Chapter 1
Hector sighed with exhaustion as he drove up to his apartment building. The long, solitary drive back from his friend’s wedding in the Texas Hill Country had tired him out, and the late hour had him ready for bed. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be going to sleep anytime soon. Drama waited for him inside his apartment. He sighed again. It was a sad day when a man dreaded going into his own home. Hector sucked it up and turned off the ignition. He was here now, so he might as well get in there and find out what the hell was going on.
When he walked inside, he immediately noticed the young man sitting on his couch. Though uninvited, he was a friend from long ago, so Hector gave him a relaxed greeting. “Hey, Miguel. How are you?”
The dark-haired young man shrugged, a lopsided smile on his handsome face. “Been better.”
Hector tossed his keys down on the end table. Miguel’s mouth was puffy and split, a purplish bruise blooming on his cheek. The sight of the injury put Hector on immediate alert, ready to find out who’d hurt his friend. Before he could ask him about it, the door to his bedroom opened and Hector’s mother came out. He didn’t bother asking why she was in there with the door closed. From Miguel’s face, he knew something had gone down.
“Hector, you’re home.”
Hector went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Yeah, Mamá.” He flicked his gaze back over to Miguel, noting for the first time the bulging backpack and duffle bag sitting on the floor at the corner of the couch. “You want to tell me what’s going on?” His mother looked off to the side and pursed her lips, a sure sign she was holding back from saying something distasteful.
“Come with me, Hector.”
She drew him into his bedroom and closed the door again. His mother’s best friend sat in the armchair in front of the window. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and she had the gold cross pendant around her neck pressed to her lips.
“Hey, Tia Claudia.” She wasn’t really his aunt. He called her that out of respect because she was his mother’s best friend and had been in his life since he was born.
“Mijo, it’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
He went over and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek as well. When he straightened, he looked back and forth between the two women. “All right. Why is Miguel here with packed bags and a bruise on his face?”
Claudia started crying again. His mother answered the question. “His boyfriend hit him.”
Hector stiffened. “What?”
Lupita nodded. “Yes. He’s not a good man. This isn’t the first time he’s hit Miguel, but it’s the first time Miguel has run away from him.”
“Not the first time? Why am I just now hearing about this? Wait.” Hector held his hand up to stop his mother from answering. “Shouldn’t we be talking about this with Miguel?” he asked in confusion.
“I want to spare him,” Claudia said.
“Spare him from what? He’s the one who got hit by an abusive asshole. I think he’s already had to deal with the worst of it.”
“Hector!” his mother snapped. “Don’t use language like that.”
Hector held back a frustrated sigh. It was ridiculous his mother was chiding him for his language in this situation. But it wasn’t unexpected. “Sorry, Mamá. I’m just angry that Miguel is hurt. Why is he here instead of at Tia Claudia’s house?”
“I brought him here so he’d have a safe place to stay. He’s been living with Santos for three years. Santos didn’t let him work, and everything Miguel had Santos paid for. He has no money and got out with a few clothes and not much else. And I don’t trust that man not to come for Miguel. I know if he’s here, you’ll make sure he’s protected.”
This time Hector didn’t hold back his sigh. “I have a one-bedroom apartment, Mamá. It’ll be a tight fit with both of us in here.”
“It’s just for a little while. I don’t think it will be a problem for Miguel to sleep on your couch. You two were so close when you were boys. You can help him now.”
Looking back and forth between a crying Claudia and a firm Lupita, Hector knew he wasn’t going to turn the request down. Miguel was his friend, although they hadn’t spoken for several years. Now that he thought about it, they hadn’t spoken for about the same amount of time Miguel had been with the boyfriend who hit him. Hector could help him while he got his shit sorted out. “Fine.”
“Thank you, mi rey. You’re such a good son,” Lupita said as she smiled and patted him on the cheek.
Hector went back out into the living room, his mother and aunt following him. He automatically switched into public servant mode as he kneeled in front of Miguel. “That’s a pretty good bruise there. Did you put ice on it?”
Miguel nodded. “Yeah. And I already took some ibuprofen.”
“Good. Anything else hurt?” He could see the pain in Miguel’s dark eyes, and he was willing to bet it was from more than the marks on his face.
Miguel started to answer, then stopped and flicked his eyes to his mom.
From Miguel’s reaction, there was obviously something he didn’t want his mother to see. He looked back over his shoulder. “Mamá, can you take Tia Claudia back into my room, please? Just for a minute.”