Mateo lay on his back, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Josiah hadn’t known a lot of nice in his life but he refused to believe it was as bad as Mateo thought. What was the point in living if that was the case?

But he didn’t say that. Didn’t say a word. Just sat on his bed and watched Mateo sleep.

Chapter Two

Mateo

The kid watched him all the time. Every time Teo looked at him, Josiah’s eyes would dart away, or he’d stumble, or look like he was gonna throw up or somethin’. The kid wouldn’t make it a day in Teo’s old neighborhood. It would eat him up.

The first few days, it took everything inside him not to put a fist in the kid’s face and tell him to quit staring. But then... he actually started to feel sorry for him. He looked like he wanted to jump outta his skin most of the time. He hardly ever talked unless Molly or William spoke to him. Not that Mateo did a whole lotta talkin’ around here, either, but it wasn’t because he was scared. It was obvious the kid was.

If his dad were around, he’d call him weak for not beating Josiah’s ass no matter how scared of everything he was. He was starin’, he deserved to get taught a lesson. Mateo didn’t see how taking someone out who was weaker than you made you a man.

But then, that probably made him a little bitch, too.

Just like the fact that it’d been two weeks since they’d sent him here and he hadn’t bailed yet. His dad was in prison and he was expected to get his ass back to Brooklyn to take his rightful spot in Los Demonios. He was Ricky Sanchez’s son, after all. His uncle Javier was in command, but it was always known Teo would be his second.

And Mateo would make it there—soon. He wasn’t loco enough to try and make himself think he belonged in a place like this. It wasn’t who he was, and he didn’t deserve it after what he’d done, anyway.

He belonged on the streets, so he better get used to it now.

Even though he had ear buds in, Teo still heard the bedroom door open. Josiah looked at him before his eyes darted away. Mateo chuckled. This kid was so fucked if he ever got out of Yorktown.

He let his blond hair hang in his eyes, like he wanted it as some sort of shield between himself and Mateo.

Teo’s hands itched to pull the goddamned things out of his ears and tell the kid to man-up. That he’d get his ass kicked every day of his life if he didn’t even have the balls to look someone in the eye. He’d learned that lesson by the time he was five.

But he didn’t do it. Teo just let the rap music play and pretended he gave a damn about it as he decided how he would go about getting the fuck out of Yorktown and back to hell. He’d already have to make excuses for not calling Javier and telling them exactly where he was so they could come and get him.

Chapter Three

Josiah

Mateo wasn’t what he expected. It wasn’t as if he was nice to Josiah or anything. The guy hardly talked to him, or even Molly and William for that matter, but he didn’t give them crap, either.

He basically ignored Josiah, which was a whole lot better than the wisecracks about why he was so quiet, or so skinny, or whatever else people didn’t like about him.

He and Mateo took turns doing dishes and taking out the trash. There had been a few times he got into it with Molly and William, but that had been more so in the first week.

But now it was the start of a new school year. Josiah hated going to a new school. He’d been to enough of them and they were always hell. People were assholes, and people his own age always worse.

Mateo looked tense as Molly drove them. For the first time since he’d moved in with them, he wore a baseball hat, backward. His thumbs drummed on his legs, almost as though he was...nervous, though that didn’t make any sense. What did a guy like Mateo have to be worried about?

Josiah’s mouth opened a million times to ask him but he never got the courage. Instead his focused on his own leg that bounced up and down, faster and faster the closer they got.

“If you have any problems, you know you can call me, right, Josiah?” Molly asked.

Mateo snapped out, “Don’t baby him. He’s a man. Treat him like it.”

Josiah wasn’t sure who to reply to first. His heart amped up, his eyes wide as he looked at Mateo next to him in the backseat. He’d defended Josiah. He didn’t get why the guy would do that, and he wanted to know.

He settled on answering Molly first because it was easier than talking to Mateo. “He’s right... I know I’m quiet, but it’s not like I haven’t been to high school before. I’ve been through a lot. I...” He looked out the window. “I can take care of myself. But thank you.”