11. Rita

11

RITA

B ang! Bang! Bang!

I jolted to a sitting position as images of Parker on the ground and Amorette hovering over him scrolled one after another through my head.

Pressing my hand against my chest, I sucked in a deep breath. My heart was beating so fast, I couldn't count them if I tried.

Esteban ripped open the door to his room. "What?" he barked.

The memories dissipated and I was left staring at Esteban in all his glory. I never appreciated him how I should have.

Standing there with a lazy tent in his boxers, he was a work of art. Delicious tan skin that stretched taut over corded muscles. A strong jaw and full lips that could smirk better than the devil himself.

Yet, it was always his charm that got to me.

Not for the first time, I thought, why couldn't it have been him?

He was so uncomplicated. The man lived and breathed the club like Papá had. He was sexy as hell, and made me feel like a queen.

I liked him, more than liked him, I'd simply been stuck on Matías for years. There was history there that was hard to erase.

Except, now when I looked at Matías, the fifteen minutes in the back room excluded, all I felt was resentment.

"Oh shit, I didn't realize Rita was in here." Due poked his head in and gave me a chin nod. Esteban straightened up and stepped into his line of sight.

"What do you want?" Esteban asked again, methodically enunciating each word. He was close with Due, more than he was to any of his brothers. It was odd how detached he sounded.

Due cleared his throat. He was also one of the officers, like Esteban. He wouldn’t let Esteban pull rank on him, but he seemed to allow him this moment of anger.

When creating the Dirty Dogs decades ago, Papá had wanted to keep it simple. He'd installed three Vice Presidents to help him with the heavy lifting. They had the same title but they were still ranked by responsibility. There were six officers to run projects and oversee businesses. They didn’t have autonomy to dish out punishments or make decisions, that was all Papá or on occasion the VPs, but they kept the gang running.

Then there was everyone else. All one-hundred-thirty-nine of them.

A great legacy.

"Leo's head is gone."

"So fucking what?" Esteban griped.

"So, we didn't take it. When I left the yard last night, Leo had been strung up as a traitor."

I tried to call up some empathy for the guy. He was young, probably Esteban's age or a couple years younger, but he was an idiot who put every single Dirty Dog’s life in jeopardy.

So there was no empathy. And when I'd walk by his body, I'd work damn hard not to spit on him for dishonoring Papá's day.

"Fuck," Esteban mumbled and tipped his head back.

"The VPs are calling the officers to do a search."

"Fuck them. Leo's head is the least of my concerns right now. I'll join you when I'm ready." He started to shut the door, but stopped when he caught Due staring hard at me. "And stop whatever thoughts you're thinking."

The door rattled when it slammed closed, and Esteban turned to face me.

He stood with his arms loosely by his sides, his chest rising and falling, his stomach contracting as my gaze moved down his body.

Now his half-erection was a full-on monster.

Desire curled in the pit of my stomach.

Turning my head, I swallowed hard.

"You can look, Rita. You can always take your fill any way you want it," he said softly.

I flicked my gaze back to him and the same dark desire filled his eyes. I bit my lip. Attraction was never the issue between us.

He'd just been a baby. Only a handful of years younger than me, but for a man in his early twenties, that might as well have been a decade.

"I don't want to hurt you." My face was aflame.

"You won't." He was so sure. So confident and cocky.

I wanted that. I wanted that kind of love, where I didn't have to worry about hurting him or him breaking my heart. I wanted a man who wanted to shout to the rooftops that I was his.

Crawling out of bed, I pretended like I didn't want to climb him like a tree. "I have to pee." I rushed past him to the bathroom and took care of business.

When I came out, he had pulled on a pair of worn, dark jeans. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. Even like this, his body just begged to be licked and sucked.

Lines crossed his forehead when he glanced up at me.

I stopped in the middle of the room.

What the fuck do I do now?

I should be sending a text message to Amorette to let her know I needed some days off to take care of Dirty Dog business. She'd understand.

The meeting today was going to be a headache. I could be getting ready for that.

But I imitated a mannequin.

"I need to go check out what happened to Leo's head." His words snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I need to get ready for the meeting in..." I bent down and grabbed my phone where it lay next to my dress. At a whopping five percent. "One hour."

He got up and walked close to me. He wasn't as tall as Matías but he still towered over me when I wasn't wearing my heels. Esteban brushed a lock of hair away from my face. His gaze was confident and far too calm for my mess of emotions. "What do you want to happen, Rita?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper. His dark chocolate eyes softened as he twisted his lips to one side.

