Evie lifts it for me to look at her. “If I hadn’t come in when I did…” she trails off, not finishing her sentence or needing to, for that matter, because I can sense the question and apprehension,but what kills me is the vulnerability in her eyes. She gave herself over to me entirely, and now she wonders if that is too much.
I bring her to me. “Evie, you have nothing to worry about. I am totally in love with you, baby.”
She brings her forehead to my chest and then looks up at me.
“I am yours, and you are mine,” I assure her.
“I love you, too. It scares me so much,” she confesses in a whisper.
I kiss her forehead and bend to kiss her lips as she reaches up to meet mine. “I know,” I whisper back. “Hey,” I say a little more loudly, electing to lighten the mood. “Want to give me a ride to Dax’s office? There is something I need to pick up there on the way.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EVIE
“A Beautiful Lie” by Thirty Seconds To Mars
As I walk down the pier with Mateo, I can’t help but feel like someone is watching us. Throughout the years, it has happened, and I’ve become acutely aware when something just isn’t right. There are some telltale signs. The way that my skin tingles. The prickly sensation that causes the hair on my arms to stand on end, much like static electricity. Except, this is more of a feeling, an instinct of self-preservation. I doubt anyone is, but I also wasn’t aware of Mr. Martin. Not once did he give me bad vibes. Mr. Martinez, Julian, and Marcus, Julian’s driver, always gave me the instinct to flee and to do so fast.
I should feel creeped out that this older man whom Mattie has come to love so much could betray us so badly. I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt because I know that Jameson mentioned that he looked defeated, dropping his head down when he repeated that he didn’t want to do that while he was on the phone with his son, Mr. Martinez.
The camera they secretly installed in his place captured that one-sided conversation. It made it seem like he wasn’t complacent in this, but instead, he was doing it out of necessity.
We won’t know the whole story until we walk in there and learn the truth from Ramón.
Mateo opens the door, spotting the little traitor in the corner with his coffee and chess set. His bright eyes, usually alight with humor, are dulled. There is a worried expression replaced by a furrowed brow, his thoughts miles away from this café.
He's taking the board out as Mateo walks over to him, and I turn around to grab our usual coffee orders. That’s when I notice Dylan, the barista who wrote his name on my cup months ago, standing there.
I misjudged him, thinking he was cheating on his wife when she was, yes, the mother of his child that they were co-parenting and not in an actual relationship with. He looks skittish, displaying a recent black-and-blue eye. He won’t look at me, and it sets me on high-alert for some reason.
“Dylan.”
He looks up at me before looking around, but no one else is in here right now except for us this Friday afternoon.
“Are you okay?”
He ignores the question, acting like he doesn’t know me. “What can I get you?” He avoids making eye contact with me as I repeat the same thing I order every time I come in here. He turns around to get us the coffee and rings me up. Taking my payment, I slide him a note telling him to meet me around the back by the bathrooms. He nods once, and I take the coffees over to Mateo and place mine there as well.
“Hi, Ramón,” I say to the man who shares the same blood as my brother. I give a little wave, and he smiles, not knowing that he is about to meet with a few intimidating people in a few minutes. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom quickly before I watch Mattie lose.”
Mateo makes a ‘hmph’ noise as I walk off in search of Dylan.
As I turn the corner, an arm pulls me into the back, and I almost lose my footing, ready to give the guy another black eye.
“Evie, I wanted to warn you, but I’m afraid.”
My hackles rise. “What do you mean, Dylan?”
He looks around, as if potential danger lurks in the broom closet. “I was approached by a man the other day asking about you and your sister. He said his name was Mr. Martinez.”
I look at his black eye. “Did he give you this?” I reach out to touch it and he winces.
“Yeah, well, not him, but another guy that was with him. He also had a couple more men at the door watching. He snuck in at the last minute when I was closing up. I don’t really know why he was asking these questions, but he threatened me and my family. He wanted to know when you came in again.”
I nod.
“Evie, if I don’t tell him, he is going to hurt me or, worse, my baby.”
