Say You Love Me Page 4

  “Hey,” he called. “Could I get some help? I dropped the key.”

  Irma walked over to Esteban and splashed holy water on his chest, face, and groin while reciting the Hail Mary in Spanish.

  “What the hell?” Esteban winced.

  Cesar pushed past us, swearing. “What the fuck, Esteban?”

  His brother flashed a sheepish grin. “Sorry, bro. We were gonna leave earlier, but things got a little wild.”

  I slapped my forehead, repressing a curse. A little wild? Was he fucking kidding? I didn’t know why, out of all of Cesar’s brothers, I had assumed Esteban to be the good boy. Guess his baby face and sweet manner had me fooled. One thing I couldn’t help but notice was he was built like the other Cruz men, with a solid chest and nice muscles. I didn’t blame Ariana for falling for him, but couldn’t she have played out her sexual fantasies at her place?

  I looked around for Santiago, fearing Ariana’s fantasy had included more than just one brother. I crossed my fingers, praying he’d already gone home.

  “Hey! Why’s Uncle Esteban stuck to the bed? Is he being arrested?”

  I gasped and spun around, gaping at my nephew, who’d snuck up behind me. “Jake!” I jutted a finger in the opposite direction. “Go back inside the house.”

  He kicked the gravel beneath his feet. “But—”

  “Jake, go!” I hollered as heat flushed my skin, instantly regretting the way he winced at the tone in my voice.

  Jake shoved his hands in his pockets and skulked back to the main house, the dogs dodging his heels. Holy crap. How was I going to explain this to him later? Because I knew he’d be asking me questions. Damn Ariana and Cesar’s brothers for putting me in this situation.

  I spun back around to see Esteban rubbing a red wrist while Cesar pocketed the key and kicked a leather riding crop under the bed.

  Angus strode forward. “This man is your brother?”

  Cesar nodded. “Unfortunately.”

  I didn’t like the way Angus raised his fists, like he was preparing to strike. “What is going on here?” he bellowed, his gaze sweeping the room, settling on the four wine bottles and three empty glasses on the coffee table.

  Three glasses? Crap. Where was Santiago?

  Cesar scratched the back of his neck. “I-I don’t know.” He threw a sheet at Estaban. “Cover yourself.”

  Esteban wrapped it around his chest like a toga.

  “Like hell you don’t know!” Angus punched the swing so hard, plaster fell from the ceiling. “This was some sort of orgy!”

  Angus faced me with a bright red face and steam practically shooting out of his ears. “Savannah, what have you gotten yourself into?”

  “I-I....” I should have ratted out his daughter, but I wasn’t that kind of friend, no matter how pissed I was at Ariana for this.

  “She had nothing to do with this,” Cesar said in a voice so calm and collected, I feared he, too, had a raging inferno simmering on the inside. He shot his brother another glare before unhitching the swing from the hook someone had drilled into the ceiling and tossing it to the floor.

  I crossed my arms, trying to sound self-assured. “Neither did Cesar.”

  Angus looked accusingly at me. “Then who?”

  “What’s going on?” As if on cue, Cesar’s middle brother, Santiago, walked in, carrying three cups of steaming coffee and a brown paper bag with grease stains on the bottom, which I assumed to be breakfast tacos. He casually set the food on the counter, unaware of the shit storm he’d walked into. “Where’s Ariana?”

  If it was at all possible, Angus turned even redder. “Ariana! What has our daughter got to do with this?”

  Santiago’s eyes widened. He looked at his younger brother, then back at Angus. “Uhhh.”

  Cesar fell onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands. “Christ!”

  Angus stormed over to Esteban, jerking him off the bed, bearing down on him like an angry Dadzilla. “Where is she?”

  “She must have left.” Esteban clutched his sheet, trying to pull away, but he was no match for Angus’s brute strength.

  Angus released Esteban with a curse, then punched him so hard in the face, blood splattered the wall. Esteban fell back on the bed in a motionless heap. Guess the holy water Irma had thrown on him hadn’t done much good.

  Santiago held up his hands, backing up as Angus charged him next. “Hey, wait a minute.”

