The guys made it back to the table. If Romero had tried to wash some of the stench off he hadn’t done a very good job of it, because it hit her as soon as he sat down. At that moment, she really wanted him gone. She couldn’t stand it anymore.
Sudden bursts of laughter continued from behind them, with Romero and Alex glancing back a few times.
“What’s with all the guys in uniform?” Alex asked, taking a drink of his beer.
Isabel pushed Romero’s hand away again and tried to answer sounding normal and not as hurt as she was feeling again. “My brother-in-law is a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “Is that right?”
Valerie nudged him. “I’ve told you so many times.”
Alex kissed her, with a smirk, “Yeah, you did, babe.” Isabel caught him giving Romero a look as if he hadn’t the faintest. “So how come your brother isn’t in uniform?”
There was more laughter again from the men at the bar. It seems they were getting even louder. Isabel gulped, feeling herself becoming more emotional by the minute. “He didn’t know about the party. It was a surprise.”
The band started another slow tempo song and she almost jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Dance with me, honey.”
Relieved for the excuse to get away from Romero she smiled at her father and stood up. “I really don’t know how to dance to this, daddy.”
“I don’t either. Just go with it.”
She didn’t even look at Romero as she walked away. It wasn’t until she was on the dance floor and saw a few flashes go off that she realized the press was there—of course. She should’ve known Pat would take advantage of any opportunity to get her dad’s name in the papers.
Her stomach nearly dropped when she saw Romero and Alex headed toward the bar. Her eyes darted to the bar area where there were still herds of uniformed men standing around but thankfully, Michael wasn’t one of them. She let out a relieved breath. “Something wrong?”
Her eyes met her dad’s and she smiled, shaking her head. “No.”
“Smile that way, honey.”
She turned to where her father was looking, in time to see a camera flash in her face. “Leave it to your sister,” he said, through his smile, “to turn her husband’s party into part of the campaign.”
Once the photographer walked away, Isabel leaned into her father, trying to think of something other than Romero and what he’d been doing with Cici today. “Daddy, are you sure you wanna go through with this? You don’t have to, you know? It’s not up to Pat and Charles. I get the feeling they talked you into this.”
Her father smiled. “I don’t mind running, even if I don’t win the election. It’s a good experience and I’m meeting a lot of people I wouldn’t have otherwise. I just don’t like all the extra media attention. And your sister seems to revel in it.” He nodded his head in the direction where Pat stood with Charles and someone who took notes and appeared to be interviewing them. “She and that damned campaign manager have interview after interview lined up for me all this week.”
“Well, you don’t have to do them all, Dad. You tell them what you can and can’t do.” Her sister made her so mad. She knew her dad, but even more so her mom, were looking forward to him retiring. Now he was going to be busier than ever.
“Speak of the devil.”
Isabel turned to see her sister waving them both over to where she and Charles were standing. Isabel glanced back at Romero. He and Alex were already back at the table with Valerie. She saw that rather than look concerned about having upset her, he was laughing about whatever Alex was telling him.
She and her father made their way over to where her sister and Charles stood with what Isabel could only imagine was a reporter. “Daddy, this is Scott Price with the La Jolla Sun. He just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Isabel gave her sister a look, which Pat quickly ignored. The reporter wasted no time asking her dad about his plans to improve San Diego’s legislation.
Isabel and Pat stepped aside to where Charles stood, texting something. “Can you put that thing away for at least five minutes?” Pat scolded. “Isn’t everyone you know already here?” Without waiting for him to respond, Pat took a few steps away to stand by her father as if he needed her there for moral support.
“Hey bud, having fun?” Michael put his arm around Charles’ shoulder.
His words were a little slurred and Charles laughed. “Not as much as you, obviously.”
“Well, let’s do something about that. You’re the birthday boy.” He laughed, then sized Isabel up blatantly. “Ms. Isabel, umm, umm, umm.” He put his hand over his chest. “I’m sorry but my heart is breaking here.”
She felt her face warm and she casually glanced back at Romero. He was still engrossed in an obviously hilarious conversation with Alex. She wondered why the hell he was in such a good mood all of a sudden. Was it his little visit with the ex-topless waitress that had him so cheery? She’d never considered herself a jealous person but the thought of him touching another woman like he touched her made her want to scream.
“Ga-damn, Charles. Why didn’t you introduce me to your beautiful sister-in-law sooner?” He stepped up closer to her. “You can’t be serious about this guy right? Your sister said he’s not exactly a winner.” He stood so close she could smell the rancid liquor on his breath. “You haven’t been with him very long. You think I might still have a chance?”
Her face was very hot now but she was also annoyed. As mad as she was at Romero, she wouldn’t allow anyone to put him down. “My sister knows very little about him, so she’s not exactly qualified to be passing judgment.”
Charles walked away to answer his phone. Michael took a swig of whatever putrid liquor he was drinking and stepped even closer to her. “You didn’t answer my question.” He smiled wickedly.
She glanced over to Romero whose eyes had locked on them now. Feeling the lump suddenly in her throat again, she made a hasty decision. Romero may’ve gone crazy a few times because of her sister’s doing, but he’d never felt the hurt she was feeling at that moment. As stupid as she knew it was, she smiled back at Michael. “The future is always uncertain.”
