Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
“That’s my brother,” Esteban said. “He’ll be taking my family to my parents’, but my wife already cooked dinner.”
“At this time in the evening?” Miguel asked in that infuriatingly normal voice. Shouldn’t it be at least a bit raspy from all that groaning?
Esteban sighed. “We only have two trucks and work needed to be done for the day. That’s living out in the countryside for you, city boys,” he said and flashed them a smile.
“Makes sense,” Nero said just to prove to Miguel that he too hadn’t forgotten how to speak Spanish.
He had so many questions that couldn’t be voiced around Esteban.
Why had Miguel stayed? How did he like being with a man? Why the fuck was he so awkward about it?
But no, they were stuck with a banana farmer, and Nero had enough sense to know Miguel would balk at being outed in any fashion. Not that Nero wanted to air his dirty laundry with this stranger present, and risk being kicked out, if Esteban was a homophobe. They could, of course, fight back if that happened, but he was so tired of conflict after this day from Hell. All he wanted was to eat something, lay in bed and use the hot guy right next to him as a body pillow. Was that so much to ask?
“Wait here. My brother can be wary of strangers,” Esteban said as soon as he parked. He jumped out of the car without waiting for an answer.
Instead of looking Nero’s way, or stroking his hand like he’d done a few times after their first kiss, Miguel crossed his arms on his chest and stared at the men through the window.
“I’m here,” Nero said as the two men outside started talking, and the farmer gestured at his truck to indicate who he brought for supper.
Miguel glanced Nero’s way for a split second, but his lips turned into a thin line, and he stared at the fucking farmers again as if they were the ones he’d railed like there was no tomorrow.
Esteban’s brother frowned, and while he kept his voice down, the way he spread his arms suggested he wasn't happy at all.
A woman in a yellow dress stepped onto the roofed porch that ran around the entire building, and while she moved on to watering flowers hanging in planters attached to banisters, her gaze kept darting between the men of her family and the strangers in her husband’s truck.
“Have you gone deaf?” Nero asked Miguel, increasingly agitated yet unwilling to show it. So instead of shaking Miguel, he too wrapped his arms at his chest and watched Esteban, who offered his brother a scowl before approaching his wife.
“What is it?” Miguel whispered, not even sparing Nero a glance this time. “There could be a problem here.”
Nero frowned at him. “There could be a problem anywhere. Our whole fucking life is a problem.”
“That’s true.” Miguel hummed, reminding Nero of the buzzing groan he’d made when coming. How could one man be so hot and yet so annoying?
Before Nero could come up with an answer, Miguel left the truck without warning and raised his hand in greeting.
Esteban smiled and made a broad gesture with his hand. “This is my baby brother, Santiago. Tiago, Meet Nero and Miguel.”
Nero exhaled and left the truck as well, approaching the other men. “We’ve been saved. Some crazy asshole forced us off the road, we crashed our vehicle, and if it wasn’t for Esteban, we’d be spending the night outside with only the trail mix for food.”
Santiago gave him a half-smile, but there was an angry flash in his gaze. Did he really disapprove of strange guests, or of Miguel and Nero specifically?
“You can get the kids now,” Esteban told his wife, who stilled like a doe in the middle of the road, but then rushed off the terrace and inside the house.
The story about her going to visit family felt like an excuse, but Nero understood a man being wary of his wife staying under the same roof as two strangers who were tattooed from head to toe. He’d tried to not draw attention to his filed teeth so far, but they were there to be seen by anyone who paid attention.
This was Caiman territory, and perhaps Esteban’s kindness was more of an attempt to prove himself loyal, or ask for help with protection money demands he couldn’t meet?
“Welcome to my humble abode. I promise you, you will not regret trying my wife’s cooking, especially after a hard day,” Esteban said, leading them into a corridor with whitewashed stone walls. Family photographs hung at eye-level, but Nero didn’t have enough time to focus on them, moving straight into a dining room that had dark red walls with white details around the windows and doors, and a heavy wooden table at the center.