Page 29 of My Darling Mayhem

"Why would you ask me that?"

He shrugged, glancing over once, and I saw a small, cruel smile curve his lips. "Because I have a hunch about you, and I'm curious if I'm right."

"What hunch?" My heart slammed into my chest.

I'd created my entire persona so that I'd blend in. I'd picked a name that presented my new life, this new role I had to play where I embraced change, but I was easily overlooked. People ignored me, forgot me, passed by me without a second glance.

Why was this man suddenly here, lifting the lid on my life and using a magnifying glass to inspect it all?

His blue eyes found mine again as we slowed.

"That tattoo on your arm…"

With a slight laugh and shrug, I sipped my coffee. "It's just a black heart; it doesn't mean anything."

Archer's eyes found me again before he turned his steering wheel.

"The point of this game is that we're honest with each other…as a way to get to know one another. Try again. You're nervous, which means I'm hitting close to home."

I could push him again, but something relaxed me when I saw all of his tattoos. There were things I wanted to know about him, too; maybe I could use this to my advantage.

With another quick sip of my coffee, I considered how much to reveal.

"I assume you know which gang this symbol is tied to?"

Archer nodded slowly with a quick flick of his blue eyes.

"El Peligro. Everyone on the East Coast knows that tattoo."

Blinking, I pushed past the way the sound of my family's legacy washed over me. It felt like someone had found an old photograph and started sharing all the sordid secrets about it instead of asking about it.

"Well, you asked why I have it. I was a teenager caught up in the wrong crowd. I wanted to be a part of something, so when I was eighteen, I got the ink. I thought this guy would stay with me, but he didn't. End of story."

"Was it Cruz's dad?" Archer's curious gaze snared me.

I shook my head. "No. Matt, that's Cruz's dad… he's in prison."

Archer was looking at the road again, but his jaw tensed as if something I said bothered him.

"Were you guys married?"

What?

"No…we weren't even together for long. It was quick, mostly physical, and then developed into something deeper from there. Then, he shot someone in broad daylight and went to prison for manslaughter. When I reached out about Cruz, he never replied. It's been five years, haven't heard from him since."

The lie about my connection to El Peligro was supposed to slip from my tongue easily enough; instead, he'd asked other questions now mixed in truth. I felt the odd need to go back and correct what I'd said so he knew what was real and what wasn't. There was another part of me that wanted to tell him the truth of why I'd gotten this tattoo. My father told me I needed to show my loyalty to the family with the ink. I had only been thirteen when he'd had me sit in that chair and have someone permanently brand my skin with an emblem that belonged to his legacy. Not mine.

"Your last name…"

"Vasquez is a common last name." I cut him off while working around the knot in my throat.

Did he know my father or worse…my brother?

We were approaching the model home where my office was located. I grabbed my laptop bag and shifted closer to the door, ready to bail, when Archer leaned over the console and covered the seatbelt buckle with his hand.

"You never answered me. Is Wren your real name?"

No.

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