Hands All Over

Ch. 7 Next Time

The next night...

Angela finished up with the body she'd been cremating and let out a long, happy sigh. She put the ashes in a nice little urn and slipped off her heavy duty gloves and apron. Wiping at the sweat on her forehead, she let out another soft sigh, wondering if Juice was going to stop by. The sound of a motorcycle approaching had her smiling. Wiping her sweaty hands on the thighs of her jeans, she skipped towards the door, throwing it open and peeking out, expecting to see Juice and his motorcycle there but finding no one. She raised an eyebrow, stepping out of the room and into the dark night. "Juice?"

Out of nowhere, someone slammed her against the wall of the funeral home. She saw stars briefly as the back of her head hit the brick wall. A hand covered her mouth before she could scream, the other squeezing around her upper arm. "Ssh, callate, Angelita," Esai's smooth voice whispered. "Screaming won't do you no good."

She struggled against him, wondering what he was doing there, why he was messing with her. "I heard you were back in California, chiqui," he said, the moonlight highlighting his pretty, light eyes. "Thought I'd see for myself."

Angela went still, trying to figure out where he was going with this. She'd known him since she was thirteen and could tell he was scared for some reason.

"I let you go, you gonna scream?" he asked, his face just inches from hers.

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he thought she'd scream. She knew she wasn't in any danger now, it would be stupid to start screaming and make a scene for no reason. He waited until she shook her head to uncover her mouth, his hand still gripping her arm as if he were afraid she'd bolt. Taking in a deep breath, she looked up at him. "What the hell are you doing here, Esai?" she whispered.

"I fucked up, chiqui. I really fucked up," he quavered, glancing nervously over his shoulder as if to make sure he hadn't been followed.

She looked behind him too, praying that Juice wouldn't stop by on a whim and find Esai there. "What happened, E? What did you do?"

Esai shook his head, his fingers squeezing tighter around her arm quickly to emphasize his next words. "None of your goddamn business what I did."

"Then why the hell are you here, huh?" she challenged. She would've understood if he'd come to her to get something off his chest, but it didn't seem like that's what he wanted.

"I dunno," he replied, checking over his shoulder again. "I just...panicked and I needed...needed to see you."

"Its been over five years, E," she reminded him. "You got an Old Lady now..."

"Oh fuck that. You think things worked out with me and Dani? No, not with my old man still talking about you, Angelita. Even after all these years," he said, one hand stroking over her cheek. "You're the only one that gets me. That gets this whole life."

Angela swallowed hard as she tried to process that information. Why now, she wondered. He'd left her alone for all these years; why did he come to her now? Maybe he'd done something wrong and upset his father, maybe he thought winning her back would get him in his father's good graces, but it wouldn't. How could he not see that? "E, I can't...We're not the same people anymore."

Esai sighed, leaning forward to put his forehead to hers. "You're right. I'm a bad guy."

"What did you do?"

"Just...promise me you'll stay away from the Sons, Angelita," he said, his eyes desperate as they looked at her, pleading. "Promise me!"

"What? Why? What is going on, Esai?" she demanded, wincing as his fingernails dug into her skin.