"At the meeting. With the club. Between us. Take your pick. "

I winced. I didn't fucking know. Last night when I called for the meeting, I'd been incensed. Papá started this club. It was his legacy, and they were making decisions and trying to assure me I wasn't going to be pushed out.

It was mine too.

His brows tipped up in the center, revealing a quick flash of hurt before he smoothed his expression out.

"Esteban..." I started. What did I say?

"It's not a big deal. I knew when we fucked, it was meaningless for you."

"It wasn't meaningless," I said, tone hard. "It was one of the best nights of my life." It had been. A great escape. A slew of fantastic orgasms. Everything I’d needed in that moment.

"Then what's the issue? You're stuck on Matías?" He shifted just a tiny bit closer.

"No. Yes. Fuck!" I tossed my hair back, thinking. "Yes, I was hung up on him. But you–us. You're a joker, the fun time guy. You get girls to drop their panties just by smiling at them and I..."

"You what?" He raised a brow, mocking me.

A fresh wave of anger ignited in my stomach.

"You think you're one of them? Just dropping your panties because I smiled at you?" His words were cutting.

"No, it's just....You're young, Esteban." Matías’ maturity and strong silence had been like crack to me. So mysterious and addictive, thinking I was the one to get under his skin. Until I learned I was just another hopeless casualty of his whims.

I knew now, at least, I believed him, when he said it was because of his father. But then the question was wasn’t I worth fighting for?

Esteban’s hands snaked around my waist and he yanked me against him, letting me feel just how much he wanted me. "I'm twenty-four. Not a fucking baby. I know what I want."

My heart pounded in my ears as I placed my hands on his chest. I almost didn't want to ask, but I did anyway. "What do you want?"

"You, Rita. I've always wanted you." Instead of the hard and fast kiss Matías delivered last night, Esteban lowered his head slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

Then he brushed his lips against my own, teasing me.

That was all it was. A tease, before he pulled back. "I have loved you since the first time you strutted your ass in front of me in those high heels. You had so much attitude, so much confidence, and I wanted it all for myself. Only to watch you walk straight into Matías' arms." He worked his jaw.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be sorry. Give me a chance."

"A chance for what?" I just laid Papá to rest, I just fucked Matías, I had a club threatening to fall apart. How could he want me when I was so clearly fucked up?

"A chance for me to show you just how serious I am. That's it."

I closed my eyes. I did like Esteban. We had explosive chemistry. And the best way to get over someone was to get under someone else.

"I just don't want to cry anymore."

"I thought you didn't cry," he said, a smile tinting his words.

I snapped my eyes open. "I don't."

"Right." He released me and stepped back, his signature smirk sliding over his lips. "I'm going to figure out what's going on. You go get ready for the meeting. I'll see you in an hour and don't forget."

"Forget what?" I pressed a palm against my stomach, shocked at the sudden flood of butterflies.

"That I'm going to show you just how serious I am." Then he grabbed a Tee off the back of one of his chairs, pulled it on, then dropped a kiss on my forehead as he passed me. "Don't forget to lock this. I don't want any other fuckers stealing my air unit." He tapped the doorframe then he was gone.

It took a minute for my brain to start working. Then I picked up my clothes, holding them to my chest.

I could search his room. See what he was all about. I glanced around, noting the bare dresser, the now made bed. Everything was neat and clean. Nothing showing his personality. But that wasn't that strange.

He could save all his secrets for his house.

Deciding against snooping, I left, locking the door and heading straight for my room. I passed a few men, and lifted my chin, daring them to question why I was leaving Esteban's.

They nodded or looked away, not giving me any issues.

Inside my room, I dropped my clothes in the hamper and plugged my phone in with my spare charger I kept here. I didn't stay here as much as the others but I at least kept the essentials.

Before thinking too hard about it, I called Amorette.

It rang a total of four times.

"I heard you had an eventful night."

Was she trying to be smart? I didn't detect any anger, or sarcasm in her voice.

"I fucked Matías," I rushed out. Completely throwing my reason for calling out the window .

"Wow," she drew out, and then a door shut in the background. "That isn't that surprising, is it? You told me he was your one."

Red crossed my vision.

"That was before he cost me the last few days with Papá ." Fuck, this wasn't her fault. Taking a breath, I cleared the anger from my thoughts. "I wished I hadn't. It just happened. I was drinking and he caught me at a bad time."

