"Get away from me you nasty piece of shit." I demanded through clenched teeth.
The scarred man grabbed my jaw roughly, pulling my face towards his. His eyes raked down my body before returning his gaze to meet mine. Then he stood up, dragging my body along with him, "This is the girl who's always hanging around Lucas. Remember, Fred was telling us about the tramp in the back of Lucas' car?"
Fred, the guy who punched Lucas all those months ago? He was in coherence with these guys?
"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Eyepatch mumbled, his gaze hungrily taking in the revealed patch of skin on my stomach as my shirt rose up over my hips. Disgust made my stomach churn and without thinking through my actions, I spit at Eyepatch. My saliva landed on his cheek, splattering against his skin. Fury passed through his eyes as he wiped away my spit, "Give me five minutes with the bitch, I'll have her begging."
"Chill man, we need her." The scarred man ordered, pushing Eyepatch away from me. I groaned in pain as the scarred man's grip on my jaw tightened, it felt like he was going to crush my face in his bare hands, "Okay honey, now calm down before I let my friend carry out his threat. We're not going to hurt you."
I glared at him, "You're not?'
The scarred man laughed, "No I'm lying, but if it makes you feel any better we have worse plans for your boyfriend downstairs."
Fear erupted in my stomach as I realized these guys were going to use me to get to Lucas. Guess I should have stayed away after all, damn Lucas for always being right. What really caused my blood to run cold though was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs and starting off down the hallway.
Lucas was walking right into their trap.
"Let me go." I ordered, squirming in the man's grasp to free myself before I got Lucas killed. But it was no use. The scarred man tightened his hold on me, one of his hands finding my bicep and squeezing it to prevent me from getting away. Almost instantly I lost feeling in my fingers but that didn't stop me.
"What did I just tell you? Calm down." The scarred man shook me in his grasp, as if that would cease my attempts of escape. When he realized that I wasn't going to stop, he threw me sideways. For only half a second, I was free. Then I spun into the arms of Eyepatch who held me even tighter than the scarred man.
"Bet you wished you had been nicer huh?" Eyepatch asked, weaving one hand into my hair, pulling on it harder than the scarred man had. His other hand slipped down to my hips, sneaking under my shirt. In a panic, I thrust my elbow into his side, putting at much power into my hit as possible just as my father had taught me.
Eyepatch doubled over but recovered faster than I thought he would. His grip in my hair tightened, jerking my head sideways so that my head was turned. He lowered his face to mine, "That one is going to cost you extra bitch." His hand then circled my entire waist, pulling me further down the hall.
Luckily, he didn't have time to get far before there was a thunderous voice which could rival even the loudest of explosions, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
We all turned to find Lucas at the end of the hall where we had all just come from. He was breathing hard, his skin paler than before, and he was sweating profusely as if it took quite an effort getting up here. But his face was creased in fury and at this moment, his sickly looks worked for him. He looked almost like a skeleton, rising from the grave to enact retribution.
"If it isn't the prince himself. We were just about to look for you." The scarred man chuckled.
Lucas' gaze shifted to me, then to the arm wrapped around my midsection. His eyes darkened further, to a color I had never seen on him before, "Let the girl go and we can talk all you want."
The scarred man hummed to himself as he thought it over, "I have an idea. How about you shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say or I'll snap her neck. How does that sound?"
Lucas' upper lip curled back like a feral animal, "What do you want?"
The toothless man laughed, hooting loudly, "Well he get's right to the point doesn't he? I like that, he'll make a fine king one day."
The scarred man shrugged, "Yeah maybe, but it doesn't look like he's going to make it much longer. I doubt he'll see next Spring."
"What do you want?" Lucas roared again, balling his fists.
"Don't be rude, we just want to talk." The scarred man informed. He paced back and forth across the hallway, watching Lucas closely, "So do you want to tell us why you're snitching on all the dealers?"
Lucas' mouth fell open I disbelief, sputtering for an answer, then he threw his hands into the air, "For the love of God, I am not the snitch. I don't know how many times I have to tell you people this. I am not the snitch!"
"Don't fuck with me Lucas!" The scarred man yelled. He pointed an accusing finger at Lucas, his muscles taunt in outrage, "Everyone says it's you. Fred swore on his life that you were the only one who could have told on him. People all over the state are convinced that our precious prince and heir to the throne is the one turning us in."
