Emma excuses herself and makes her way into the bathroom, as we wait nearby to see where she goes next. Moments later she walks out of the bathroom, when a man dressed in a suit bumps into her. His hands raise to apologize, then they drop into a defensive stance. Her face whitens, and then she runs off, chasing Liv out the door.
The man looks as if he is going to follow her but decides not to at the last minute. I want to see who he is. I want to see who it is that has scared her this way.
We approach him. As he turns around, I am so caught off guard that I almost stumble back as Mateo holds onto me.
“Mateo…” I stop, realizing my error as his razor-sharp eyes look at me in recognition and then at my brother.
Chapter Fifteen
EVIE
“Written in Blood” by She Wants Revenge
Iswear all the air is sucked out of my lungs. I gasp, and I must look like a flopping fish out of the water, an angler who holds me bound by an invisible line suspended mid-air as he stares at me with an unadulterated hunger.
He steps closer, and I instinctively take a step back, self-preservation mode kicking in. He smirks, clearly enjoying the recoil his mere presence brings, much like his sons’.
This must be what it feels like when a predator holds his prey, and you are locked in their sights with nowhere to flee.
Mateo grabs my arm and stops my retreat. He raises his chin to the man with similar eyes. I never knew it before, but that is what I always found familiar when I’d stare at my brother. The sudden realization makes me want to vomit.
I see the evil glint in his eye, almost giddy at seeing my brother. He knows this is something big, and I wish we never found out this way, but there is no denying it. If I didn’t know him better, I’d assume he was almost… proud.
“Mateo,” he drawls, and I hate how he says it.
Mattie squares his shoulders, attempting a stand-off with this man, and I visibly stiffen.
“Yes, and who are you?” my brother asks.
But I don’t want him to know the truth. I already know it, and I don’t like it. Does Mateo not see it? I want to say to him that we should run. We should run far away from here, take my sister, and move back to Mexico, but then this would all be for nothing.
The man smiles sinisterly at him and puffs his chest out. “Well, that really is the question, but you should always be weary of the questions you ask, Mateo.”
Mateo snorts, his arms crossed over his chest in a defensive stance. “Oh, really? And why is that?”
I grab his arm, pulling it down, and that makes the man’s face light up with amusement. He spares me a glance before returning his focus to who he is really interested in now.
“You might not like the answer,” he states with a touch of humor that seems to annoy Mateo.
“Oh, is that right?” my brother growls.
I watch this volleying of responses. A long moment lingers between us, and when I don’t think he will answer, I contemplate walking away and leaving, but I can’t. I find myself stuck in this spot, unable to move. I wonder if I will have to be physically dragged from here. I always considered myself to be strong, but his revelation has ungrounded me. It has made me question everything that my family ever told me. It has made me aware of the fact that maybe I didn’t really know my parents at all, especially my mom. She has a story that I will never get to hear from her. So many twisted lies and secrets that just keep coming to light, and it’s blinding.
Finally, after the tense moment, he speaks, confirming all my thoughts that Mateo is now going to be living a nightmare. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Mr. Martinez, Julian’s father.”
I see Mateo clench his fists and unclench them. His jaw is set so hard that I think I can hear his teeth grinding. But what he says next is the most unsettling.
“Yourfather.”
I gasp, and Mr. Martinez looks at me quickly before his gaze returns back to Mateo. “I’m glad to meet you finally, son.”
I see the shock register on Mateo’s face, and then disgust oozes from every pore. He stands back, full of contempt. “I’ll never be your son.”
He grabs my hand, but we hear a commotion from outside before Mr. Martinez can make a rebuttal. I see Eduardo running out of the door, Eli and Dax crouched down, and Liv slumped to the floor, crying hysterically. Dax picks her up bridal style and carries her out. Her head is pulled into his chest, and Eli has his arm around Emma. As they walk out the side, I see Eduardo pulling up with the SUV, and they all climb into it and take off.
Mateo and I are close-behind as we get into our cars and pull away from the venue.
We pull into the emergency department entrance to see everyone in the SUV running in through their front door. The words ‘trauma bay’ are illuminated above that entrance where there are several ambulances parked outside. I don’t know what caused everyone to come here so quickly, but I can guess it has something to do with Liv’s friends, since she was the one crouched down, sobbing inconsolably against the wall.