"I can tell you, he looked a mess when I left for the office this morning. Swollen and bruised too."

As if on autopilot, I immediately felt bad for him.

No, fuck that. He was the one who caused everything that happened last night. I needed to remind myself that he left me twice as I shored up my wall, brick by fucking brick.

"That's his fault. Did Andre and Grey tell you what happened?"

"That he didn't want Esteban to touch you? Yes. I guess he never found out you had a one night stand with him?"

"Why would he? He had already tossed me away." I sat on my bed and rested my back against the headboard. "I stayed in Esteban's room last night."

"Okay..."

"He wants a chance. He said he's serious."

Silence. Complete dead air on the other end.

"What are you thinking?"

"That your love life is complicated. What do you want?"

I wanted a world where Matías wasn't a giant asshat and hadn't faked his death. "I want to never see the man again. As for Esteban," I sucked in a breath. "I think it's too soon for me to get wrapped up in a man, but I want to see what happens."

"You want to see if he can make you forget why you love Matías so much?" There was no judgment in her voice, but there was a note of something.

"You want me with Matías?"

She hesitated. "I just think Matías came back for a reason. But if you're set on this, I'll support you no matter what."

Thumbing the hem of Esteban's shirt, I thought about it. "I don't have time to figure out what I want. Not right now. But I do know it's not Matías." Pulling the shirt down, I stretched my legs out. "I was calling to tell you I need a few days away from school. I have some issues to take care of here."

"Anything we can help with?" She was instantly alert.

"No, just club business. I'll let you know when I'll be back."

"Okay, call me if you need anything."

We hung up, and set my phone down. Just that small conversation lightened the load on my chest. It would take time to come to terms with my decisions and how they fucked up my own life, but for now, I'd take every lift I could get.

After going through my routine, one minute before noon, I was walking down to the club hall.

Whenever there was club business, we always held the meetings here. For the same reason we had our other parties here. It was club only, unless you had an invite.

The club was already assembled and someone or someones had pulled out all the metal chairs. At the back of the room, a long table was set up on a temporary platform that was two feet off the floor. Just high enough for Papá and the leadership to sit where everyone could see them.

Their conversations died as I approached the table. Ricco, Manny, and Joel, the VPs were on one end. The Officers were at the other. All except Esteban. He stood behind Papá's chair with his arms crossed.

His expression was grim, yet his eyes darkened in a different way as he watched me walk toward him. Those butterflies started fluttering harder with every step. He was going to do something. I just didn't know what it was.

Stepping forward, he held out his hand when I was at the stairs. I took it and climbed the two steps up.

Then he yanked me into him as he threaded his hand through my hair at the back of my head as he kissed the shit out of me. I was so shocked I didn't do a damned thing. When he pulled back, he thumbed the corners of my mouth like he was fixing my lipstick.

Shaking myself out of the haze he'd placed me in, I turned toward the table. The guys were looking at me with a mixture of confusion, hope, and anger.

The anger was strange, but fuck ‘em. With the Dirty Dogs, I’d find out what got them hot and bothered in a matter of minutes.

Esteban pulled Papá's chair out, and tucked it underneath me as I sat down. The crowd held much the same expressions.

Ricco stood before I had a chance to greet everyone.

"I'm glad you're all here. You too, Rita. It's come to our attention that someone took Leo's head, and we know where it went." He glanced around. There weren't many looks of surprise.

"Damen delivered it to the new club this morning, hoping it would be enough of a deterrent for a war." Ricco pressed his meaty fists against the table. "Which is the exact type of behavior that got Leo killed."

What the fuck? I was supposed to be running this meeting. I opened my mouth, but Ricco kept talking .

"Which brings us to today's meeting. We need a vote. Who's going to be our next president."

"Ricco, this is my meeting," I said calmly.

He glanced at me. " Carino , this is a Dirty Dogs meeting. You're a Dirty Dog, but you're not part of the gang."

"Like fuck I’m not." I bent forward. "My father created this club. He built it up with his blood, sweat, and tears. He never hid that from me, or the business. I've run just as much of the club as you have."

Ricco stiffened. "You have your business with the Castillos’ girl now."

"They’re not the Castillos. Call them the Bastard Brothers if you don’t address them by name. And I can do both." Looking out over the crowd, I laced my hands on the table. "We do need to have a vote. And I'm throwing my name in too."

A bomb could have exploded underneath us and no one would have noticed.