“I knew it.” He smiled even bigger. “I’m a bit of an expert in body language and I could tell you weren’t having the time of your life over there, earlier.”
She lifted a shoulder and continued to smile but felt the tears begin to fill her eyes.
Suddenly Michael looked concerned. “What’s wrong, honey?” He put his arm around shoulder.
She couldn’t believe she was going to let herself fall apart now, in front of Michael. “Nothing,” She breathed in deeply, willing the emotion to pass. “I’m fine.”
“Isabel, what the hell’s going on?”
She and Michael turned at the same time to see an infuriated Romero charging toward them. Alex was right behind him. He had everyone within hearing distance’s attention, including her father and the reporter.
Michael didn’t pull his arm off her. “She’s venting. Can you give us a moment?”
She saw the shock in Romero’s eyes then the rage. “Fuck no! I won’t give you a moment with her!” He turned to Isabel. “What are you venting about?”
Without thinking, her own angry words shot out. “Us!”
His eyes opened wide. “You’re telling this fucker about us?”
A crowd had begun to gather, including the reporter who now seemed more interested in them than in her father.
“Hey, watch your language.” Michael held her even closer and now that Romero was close enough, the smell of the perfume still on him assaulted Isabel, making her even angrier.
Romero’s eyes were immediately on Michael’s arm and Isabel could see it was a struggle for him to not lose it completely. He spoke through his teeth. “Get your fucking hands off her.”
She didn’t turn to see Michael’s expression but she could hear the smile in his words. “Maybe she wants th
em there.”
She tried to smile when Romero turned to see her response to that, but the tears nearly blurred her vision. She was done with this game. It hadn’t made her feel any better. Knowing she made a huge mistake she tried moving Michael’s hand off her shoulder but he stupidly wouldn’t let go. “Stop, Michael,” she said still trying to move his hand, as he stubbornly held her to him. The next thing she saw was Romero’s fist flying into Michael’s face.
Alex pulled her away and what followed was pure chaos. Romero was like an enraged animal. There was no stopping him. With her hands at her face, she gasped. She’d seen him angry before but never like this and this was all her fault. “Stop, Romero. Please!” She turned to Alex. “Stop him!”
Alex watched as Romero got a few more punches in before making a move. There were already other bodies attempting to stop the brawl, but so far they had been completely unsuccessful. One guy even got Romero’s elbow to his face as Romero cocked it back to pound Michael again.
Valerie was suddenly next to Isabel and squeezed her arm.
“Oh my God. This is all my fault.”
“No it’s not!” Valerie tried convincing her. “C’mon.” Valerie pulled her away from the crowd of men trying in vain to stop Romero’s rampage.
Isabel couldn’t pull her eyes away. Alex had finally pulled Romero away but she saw what a huge struggle it was to contain him. Michael’s face was already a mess and Romero wanted more?
She didn’t think it possible but her heart sunk even further when she saw the uniformed police rush in and make their way through the crowd. Within seconds they had Romero shoved against the wall. Isabel covered her mouth with her hand. “What did I do?”
“This. Is. Not. Your. Fault.” Valerie insisted.
“I want that fucking animal arrested!” Michael yelled at the officers patting Romero down.
The cops that stood in front of Michael, tried settling him down. Belligerent, loud and obviously humiliated but trying to play it down, Michael scoffed at the officer who asked if he needed paramedics to look at him. “Nah, I’m fine. This ain’t shit, son! I’ve been in wars. He didn’t do shit to me. But it’s enough to throw his ass behind bars where this loser belongs.”
Romero was already being handcuffed and Isabel fell apart. Valerie put his arm around her. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Michael’s mouth was still running and Isabel wanted to scream at him to shut up! “You blew it, you idiot!” Michael taunted as they walked Romero past him. “Probably the only chance a loser like you had with someone like Isabel.”
“Shut. Up!” Isabel finally yelled.
Romero wouldn’t even look in her direction, but she saw how tight his jaw was.
“Sweetheart, I’m just agreeing with what you said. Your future with him was uncertain.” Michael continued and at that, Romero glanced up at her. “Now I think the choice is pretty obvious. You can come back over from the dark side.”
Her sister was trying to get everyone back in their seats. Valerie suddenly hurried away from Isabel toward Alex who was now stalking toward Michael. Isabel rushed after her. She’d never forgive herself if they arrested Alex also because of her.
“I want him out!” Alex yelled to the cop trying to interview Michael. Valerie reached him just in time and held him by his arm. “This is my restaurant and I reserve the right. Get him out or I’ll throw his ass out myself.”
The cop gave Alex a bored look. “Alright, sir. Calm down. We’ll walk him out just as soon as we’re done here.”
Sal was there now. Like Valerie and herself, he probably spotted Alex charging in Michael’s direction and rushed over. Isabel hadn’t even noticed he was right behind her. “What happened? I saw them take Romero away.”
“Romero beat the shit outta this guy,” Alex said loud enough for Michael to hear, though if he did, he pretended not to.
