I need to know what is happening, but I sense that we will not like the answers. He starts typing then stops. I stare at my phone and frown, but don’t comment. No further messages come through.
Mateo pulls into Ramón’s driveway, and he assists the older gentleman, helping to get him to his door. Mateo disappearsinside the condo, and I wait for him. My phone dings moments later, and I notice another text message from Jameson.
Jameson
You and Mateo meet me at The Viceroy after. Eduardo and I will be waiting for you.
I’m reading the last message as the door opens, and Mateo slides into the driver’s seat. He looks over at me, then backs out of the driveway, pulling onto the feeder road to get on the highway. He looks over at me, sensing something is wrong.
“What? What’s going on, Evie?”
I shake my head, confused as to what they need to discuss with us and why all the evasive questions.
“Not sure, but Jameson said we should go over to Eduardo’s club. They want to talk to us there.” I look over at my brother to see what he thinks about this.
“Did they hear back from Mr. Martinez yet?”
I bite my nail, shrugging my shoulders. “He didn’t say, but I have a bad feeling about this, Mattie.”
“We can speculate all we want, but it’s best just to go now and see what they have to say.”
I nod in agreement. We ride the entire way into the city, absorbed in our thoughts, wondering when the other shoe will drop.
Chapter Twenty-One
JAMESON
“Too Sweet” by Hozier
Iget a call from Eduardo to meet him at his club. He doesn’t explain the reason for the meet-up, but I know it is important if he called me at work to meet him.
I promptly gather up my belongings and rush out of the office, rushing to his club. I park right next to the door in the back alley and hit the button on my key fob to lock my car door as I am met by Gus. He leads me down the hallway and up the familiar set of stairs to Eduardo’s office. Gus doesn’t knock. He opens the door, and I see Eli and Philip already there. I enter, looking back at Gus, and take the only remaining seat across from Eduardo’s desk.
“You aren’t at the gym today?” I know he isn’t, so it’s more of a rhetorical question, if anything.
Still, he shakes his head in a nonverbal answer to my stupid question that really didn’t need an explanation in the first place. His hands steeple over his mouth in a contemplative gesture as he carefully chooses his following words.
“I received a phone call today from Evie and Emma’s uncle in Mexico.”
I straighten in my chair, immediately on edge as to what this could now mean for us. “Did you speak with Emma? Does Evie know?” I look back at Gus, who walks closer to us and leans on the wall, crossing one foot over the other—his half-effort at getting comfortable.
Eduardo shakes his head. “No, he just called and told me about something exciting, and because of this new development, I need you to get me a camera.” He looks over to Eli and Philip.
“What is this about? How can I help?” I look back and forth at anyone who could put me at ease because I don’t like how my stomach drops at the uncertainty of the situation.
He hangs his head and then directs his focus at me. “I just found out that Mr. Martin is actually Mr. Martinez.”
I look over at Eduardo, who is waiting for me to react. I just don’t know what he’s talking about. Perhaps if I had more information, I would respond differently.
“I’m confused. Mr. Martinez?”
Seeing my confusion, Eduardo quickly brings me up to speed for the urgency of this meeting. “The same as Julian and his father. As in the same grandfather to Julian. That Mr. Martinez.”
I sit there frozen. “Ramón?”
My brain takes a moment to compute the gravity of the situation. This past year, Mateo has found a friend in this older man. I thought it was odd that this gentleman wanted to hang out with him so much.
“That’s his grandfather?” My hand falls over my mouth. “Evie has been over there multiple times, and they were with him over the holidays because the man didn’t have any family,” I say, my pitch getting higher, as my anxiety rises through the roof.
