Thorns & Oranges

Ancient History

Chapter Four

"You're letting gangsters touch you again?"

I rolled my eyes as he pulled to a stop at the station. "No."

"Looked like it to me."

"If you wanted something, all you had to do was call, George."

He grunted. His name wasn't George, it was Jorge but to someone who wasn't Spanish speaking it looked like a funny spelling of George. When we first meet and he introduced himself, I did it just to piss him off. Now it was just a term of endearment, one he allowed me to use begrudgingly. But I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him for almost three months and probably shouldn't be calling him anything other than his actual name or Officer Gutierrez.

"Don't you think that would be suspicious?"

"No." I looked at the back of his head. "My brother is used to seeing strange numbers show up on my phone record. College and all."

"Won't he check out the number when he gets the bill?"

"There's a reason why you use a burn cell in order to call me. Not that you should be calling me anymore anyway."

He was looking at me through the rearview mirror. "You look good, Ari."

I glared at his head. "It's Emelina. You lost the right to call Ari awhile ago. Besides, I haven't gone by that name in a long time."

"That's a good thing," he said softly. "It's great that you got clean and you're sticking..."

"I've heard this song and dance before. It was cute the first time but not so much now when I'm sitting in your hot as hell car with cuffs digging into my wrists. Can we get this over with please?"

He sighed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure, sure." I looked out the window again, trying to control the fresh hurt in my chest. "You said the same thing three months ago before I woke up to a cold bed and the hotel bill."

The leather of his seat creaked as he turned to look me straight on instead of through a mirror. "It wasn't like that. You know I care about you..."

"But a homicide cop can't be with an active gang member." I glanced at him before going back to the window. "Believe it or not, I'm not in anymore."

"Just because your brother can pull the wool over his muscles' eyes doesn't mean you can do the same to mine. If you weren't a member, you would've had that rose covered up. Your separation from them is only temporary and we both know it."

I looked at him, ignoring how those light brown eyes used to make me feel. "I'm out, Jorge. Ok? Have been for a year. Didn't Organized Crime send you the memo? 'Local lead gangster's sister released from the Spanish Thorns to go to college...'"

"Just so she can put that hard earned degree to use for them later. Yeah. I got that memo. Wasn't too impressed by it."

"Did you get the one that said to leave me alone too?"

"Yeah. I got that one when I waited at the hotel for two hours three months ago and you didn't show up."

"Then maybe you should've treated me more like the girlfriend you said I was than the whore you turned me into." I went back to looking out the window. "Take me in or take me home. Your choice."

"You double parked." He turned to face the front. "Pay the fines and then call one of your brother's pimps to come and get you. Get out of my car."

"Can't," I said with as much venom in my voice to match the amount of ice in his. "You left the cuffs and child safety lock on."

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath and got out. He hauled open the door and helped me out, only to slam me against the passenger door. His lower half molded to mine as he undid the cuffs. The meaning was clear and instead of irritating me like it should've, it started me down the path of being upset. The feeling got worse when his hand circled gently around my left wrist. He leaned into me and whispered, "I care about what happens to you, Ari. Even if you don't believe me." His fingers slid down so they curled around a certain finger. "I wanted to put a ring here but you know I couldn't. I can't. One of us would be dead by the end of the week, more than likely both of us."