Page 56 of Boss Me

“Cooper, it’s Friday night. We have two bachelorette parties and a gang of overprivileged college kids. And Ramón has the night off. Mateo will take care of you.”

I snorted. It wasn’t me I was worried about. It was Ben. I didn’t want Mateo anywhere near him. “He stays outside. Out of the way.”

“Of course. Ben, you’ll be all right?”

A rap came at the door, and I scooped up the phone and turned off the speakerphone on my way to answer it. “Sara’s here. He’ll be fine. But have someone bring his things to my place. In the morning is fine.”

“He’s staying with you?” A smile curled into his voice.

“He’s staying with me.”

“Gracias a Dios.”

“Fuck off.” I disconnected the call.

When I opened the door, Sara bustled in with her bag. She kissed my cheek on her way to the couch.

She squatted next to Ben. “Good evening. I’m Dr. Sara Castillo.”

“Ben Levy-Walters.” He held out his hand, and she shook it.

“I’m going to wash my hands, and then, if it’s okay with you, I’ll check your injuries while you tell me what happened.”

Ben nodded.

Instead of going straight to the bathroom to wash, Sara gripped me by the arm and led me to the sliding glass door to the deck. “Cooper, wait out here.”

“Wait, what?” I glanced back at Ben.

“I need him to feel safe.”

“But I—” I snapped open the slider and pulled her out with me. When the door closed, I said, “You don’t think I did this to him?”

“Intimate partner violence is a very real thing, Cooper.”

Didn’t I know it. My voice rose. “He was attacked. He came here for help. And he’s not my intimate partner. He is my employee. You don’t think I’d ever—”

“I want to listen to him. And you need to wait out here. With your dog.”

I looked down, and she was right. The dog sat at my feet. “Fine.” I flung myself into a deck chair. “Just—just take care of him. Okay?”

“Of course. He means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

I glanced through the glass. Ben looked small and fragile on the sofa. His cheek had swollen. The lies I’d told him earlier no longer mattered. “He does.”

“I’ll take excellent care of him.” She turned on her heel and walked back inside.

After she left, I couldn’t stay still. I paced around the pool, glaring at the moon’s shimmering reflection in the water. My own cousin thought I could’ve injured Ben. Preposterous. Though…hadn’t I tried to push him away for exactly that reason? Out of fear that I would hurt him?

I wouldn’t hurt him. Or would I? He’d come to me for protection. He wouldn’t do that if he thought I was a danger to him.

Of course, he didn’t know my father. No one thought Mick Fallon would hurt anyone, either.

“Psst. Lito.”

I whipped my head toward the gate, where my cousin Mateo pressed his face against the metal bars.

My muscles tensed. I forced my feet to carry me to the gate.

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