Page 8 of Rico

When he left, his bike rumbling up the hill and onto the highway, Anurak turned to me. “He looks mean, but he was nice.”

I snickered and gently booped his nose with the tip of my finger, making him giggle. “Jax is honestly an asshole,perrito, but he can be gentle when he needs to be.” And that was why I knew Jax was one of the good ones. He might be a hardened criminal and one of the biggest dicks there was, but down in his core, he was a good guy. “Come on. Let’s go blow some of my money.”

He clutched at my hand as I led him back to my car. Once we were on the highway, Anurak surprised me by reaching over and moving my hand off the gear shift to lace our fingers together. When I glanced at him, his eyes were still glued to my phone, so entranced by his show that I wasn’t even sure he was fully aware he’d grabbed my hand.

This boy was wrecking me in the most beautiful way possible, and I was fully prepared for him to destroy me.

CHAPTER SIX

Rico

Shopping had worn Anurak slap out. Once he’d gotten comfortable with shopping and began to realize he liked certain things and not others, it turned into a very fun outing for him. And after we’d spent a god-awful amount of money, I took him to eat some Chinese food at the little restaurant inside the mall. By the time I’d gotten him back to the car and all of our things in the trunk, he was out cold, his lips slightly parted, soft snores leaving his lips. He hadn’t even managed to buckle himself in before he’d passed out.

I eased the car to a stop outside my house and shifted it into park before easing out of the car and walking around to his side. Bento and Niran began gathering his bags out of the car as I opened the passenger door and leaned in, unbuckling Anurak’s seatbelt. He jerked awake, his wild, panicked eyes meeting mine. I cupped his cheek, keeping my eyes locked on his until he took a deep breath, relaxing and leaning his face into my touch.

“You okay now,perrito?” I gently asked. I hated that he still woke up in fear. I knew that would take time. It’d taken me years to come out of survival mode. I knew it would take him just as long, if not longer.

He nodded. “You scared me.”

I stroked my thumb over his cheek. “You’re always safe with me,” I gently reminded him. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”

A dopey, adorable smile tilted his lips, and he turned his head, pressing a kiss to my palm. My heart shot up into my throat at the sweet kiss. He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and lowered my hand before turning to angle out of the car. I removed my wrist from his grasp, but before he could truly begin to miss the loss, I laced our fingers together and led him up to the house.

“I need to touch base with Alfonzo for a few minutes. Do you want to go upstairs to bed, watch TV in the living room, or sit in my office?” I asked him.

He looked up at me. “Where will you be?”

I nodded in the direction of my office. “In my office.”

He smiled, his fingers tightening around mine. “I want to be where you will be.”

I gently squeezed his hand before leading him in the direction of my office. He took a seat on the couch, and I handed him my personal phone so he could watch his show, then I took a seat behind my desk, using my burner to call Alfonzo.

“Need you in my office,” I told him when he answered.

He grunted and ended the call without a single word. I set my phone down and booted up my laptop so I could add another line to my phone plan and get a phone for Anurak. Alfonzo popped into my office just as I was finishing up submitting the order. He glanced at Anurak, then at me. When I nodded for him to enter, he shrugged one shoulder and stepped in, shutting the door behind him and dropping into one of the chairs across from my desk.

“What’s up?” he asked, leaning back and slouching a little. He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and laced his fingers together over his stomach.

“Jax called in a favor.” I relayed the details. “Think you can handle it?”

Alfonzo nodded. “Yeah. He paying anything for this?”

I shook my head. “I told him no because he’s family.” Alfonzo nodded in agreement. “But he’ll probably still try to give something anyway. Up to you if you take it. If you do, pocket it. I don’t want it.”

He snorted. “He’s still stuck on that shit of owing people?”

I sighed. “You know how he is.”

Alfonzo nodded and stood. “We done here? I need to make phone calls and get shit arranged.”

I waved him off. “Yeah, we’re done here.”

He waved at Anurak on his way out, who blushed and shyly waved back. When the door shut back behind Alfonzo, Anurak turned his head to look at me, setting my phone down by his cheek. I pushed back from the desk some and patted my lap. I’d expected him to hesitate, but he quickly got up, my phone leftabandoned, and rushed to me so fast, he tripped and almost fell. I quickly caught him and lifted him, settling him on my lap.

“You need to be more careful,perrito,” I gently scolded.

He flushed. “Sorry.” Cupping my neck with his warm, soft palms, he smiled at me. “I had fun today.”