Which, of course, meant I spent all of Saturday worrying about both of them, but not willing to go see if they needed backup.

Kanesha could handle this if anyone could, and I was not about to cling to her like…well…

Thea hadn’t done that to me. And this wasn’t a supernatural, this was just a jerk. They could handle a jerk. Right?

Right.

I hadn’t forgotten Kanesha being kidnapped, though, and eventually I headed out more or less on the prowl, trusting my instincts. I’d do something for dinner, too. I could afford something for dinner. Not a sub, of course. I was tired of subs, as I often was. Pasta. That was it. I’d get pasta.

Pasta. That distracted me for a moment. My stomach was growling. I headed for a place I knew I could get reasonably cheap noodles. Satisfy the stomach. Then I realized I was being followed.

By two of Carlos’ buddies. If he’d got her back he should be leaving me alone. That was the problem. Which meant…that he might be strengthening the hold he thought he had on her.

I ducked through a shortcut, watched to see if they followed. Stopped halfway down the alleyway. It was risky; there were no obvious witnesses. However, I was carrying a gun if I needed it. I’d rather just beat them up, though.

They quickened their pace and I turned to face them. “Gentlemen. Haven’t you ever been told it’s rude to follow a lady around?”

“You ain’t no lady.”

I laughed a bit. “No. Unfortunately for you, I’m not.” I shifted my stance. “So, are you going to go running back to your buddy now or after I damage you some?”

I hated coming over like this, but it was the only language these people were going to understand. The language of fear and violence, and I had developed quite some fluency in it.

Then one of them upped the ante. He drew a gun.

I had my own out in a moment. “Please. Let’s not escalate this to this level.”

“Actually, this is a warning. Leave Lue alone.”

I snorted. “I’m leaving her alone. She can make her own decisions.”

“She’s Miguel’s.”

Ah, right, that was his real name. “She’s her own person.”

“And we’ll work out who gets you.” One of them developed a nasty smile, not the one with the gun. “Paolo, don’t shoot her. I think I want her for myself.”

At that I laughed. “You’ll never get me.” Then, confident, I walked right past them, keeping an eye over my shoulder.
As I suspected, they didn’t shoot me.