Page 192 of Embriagado

He lifted his gaze to stare at me, a smile slowly dragging on his lips.

“So don’t rat me out, yeah?” He winked, then pulled out a lighter, but before he could light up the cig, I snatched it from his lips. His eyes widened, danger crossing them, but not giving a fuck, I crushed the cigarette in my fist and pushed it into my pants pocket.

“You can’t smoke in here,” I repeated myself, unbothered by the way he continued to stare daggers at me.

This man, whoever he was, gave off bad fucking vibes and had the same passive-aggressive attitude some of those thugs in prison used to give me for being fresh meat. And just as I did back then—I didn’t give a single fuck.

“Hey.” He stepped in front of me after I refused to look at him. “What did you say your name was again?”

I continued looking ahead as if he didn’t just stand in my face.

“I didn’t.”

He clicked his tongue. “Tienes pelotas, chico.”

“I’m no kid.”

His brows rose before he snorted a laugh. But it was fake, and he quickly fisted the hem of my shirt. “Look at me when I speak, chico, or I’ll fuck up your pretty face, yeah?”

“Aww, you called me pretty.”

Fury crossed his face. No. Not fury, disgust.

“I see. So you’re one of those,” he snarled, his hand fisting my shirt harder.

“One of those?”

“One of the putos that homo keeps around him.” He tilted his head in the direction of Ariyan’s office, and I just about punched that motherfucker in the face. “That maricón always needs someone sniffing his ass. The puto… after all this time, he can’t go a day without having that ass fucked, huh?”

Fury burned through my veins at the filth coming out of this fucker’s mouth, and I stared at him, death in my eyes. If I ever met a motherfucker who deserved to be punched, it was this one, and I grabbed his arm as he still held on to my shirt.

“The fuck you think you are?” I hissed in Spanish when his stare darkened.

“Yeah, you’re fucking him alright⁠—”

The door to the office opened, and there stood Ariyan. And while his expression said nothing, there was a split second where I spotted panic in his eyes, and so I dropped my hands just as this asshole did the same. Our timing was good because then Gabe and his partner also popped up in the doorway, and suddenly, the hall became way too fucking crowded.

It didn’t escape me how this man just turned his back to the door, as if not to cross eyes with the cops when they stepped out.

“Please don’t hesitate to call me in case you have further questions,” Ariyan said.

“Will do.”

It was Gabriel who spoke, his eyes on me, before he thanked Ariyan and walked away with his partner. I had about a million questions to ask when they were finally out of our way, but then Ariyan spoke.

“Why are you here, Alejandro?”

Alejandro. So that was the son of a bitch’s name.

“Since when do I owe you any explanations, huh?”

Now, when the cops are gone, he has his courage back?

Asshole.

“What was that all about?” Alejandro asked, jerking his head in the direction of the cops.

Ariyan sighed, smoothing a hand over his blazer. “Nothing you should worry about.”