He laughed, "Perfect sense. I think I'm more the wife and two kids type."
"Why doesn't that surprise me? You seem a stickler for the rules."
Chapter Thirty Eight
Lucas
It pained me to keep my distance, but I had managed it by visiting good friends. The Diaz family had always been close to us and it was a shame they lived so far out.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Emilio asked me. My impromptu visit had not been discussed—no question when I had turned up at the door but that had been almost three weeks ago. Emilio could no longer hold back his curiosity. "If you're in some type of trouble I'll help you out of it," Emilio told me.
That was why I loved and respected the man sitting opposite me. Emilio was at least ten years older than me, but the age and experience never came across as patronizing. He pledged his loyalty to people and stuck by that fiercely.
"It's not the type of trouble you can help me out of," I told him, pushing the bowl away.
Carmen walked into the room, her son balanced on her hip and his head resting on her shoulder.
"Morning, both," she greeted us before leaning down to kiss Emilio on the lips.
The pain washed over me in constant waves, never giving me time to catch my breath before I was pulled under by the next current. Emilio had married Carmen five years ago. I had been so skeptical as I stood as part of the congregation and watched them exchange vows, looking like the most picturesque bride and groom. Emilio Diaz ran a tight ship and was a feared name. How did he think Carmen would fare in all of the mess?
She hadn't just fared. Carmen had thrived and proven herself time and again that she would stand by Emilio's side through anything. At every social gathering, Carmen was draped on his arm but was so much more than the typical trophy wife. Carmen had surprised us all with her viciousness when it came down to protecting her husband. Then came the news that their family was expanding. A baby boy and heir to the Diaz throne.
All the judgement I had once held towards Emilio and the choices he had made to start a family had long gone and was replaced by a deep rooted and hideous jealousy. He had managed to pull something beautiful into this life of lawlessness and I wished I could do the same.
"Luc!"
I was pulled out of my thoughts by a tiny voice. Santiago Diaz, Emilio and Carmen's pride and joy, was looking at me with his arms outstretched.
"Come here, little man." I pushed my chair back and Carmen deposited her son on my lap. Santi was only 3 but looked every inch his mother with dark hair and bright blue eyes. I had no doubt in my mind that he’d grow up to be just as much trouble as his parents.
"So, you admit there is trouble?" Emilio brought us back onto topic.
"How do you do it?” I asked, looking up at them. “How do you both do it?" I managed to get the words out as a lump came to my throat.
Carmen ran a hand through my hair and asked, "Who is she?"
She had always been more intuitive than her husband, more observant. Whereas Emilio preferred people to get to the point, Carmen picked up on the little things and pocketed the information for when she could find use for it.
"She wasn't even meant to be involved in all this," I said, looking back down to Santi. The young boy was busy tracing the tattoos on my arms with his little fingers.
"What do you mean?"
I couldn’t hold my resolve any longer and explained the situation to the pair. Carmen took a seat at the table, resting a hand on the small swell of her stomach where her second son had begun to grow. The Diaz dynasty was slowly and steadily expanding.
"Lucas," Carmen said softly when I had finished, her accent thick around my name. "Don't you think you should try and talk to her?"
Of course, I did. The problem was that I didn't think I would be able to handle Mia telling me to my face that she wanted nothing to do with me. A small part of me wondered if I could stay away until the debt was repaid, then Mia would return home and life could return to normal.
But that was a lie because there would be no more normal without Mia. Without her, there would be a gaping chasm in my life that I wouldn’t know how to fill.
"Charlie would tell you to get your head out of your fucking ass," Emilio told me bluntly.
"Emilio!" Carmen said horrified. "Mind your language around your son!"
Santi looked around at the adults at the table and Emilio shook his head at his son as a silent sign not to copy the words he had just said.
"Sorry, my love," Emilio apologized to his wife before turning back to me. For all the reputation that he held, Emilio was putty in his wife’s hands. "What I mean to say is that your father was a man who faced things head on and you are every bit Charlie's son."