  Angus didn’t wait. He knocked out Santiago next. Cesar’s brother slumped down the wall, landing on his ass and covering his bloody nose with a groan.

  I leaned against the doorframe for support, my legs shaking so badly, I could barely stand. Hell hath no fury like a father’s rage.

  Time slowed to a standstill as Sara’s knees buckled. Cesar caught her before she hit the floor.

  “Give her to me!” Angus bellowed, taking Sara from him and hoisting her in his arms like she was a sack of grain. “We’re getting the hell out of here.”

  My heart seized when he marched past me without a second glance. He must have thought I’d corrupted his sweet daughter. If he only knew.

  * * *

  I left Cesar to tend to his brothers, trailing after Angus as he carried Sara to the truck.

  “You need to get rid of that boy, Savannah.” Angus grunted, hoisting Sara into her seat. “That family is no good.”

  “Angus,” I pleaded. “Cesar isn’t like them, I swear.”

  Sara’s head lolled to one side. “Oh, Ariana,” she cried. “My baby girl.”

  My heart just about split in two. I always knew one day they’d find out about their daughter, but I had no idea they’d take it so badly.

  “No good,” Angus mumbled, adjusting Sara’s seatbelt. “No damn good.” He shut the door and turned to me, the lines around his eyes deeper than I’d ever seen them. “It isn’t like you to get mixed up with that kind of people.”

  I did my best to hold back tears at the look of disappointment in his eyes. Angus and Sara were ashamed of me over a misunderstanding. I wanted to tell them their daughter was that kind of people, but I didn’t want to risk upsetting them any further.

  I grabbed his forearm with some urgency. I had to make him understand. “Angus, wait, please.”

  He shook me off as if he’d been scalded, then opened the back door. “You coming, Irma?”

  Irma jutted her hands on her hips, widening her stance. “No. The Lord has a plan for me. I’m needed here.”

  I wanted to scream, “No! You can’t stay here, crazy lady!” Instead, I tried the diplomatic approach.

  “Hold on a minute.” I held out my hands. “I don’t think you should—”

  Angus loudly cleared his throat, shooting me a look that could have melted a polar icecap.

  I didn’t know why I shut my mouth. Maybe because even though Angus had never taken his anger out on me before, I was afraid of pissing him off even more. Or maybe it was because, after the orgy incident, I couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing him and Sara yet again. I kept thinking back to all the times during my childhood Angus and Sara risked their jobs to protect me, and that made me feel obligated to listen to him now.

  Angus turned to Irma with a frown. “I don’t think you brought enough holy water to fix this. If you change your mind, call me and I’ll come get you.”

  And what if I changed my mind? Although I was beginning to see what I thought didn’t matter. My heart dropped to my stomach as they drove away. How had this happened? How had I let this happen? I was an adult, capable of making my own decisions, yet I’d been bullied into an uncomfortable situation because of other people’s good intentions.

  As I brushed past Irma and her perpetual scowl, I couldn’t help but wonder, were Angus and Sara really trying to help, or did they simply not trust me?

  Chapter Three

  Irma didn’t follow me back to the house. She said something about cleaning up the guesthouse and went around back. I cringed at the thought of her finding used condoms in t
he bed or on the floor. Oh, well, the woman had to have known what she was getting into when she decided to stay. What I couldn’t understand was why. Did she honestly think she was going to fix us? Because there was nothing to fix. God help her if she even tried.

  I walked inside to find Cesar leaning against the island in the kitchen, glaring at Esteban and Santiago, who were sitting at the breakfast table. Esteban held an icepack to his jaw, and Santiago held one against his nose. They looked like they’d been dragged through hell and back. Their clothes were wrinkled and stained, their eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and their thick, black hair looked like it had been caught in a wind tunnel. Esteban’s cheeks were covered in red blotches, and Santiago’s unshaven face looked more dirty than sexy. Basically, they looked like something Nacho had dragged in from outside.

  Jake wasn’t there. He’d probably run to his bedroom after I yelled at him. I needed to apologize as soon as I figured out a way to explain what he’d seen. I frowned at the plate he’d left on the table. The sandwich had one bite taken out of it, and the vegetables hadn’t been touched. The cookies were missing, though. Go figure.

