The Tax Collector (GirlxIntersex) Book 1

Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Lucia POV

Welcome to Beverly Hills. "The land of the affluent and famous." She spoke in a fairly dreary tone. The car slowed but did not stop at a large black fence. Two guards were stationed at the locked gate. As the automobile came to a complete halt at the gate, I could see the sign.

"Welcome to Beverly Hills."

"Are you rich and famous?" I asked. Despite the fact that she had robbed and killed someone, she appeared wealthy and well-known.

"Nope."

"So why be at a place like this?"

"Because I can afford it?" She seems uncertain about her actual response to me. I assumed she had a lot of secrets. She seemed to have a lot to sit on.

From killing a man in a blink of an eye to driving past the border effortlessly with only showing her wrist.

It also makes me question why I am being helped. What was so wonderful about me? The guards approached the automobile. Both from either side. She opened the window, and for the first time, my nose was able to smell the American air. It was different. Perhaps it wasn't, since enthusiasm distorts my mind. But the air smells like cotton candy at a carnival. It has a lovely scent. The breeze was smooth and free of sand. After the guards returned to the gate and banged it twice. My tongue poked out.

The breeze did not taste like earth. It tasted refined. It tasted light.

"Put your tongue back in; you are not a dog." She grumbled.

My tongue gently slides back in. "Sorry,"

"The air isn't really different. And after you're acclimated to it, you'll realize Mexico and Los Angeles are the same fucking thing. Heck, from my balcony I can see a small town in Mexico."

"You can?"

She nodded. "Look at it as a boundary that separates the society. One people lives much better than one since they are separated." She explained. I didn't see it that way.

I just view it as preferable to suffer in the realm of dreams than in the country of drug cartels and violence.

The gate was eventually opened, and she drove carefully inside. She nodded at the guards, who conducted a brief examination of the car. Once we pass them. She drove along an even cleaner road, past a bigger palm tree covered with lights.

The roadways connected to other roads, somewhat like a rib cage in the body. However, she continues to straight ahead.

"How long have you been living in America?" I asked.

"Since I was ten. My parents came here illegally, but they battled their way in to claim a slice of the American pie, which they accomplished successfully."

"That's quite sweet. Where are they now?"

"Not in America. It is preferable that they do not stay here.

"Why?"

"You'll figure it out one day?" She said, leaving the reason for her parents' absence a mystery. The car pulled up to what appeared to be a towering condominium. The automobile lighted up, as did the parking slots. She parked her car in one of these spaces.

"This place is beautiful."

"If you choose peace, certainly. If you enjoy going out at night, this is not the place for you, given that everyone here is wealthy and famous. They're also dull."

"Are you boring?" I asked. She grinned.

"I wouldn't say I live a dull existence, but after I'm done with the outside, I enjoy having peace and quiet."

I think I understood what she meant. With her day full with chaos, she prefers to leave it behind as she drives through the gate.

I followed her lead and got out of the car. She used the key to lock the car. We proceeded to one of the nearby towering housing complexes. Because it was night, I couldn't see the beauty, but I knew it was lovely.