Perversion (Page 9)

“How?” Gabby asked.

Miss Andrews shrugged. “I’m not sure, but someone had to apply for it. Either Mona or one of her teachers on her behalf.”

Gabby’s face was still lined with worry.

“She’ll be okay,” I told her. “Maybe, using all of her brain power will help her be less grumpy all the time.”

Gabby offered me a small, sad smile. I squeezed her hand.

“I tell you what. When she gets all settled in, I’ll forward you her contact information,” Miss Andrews offered.

Gabby looked up from her lap. “Thank you.”

Miss Andrews nodded. “She’s going to a great place.” She turned the wheel, and we came to a stop at a closed gate connected to a six-foot concrete wall covered in spray paint, barbed wire spiraling along the top. Two men with yellow bandanas around their necks held large guns across their chests.

It looked like a fucking prison.

Mona was going to be fine, but I was growing less and less confident about our own situation by the second. When Gabby’s hand tightened around mine, I knew she was thinking the same thing.

A large, spray-painted symbol of a skull with another yellow bandana around the lower half of its face adorned the gate. Below it were words I recognized as Spanish but had no clue what they meant.

“Los Muertos,” I whispered.

Gabby looked at me. “The Dead.”

“Here we are,” Miss Andrews announced happily like she’d just pulled into the Disney World parking lot. One of the men came up to the window and looked at Gabby and me in the back seat. He waved us on and nodded to the other man who pushed open the gate.

Inside the gates was a dirt driveway surrounded by tall unkept grass. Five brick buildings, each three stories, sat in the middle. Bent grass and dirt paths lead from one to the other. Each building was just like the gate, covered in spray paint and graffiti with different variations of the same skull symbol and the words Los Muertos.

“What the hell is this place?” I asked in a scared little whisper.

Miss Andrews parked in front of the middle building. She opened my door, and Gabby and I shuffled out with our backpacks in tow.

“It’s your new home,” she said brightly. “Smile girls.”

A monster of a man walked out of the building flanked by two others at his sides.

“Marco,” Miss Andrews greeted.

“Olivia,” he replied, taking the toothpick from his mouth to plant a kiss on her lips. Gabby and I hovered close to the car.

Marco towered above Miss Andrews. He had a dark goatee and deep brown eyes. He was shirtless, elaborate guns tattooed on each side of his lower torso. He pulled up the waistband of his baggy khaki pants while he and Olivia talked like they were old friends.

She played with the heavy gold chain around his neck and giggled, whispering something to him we couldn’t hear. She looked back at us and then to Marco. She ran her hand down his shirtless body before turning back to the car.

“Tell your brother his debt has been taken care of,” Marco said. “And wait.” He raised his chin to the man on his right who tossed a thick envelope to Miss Andrews. “For your troubles.”

She looked inside and smiled. “Gracias, to you as well,” she said with a nod. She climbed into the car, and Gabby and I stepped away so we aren’t run over. She backed out through the gates without so much as a goodbye or glance in the rearview mirror.

“Bienvenida, sis,” Marco said, with a smile. He moved the toothpick in his mouth from one side to the other. He gave Gabby a one-armed hug while she looked up at him with a mix of dread and hope in her matching deep brown eyes. “Good to have you home.”

“Home?” she asked, looking around.

“Yeah, home. You may not remember this place, but this is where you were born, hermanita.”

“What is this place?” I asked.

Marco’s lifted his gaze from Gabby to me. His smile widened. Little lines formed around the outside of his eyes, crushing the small black heart tattoo next to his right eye.

“And bienvenida to you, too, blanquita.”

He looked around at the dilapidated buildings with pride, as if they were made of marble instead of crumbling brick.

“This is the Los Muertos compound.” He raised his hands to the two men behind him. “These are two of my soldiers, Flip, and Mal. I run this place, these people, and this town. I’m their king, and since you two are family, that makes you princesses of Los Muertos.”

Gabby’s shoulders raised as the worry lifted away.

“Why am I here?” I couldn’t help myself from asking.

Marco laughed and addressed his men. “No beating around the bush for this one.”

He took the toothpick from his mouth and pointed it at me. He looked me over from head to toe, inspecting me the way a cattle rancher inspects his livestock. A shiver ran up my spine.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head. Marco’s here now. There will be time for all that other shit later.”

He winked and wrapped one arm around my shoulders and one arm around Gabby’s. I glanced behind his back to Gabby, hoping to mouth to her ‘what’s going on’ but she stared up at her brother with a small grin growing on her lips as Marco guided us down one of the worn paths.

“Would have come to get you sooner, Gabriella, but all that paperwork takes a long fucking time. Lots of greedy hands to grease in that courthouse, but your big bro got that shit done, and you’re here now.”

Another man appeared, coming out of the side door of what looked like a garage with multiple bays. My eyes locked on the two knives tattooed across the front of his throat. He walked up to Marco and pulled him away from us, whispering something in his ear. Marco nodded and clapped his hands together.

“Sorry, chicas. I got something I gotta take care of, right quick. Leo will show you to where to go. I’ll be up when I’m done to give you the low down.” He walked backward toward a tall building and held his arms out wide. “Bienvenidas a Los Muertos, hermanitas!”

He disappeared into a set of double doors, flanked by two more men cradling large military style guns over their chests.

A tall, lanky girl wearing next to nothing appeared out of nowhere, out of breath, dark circles under her eyes. At first glance, she seemed much older than Gabby and me, but after mentally stripping her of heavy makeup and tight clothes, I realized she was closer to our age. Maybe, two years older than us, tops.

“Leo, show them up. That’s ALL,” Mal said, stressing the word all. “¿Me estás entendiendo?” He tapped his index finger against his temple.

I didn’t know a ton of Spanish, but I didn’t need a translation to understand what he’s saying.

Or warning.

Leo nodded. “Follow me,” she said, leading the way down the path. Gabby and I followed, the man with the guns on a few steps behind us.

Although the place appeared abandoned at first glance, it wasn’t anywhere near empty. Onlookers peered down curiously at the new arrivals from balconies, doorways, and through the bars covering the windows.

Leo took us to a building in the back of the complex, up three flights of stairs to the top floor. She unlocked one of the apartment doors with a key from her bra and ushered us inside. It wasn’t until the door shut that she spoke.

“Just some advice, don’t ever talk outside. Someone is always listening,” she whispered.