Drug Lord: A Bad Boy Baby Romance Read Free

horrible first impression.
    The waiter took it away pretty much the instant that I was done. Maybe the staff paid a lot more attention than I thought.
    When the contest was done, Emilio brought the sheet up to be counted by the organizer.
    Within 10 minutes, all the scores had been tallied.
    The whole team held hands as they announced the winners.
    “Third place is the Exploradoras. Second place is Wicked Wombats.”
    Emilio gripped my hand tightly as we waited for the announcement of the winner.
    “And with a perfect score, the winners tonight are the Fruitbats.”
    My whole team erupted in cheers, meanwhile I was afraid that they were going to overturn the table.
    “Campeones,” they chanted over and over again, sounding like a tune that I didn’t know.
    Everyone’s hands were on each other’s shoulders. The camaraderie was so sudden and utterly charming. These people had only met me tonight, yet I fit into their group instantly, as if I had known them for years.

Alley Mugging
Naelle
    T wo jirafas later , I was weaving a little bit when I went to the bathroom. I was grateful for the long line, since there was only one toilet for every woman in the bar. Needed its support, I leaned against the wall, not caring if it was clean or filthy.
    When I was done, I made my way back to the table. I felt a little nauseous. There were still two mostly full jirafas on the table, but I couldn’t take anymore.
    “I’m gonna go,” I slurred softly. “Nice to meet you all.”
    They all waved to me while carrying on their conversations.
    I walked outside. It was cold at night. I wrapped my jacket a little more closely around me.
    I was barely down the block when I felt a hand grab my upper arm and haul me into an alley.
    There were two of them. Both of them were armed.
    “La plata!” he shouted at me. The second guy just cocked his gun. The safety was off.
    Plata? Wasn’t that silver? I didn’t have any.
    “I don’t have any,” I told him in Spanish.
    They snorted and pointed the business ends of their guns at me.
    “La plata,” they insisted.
    I was going to die just because I didn’t carry silver.
    I heard the crack of two gunshots and closed my eyes in the split second.
    When I opened my eyes, I looked down at my chest, expecting to see two bullet holes.
    But there wasn’t anything there.
    I looked at my attackers who were now flat on the ground. One of them was wearing a white shirt that had a growing bloodstain on it. It looked like a blossoming red flower that grew exponentially.
    I looked behind me.
    Emilio was there, kneeling next to me.
    He reached for me.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Cut? Bruised?”
    “Just a bump on the head.”
    “Let me see.”
    He touched my head gently.
    “Shouldn’t we turn those guys into the police? I mean they tried to mug me.”
    “They won’t try to mug anybody else, so, no, I won’t involve the police.”
    I looked back at the two of them. Neither of them were moving.
    “Are they dead?”
    Instead of answering my question, he pulled out his phone.
    “Hold still.” He put his hand on my chin.
    All of a sudden, a bright light was shining right in my eyes.
    I tried to flinch away, but his hand held me in place.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Checking to see if you have a concussion. Your pupils aren’t dilating properly. One of them is bigger than the other.”
    “It’s not a big deal.” I shook my head. “I’ve gotten minor concussions before. I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
    “You don’t need to go to the hospital, but you do need to stay with someone who will wake you up every two hours.”
    “Why do you know so much about concussions?” I asked.
    He didn’t answer me.
    “Come home with me.”
    It wasn’t a question.
    I tried to joke, “I wasn’t expecting to go home with anybody tonight.”
    I earned a small smile from him. “Is there anybody else who can take care of you?”
    I thought about it. I didn’t even know