“I doubt I’d be impressed. Besides, he’s probably shacked up with one of his many sluts. I have nothing to say to him. Now let go, Escala. I don’t care about Mano or fighting anymore.”
She felt his hand moved down over the dip in her lower back then to her ass. He gave it a squeeze as she tried to pull away. His hold was firm.
She felt the anxiety and anger as he had the nerve to caress her there. He was a womanizer and a loser just like his brother. He began to step backward. He would force her up into the apartment. He may even try to force himself on her, as they waited for Mano to show up.
Oh God, I never should have come here. I never should have taken the chance.
“You got a great ass, Amelia. Tigh
t, round, and firm. Why don’t you forget about that little visit you have and come upstairs with me? I’ll call Mano and he’ll get here fast. We can…talk.”
“Never.” She pushed against him, trying to get away. The flashbacks consumed her mind. The strong, restricting arms, the hard fists against her body. The curses, the mistreatment, it all came flooding back. He always tried to touch her when Mano wasn’t around. Even that night, when Mano struck her multiple times, Escala brought her ice then tried to feel her up. The tears filled Amelia’s eyes.
“Amelia, is everything okay? I can call the cops.” They both turned to see Sylvia standing there with her hand on her hip and a cell phone in her hand.
“Just saying hello, Sylvia.” Escala slowly released her then held her hand so she couldn’t move. He reached up and caressed his thumb along her lower lip.
“We go way back. Ain’t that right, baby? I’m so glad to see you around again. Mano’s going to be, too.”
“You’re right, Escala. We go back, to a time and a place I would like to forget.”
“Forget when it was perfect and you were always around? My brother fucked up with you. I would have never cheated on you.”
“You’re both the same. I’ll never forget the insults, the strikes of Mano’s hands against my body, and how stupid I was to allow him to get away with it for so long. Yeah, I’d like to forget it, forget him, and forget you even exist. Now let me go, or Sylvia will call the cops, and maybe they’ll find that pack of pills on you that help you sleep.” He practically growled at her as he abruptly released her and shoved her forward.
She didn’t lose her balance, thank God, as she quickly headed toward Sylvia.
Sylvia gave Escala a dirty look as he opened up his cell phone and hit a number. She prayed that he wasn’t calling Mano. If he were, then things were going to get pretty damn bad, quickly.
“What an asshole. I had no idea he’d be here today. He and his crew have been causing nothing but trouble. They’ll be behind bars soon enough.”
“Sylvia, he’s here to get his product. With all the money him and his brothers are making, he doesn’t have to live in the old neighborhood.”
“So you know he’s making a lot of money now? I used to think he did it to get you back and impress you, Amelia.”
“Impress me? He doesn’t care about me and you know it. Men suck. They want what’s between our legs, and I was stupid to fall for his lies, his talk about caring for me. I got over the great sex after the first beating I took from him.”
“Well that was then. This is now. You know, I heard that they hosted a fight last week and some guy nearly died, Mano beat him so badly.” Amelia stared at Sylvia and felt the tightness in her chest. Her brother Kyle had died at an illegal fight that should have been stopped. She had no idea he was even going.
“Come on, my grandmother can’t wait to see you. She made your favorite dish, too. Pastelón.” Sylvia hugged Amelia’s arm to her side.
“Oh, I love that.” She could practically taste the sweet plantain and beef lasagna.
“Well my grandmother loves you. She can’t believe that you’re leaving New York. I wish I could go to Houston with you. Leave this shit hole neighborhood, but my abuela needs me. It sounds amazing, though. I’m so proud of you.”
They climbed the stairs to the fourth-floor apartment. Amelia hadn’t been here in a while. Her fear of bumping into Mano kept her away. Go figure that Escala would be here to annoy her. The gym they worked out at, unfortunately, was right around the corner.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Sylvia asked, as if she read Amelia’s thoughts.
“Hurt me?” She shook her head. “Hurting me would have been if he pulled a Mano on me. Anything else, I can handle.”
“Well maybe you’ll meet a nice guy in Houston? Maybe a cowboy?”
“No, thank you. I’m staying away from military men, cowboys, and any guy who is intimidating in the least. No dominant characters, no fighters, no aggressive men with tattoos or anything that remotely reminds me of New York.”
“So you want to settle for some nerdy wimp then, huh? Don’t be crazy. Just because a man seems intimidating and dominant doesn’t mean he’ll use his fists on a woman. You just got caught up in a bad situation because Mano was your brother’s friend.”
“Mano was my brother Kyle’s supplier for his habit. A habit that eventually killed him, along with one of Mano’s illegal boxing matches.”