Free Cursed-epub by Ann Mayburn Page A

he didn't hear the tremor in her voice.
    Ramon pressed against her harder, grinding his erection into her side. “Everyone is for sale. Even you, Carmella.” He said her name with an exaggerated roll on the R that sprayed spittle on the side of her face. “You want to live in this dump forever? I can take you out of here, baby. I can take care of you.”
    Using her backpack, Carmella managed to shove him back a step. “I've seen how you take care of your women. I've seen them walking down the hall with black eyes or split lips. I. Am. Not. For. Sale.” She emphasized each word with a jab of her backpack into his stomach.
    Lifting his lip in a snarl, Ramon grabbed her arm in a bruising hold. “You think you're better than us? You think you're somebody special? You're nothing, you're no one, and you're just another worthless bitch. Look at you! My lowest whore has more respect for herself.”
    The words struck a blow to her already wounded ego. He said everything she felt about herself, everything she’d thought when she looked in the mirror this morning. Thrown off guard, all she could do was stare at him with tears in her eyes.
    Ramon smoothed his hair back with a hand covered in gold rings and gave her an oily smile. “Come with me, baby. I'll make those tears go away. A couple lines of coke and you won't hurt anymore.”
    Carmella felt her lip curl in disgust. “I'd rather spend the rest of my life cleaning toilets than ever let you touch me. You disgust me. A real man doesn't have to beat women and pay for his sex.”
    “You cadela estúpida !” Ramon growled a second before he slapped her face. Her eyes watered from the pain, and she lifted a hand to her wounded cheek. No blood, but her cheekbone throbbed.
    Carmella stood there for a moment, stunned, before she backhanded Ramon across the face with all her strength. Ramon sailed across the concrete steps, landing at the bottom with a thud. She didn’t know who was more surprised at her unusual strength, her or the man looking up at her now with murder in his eyes. The right arm of his shirt had torn during his fall, and his skinned elbow dripped blood down his hand. His tongue worried his lip, and he spat blood onto the steps at her feet.
    “Oh, you bitch. You're going to pay,” he crooned as he slipped a butterfly knife out of his pocket. Staggering to his feet, he wiped the blood from his split lip and began to lumber toward her.
    Terrified, Carmella backed up the steps, not taking her eyes off him. How had she managed to hit him as hard as she did? He outweighed her by at least eighty pounds. No way she could have knocked him down the steps with one blow. Those thoughts were secondary to the fear coursing through her, bright and silver-hot.
    The door squeaked open behind her, and a large dog began to bark and snarl. “Get out of here, Ramon,” a stern woman’s voice yelled over the loud barks. “I told you not to step foot on my property again. I let your whores stay here because I pray to the Blessed Virgin they will find the strength to leave you. But if they keep letting you in here, I will kick them out.”
    Turning around, Carmella looked gratefully to her guardian angels. It was Mrs. Amável, the landlady. The furry guardian angel with the deep bark was Mrs. Amavel's chief of security, Gabriel. Standing as high as Carmella's hip, Gabriel was a 115-pound German Rottweiler. Normally as sweet as a lamb to Carmella, right now he was snapping and snarling at Ramon like a crazed beast.
    The tip of Ramon's knife pointed at Carmella, glinting orange and gold in the light of the setting sun. “This isn't done. No bitch hits me and gets away with it.”
    Mrs. Amável loosed the leash holding Gabriel back, and the dog lunged down a few steps at Ramon. Turning white, Ramon backed away quickly and ran out the gate.
    Carmella let out a shuddering breath and sat down hard on the concrete step. “I'm so sorry, Mrs. Amável. I didn't mean to bring trouble to