  “Are you guys okay?” I asked Cesar’s brothers, pouring myself a glass of lemonade and sitting across from them.

  “They’ll be fine,” Cesar grumbled.

  “Whaddaya mean, fine?” Esteban sounded like he had a mouthful of marbles. “He broke my toof.” He removed the icepack, revealing a busted, swollen lip and hitched up his lip. Sure enough, his front tooth was chipped.

  Too bad I didn’t have any pity for him.

  Cesar snickered. “You’re lucky he didn’t bust more.” Cesar pulled up a chair next to me, rubbing his thighs against mine. He grabbed both my hands, looking deeply into my eyes. “Did your company leave?”

  I nodded, feeling a surge of emotion as I remembered the look of disappointment in Angus’s eyes. When I bit my knuckles to keep from crying, Cesar pulled me into his lap, holding me tight.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face against his shirt, unable to contain my tears a moment longer. Ever since the day my mom had been killed in a car accident, when I was a small child, Angus and Sara had been my guardian angels. Now they thought my boyfriend was no good, which meant they probably thought I was no good, too. That thought made my throat tighten.

  Hopefully Ariana would come clean and tell them the “orgy” was all her idea. I wasn’t holding my breath, though. Ariana had hidden her behavior from her parents ever since her wild freshman year of college. Even though it was wrong, she’d probably rather put the blame on Cesar’s brothers than risk disappointing her parents.

  That thought made me cry harder.

  “Shh, baby. It will be okay,” Cesar whispered in my ear, stroking my back.

  “No, no it won’t.” I leaned back, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “Angus thinks you’re like your brothers. He said you’re no good.”

  “I’m not no good!” Esteban whined. “I was just following Ariana’s orders.”

  I did my best to ignore his protests, fighting the urge to slap him and his brother for embarrassing me in front of my friends.

  “Give them time to calm down.” Cesar dabbed my nose with a napkin. “They’ll see things more clearly.”

  I took the napkin from him, blowing loudly and not caring if I sounded like a dying cow. “I doubt it.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” Santiago asked, setting his icepack on the counter.

  Seeing the dried blood beneath his nose gave me a small sense of satisfaction. I glared at him. “You guys have done enough.”

  Cesar shifted me on his lap, turning toward them. “They’ll go clean up the mess.”

  I folded the napkin, wiping my nose again. “Irma is cleaning it.”

  “Irma?” Cesar jerked back, eyes widening. “She stayed?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged as an uncomfortable ache settled in my gut. “I couldn’t argue with her or Angus.”

  “Fuck,” Cesar spat, coursing a hand through his hair before jutting an accusatory finger at his brothers. “This is all your fault.”

  Esteban looked down at the table, pouting, reminding me of Jake after I caught him sneaking candy.

  Santiago had the nerve to laugh. “Sorry.”

  He didn’t sound sorry.

  I slammed a fist on the table, repressing a grin when Santiago flinched. “Can you guys please explain to me why you had sex with my best friend in my guesthouse?”

  Santiago held out both hands. “Hey, she made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”

  “Yes, but did you have to have a threesome here?” leaned forward. “Why couldn’t you have gone to Ariana’s apartment?”

  Santiago and Esteban shared sheepish grins.

  “Those were her terms,” Esteban answered, his cheeks flushing bright pink.

  My jaw dropped. “Her terms?” Oh, God. Do I really want to know?

  Santiago held up three fingers, counting down with a totally straight face, as if he was reciting a grocery list. “Only one night, someplace neutral, and we had to be bound.”

  Cesar’s mouth practically hit the floor. “Bound?”

  Santiago flashed a devilish grin and rubbed a deep red welt on his wrist. “Handcuffed all night. She’s a dominant.”

  I scooted off Cesar’s lap, grabbed Jake’s plate, and backed away from the table, needing to put as much distance between myself and the Cruz brothers as possible. “I didn’t need to know that.”

  What the fuck, Ariana? Sometimes I felt I hardly knew my best friend. What if Jake had walked in on them?

  “What exactly did you do with the swing?”