"I'm not!" Lucas snarled, "What could I possibly gain from turning in my father's dealers?"
The scarred man shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really care. But someone needs to take you out and since everyone else seems to be too scared, I guess it's going to be me."
"Give me a break." Lucas stalked closer, not enough for the scarred man to reach him but closer than need be, "If you don't get out of my house right now, I'm going to kill you and bathe in your fucking blood. I am not the snitch, no matter how many times you people accuse me otherwise. So collect your friends and leave."
"Or what?" Eyepatch asked from behind me, pulling my hair again to show Lucas how much power he held, "From what I hear, you're not doing too well these days."
"Which is yet another reason why the snitch couldn't possibly be me. I've been bedridden for the past week. I haven't even left the damn house." Lucas explained, his dark eyes focusing on the man behind me. If looks could kill, these three men would be gone with the wind.
The toothless guy snorted loudly, "And why would we trust you?"
"Again I ask, what would I gain out of lying?" Lucas looked back and forth between the three guys standing before him, "You don't have to believe me if you really don't want to but I'm only going to tell you fuckers this one more time. I am not the snitch. Now if you valued your lives at all, you'd leave before my father get's here."
If only I had made it to the balcony in time. Mr. Vasquez was probably far from the house by now though, everyone must be. Otherwise they would have heard my screams.
"Are you threatening me?" The scarred man raged, his voice rising yet again. Then in one quick move he jumped forward and swung at Lucas. But the scarred man was too slow. Lucas dodged his punch and landed one of his own tight between the man's ribs. The toothless guy approached to help his friend but Lucas clocked him across the cheek as well. Even in his weakened state, Lucas could kick ass. These guys didn't stand a chance.
"I'm going to make you pay one way or another." The scarred man declared, charging at Lucas again. This time Lucas couldn't dodge but he attacked the scarred man head on. When he was close enough, Lucas launched a fist into scarred man's face then spun around to deck the toothless guy as well. But even as he fought I saw his limbs slowing, like he was moving through molasses.
He was getting tired.
"I warned you." The scarred man shouted, then pointed back towards me.
No, not me. The man behind me.
In a flash, his arm was gone from my stomach. But it only took a heartbeat for me to realize that Eyepatch's arm was now raised high above the both of us. He yanked my hair down so I was looking up, unable to deflect what was about to come. His breath danced across my neck as he laughed deeply, then he swung his arm down with as much force as possible.
The entirety of his forearm connected with my stomach, causing instant pain to explode near my torso. The wind was knocked from my lungs as my body fought to double over but was unable to due to Eyepatch's grip in my hair. A dull yet ferocious ache sprouted throughout my stomach, spreading to all corners of my body. But it wasn't just a hefty pain I felt in my stomach from Eyepatch hitting me, I felt a sharp pain too. Like a thousand bumble bees were stinging my midsection all at once.
A dry wheezing sounded from my body as I coughed loudly, fighting to regain the breath that had been stolen from me. Tears gathered in my eyes, a few dripping down my cheeks as well. Since Eyepatch was holding me so tightly, I brought my legs up off the floor, curling them into my body in an effort to numb the pain wreaking havoc on my body.
"You fucking son of a bitch, let her go right now!" Lucas barked, his eyes locked on my writhing figure.
The scarred man laughed loudly, wiping blood from where it was dripping from his nose, "I said I'd make you pay Lucas. And if you won't accept the punishment then your girl will for you and trust me, violence is so much sweeter when used upon a feminine body."
Lucas' eyes looked around wildly, trying to find a way to get me out of this, "She isn't my girl, not anymore. She isn't a part of this. Let her go right now!"
The toothless guy straightened himself out, "Doesn't matter if you're together or not, you still care for her. And seeing her like this ..." He gestured towards me, "It ruins you."
Lucas froze, he realized all too quickly that our options had dwindled to nothing. The scarred man rose his fist to hit Lucas again, though he dodged it easily. The punch wasn't meant to connect. When Lucas sidestepped the hit, the scarred man pointed in my direction again and I felt the man behind me pressed his arm tighter into my stomach.
