love. She’d lived a good childhood and had attended the best schools.
But after her parents were killed in a car accident, she was thrust into foster care with a family who had no business raising children.
After that, her life quickly spiraled into a dangerous hell, which she didn’t know how to navigate. To survive, she did what countless other endangered kids had done before her.
She’d run away seeking safety.
Only, that’s not what she’d found.
Like Ashley, she’d fallen right into the trap El Diablo had woven for her with beautifully colored, cunning lies and a handful of promises he never intended to keep.
For that alone, I hope he burned.
“I’ll find us a house with a picket fence.” The smile I wore was shaky. “Maybe even one with a big front porch and swing.”
“Ashley would like a swing.” She nuzzled her face against me, taking the comfort she so desperately sought. “I would too.”
“Then I will find a way to—”
Words dying, my entire body stiffened in alarm when my wide eyes crashed into the same pair of whiskey-colored ones that had haunted my every thought for weeks.
Dios mío…
This is not good!
Having no clue what el hombre’s intentions were, I quickly ripped my coat free of Jade’s body and snatched my switchblade free of the pocket. “What are you doing here, pendejo?” I asked none other than James Cole, the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on, and one I’d robbed of every dollar his expensive leather wallet had possessed.
“How did you find me?”
White-knuckled grip squeezing the black bag strap draped over his shoulder, he glanced at my hand, along with the knife I now held before meeting my eyes once more. Brows arched, he showed no fear. “Your friend sent me.”
El hombre was a lying bastardo. I had no friends. Only a makeshift family I’d created with the girls and Faye.
Stricken with terror, Jade jerked up and pulled her legs into her chest. “Carmen…”
Finding my feet, I stepped in front of her, blocking her from James’s view. “I have this,” I whispered so only she could hear. “Trust me.”
Lower lip trembling, she nodded.
Standing tall, I flicked open the blade. “That was lie number one,” I said, doing my best to hide the fear that quaked my insides. “Speak another, and it’ll be your last.”
I wasn’t sure how he would react to my threat, one which mi madre would have popped me with a shoe for making, but I certainly didn’t expect him to crack a smile so beautiful it nearly blinded me.
Belly flipping, I gulped.
Jesucristo, what was it about him?
“You’ve already robbed me,” he said, sending shame spiraling through me. “You going to stab me now too, sweetheart?”
Sweetheart?
“I’ve got news for you, James Cole,” I retorted without thinking. “I wouldn’t be sweet if you dumped a bag of sugar over the top of my head.” It was an estúpido thing to say given the situation, yet I did it anyway. “Now tell me the truth. No more mentiras.” I paused, my fingers squeezing my weapon tighter. “How did you find me, and what do you want? If you’re here about the dinero, I—”
“I don’t give two shits about the money,” he interrupted. “The only concern I have right now is helping Little One.” Behind me, Jade sucked in a breath. “As for one of your questions—your friend, who I met the night I came looking for you after you pickpocketed me, stopped by my station ten minutes ago and told me you two needed help.”
I swallowed.
Faye had sent him.
She was the only one aware of where I sometimes slept, tucked behind an abandoned boiler whenever El Diablo forced the girls on overnight dates like he’d done Ashley earlier.
It had to have been her.
Remembering she’d been back at the trap house when Officer Jacobs, that hijo de puta, dumped a bruised and battered Jade off hours before only confirmed my suspicions.
“Her name is Faye.”
It was important he knew.
Like most of the unwanted, she’d been tossed aside by more than one person in her
