Untamed Hearts 1: The Viper (32 page)

Qué
—What? We say this a lot. Usually while we’re looking at you like you’re dumb.

Que linda
—So cute. It’s affectionate. My mother used to say this a lot when we were younger.

Sí
—Yes.

Tetas
—Titties. I’m a big fan of the tetas. Katie has a great set of tetas. Big ones. Don’t hate. Player’s got game.

Tía
—Aunt. If you’re talking to her directly, you’ll usually just call her Tía, but if you’re talking about her to someone else you’ll use her name afterward.

Toma asiento. Ponté cómodo
—Sit. Make yourself comfortable.

Tu eres bello también
—You’re beautiful too.

Un momento
—One moment.

Un poco
—A little.

Vámonos
—Let’s go.

Vete pa’l carajo
—Go to hell. Fuck off.

Yo puedo hacer esto
—I can do this.

Street Slang

305
—Area code for the Miami/Dade County turf. Used to refer to Miami.

Baller
—A badass motherfucker. Usually with cash, connections, and style. Best not to fuck with a genuine baller. They’re like thugs on steroids. My cousin, Chu, thinks he’s a baller. Truth—He is.

Ballin
—What Ballers do.

Berettas
—Weapons favored by the Italians due to the fact they are manufactured in Italy. The Italians are vain motherfuckers who like to represent any way they can.

Blitzed
—High. Fucked up. Usually on something illegal. Not really into it, but I was guilty of smoking bud when I was younger. Harder drugs like blow (cocaine) were never my thing, though I know others who were big fans of the snow. They fucking paid for that shit too, but you’d have to read other books for that story.

Blunts
—Empty cigars filled with marijuana. They will fuck you up.

Boost
—To steal a car, stealth like and under the cover of night.

Bottles
—Booze. I recommend rum. Most Boricuas would. My cousin Chu will tell you Patrón. Not a fan of the tequila. Do I look Mexican?

Bud
—Marijuana.

Chop shop
—Where boosted cars go to die.

Going down
—I have mixed feelings about this term. On the one hand, it’s a reference to going down on a chica, and it’s a much better past time than getting blitzed. It’s also slang for getting arrested and going to prison. Having done both, I highly recommend sticking with the chicas and avoiding prison.

Going to the mattresses
—An Italian term used when a mafia war is about to go down. They literally buy mattresses and force their soldiers to sleep on them in a safe house for weeks or months so they’ll always be on call to protect the family. If an Italian asks you to go to the mattresses, say no, unless you feel like dying for some mafia motherfuckers.

Green—Money.

Heat
—The cops. Always pendejos. Haven’t met one yet I like. Avoid unless you feel like going down in the non-sexy sense of the term.

Ink
—Tattoos, usually with meaning. Ink is powerful. It’s forever. That means something to my people.

OG
—Original gangster. A term of respect given to gangsters who have lived long enough and bled for their gang to the point that they are no longer required to do grunt work. Sad, but most gangsters are OGs by their early twenties. (Note for young thugs. Very few gangsters get to be OGs and if you do manage it, that means you buried most of your friends and/or you went down long enough to grow old behind bars. It’s almost always a depressing combination of both mixed with losing your soul just to survive gang life. Being an OG is not as baller as you’d think.)

Omertà
—An Italian term for the code of silence in their organization. Breaking the oath is bad for your health. They’ll kill your ass in a New York minute for that shit. It used to be that only Italians could take the oath, but nowadays they are inclined to use others to do their dirty work and let them go down for the effort. Non-Italians can’t be made, but they can sure work for the motherfuckers. Boricuas are a prime target, as we’re naturally badass and fearless. My advice, stay the fuck away from the Italians.

Jacked
—Stealing a car, though it can refer to doing it at gunpoint (Not a fan, where’s the fucking skill in that?) it’s also used as a general term for a stolen car.

Laying low
—Hiding out. From the heat. From another crew. Basically staying hidden so whoever is after your ass can’t find you. Not a fan of laying low. Hiding is for chicas without conjones.

Smoked
—Killed.

Strapped
—Carrying a gun, usually to avoid being smoked. (See above)

Thugs
—Hard, mean, criminals, most often gangsters because thugs tend to find each other at a young age and organize with a unified goal of them against the world. Avoid. They’re always and without question pendejos, myself included.

Loose Id Titles by Kele Moon

Packing Heat

Starfish and Coffee

The Queen’s Consort

* * * *

The BATTERED HEARTS Series

Defying the Odds

Star-Crossed

Crossing the Line

* * * *

The UNTAMED HEARTS Series

The Viper

Kele Moon

A freckle-faced redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives on pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her storytelling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rule she believes in is that, in love, there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.

So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it, she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who has infinite patience for her airy ways, and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven, he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children, who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts—they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Read more about Kele and her books at
http://www.kelemoon.com
.