My cries of pain echoed throughout the house as the man buried his arm into my gut. I almost feared his arm would pass right through me, cutting me in half. The pain unleashing upon my body certainly suggested the possibility was impending.
"Stop! I don't understand." Lucas turned a furious gaze back to the scarred man who was grinning broader than the Cheshire Cat.
"Then let me put it simply for you." The scarred man advanced on Lucas, grabbing the front of his shirt, "You dodge, she gets hurt. You fight back, she gets hurt. You look at me the wrong way, she gets hurt. Do you get it now?"
Lucas' eyes flashed back to meet mine though my gaze was blurred by my tears. Although my vision was blurred muddled, I still saw the fear washed across his countenance. His eyes dropped to where my legs were still curled around my stomach, to where Eyepatch's arm was flattening my organs.
Then I saw Lucas do the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
He nodded.
The scarred man howled with glee before he rocketed his fist into Lucas' face, knocking Lucas sideways. Then he punched him again, and again. And when Lucas couldn't stand anymore, collapsing to the ground, the scarred man continued his beating using his feet. He must have kicked Lucas fifty times before he backed away.
But when he did that, the toothless man stepped in.
"Fight back!" I cried out, choking back my sobs to stay strong for Lucas who was doing the same for me. I wiggled in Eyepatch's grasp, "Lucas fight back!"
"He won't dollface, not when I have you chained." The scarred man explained, gasping for air from his strenuous workout.
The toothless man kicked Lucas again, then again, all the while Lucas remained still.
The scarred man looked back towards us, "You want a turn?"
Eyepatch only chuckled, tightening his grip on my stomach. When I yelped yet again in agony, Eyepatch shook his head, "Nah. I'm having fun right where I'm at."
"Just let her go." Lucas pleaded from where he lay on the floor, gasping for air, "I won't fight back. You can do whatever you want to me."
The scarred man knelt down next to Lucas, grabbing Lucas' hair, "Now where would the fun be in that? The way I see it, now I have two toys to play with. The man who has been betraying his own people and the bitch who looks hotter than any female dealer I've ever seen. So as much as I'd like to adhere to your demands, I'm gonna have to say no."
The toothless man and the scarred man both turned to face me, their eyes burning with desire. I blinked away my tears, doing my best to ignore the fire I felt capturing my stomach. My eyes shifted from the nearing men to Lucas who lay behind them. His eyes met mine.
Then he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. I remembered this plan from when Clint captured us. Guess I was pretty good at being the decoy while Lucas solved the problem. So while Lucas dialed someone's number, I drew in a deep breath and kicked my foot out. It collided solidly with the toothless guy's face, then I did the same to the scarred man but he was expecting it.
"She's a feisty one huh?" The scarred man asked, sliding his fingers up my leg until they reached my thigh.
"Not when I do this." Eyepatch hissed from behind me. Then he shoved his arm down harder onto my stomach. Another series of screams tore from my throat. The pain was getting worse, causing black stars to parade in front of my eyes. I already knew I was going to pass out soon but I wasn't quite sure if it was from the pain or possibly something else.
Something wasn't right.
"If I have to tell you one more time to get away from her..." Lucas began, hiding his phone back in his pocket and pushing himself up. But the scarred man was fast, he swirled around and kicked Lucas in one swift motion. A strangled cry escaped me as I watch Lucas fall back to the floor, clawing at the ground in pain.
Damn it.
Then, there were loud footsteps as multiple people made their way through the house. A second later, Rico appeared behind Lucas followed by Mr. Vasquez and my father, and then Lucas' cousins. But some of them were missing.
My father's entire stance stiffened when he saw me in the clutches of Eyepatch, Rico's gaze could have rivaled my father's. Behind them, I saw Daniel and Esteban trying to keep the girls back, though Daniel looked dazed. Almost in disbelief.
The scarred man and the toothless man backed off, retreating to a safe distance. Rico knelt down beside Lucas, grabbing onto his shoulders as Lucas fought to breath. Blood stained the floor around him, and his body, and now Rico's hands. My father stepped in front of them, his tone so deep that I didn't recognize it, "Let the girl go. Now."
