His eyes snap up to mine, and he gulps. Clearly, this is not the question he was expecting me to ask. “It could have been better, Evie.”
I throw my arms around him, and he hesitates briefly before returning my embrace, and there, in the middle of the night, I hold my long-lost brother, who, along with me, witnessed our parents die just moments ago.
“How did Mom and Dad let you go, Mateo?”
He hesitates but decides to tell me as we watch the chaos erupt across the street. “My dad doesn’t know about me, and Mom gave me up when she had me when she was eighteen. Then she went to college, continued with her life, and met your dad there. The rest is your life, not mine.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “But why not tell us about you? I don’t understand,” I beg to comprehend.
“It’s more complicated than that, and I know we have to talk about it, but let’s do that later, okay? Maybe when we are away from here.”
I nod in silent agreement.
He leans over and tries to get a better look at the black SUV that makes its way over and stops down the street. I see my sister run over to the house with Julian trailing behind her. She falls to the ground, and I stand abruptly when my arm is tugged and my body is forced back down.
“No, Evie. You can’t go over there. It isn’t safe, and that defeats the purpose of making it look like you died in that fire along with your parents.”
I turn my head toward Mateo slowly, absorbing the gravity of his words. Then it dawns on me. “That’s why you had me hand over my ring?”
He nods. “Yes, the Martinez family is more than likely responsible for this, and they won’t bother checking very closely to see if it’s you. Julian will recognize the ring on your finger and assume the girl is you.”
I hear Emma screaming, and I notice something glinting in the light. Emma slumps over, and I see Julian picking her unconscious body up and taking her to the SUV. Her head lolls to the side, her body limp in his arms, and she is once again at his mercy.
“He fucking drugged her.” I point at them and look over at Mateo, disbelieving.
“Does that surprise you, Evie?” He shakes his head in disgust.
“I hate that fucker.”
Mateo nods, agreeing with me. “Yeah, he’s an asshole for sure.”
I look over at him. Trying to get a better read on him. “That’s an understatement, Mateo,” I counter, but his phone vibrates, effectively cutting off our conversation.
“It’s time to go.”
He helps me stand with him as we head to the back of the house. Across the street, the park is shrouded in darkness, but a black pickup truck with tinted windows is idling. We look both ways and see no oncoming traffic.
“Come on,” Mateo calls out and extends his hand out from behind, and I place my hand in his, effectively blindly trusting my brother that I’ve just learned about.
He opens the back door, helps me enter, and hops in after me. I take the backpack off my shoulders and place it between my feet.
“Buckle up, Evie,” I hear a voice from the driver’s seat, and my head snaps up to see Adrian, my cousin.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp. “Adrian! What are you doing here?”
He smiles at me. “Well, my dear Eve’s, it appears that I am saving your ass, and your sister is next.”
Chapter Five
JAMESON
“Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups
Isit alone in the bar, waiting for Dax to arrive. He said that he would meet me here straight after work. I glance at my watch, knowing he should be coming through those doors any minute.
I called him up because I wanted to talk to him about Emma. I thought we had a connection, and when I left her place that night after partying at Eduardo’s club, I had suspicions that he was into her. I saw him at her apartment after she sent me home insisting that she was okay and didn’t need anyone, but what she meant was anyone other than Eduardo.
I saw their bodies close together as I peered up, looking into her living room window from the parking lot like a stalker. I could’ve blamed it on the alcohol or my mind playing tricks on me, but I hadn’t had much to drink. Any lingering effects of alcohol had vanished while ensuring Emma was okay at the club. If I hadn’t forgotten my wallet and tried to return to her apartment after she insisted that I go home, I would have never known she was into him.
