The Viper (Untamed Hearts #1)(44)

“He walled me a woman,” Grayson was shouting from the living room. “He’s wangerous!”

“I did call him a woman,” Marcos assured the sheriff.

“Boy—”

“I’m not your boy,” Marcos growled when the sheriff forced him to his feet. “I just happen to be the only motherf*cker within five miles who doesn’t have a white ass.”

“Hey,” someone shouted from the living room.

Marcos looked over when the sheriff led him out and saw a very large black cop talking to Katie. The cop was glaring at Marcos as if he took personal offense, but all Marcos could do was sigh and shake his head.

He really did have the shittiest luck.

Katie jumped to her feet. “You can’t arrest him!”

“Katie, let me do my job,” the sheriff said in a stern voice.

“Marcos is staying with me.”

The sheriff was still leading him out toward the front door, but Katie followed after them. “Grayson did break in. This is my house. I own it. He doesn’t have a key. Marcos probably didn’t recognize him. I was just telling Adam that it’s all a big misunderstanding.”

The sheriff stopped walking. His hold on Marcos’s shoulder forced him to stop too.

“Now you believe it, when she says something.” Marcos snorted. “So tell me, Sheriff, is it just Latinos you have an issue with?”

“You can’t arrest him.” Katie’s voice was still quivering in panic. She actually grabbed Marcos’s arm as if that would somehow save him. “You can’t. He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t recognize Grayson. I know he didn’t.”

“Are you staying here, Rivera?”

“Sí.” Marcos answered in Spanish on purpose.

“Did you recognize him when you attacked him?”

“No, I don’t hit girls.”

“Your mouth is ’bout to get you in a whole heap of trouble.”

“Vete pa’l carajo.”

“Please un-handcuff him,” Katie pleaded. “Doesn’t he have a right to defend my property if he’s staying here?”

“Grayson said the attacker came at him from outside.”

“Is taking a walk illegal in Garnet?” Marcos asked.

Katie still sounded frantic as she said, “Grayson must’ve used the key under the mat and—”

“You have a key to your house under the mat?” Marcos looked at her like she was crazy. “Chica, he could’ve done anything to you. Why would you do something like that?”

“He wouldn’t do anything violent.”

“Why’d he break in at one in the morning, then?”

“Okay.” The sheriff sighed behind them. “I take it y’all are involved.”

“Yeah.” Marcos turned his head to glare at the sheriff. “Someone in this town likes Latinos.”

“Look, boy—”

“I told you I’m not your boy.”

“Jesus, let me just put you in the car until I can sort this out.”

“What?” Katie shouted. “No! You can’t put him in back there like a criminal.”

“Let the ambulance get Grayson out of here first.” The sheriff forced Marcos to step around her. “Having the two of them in the same room is obviously a mistake.”

“Are you gonna arrest her ex?” Marcos asked. “What if I wasn’t here? Isn’t it your job to protect people like Katie?”

“If he broke in, you bet your ass I’m gonna arrest him. Did he have permission to enter your house, Katie?”

“No, he did not,” Katie answered without hesitating.

Sure enough, the sheriff talked to his deputy on his mic, and Marcos understood enough about what he was saying to know Grayson was about to be in a whole world of shit.

That made Marcos feel almost upbeat, and he let the sheriff lead him to his sheriff SUV without complaint. He sat there, obediently, with his hands cuffed behind his back. “Can you make sure I get a good view of you hauling him off to jail?”

“He’s going to the hospital first. You broke his nose, Rivera.”

“So?” Marcos snorted as he looked up at the sheriff, who was co-owner of the Cellar and a former UFC fighter. “You’ve had your nose broken, I’m sure. Did you cry like that?”

The barest hint of a smile tugged at the sheriff’s lips. “No.”

“Look, I didn’t know it was him. I honestly didn’t. I wouldn’t have used as much force if I did,” Marcos assured him. “I saw someone breaking in. I thought he was trying to hurt Katie. I just acted.”

“Where were you when you saw him breaking in?”

“I took a walk to make a phone call because I didn’t want to wake up Katie. I came back and saw a man opening the door. I thought someone was trying to hurt her, so I stopped him before he could. I didn’t even hit him a second time.”

Wyatt stepped back and looked from Katie, who hovered nervously near the car, to Marcos, who sat in the backseat. “Trouble seems to follow you two.”

Katie’s huffed. “I realize that.”

The sheriff left Marcos in the car and walked inside. When he came back, he took the time to take a real statement from them, but Marcos noticed he didn’t take the cuffs off him.