"Not likely, she's my only leverage." The scarred man insisted, snapping his fingers. Eyepatch rammed his arm down further. I screamed again, now not even trying to hide my pain and tears. It hurt, far too much to contain. I couldn't do it anymore. My father's face twisted when my shrieks reached his ears but he couldn't do anything to stop it, none of them could.
"What do you want?" Mr. Vasquez questioned, stepping in front of the group as well, "As your king I hope you understand the punishment you'll all receive for this treachery."
The scarred man rolled his eyes, "As long as we have her, none of you will touch us or my friend here will kill the girl and everyone loses anyways."
The three of them began backing away, towards the end of the hall. Once they made that turn, they could escape using the balcony. And they were going to take me with them.
But things didn't quite turn out that way. Because as the three men neared the corner, then rounded it, they were stopped almost immediately. Three other figures stood before us, darkened by a light behind them. In a unison motion, the three others lifted their arms, almost as if they were one instead of three separate people. Shiny and metallic objects were clutched tightly in their grasps.
"Oh shit." I heard Eyepatch breath.
A single shot rang out, or maybe it was three shots all fired at exactly the same time. The man holding me, along with the scarred and toothless man, stumbled backwards then fell to the floor, pulling me with them. I took several deep breaths before I craned my neck upwards to see what had become of Eyepatch.
There was a hole in his forehead, a hole where there shouldn't be one.
He was dead. A quick glance showed that the other two men were dead as well, the same cause of death. My eyes trailed back to the three men standing in the hallway, my saviors. From where I lay on the floor, I could see their faces. Carlos stood in the middle, flanked by Javier and Manuel. Lucas must have called one of his cousins and when everyone heard what was happening, they split up. Half took to the house while Carlos, Javier, and Manuel scaled the back balcony.
The pain engulfing my stomach subsided, a cool wave of relief taking hold on my body. I remained where I was, half laying on top of Eyepatch's corpse, but I couldn't find sympathy for him. For any of them.
My head rolled sideways, expecting to see Lucas' unconscious body as I had become so accustomed to. Instead, I saw Lucas making his way towards me. He was half walking, half crawling, his face contorting with pain every few seconds. Then he was leaning over me, his bloody and beaten face staring down at mine, "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay."
I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment. A sudden urge to sleep drifted through my consciousness, nearly pulling me under but Lucas' touch kept me grounded. My eyes snapped open again, though this time something was different. I reached out until my fingers found his arm and I squeezed tightly, "Lucas, my stomach..."
Lucas reached down and threw Eyepatch's arm away from my stomach, where it had still been draped around my body as though he were holding me even in death. Lucas gingerly reached down, pulling my shirt up to inspect the damage.
"What the..." I heard Lucas mumble. That wasn't a good sign. I pushed myself up onto my elbows so I'd have a clear view of my stomach but what I saw shocked me. There was a row of small reddened dots lined horizontally across my stomach, one right after the other. The skin around these red dots was already beginning to bruise, resulting in my flesh turning dark shades of blue and purple.
Lucas leaned over me, reaching for Eyepatch's arm. When he pulled it into my view, I saw that Eyepatch's arm was outfitted with an artificial leather sleeve. And guess what was attacked to this leather sleeve.
Tiny vials, each one containing a pointed end that looked a lot like a needle.
Shit.
"Papi, ven aquí ahora." Lucas ordered loudly, his eyes meeting mine. He cupped my face in his hands, his grip tight on my cheeks, "Kimber you need to keep your eyes open okay? Whatever you do, don't go to sleep."
I nodded, realizing all too abruptly that the vials attached to the leather sleeve had probably been filled with different narcotics, but now they were empty. Damn. I had been drugged, again.
"Qué?" Mr. Vasquez questioned as he got closer, my father right behind him. Lucas said nothing, he only pointed to the empty vials. Everyone else pieced the rest together.
Just then, many things happened in a very short amount of time. Lucas was yanked away from me, people were running around like madmen, and someone lifted me into the air. But even as I was carried away from the carnage recently committed, I felt my eyes closing just as Lucas had instructed against.
I wasn't necessarily sleepy but for some reason, my eyes felt so heavy. Like they were forcing themselves to shut without my permission. I recognized my father's voice somewhere far away, telling me to stay awake but I couldn't obey. Not when my body felt so warm and was swaying back and forth so peacefully. I felt my body sink into the arms of whoever was holding me, my limbs falling entirely slack.
