“Yeah.” She worked the lashes.

No question about it—this was going to happen. “What are you gonna do?”

“Sit… in my car.”

Romero glanced around the parking lot. “Which one’s your car?”

Cici pointed to the furthest end of the dark parking lot. Perfect.

“Mind if I join you? It’s about time for my break, too.”

“Sure.” Her smile stretched out even more.

Romero radioed in that he was taking a break. In less than two minutes, another security guy came out to cover for him. Never one to beat around the bush, Romero touched Cici’s dark hair as they walked to her car. With the roots showing, he could see it was obviously dyed. “You don’t like the blonde?”

“I change it all the time. I get bored.”

They reached her car. Cici stood against the driver’s door and stared at him. Aware of the time constraint, and not the least bit unsure of what she wanted, he leaned in and kissed her. His uncle’s words rang in his head. Stay away from her. All the motivation he needed. He smiled against her mouth.

As expected, she didn’t protest, instead she opened her lips, welcoming his tongue. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeper, pushing his body against her. Her hands pulled his shirt out of his pants with an urgency even he wasn’t feeling yet. This was even easier than he’d thought. She started to undo his belt. Instinct made him look up. A guy stalked toward them, his furious eyes bouncing from Cici to Romero.

“Cici, is that you? You f**king bitch!”

Cici froze. “Oh shit.”

Romero didn’t pull his body away from her. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Oh my God,” she whispered, “yes!”

Romero smirked, taking a step back. “It’s cool, you’ll be fine. What’s his name?”

“Freddy.”

“Get the f**k away from my girl,” the guy yelled as he got closer.

He wore a dirty mechanic’s uniform. Romero had been around enough drunks to know the guy had been drinking. He lifted his hands in the air and smiled. “You’re not supposed to be here, Fred.”

“Fuck you!” He pointed at Romero. “Cici, get your ass over here.”

Cici began to walk around Romero, but he put his hand on her shoulder, before she could get by. “She’s on duty.”

Fred charged at Romero. “I told you to get the f**k away from her.”

Romero grabbed his hand and spun him around, throwing him against the car. He held his arm behind his back. “You need to calm down, Fred.”

Fred squirmed but Romero held him tight. Romero frowned when he heard the voices and footsteps behind him. He was hoping this wouldn’t get back to his uncles. Fred stopped squirming. “You gonna be calm?”

The other security guys reached him. “You got things under control?”

“Yeah, we’re good. Right, Fred?”

Fred nodded, staring at Cici. Romero let go of him, and smiled at Cici, whose eyes still looked very frightened. In the next moment, he understood why. Fred backhanded her so hard she flew back more than three feet, hitting the fence behind her and fell to the ground, her purse spilling all its contents everywhere.

“You f**king cu—”

Before he could finish, Romero slammed his fist into Fred’s mouth, blood splattering all over. He got in a few more fists to Fred’s face, before being held back by the other security guards. More people spilled out of the bar and hurried toward them. Romero managed to free his arm and slammed another fist into Fred’s stomach. Someone caught his arm before he could hit him again. “That’s enough, Moe!”

Romero turned to face his uncle, feeling that familiar uncontrollable rage that had only gotten worse lately. “He hit her!”

His uncle turned to Cici, who was picking up her things from the ground. Fred looked up from where he’d doubled over after Romero landed one in his gut. Manny backhanded Fred one time. “You f**king ass**le!”

Cici walked around the car. “Get inside, sweetheart.” Manny grabbed Romero by the arm and began walking away. “Get him the f**k out of here guys. He comes back, have him arrested.”

“No, call the cops on his ass now!” Romero yelled.

Manny shook him. “Are you outta your mind? I call the cops now, they’ll take you both in.”

Romero yanked his arm away from his uncle, feeling an immense urge to go back and pound on Fred some more. Manny must’ve seen the look on his face. “Keep walking, boy. Keep that temper of yours under control, son, before it buries you. Don’t you even think about going back there.”

Cici’s sister picked her up at the end of her shift. She said she was going back to her sister’s and not the apartment she shared with Fred. Jesus, she lived with the guy. She looked too young to be in such a serious relationship. Although it was so serious, why the hell had she been moments from pulling Romero out of his pants? That whole night Romero tossed and turned.

She was a no-show the following two shifts. She called a week later to say she wasn’t coming back. Romero already knew it. Though she didn’t tell her uncle, he knew she’d gone back to Fred and he’d made her quit.

Weeks later, Romero still struggled with the fact that if he hadn’t made it his mission that night to bag her, she wouldn’t have gotten slapped. In hindsight, that slap probably wasn’t the first she’d gotten from Fred and definitely wouldn’t be the last. Those kinds of women couldn’t be helped. At least that’s what his grandmother said about his own mom. “Les gusta la mala vida.” They loved the bad life. Yep, Cici had to know the risk she was taking that night, and she’d taken it so eagerly.