Carlos shook his head. "No."
Kayla felt tears starting in her eyes. "Please, I just want to go home. Can't you let me do that? Please?"
"No, absolutely not." Carlos' mouth was set in a firm line.
"Why not?" Ramon asked suddenly. "Hasn't she done enough for us already?"
<T>"But what about next time?" Carlos said, standing up. He paced the room as he spoke. "Who will die because she isn't here to help them? No, she stays. We need her, now more than ever. Four of those bastardos died tonight, don't you remember? They'll be after us, even more than before."
Ramon said something terse and short in Spanish.
Carlos' eyes widened; he answered in the same language. They argued in Spanish for another few seconds, then Carlos turned to Kayla, speaking angrily. "You've done this, you've turned my own brother against me!" He glared at Ramon. "And you! All you want is to sleep with the little bruja! Do you care nothing about our people, our barrio?" He added something else in Spanish, spitting out the words, and Ramon suddenly lunged for him, hands reaching for his throat.
Kayla jumped back as the two men fell to the floor, Carlos trying to keep Ramon from strangling him. Ramon landed one solid punch on Carlos' face before Carlos shoved him away. The younger man fell back against the couch, started to get to his feet again, and fainted.
She had started toward Ramon when Carlos' voice stopped her. "Don't touch my brother, you little puta," Carlos snarled. "Stay far away from him."
Kayla backed away toward the hallway, frightened by the look in Carlos' eyes. When he turned away to lift Ramon back onto the couch, she fled down the hallway.
She found the spare bedroom, a pair of worn pajamas and a towel set out neatly upon on the bed. Kayla flung herself down on the bed, unable to keep from crying. She heard the sound of Carlos' footsteps in the hallway, another bedroom door closing. It suddenly occurred to her that no one was watching her, no one was guarding her. She could get out of here, this might be her only chance. She should run, run fast and far . . .
She closed her eyes, desperately wanting to rest for just a moment, and then she would run, then she would . . .
"Wake up, bruja, time to go." Carlos' hand shook her out of a pleasant dream, where she was walking with Elizabet along a pier, with the seagulls banking past overhead. . . . She blinked and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Carlos was already dressed, though it was still dark outside, not really morning yet. "Mama's cooking breakfast," he added, leaving the room.
Kayla got up, wishing she could've changed out of her clothes before falling asleep, or at least taken off her shoes, and followed the smell of cooking food out to the kitchen. She tiptoed through the living room, where Ramon was still asleep on the couch, and into the kitchen where Ramon's mama was busy working at the stove.
The Hispanic woman glanced at Kayla and then filled a plate for her, gesturing at several glasses of orange juice on the counter and an open drawer of cutlery. Kayla didn't know the name of whatever it was that she was eating, but she didn't care. It tasted wonderful, made with potatoes and eggs and sausages, all mixed together with salsa on flour tortillas. She finished the plate of food quickly and realized just how hungry she'd been. Not just hungry, but starving, as if she hadn't eaten in days. Maybe she could ransack the kitchen for something else . . . ?
The woman dumped another serving onto Kayla's plate and said something quietly in Spanish. Carlos, standing and eating on the other side of the kitchen, said, "She says thank you for healing Manuel last night."
"What, I'm not the daughter of the Devil anymore?" Kayla said around a mouthful of eggs and sausage. <T>
Carlos laughed, and spoke to his mother in Spanish. The older woman gave Kayla a frowning look and another comment before turning back to the sizzling pan on the stove.
"She says what you did was a miracle, and God's work. But you still shouldn't make fun of the Devil. He could hear you."
"I wouldn't be surprised, I think he's eating breakfast right next to me," Kayla said under her breath. She shoveled more of the terrific food into her mouth, then set the empty plate in the sink and headed back to the bathroom. She wanted to wash her face, maybe brush her teeth . . .
Ramon was still asleep on the couch, curled up against the faded pillows. Like Kayla, he'd slept in his clothes, though someone had removed his shoes and set them on the floor beside the couch. Asleep, Ramon looked a little less like his brother Carlos.
She stood looking down at him for a long moment before she realized that Carlos was standing next to her. "You like him, don't you?" he asked quietly.