Perversion (Perversion Trilogy #1)(13)

“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.

She glanced around the room then jogged over to the broken living room window and closed the sheer curtains. She did the same for the little window above the kitchen sink.

It smelled like mildew in the tiny apartment, and everything was coated in a thick layer of dust.

“Am I the only one wondering what the hell is going on right now?” I asked, setting my backpack down on the floor.

Leo didn’t answer. She was already down the hall, flitting from room to room, shutting curtains and closing doors.

“Gabby?” I asked, since Leo didn’t seem to be great with the question thing at this point.

“I’m as clueless as you are,” Gabby answered, spinning around in a circle, taking in our new surroundings.

“Are you going to tell us WHY it’s not safe?” I asked Leo.

“Because it’s just not,” she replied, emerging from the hallway. “This is your apartment. The bedroom is in the back. Bathroom in the hallway. The refrigerator doesn’t work and neither does the stove. Make sure you flush the toilet twice because, trust me, the first one won’t do the job.”

“What aren’t you telling us?” Gabby asked, dropping her bag from one shoulder.

She sighed. “Unfortunately, you’ll find out soon enough.”

The pit in my stomach grew much larger at those words, and I knew she saw the terror written all over my face.