Then the darkness took me prisoner.
********
I was awoken to the sound of yelling, infuriated and uncontrollable yelling. My brain seemed to pulse behind my closed eyelids, each throb sending wave after wave of pain to the rest of my body. I vaguely felt my fingers brushing my temple as I rose my hand to my forehead but it felt almost like I was moving through water, sluggish and difficult.
Another sound reached my ears, the sound of someone crying.
This caused my heart to quicken and I forced my eyes open to see what exactly was happening around me. Yelling and crying could only mean something terrible had happened.
Immediately I recognized the bed I was laying in, an infirmary bed from the basement in the Vasquez house. The sheets were a crisp white, so pure in contrast to my boldly colored clothes. The lights were blinding, causing my eyes to tear up as I tried to make out who was yelling and who was crying, they were from different people.
Eventually, the brightness of the light faded, my eyes finally adjusting.
I found Lucas standing in the middle of the room, his body tensed as if he were preparing for a fight. Rico stood just behind him, his body nearly identical to Lucas'. But neither of them were crying, so they must have been the ones yelling. I swung my gaze to the side and found all the girls huddled together, each of them holding onto a sobbing Sofía. Makeup was smeared down her face, her cheeks red and puffy. Manuel, Carlos, and Javier were across the room from me, their arms crossed and their faces creased in hatred. Esteban was off by himself, sitting a few beds down from me with his face buried in his hands.
What the hell was going on?
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I heard Lucas holler. My eyes roamed back over to where Lucas was shouting at someone. It took me a moment to recognize the man Lucas was shouting at.
It was Daniel. Sofía's fiancé.
"You don't understand, let me explain-" Daniel began, holding his hand out towards Lucas as though he were trying to calm a rabid animal. But even I knew in my utterly puzzled state that there would be no calming Lucas, once he was like this, a rampage was bound to follow.
"Tell me this isn't true, tell me this is just some sick joke." Lucas demanded, stalking closer to Daniel and grabbing the front of his shirt, "Tell me you didn't betray us like that!"
"It was never meant to go this far!" Daniel shouted right back, his face twisted in horror, "I never meant for you to get hurt Lucas and I never wanted to hurt Kimber-"
Lucas roared in fury and smacked a hand across Daniel's face, "Well you did hurt her you bastard. Look at her, look what you've done!"
Then all eyes landed on me and everyone realized for the first time that I was awake. Rico came to my side, helping me as I forced myself into a sitting position even though it made my head spin. I gripped Rico's arm tightly to steady myself before I asked, "What's going on?"
Sofía reduced herself to tears once more, clearly I wouldn't be getting any answers from her. So I looked to Lucas, his eyes already locked on me in relief. When no one spoke, Rico cleared his throat and nearly whispered, "Daniel just told us that he is ..."
"He's the snitch." Lucas cut in when Rico couldn't finish. My lungs took a quick intake of breath as my eyes widened.
What? Sweet Daniel, he was the snitch? No, that couldn't be right. He's been with the family longer than I have. He was getting married to Sofía for goodness sakes. He couldn't be the one behind all these attacks, the one who nearly got Lucas killed several times due to those unrelenting rumors.
I lifted a hand to my head as another wave of dizziness hit me hard, "I don't understand."
"I can explain, please Lucas just listen to me. Clint came to me a few months ago, he said that he knew who I was and who I was engaged to. He told me that if I didn't help him he would kill my family and then Sofía. So I agreed but I had no idea what he was planning, I swear. I didn't even know who he was at the time." Daniel rushed out quickly, his voice cracking every few seconds, "Clint told me all I had to do was keep tabs on you and tell him whenever you made a deal."
Lucas' countenance hardened even further, "So when I went on that deal with Fred..."
Daniel nodded, "I swear, I didn't know what he was going to do with the information. Once I found out he was pinning you as the snitch, I tried to break our deal. I told him I wasn't going to help him anymore but ... but ..."
"What?" Lucas hissed, his tone laced with venom, "What possibly could have justified your decision to continue helping that monster frame me?"