  I glared at my boyfriend, who was staring at his brothers with something akin to awe. Why had he asked that, and why did he look so damn eager to hear their answer?

  Santiago’s grin nearly swallowed his face. He flexed his tattooed, muscular arms behind his head. “Let’s just say I’ve never had a more fun ride in all my life.”

  Ewww. Okay. Could I go bleach my mind now?

  I turned on my heel and marched out of the room. I’d heard all I needed to hear. Ariana had orchestrated this whole event, using my guesthouse to fulfil her sordid fantasy without so much as asking, or at the very least, warning me. His brothers could play the innocent bystanders all they wanted. She might have fired the gun, but they’d provided the ammo, and from the sounds of it, they sure as hell had enjoyed themselves.

  I wouldn’t have been so upset with them if Ariana’s parents hadn’t decided to blame Cesar and me for all of it. I wasn’t just angry, I was fuming. If I didn’t suspect Angus and Sara were scolding their daughter right then, I would’ve driven to her place and yelled at her myself.

  In the meantime, I had a lot of explaining to do to my nephew, and I still had no idea what in hell to say to him. Was I supposed to tell him what Uncle Esteban was doing chained to the bed, or should I make up a lie? Though it was wrong, lying seemed so much easier and a whole lot less embarrassing. Ugh. Why did my life have to be so complicated?

  * * *

  I knocked on Jake’s door, not surprised when he didn’t answer. I gently pried it open, popping my head inside. “Jake, are you here?”

  “Yeah, Auntie,” came his barely audible whisper.

  He was sitting on the window seat, with Macy beside him and Nacho’s head in his lap. His features were screwed up so tight, I could tell he’d been holding back tears.

  I set his plate on the dresser and walked over to him, kneeling beside Nacho.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you.” I pushed Nacho’s snout away as he tried to lick my face.

  Jake shrugged and looked out the window. “It’s okay.”

  It wasn’t okay. Jake was hurt, but he was putting on a tough guy façade, probably because he was used to bottling up his feelings with his verbally abusive mother. How could I have yelled at him? I was a horrible person.

  “No, it’s not.” I clasped his hands. “Please look at me, Jake.” />
  He turned to me with luminous eyes that shattered my already cracked heart. “Then why did you do it?” He sniffled, then looked away again.

  I let go of his hands, pushed Nacho’s hot muzzle out of my face again, and got a palm full of dog lick.

  I made a face, wiping my hand on my jeans. “Because I was upset with Uncle Esteban.”

  Jake pulled Macy into his lap, clutching the white ball of fluff to his chest. “Because he was getting arrested?”

  Oh, God. The handcuffs.

  I cringed. How was I supposed to explain this? I needed time to either formulate a good lie or come to terms with how to tell Jake the truth. “Not exactly.” I wrung my hands together, chewing on my lower lip. “Listen, as soon as Cesar’s brothers leave, we’ll talk about what happened, okay?”

  Nacho sidled up to me, breathing hot and heavy against my cheek, a long trail of drool hanging from his lip. His breath smelled like stale dog ass.

  Jake smiled at the dog. “Okay.”

  Nacho barked, then whimpered, trotting toward Jake’s dresser and back again. Of course. He wanted the sandwich.

  Macy jumped off Jake’s lap and ran up to Nacho, scratching at the dresser and sniffing the air.

  “Can I go play with the dogs?” Jake asked.

  “Sure.” I stood, ruffling his dark mop of hair. “After you eat your sandwich.”

  Jake frowned. “Okay.” He nodded at the dogs. “Can I give them my crust?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Sure.” I had the sneaky suspicion they’d get more than just the crusts, but slacker disciplinarian that I was, I left Jake alone with the dogs. I still couldn’t shake the guilt for having yelled at him. Gah! What was wrong with me? The kid had lost his mother only last month. Why did I have to yell at him?

  As I closed the door behind me, a thought occurred to me. I’d lost my temper with Jake, yelling at him for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought of my childhood, and how my dad used to take his anger with my dead mother out on me, blaming me for the mistake of being born. What had Jake’s crime been, other than finding Uncle Esteban in a compromised position and asking relevant questions?