Grabbing Hold (The Motorcycle Kid #1)

30. Trials and Tears

"Así se bate el cobre," said Manuel, spitting blood from his burst lip. He rose to his feet, the man beneath him letting out a cry of anguished relief as he removed his knee.

"He knows now, mano," he told the thirteen year old at his side. "He knows to stay away from what's mine."

That said, he pocketed the handful of packages the beaten teenager had managed to nab before he'd been caught.

"You see, mano, it's tough in these streets." Manuel tapped his pocket affectionately. "Tienes una opción, chacho. You can either go home and cry for your mami, or you can come with me and have a family, a real family."

"What about my mother? And my brother?"

"You think they care about you?" Manuel's voice raised in disbelief. "I hate to break it to you, mano, but no mother who cared about her kid would ever let something like this-" He paused to run a hand lightly over the bruises that patterned the boy's arms and neck.

"She's trying-"

"And you're paying the price for it. Look at you, mano. You need out."

"And you think dealing with...this stuff is a way out? That it'll stop him from hitting her? Me?"

His hope was desperate.

"It means he ain't ever gonna get away with hitting you again cause you got people who got your back," Manuel reassurred him. "And if he got the guts to hit you still, then you learn how to defend yourself."

The boy had rubbed his bruised shoulder, looking around at the scene in front of him. Sure enough, there were men scattered across the block, weapons neatly concealed under their coats. They smiled warmly at him. With one of the men stood a dark-skinned woman, who laughed at something he had said. She had a well rounded baby bump, and the man touched it gently, eyes widening.

"That's Devin and Ness," Manuel had explained. "They gonna have a baby in a couple months."

"Does Ness...does she know what you...do?"

"Ness is family. Of course she knows. She keeps her mouth shut, we protect her. That's what we do. Protect our family."

The boy shuffled but cracked a smile as he watched the other men circle around Ness, laughing heartily. She seemed completely at ease in their presence, secure in the knowledge that she was safe around these otherwise dangerous-looking men.

He craved that feeling, that security.

"Think about it, mano. You want a family? I can give you that." Manuel patted the boy's head affectionately.

"All you gotta do is say sí."

Ryder made his way into the house in stony silence.

"How did it go?" Felicity asked, looking up from behind her glasses. She'd been peering down into what Ryder recognized as a middle school textbook, making notes with the pencil stuck behind her ear. He suspected she'd been planning the upcoming semester's curriculum.

"How do you think it went?" he asked sarcastically, attempting to take Will's advice to let people in.

"What happened? Did you follow my instructions? Did Charlotte ask you anything?"

"Yes, yes, yes," he replied, angry, edgy and exasperated. "I did everything, Felicity. This time, I literally did everything right-"

"Ryder-"