Daniel's face flushed and even though his demeanor remained strong, I saw his eyes glossing over, "I got a call from my brother the next day. Apparently my grandmother was in a car accident, even though her license was revoked years ago. Her body was almost too mangled for my parents to identify."
Lucas' eyes softened even though his grip on Daniel's shirt seemed to tighten, "I'm sorry."
Daniel shook his head, "Clint threatened to take out my parents next, then my brother, then Sofía. I couldn't let that happen Lucas, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I never meant for anyone to get hurt-"
"I got hurt! I got beaten because of you! Kimber almost died because of you!" Lucas shouted, his booming voice causing even my limbs to quake. Daniel trembled under the weight of Lucas' stare and voice. Sofía's cries became the only thing I could hear as Lucas took countless deep breaths to calm himself.
"I'm sorry." Daniel apologized yet again, falling to his knees in front of Lucas, "Please just give me a chance to fix this. I promise, I'll clear your name. I'll tell everyone that it was me, no one will blame you anymore. The attacks will stop-"
Lucas shoved Daniel away from him, burying his fingers into his own hair, "You can't fix this Daniel. I've already been labeled."
"No, I'll tell them-"
"They won't believe you!" Lucas shouted at him, baring teeth as though he actually were a wild animal, "They'll just think I put you up to it to clear my name. No matter what you do, I will always be known as a snitch. Do you understand that? You can't fix this!"
Sofía's sobs grew louder. She buried her face into Alejandra's shoulder while Marisol stood at her other side, gripping her hand tightly. Isadora, Andrea, and Julieta were crowded around Sofía as well, offering her comfort and strength in this dark time. Rico remained at my side, holding my shoulders to keep me up even though I felt like falling back down.
Lucas rose his fist, as though he were going to punch Daniel again. But in mid swing, Lucas dropped his arm, all strength draining from his body like someone had literally sucked it from his soul. Lucas backed away from Daniel, breathing hard, holding his chest.
"We took you in, accepted you as one of our own, and you repay us like this?" Lucas growled out, his eyes drooping. He had to lean on a bed to keep himself from falling but his enraged gaze only deepened, "You are no longer a part of this family. Collect your things and get out."
Daniel's face fell to dread, "Lucas, please, don't do this-"
"You chose this, Daniel." Lucas answered, nearly all fury vanishing from his voice. Lucas breathed deeply through his nose, closing his eyes for a few minutes. Then he pointed towards the door, "Get out. But don't you dare think about leaving town just yet, my father will deal with you when he returns."
"Lucas-"
"I said get out!" Lucas thundered, causing all of us to flinch.
Daniel looked around the room once more, begging for someone to help him. He even turned to me but I held no more power in this situation than he did. When he realized that no one would offer him salvation, he jumped to his feet and bolted from the room.
Lucas bent down towards the bed, holding his head in his hands. But they clawed at his skull as though he were trying to dig his brain out, "Take her upstairs, she needs to rest."
I almost thought Lucas was talking about me, at least until Marisol agreed with him then began pulling Sofía towards the stairs. I could hear her cries as she made her way up the stairs to the third floor where a door shut, cutting off a majority of her sobs. With her gone, the rest of us sat in the basement in silence, unsure of what to say or do.
"Primo, estás bien?" Carlos asked, making his way to Lucas' side and placing a hand on Lucas shoulder. Lucas said nothing, he didn't move or pull away from his cousin. He only stood there, hands braced on the bed for support, and glared at the white sheets as though they had personally offended him.
Eventually, Lucas lifted his head, his eyes closed tightly, and said, "Llama mi papi. He needs to know what has happened."
Carlos needed no further orders. He gestured for Manual and Javier to follow him as they started off towards the stairs. "Wait!" I called out just as they were about to leave. When they turned back around to face me, I smiled at them, "Thank you for ... well, you know, for ..."
"No need to thank us, chica." Carlos replied, returning my warm grin, "You are family now and we protect our own."
"Apparently, not all of us think that way." Lucas grumbled under his breath though we all heard it. Carlos offered me a sadder smile than before, along with Javier and Manuel. Then the three left, leaving me in a deafening silence with Rico at my side and Lucas standing before me.
