Page 19 of Rage & Paradise
There’s no getting around this. I’m not even going to try to play this game with him tonight.
“Her father was married to my mother for a few years.” The words come out tight, and I watch Vado’s eyes open wider only slightly. It’s not often people besides his woman can get a reaction out of him.
“You just watched your sister strip.”
I clench my fists. “She’s not my fucking sister. I lived with her for three years, and when I left there was no love lost. She’s barely an acquaintance. I don’t consider her my?—”
Vado cuts me off. “Step-sister.”
He’s not going to let this go.
“Que lo que.” I fling my hand in the air as if I could wave the word away. “Either way, last I heard before my mother died, they’d divorced, so she’s not even my step sister anymore.”
“This is going to be a problem, isn’t it?” He crosses his arms over his chest.
I could tell him it will be, but that means I would be bringing more drama to the club. I don’t want to cause any waves now. Not after I’ve only just been patched in.
“No.” I answer, and he presses his lips together in a tight line as if he doesn’t believe me.
“What is she doing here anyway? I mean, did she know you were here?” Vado moves on to a more comfortable line of questioning.
“No, I haven’t had any contact with her since I was fifteen years old. She had no reason to look me up. She’s just as surprised to be reunited as I am.” I shrug.
“Then why won’t she leave? This shit can’t be comfortable for either of you.”
“I asked her the same shit. Apparently, working here is her last option. She’s been hooked up with this woman since her father died, and they had some sort of falling out. Now Sina is using whatever clout she has to make Estrella’s life more difficult than it needs to be. It doesn’t sound that deep to me, but Estrella is making it seem like it is.”
“Yeah, it sounds like some petty bullshit between two women. Let them deal with that crap on their own.” Vado takes a step back, but still keeps his eyes on me. “I’ll keep what wediscussed here to myself, but if I feel like this woman is going to cause a rift in the club, she’s going.”
“I agree.” I nod once. He doesn’t have to threaten me about that.
I want Estrella to hurt and feel the pain that she caused me all those years ago, but I would be just as happy if she were to completely disappear from my life instead.
It doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen any time soon, though. I guess I should get used to the idea that I’m just going to have to terrorize her until she realizes whatever this Sina woman might do to her is nothing compared to what I can come up with as my revenge.
She’s worried about Sina. She should be worried about me.
ELEVEN
Oro
Ah, mi isla.
The best part about living on a tropical island is the fact that I don’t have to go far to find a little slice of heaven.
Today that slice of heaven comes in the form of the small beach my patch brothers and I are at.
Since we’ve done the renovations on the club, our side businesses have started to uptick, but it’s nothing like what it once was. It will take a while before the community realizes we are back and here to stay.
That’s why these little events are perfect for us to show up at. Not only will the locals get to interact with us, but if there are any visitors or future clients, the beach is an open and non-intimidating place for them to introduce themselves to us.
Today’s event is to put a focus on some of the awesome food trucks that have been popping up on the island. Most are traditional Puerto Rican fare, but there are a few outliers that I’m sure will get a lot of interested buyers. Everyone wants to try the new thing.
The group of us are here in shorts and bare-chested. Our bikes are parked in a row under the closest set of palm trees. We’re already getting quite the crowd around us. It doesn’t hurt that Coca has dolled up the club bunnies, both the veteran faithful ones and the new ones that we’ve just gotten on board, to come and join the party.
The music bumps through the open area, Bad Bunny, and a steady stream of beer allows everyone to shed some of their inhibitions.
I pull my long blond hair up into a bun and lean back on the sand as I watch Pooh lunge for Coca, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