Isabel walked away from the group when she saw her mother and father approaching. Her mother looked at her sternly. “Isabel, I want you to tell me the truth.”
Isabel sniffed, and the tears still dripped from her eyes. But she stared at her mom. “The truth about what?”
“Is he on drugs?” her father asked.
Isabel turned to her father. “No!”
“Then what was the matter with him?” Her mother demanded. “No one in their right mind does that—no matter how angry.”
“No...” Isabel thought about the liquor she’d smelt on his breath. “He had a few drinks but that’s it. Look, this was my fault—”
“That he turned into a crazed lunatic?” Up until now, her mother had been accepting of Romero, even though Isabel knew she wasn’t thrilled that he had no education beyond high school, but she was furious now. “Is that what you’re gonna say when you make him mad and he turns on you? That it was your fault?”
“He’d never turn on me.” For an instant, the memory of him holding her arm the night she insinuated she might turn the tables on him came to her. But he’d let go when she asked him to. “He wouldn’t.”
“Isabel this is not the time or place.” Her mother glanced around and lowered her voice. “But we need to have a serious conversation about this. Your father and I are extremely concerned for you. You know I don’t care about his career choice. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if had chosen to skip the education, but this… this is unacceptable.”
Feeling all the emotion she’d felt over the evening come to a shattering peak and now hearing this, Isabel could barely speak. “Well, I’m a grown woman, mother. You can’t ground me anymore and refuse to let me see him.”
“He’s no longer welcome around the family, Isabel. And that’s final,” her father said, adding to her already battered heart.
Without saying everything she wanted to, because after tonight she didn’t even know if her and Romero would still be together. And because she could feel that at any moment she was going to fall apart completely, she walked away without saying a word. They called after her but she ignored them, hurrying as the tears came even faster now, burning down her face.
CHAPTER 21
Aftermath
Romero was past the hurt and the anger. All he felt now was numb. He lay there in his old bed at his uncles’ house staring at the ceiling like he’d done so many times in the past when he’d felt let down or just pissed. Only now, the only person he was pissed at was himself. He’d lain there the entire night since his uncles and Alex had bailed him out.
Alex had obviously filled his uncles in on what happened because all Manny had said when he got out was, “What I am I gonna do with you?”
His uncles had already been in contact with their lawyer and Romero knew this much: he was looking at felony assault charges. If convicted, he’d not only do time, but he’d lose his P.I. license and his right to carry a gun, which was necessary to run his business. His temper had finally cost him dearly. Not only was he looking at possibly ruining what he’d worked so hard to get, he’d lost the one thing he didn’t know if he could live without—Izzy.
He closed his eyes and for a second an image of Isabel in Michael’s arms flashed before him. He sat up in a violent jerk. Suddenly he felt the deep ache again. The one he’d felt for hours as he sat in the jail cell. Isabel had gone over to talk to Michael about them—to vent—to tell him her future with Romero was uncertain.
He knew every one of her expressions now and when he’d glanced at her in hopes that he’d see anger at Michael’s lies, he saw guilt instead. She’d already admitted what she’d done. What he’d tried so desperately to hide from all this time was out there now. If there was any doubt before yesterday, it was gone now. He was beneath her.
What an idiot he’d been to think getting her a ring could seal the deal. As if that’s all it took to hold on to someone like Isabel. It was just a matter of time before she figured it out for herself and turned to someone like Michael, a fucking commander or whatever the hell he was—someone more at her and her family?
??s level than he ever would be.
Manny was at his door holding the newspaper in his hand. “You made the front page.”
Romero stared at him but said nothing.
“Pretty bad, too.” Manny shook his head. “Get dressed. We’re going to see Nick. He normally doesn’t see clients on a Sunday but he’s making an exception for us.”
Nick had been their attorney for years. He was actually a long-time customer of his uncles’ bar before becoming their attorney. People always assumed only scum frequented titty bars, but they’d be surprised how many doctors, lawyers and even politicians were regulars there.
Romero went through the motions, numbly, taking a shower and getting ready. The entire time he replayed the events of the night before. His mind jolted when he got to the moment he spotted her with Michael. Michael had been close enough to kiss her and she was smiling about it. The hurt had outweighed his anger by a ton, but it only escalated his emotions to the point of no return. Every punch he landed he wanted it to be harder than the last. Never in his life had he wanted to kill another person and last night he had. He thought of his dad and squeezed his eyes shut, fisting his hands. He was not his father, damn it.
He checked his phone again for any possible missed calls or texts from Isabel—none. Obviously, their relationship had met its fate last night. What hurt most, was that she was already unsure about things between them even before he blew it. He should’ve backed the fuck off when he’d sensed her losing patience.
Although he knew just the thought of his Izzy with anyone else made him insane, he really thought he’d be able to keep that side of himself from her, push come to shove—for the sake of not losing her. Last night was proof there was no way. Even now, he hoped he’d never run into her with someone else because he’d only prove to her without a doubt, once again, how wrong he’d been for her. All the trouble he was in now, all the heartache he’d have to endure because of what he did last night—none of it mattered. He knew he’d do it again in a heartbeat if he ever saw her in someone else’s arms. He was hopeless.