Shattered Prince

I came in a flood. He didn’t stop. He lapped me up and licked me clean, and only when I was breathing hard did he finally come up for air. He kissed me gently and sucked his fingers clean.

“You don’t need the pills,” he whispered. “You have me now.”

“Flush them.”

His eyes went wide. “Are you sure?”

“All of them. I’m sure.” Something clicked in my chest. Something fell into place and I knew this was the right thing to do. The pills were a crutch and were holding me back, and if I didn’t get rid of them and let myself move on into this new life then I really would lose it all.

It could go away—but only if I let it.

He kissed me and held me, and I had to believe that hope was worthwhile.

Chapter 20

Carmine

Jules was at class when Mal called me up. I was in my Mercedes on campus, not doing much of anything—just sitting and thinking about her and waiting for her to be finished in a couple hours.

I should’ve spent my time doing something more productive, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to be near her to make sure she was safe. It wasn’t a long-term solution and I couldn’t follow her around forever, but for now—it worked.

“Talk to me, Mal,” I said, patching the call through the car’s hands-free system.

“We got him.” Mal’s voice was a grunt. “I’ll text you the address.”

“How bad?”

“Come see for yourself.”

“Send a couple guys to campus to watch over Jules. I’m on my way.”

“Got it.”

I hung up. The text came a second later. I put it into my GPS and drove off. I hated leaving her unprotected, but this was important.

I found myself parking outside of a rundown motel on the edge of the downtown distract. It’d seen better days. The sign read One Stop Inn and the place was decorated in a Southwest-theme with lots of turquoise, cacti, and vaguely Native American designs. It was a real dump, but I spotted Iago standing on the second floor outside of a room midway down the structure and headed toward him.

He gave me a tight nod. “Boss.”

“What am I about to find in there?”

“Nothing good.” Iago scowled. “I never liked that guy. Wasn’t good back in the day and he’s only gotten rottener.”

“Why did Alejandro send him, do you think?”

Iago waved a hand. “I don’t know what my cousin thinks. But if I had to guess, Oscar’s brother died in an attack on Jules when she was a little girl. Ever since then, he’d always looked out for her, or at least that’s what we all thought.”

“Appearances can be deceiving.”

“Looks that way.” He scowled at the door. “Go see for yourself.”

I pushed open the door and walked into a grimy motel room. Two twin beds and a beat-up TV. It smelled like body odor, sex, and old take-out cartons. Fast food bags were scattered on the bureau and a condom wrapper was thrown on top of a pile of trash in the corner next to the TV stand.

Oscar sat on one of the beds. His nose was bleeding and he had blood all over his naked chest. His eyes were bloodshot, and a pile of cash was thrown on the other bed. Mal stood staring at him with the baton in his hand.

I shut the door. Oscar looked at me and grimaced.

“How are things in here?” I asked, walking over. “You don’t look so good, Oscar.”

“He wasn’t smart,” Mal said. “Tried to run.”

“Fuck you,” Oscar said.

Mal faked like he was going to hit him, and Oscar flinched away, throwing his hands up and cringing.

I sighed and sat at the foot of the bed.

Oscar looked like hell.

“Found coke in the closet. Pills in the bathroom. Some meth residue in a pipe under the bed. And about ten bottles of tequila in the trash.”

“You having a party, Oscar?” I asked.

He said nothing.

“You having girls in here?” I pressed. “You hire some ladies to take care of you?” I leaned closer. “Did you use the cash you stole from me?”

“I didn’t steal shit.” He glared at me.

“Jules told me everything. You don’t have to pretend. None of this is going to matter anymore. Isn’t that a relief? Nothing matters. It’s all over.”

His face twisted. “Jules is a lying bitch. Do you know what that girl did? Huh? Did she tell you? That lying bitch.”

“I know you’ve been blackmailing her for a long time,” I said softly. “I know what you did to her, Oscar. And I promise, no matter what she says, you’re going to suffer for it. She might be in a forgiving mood, but I’m not.”

His face drained of color. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I saw the cuts. I know what you did.” I gripped his leg and dug my fingers into the muscle. He tried to pull away but I held on tight. “I know what you did to her, Oscar. For years and years, you used her, bled her dry, and took from her. You broke her, you wicked little man, and now you’ll pay the price.”