Her Latin Lover (Contemporary Romance) by Katheryn Lane Page B

bench by the edge of the square. Even though they were some distance away, Mary could hear them singing and shouting at each other.
    “Would you please excuse me for a minute? I think I should have a little talk with them.” He put his drink down on a small wooden table. Mary noticed that he hadn’t even touched it even though she’d already finished hers. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, the heat, or the dancing, but she began to feel slightly dizzy. She looked around for somewhere to sit, but all the chairs were taken by elderly matrons, swathed in black, eating large helpings of rice and beans from white plastic plates.
    “You’re a very good dancer,” said a strange voice that was breathing down the back of her neck. “Come and dance with me Clara.”
    “My name’s not Clara.” Mary turned around to see who was speaking and came face-to-face with the fat man that had pushed past her in the bar on the night of the poker game. It was the man that Paulo said was El Leon. Mary looked around for Paulo, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. The farmers on the bench had gone as well. She tried looking for Isabella, but there was no sign of her. She couldn’t even see the greasy Señor Marcos, as he was on the other side of the square and there was a sea of people in between, a sea of unfamiliar faces.
    “I asked you for a dance,” the man repeated. Mary noticed that several of his front teeth were made of gold.
    “No thank you. I don’t want to dance.”
    “You wanted to dance with Paulo.”
    It was the first time that Mary had ever heard anyone call him Paulo and not use his full title.
    “You liked it, didn’t you Clara, the way he pushed himself between your legs?” The man started rubbing his crotch.
    “I told you already, my name’s not Clara. It’s Mary.” She looked around. Where on earth was Paulo?
    “Come here and see what a real man feels like.”
    He grabbed her and forced his tongue into her mouth. Mary was overcome by the smell of rotten meat. She thought she was going to be sick. He shoved one of his hands on her backside and started to grope her breasts with the other. Mary tried to push him away, but he was very strong.
    “Get off her you pig!” It was Paulo calling out from behind. His voice boomed across the square and he was pointing a pistol directly at El Leon.
    El Leon let go of her to see who was shouting. He gave Paulo a big smile. “She has a great ass, Paulo. Nice firm breasts as well,” he said, flashing his metal teeth. He reached out again for Mary. However, there was now a bit of space between them and she used it to give him a good hard kick between the legs.
    The man groaned in agony and fell to his knees clutching his genitals.
    Paulo ran over to Mary and put his arm around her shoulder. “Are you ok? I am so sorry. I should never have left you.”
    “Look out Paulo!” she yelled, but it was too late. El Leon had pulled out a gun and was aiming it at Paulo. He fired. Paulo fell backwards from the force of the shot, dragging Mary down with him into the dust.
    Mary’s head hit the ground, stunning her for a moment. However, she soon came round and called out to Paulo. He didn’t respond; he just lay motionless on top of her. Mary managed to shift the weight of his body just enough to move her head and look at him. She could see a scarlet stain of blood spreading across the white cotton of his shirt.
    “You’ve killed him you bastard! He’s dead!” she shouted.
    El Leon came and stood over their bodies. “I should have killed him a long time ago. As for you, you little demon, you like to play dirty? I like to play dirty games too. I can see that we’re going to have a lot of fun together.” He rubbed his crotch again, this time with his gun.
    Mary tried to look around for help. From what she could see, the rest of the villagers were standing nearby including some of Paulo’s men, but they weren’t doing anything. She guessed they were too scared.