tried to stop the shaking in my hands as I grabbed the few things I owned and threw them into a trash bag. My books were all lined up neatly in my backpack, my laptop the only missing thing. They’d stolen from me and I’d stolen for them.
I flopped down on the edge of my bed, staring at the half-filled trash bag and backpack. I was a fool. A tear slid down my cheek. Dammit. I wasn’t this person. I wasn’t the girl who cried at things. I kept my shoulders pushed back and met every challenge head on by myself.
But now Mateo had stepped in. He’d taken up for me. He didn’t have to do that, but he did.
I had so many questions. Questions I wasn’t sure I would get answers to, but I was determined to at least try.
“Luna?”
I shot up off the bed. “Coming.” I put my arm through the strap in my backpack and wound the top of the trash bag around my wrist and palm then walked out of the room that had kept me safe for the last couple of months. Had it really only been that long? How had things taken such a drastic turn in such a short amount of time?
Mateo was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me. “That everything?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He nodded, took the trash bag from me, then pulled the front door open, not saying another word as we walked down the stairs and to his SUV. We were halfway across the makeshift parking lot, nearly home free and away from the one place I’d dreaded coming back to every day, when someone shouted.
I spun around, nearly losing my balance thanks to the weight of the books in my bag.
“Mateo!” the woman shouted, running over to us. “Hey, don’t ignore me, you bastard!”
I reeled back at her words and turned to look at Mateo. He placed my trash bag of things into the back of the SUV, acting like he hadn’t heard her, then closed the door. “Luna,” he said, his tone calm. “Get in the car.”
“I—”
“Don’t you fuckin’ leave!” the woman shouted, running at him. I winced as she passed by me, taking in her dirty bare feet and greasy hair hanging in thin strands around her face.
“Luna,” he repeated, and at the sound of his voice, I sprung into action, darting to the SUV, but I wasn’t quick enough because she blocked it with her body.
“I’m not letting you leave,” she growled out, her gaze batting between me and Mateo.
“Move,” Mateo told the woman, dragging his hand across his jaw. “I don’t have time for your bullshit tonight.”
“My bullshit?” she screamed, slapping her hands against the door of the SUV. “You fuckin’ left without a word.”
“And?”
“And.” She licked her bottom lip, the dark circles under her eyes swallowing half of her face. “And I need money.”
Mateo laughed, the sound echoing in the open space. “Money?” He stepped toward her, and I watched like I was in a theatre consumed by the latest blockbuster hit. I couldn’t look away, even if I wanted to. “Figures that’s all you’d need.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her away from his car. “Luna, get in.”
I darted forward and practically dived in the car. But I still didn’t look away. She scraped her nails down his arm, fighting him to let go. “You’re not gonna get away with this!”
“Away with what?” he asked, his face impassive. He let her go and wiped his hand on his pants.
“You…” She pointed at him, grabbing her hair, and pulling it with her other hand. “You…” She screamed, so loud that I was sure she’d gain the attention of everyone in the apartments. She was losing her mind, and I had no idea who the hell she was. Was this something to do with the Mafia? I gasped. Maybe she wanted drugs from him. My stomach churned. Was he one of the people who fed people like my parents’ drugs?
Oh my God. I didn’t know who this man was and I was about to leave with him.
She paced in front of him, throwing her hands up as she tried to grasp at straws, then finally she paused in front of him, her lips spreading into a wide grin. “The kids.” His body snapped upright, and even I could tell from the back of him that those two words had affected him more than anything else she’d said. “They’re my kids.”
“No. They’re not. They’ve