“I’m sorry, honey. Even though, I still don’t want that man around you or the family. You know I’d do anything for you but my hands are tied here.”

She thanked him, hung up and turned to Valerie. She thought about it before saying it but this might be the only answer. “I’m gonna have to go out with Michael again.”

Valerie’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“I have to, Valerie. It’s my only hope.”

*

After speaking with her father and finding a tiny glimmer of hope, Isabel had been able to finish at least half the burrito Valerie had brought her. Not surprisingly, Valerie had inhaled hers in its entirety.

She briefed Valerie about her plan to try and convince Michael to cancel the charges and made her promise not to tell Alex. Her only hope was Michael’s ego. It was as big as the ship he’d sailed in on. The papers had already reported that he’d been beaten to a pulp. For as much as he protested last night that he Romero hadn’t hurt him, she was sure he was none too happy about those headlines. Not only that, she was sure he’d love nothing better than to take another stab at Romero. And what better way than to steal his girlfriend?

As soon as Valerie left, Isabel pulled out the answering machine from a drawer in the kitchen. Since Valerie had moved out she didn’t need it anymore so she’d put it away but she’d never erased the message Michael had left her. After sifting through several messages before finally finding his, she fast-forwarded it not wanting to relive that horrible morning and how God-awful it felt to listen to him go on about their fantastic date while Romero’s accusing eyes burned a hole through her. She got to the part with his number and jotted it down.

She was beginning to think he might not answer, but then he did. She cleared her throat after hearing him say hello. “Hi, Michael.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

“It’s Isabel. I wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“Isabel.” She could almost hear the smile. “I’m great. Couldn’t be better.”

Purposely trying not to sound demeaning she asked, “How’s your face? It looked pretty bad last night.”

This time, he cleared his throat. “It always looks worse than it feels. But I can assure you, I’m fine. I’m glad you called though. You seemed pretty upset last night. I can’t say I blame you. Is he always that violent?”

Isabel closed her eyes. This was going to be harder than she’d thought. She had to make Michael believe she didn’t care for Romero anymore. “Sometimes. It’s why I’m considering breaking things off with him.”

“Considering? After last night, I would’ve thought you’d all but washed your hands of him. The man’s dangerous.” He paused before adding, “I mean for you, that is. You’re really selling yourself short with this guy, Isabel. You don’t deserve that.”

As tempted as she was to end the call now, her decision had been made. She wouldn’t back out now. Romero could go to jail because of her. She had to do this. “I don’t know. I’d been sort of considering it for a while now, then after seeing you last night… well I was thinking maybe we could get together and… talk.”

Michael jumped at the bait. “Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I was just thinking about what I could do tonight. I took the whole weekend off for Charles’ party so I have a free night.”

Isabel gulped. “Tonight works for me.”

After hanging up, Isabel stood there in the kitchen contemplating what she was about to get herself into. She wouldn’t even think about what Romero might say or do when, not if he found out. She only prayed this worked out so he’d understand why she had to do it.

CHAPTER 22

Little Moe

Nick said it may take a few days before they knew anything for sure. In the meantime, he was getting everything ready and told Romero to just go about his business, and stay out of trouble.

Romero took his uncles to Moreno’s for their Sunday brunch. He needed to talk to Alex. First of all, he wanted to find out if there had been any damage he needed to pay for. Then apologize for any trouble he may’ve caused.

Alex wasn’t there, only Sal and Angel were. He sat with his uncles for a while and ate, but he wasn’t feeling very hungry. Halfway through eating he walked over to where Sal was at the bar reading the paper again. He looked up at Romero from the paper and shook his head. “How you feeling?”

Romero shrugged. “Alright I guess.”

Angel walked up from behind Sal. “Dude. I heard about last night. How’s Isabel feel about all this?”

That dull ache had been present the entire morning. Even when he’d tried not to think of her. Romero wondered if it would be there permanently. It sure as hell felt like it. “I dunno. I haven’t talked to her.”

Sal lifted an eyebrow. “She’s that mad, uh?”

“I guess. Listen, I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you guys here. I just snapped. Let me know if you need me to pay for anything.”

Sal’s face screwed up then he laughed. “Only thing broken was that guy’s face.”

Angel laughed. “Yeah, I heard you f**ked him up.”

As much as Romero wanted to smile about that, the consequences from it were too dire. At this point going to jail and losing his PI license came a distant second and third to his main concern. He was already feeling the withdrawal effects of being away from Isabel. Not wanting to talk about it anymore, he changed the subject. “Where’s Alex?”