Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,87

woman.

“Pendejo!” the woman screamed, going apeshit on him, swatting him with both hands.

But she was no match for the guy who grabbed her hands and slammed her against the car. Alej had already hurried up his pace, but the moment he realized it was Cido—putting his hands on Isa—his insides ignited, and he was in a full sprint.

His fist landed squarely and with full force against Cido’s temple, making him nearly fall and let go of Isa’s hands. Alej charged at him, ready to tear him apart. “Hijo de tu puta madre!

He’d just landed another unforgiving blow to Cido’s face, turning his face into a blood-splattered mess when a car skidded to a stop just behind the car they’d been standing at. “Break it up!”

Alej’s hands were in the air the moment he looked up at the cops pointing guns at them. “He attacked her,” he said breathlessly, his heart still pummeling against his chest.

The cop closest to them nodded. “We saw,” he informed him. “Saw you run out to defend her. You . . .” He motioned to Cido cautiously with his gun. “Hands against the car. Now!”

Watching as they proceeded to take Cido into custody, Alej turned to Isa. “You okay?” She nodded. “What happened?”

“He must’ve followed me here. He confronted me when I got out of the car and was pissed when I told him I came to talk to you.”

One of the cops approached Alej before Isa’s explanation could even register. Cido sat in the car, handcuffed now, his face still a mess as both Alej and Isa were interviewed separately.

“Ha!” Both Alej and the cop interviewing him turned to the other cop who was interviewing Isa by the squad car when they heard the outburst. “This guy’s already facing all kinds of felony charges.” He leaned into the open driver-side door, turning to Cido in the back. “What, are you stupid?”

Alej turned to the back seat of the squad car where Cido’s bloody face stared daggers at him. Alej almost laughed too. Did that hijo de puta really think Alej could ever see him put his hands on Isa and it not end violently? If it hadn’t been for the gun pointed at him at the time, there was no doubt Alej would’ve beaten the motherfucker unconscious. Every muscle in his body still rippled with rage, from the visual alone of seeing him backhand her.

The cops finished up their interviews with Alej and Isa, finally hauled Cido’s ass away, and then had his car impounded. Not only had the idiot followed Isa out here, then attacked her, but he’d parked his car in a loading-only zone.

They were finally alone and free to talk because even his father excused himself after the entire commotion was wrapped up and Alej told him he’d close the restaurant down himself.

“Has that asshole ever done that before?” Alej asked, still not past or sure he’d ever get over seeing Cido putting his fucking hands on her.

“Never. I was as shocked by it as you were.”

Shocked didn’t even begin to describe what Alej was still feeling over the whole ordeal. But he kept that to himself. Searching her eyes, Alej breathed in chunks of air in an attempt to calm himself still. After making absolutely sure Isa wasn’t in any way injured, he managed to calm enough to give her a short tour of the restaurant. But he had something more urgent to discuss with her, now that he finally could.

They ended up in the kitchen, each leaned up against one of the counters facing each other, and Alej’s eyes couldn’t get enough of her. She was even more beautiful than in all the dreams he constantly had about her all these years.

“When you said Cido had told you everything, what did you mean?”

Alej glanced down at her still flat belly. “That you’re pregnant, but it doesn’t matter—”

“Dios mio!” Her hands were at her mouth as he jerked his head up to her big beautiful but suddenly welled up eyes. “Magdalena was right.”

“Who?”

She shook her head. “Is that what he told you?”

“Yeah, you’re not?”

“No! Cido’s never even kissed me.”

His stunned heart doubled over with the anger of knowing that fucker had been behind his heartache all these months. The rest of what she rattled off was all blurred together. That she’d been too shocked to clarify what Cido had said about them living together at the truck festival. That after months of working for them, not weeks the way that asshole