Read Online GRINGA by Eve Rabi - Free Book Online

everyone stiffens and I see fear in their eyes. They rush out of my room, stumbling over each other in the process.
                  What the hell ...?
                  Then I hear the thundering of hooves. Diablo . It has to be him. Only he rides like a madman.
                  Crushed by the humiliation I just suffered, I slowly sink to my bed and suppress the urge to bawl. How do I live like this? Clearly they hate me and they’re go ing to make my life hell. That Tongue , he’s such a loathsome toad . H ow do I cope with him?
                  Maria enters the room, looks at me and sighs. She shakes her head and gives a rueful smile. ‘Senorita ... Senorita ... ’
                  Her sympathetic look brings tears to my eyes and I furiously wipe them away. I need to toughen up. I seem to be crying so much recentl y. It’s really bad for my tough-chick image. S he takes my hand in hers. ‘I have to be strong, Senorita ,’ she says in a solemn voice. ‘ I have to stand up and fight back or they will make me loco , Senorita. They will take away my brio . I be scared of Diablo. Nobody else , Senorita. They do anything to me , Diablo, he kill them.’
                  I nod. It’s comforting to know that I am somewhat safe from them.  
                  A hurried hug and she scurries away.
                  Fight back. Mfff ! I’m outnumbered.
                       The men and women are now sitting around the huge dining table in the villa I’m in – Diablo’s villa. It’s spacious, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, the largest dinging room I have ever seen , a lounge and a gourmet kitchen. 
                  Curious, I sneak out of my room and peep into the dining room. Everyone is there except Diablo . They’re guzzl ing whisky, tequila and vodka. There’s a lot of high fives and back slapping . must be a productive day.
                  Then , Diablo appears and conversation halts. At the sight of him , I dart back to my room and shut the door. Seeing him again leaves me unhinged . I sit on my bed rock like a mental patient.
                  Then suddenly I hear, ‘G ringaaa!’ Diablo’s voice. 
                  I sit rigid, barely daring to breathe.
                  ‘Gringaaa !’
                  I scramble to the back of my king size bed and shove my knuckles into my mouth.   
                      The doorknob rattles . S omeone is entering my room . I scream into my hands . It’s Maria.
                  ‘Please come, Senorita,’ she says.   
                       ‘M ... Maria w hy ...?’
                       ‘Don’t be scared, chil d ,’ she says and squeezes my hand. ‘Diablo , he just wan t me to join him for dinner. Tha t ’s all.’              
                  ‘I don’t ... Oh God ... I can’ t ... ’  
                  ‘Hush ,’, she soothes, ‘Diablo won’t hurt me. Only if I hurt him. You his Mujer , you must sit at the dinner table.’
                       I take no comfort in her words . T he bastard shot me three times and threw me over the cliff without any provocation. To me, he is just a cruel freak of nature holding me captive.
                      ‘Come eat,’ she urges, taking my trembling hand in hers.
                      I absolutely do not want to eat with them. The thought of eating any kinds of meat with them nauseates me. Having no choice and terrified I may anger the malevolent Diablo, I stand up, fight for composure and slowly trail Maria to the dinner table.
                  Maria eyes my hunched shoulders and frowns. ‘Strong, Senorita,’ she whispers, jerking her shoulders upright and raising her chin. ‘All the time, in front of