Rico let out a long sigh, "He was only doing what he thought was right. He was trying to protect his family and Sofía-"
"He had another family to think of." Lucas replied bitterly, pushing away from the bed in anger, "He should have reported it to my father the moment Clint contacted him. We could have hid his family away, we could have protected them-"
"Yeah because we've done such a bang up job of protecting you?" Rico fired back. Lucas' blazing eyes met Rico's, their clashing ideals causing friction between them.
Lucas crossed his arms, "So you're siding with him, pendejo?"
"There's no need for name calling." Rico replied evenly, his tone calm and collected, "And I'm not siding with him but you seem to do this a lot, hermano. You refuse to accept the whole truth and only believe in what you want to believe in."
Actually, that was me. If anything, Lucas has always been the more understanding between the two of us. But now wasn't really the time for me to insert my own revelations.
"I have accepted the whole truth. Daniel betrayed us, he may have done it for the right reasons but he endangered a lot of lives in doing so." Lucas stated, his eyes flickering to me for the briefest of moments, "He got off easy from me but my father is an entirely different story. If you're so concerned for Daniel's safety, take it up with mi papi."
"Maybe I will." Rico told smoothly.
"Fine."
"Fine."
I rubbed my head again, "You two are being ridiculous." Both Lucas and Rico turned incredulous stares towards me, as if they were surprised I had spoken at all. When neither of them said anything, I decided it was time to insert some logic into their dispute, "I'm not saying that Daniel is innocent, because obviously he isn't. But he doesn't deserve to get killed because of what he did, he was only looking out for his family. We all would have done the same thing."
"Kimber, you almost died because of what he did." Lucas spoke slowly to me as if I were a child, incapable of comprehending his words, "You almost overdosed on whatever that man drugged you with. The doctors were working on you all night to cleanse your body."
"I'm alive though aren't I?"
"That's not the point." Lucas ground out.
I let my hands fall into my lap because I was too tired to hold them up, "Then what's the point Lucas? Because if I remember correctly, you killed a man because he called your family 'rotten'. You told me yourself you only took his life to protect your family. Isn't that exactly what Daniel is doing?"
"Because of what he did, you almost died. Do you get that? Do you fully understand the weight of this situation?" Lucas walked up to my side, the muscle in his jaw working as he stared at my stomach as though he could see the bruises through my shirt. When his eyes met mine again, I saw how lost they truly were, "What would I have done if we weren't able to save you this time?"
His words triggered my own reaction. I took in his own bruises, the new ones from being beaten by the scarred face man. I took in the bruise on his arm no doubt from yet another injection of serum. I took in the way his body seemed to be caving in on itself as he slowly wasted away from the inside out. Time and time again I had to watch him succumb to injuries that no man should ever have to face. Yet he still stood before me, worrying about my health instead of his own.
The real question was, what would I have done if we hadn't been able to save him this time? Because when it came to him, I never knew when my time with him would end.
Without thinking through my actions, I reached out and took his hands in mine. They were cold and clammy, boney. I rubbed my thumb over the skin on the back of his palm, trying to force warmth from my hands into his, "I can't promise that I'm going to be okay. You told me that once, remember? Obviously, I can't promise that I'll be okay because I honestly don't know. But I am my father's daughter, and I'm not going down without a fight."
Lucas was nodding through my words, his eyes dropping down to my grip on his hands, "But sometimes it's not up to us whether we see another day or not."
"Well if that's the case then there isn't anything me or you or the Lord himself could do about it. Sometimes, it's just someone's time to go." I tightened my hold on him, registering that my words held meaning for both my own life and his, "But for now, we're both still here and we're both still fighting."
For a long time he refused to meet my eyes but eventually he swung those beautiful gems up to meet my own. They were sad and defeated and in pain, but they were still shining just as brightly as ever. A crooked smile fell upon his face, "Yeah. For now."
Something stabbed at my heart, a pang of foreboding perhaps. But I chose to ignore it and decided to cling to this moment in time because I had no idea how many more I had left. Bad times were rolling our way and trying to outrun them would prove to be futile. The best solution I could think of was smiling through it and praying that the final outcome wasn't as terrible as all my nightmares promised it would be.
I guess 'for now' would have to do, for now.
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Things are getting intense to say the least, i think ;)
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