I shush him as I think about it some more. “I appreciate you telling me. I have my family coming here in a few minutes. After we leave, you call him and let him know that Mateo and I are here.”
He shakes his head. “No, Evie, I can’t let you get hurt because of me.”
I smile at him and how sweet he is. To think how badly I really misjudged him. “It’s okay, Dylan. You tell him, and then you will have done what he asked of you. He won’t hurt you or your family, okay? Can you do that for me?”
He bites his lip, thinking it over. “Okay, but be safe.”
I assure him I will as I head back to the table, knowing that this will take a different turn very soon. It’s obvious that Dylan’s black eye happened recently, meaning he is still in town, so he knows where we are.
I return to my seat, and Mattie looks at me. He can sense the change in my posture, despite my attempts to keep my mood light. I don’t get the chance to direct the attention elsewhere because Eli and Philip flank Eduardo, Emma, and Jameson as they walk in through the coffee shop like they own the place.
Dylan scoots back from the register and busies himself, pretending to refill coffee beans. I shake my head and smile, trying to reassure him that no harm will come to him, but he can sense the danger these men bring to the table.
They take a seat surrounding two tables, moving them closer to us as chairs screech across the floor. Jameson puts his arm around me, bringing me into him. A blanket of warmth and safety envelops me, making me remember when Mateo was the only one who helped save me. Now he needs our help, and I’ll do anything for him, including laying my life down to protect him like he did for me those times before.
Ramón looks over to Mateo in question. He just shrugs. “I think we have some things to discuss, pops.”
The look of shock and what I can only describe as fear, envelopes Ramón as he crumples his shoulders in defeat. His head hangs low, but when he raises it, there are tears in his eyes.
“You have no idea how much I wanted to hear you call me that. I have come to know you over the past months, but for you to say that to me now means that you know something, but not everything. I can assure you things are not always as they seem. But today, I will ensure you learn all of it.”
His determined expression shows that he was strong in his day, a force to be reckoned with. He did raise Mr. Martinez and with a grandson like Julian… I can’t even finish that thought.
Goosebumps rise on my arms, and Jameson interprets this as me being cold. He moves his arms back and forth on me in an attempt to warm me up. Emma sits there silently, and Eduardo looks murderous.
“I think you should get talking,Mr. Martin.” Eduardo stresses his name, letting us all know that his real name is Martinez, much like the animal he sired.
He nods. “I knew your mother.”
Okay, woah. That is not where I thought this was going.
“She came to me when she learned she was pregnant with my son’s baby and asked for my help. I was a lawyer, much like my son who is following in my footsteps, but that is where it ended. He had big aspirations, and one of those was to marry your mother and have an heir that would give him the connection to the Ortiz mafia family, which he needed so much to further his political endeavors.
“I learned that he was physically abusive, and she wouldn't let her unborn son be used over her as leverage to return to him, so she came to me asking for help to get away. I kept her secret, and we formed a plan to move my son’s focus onto the gold digger, who was her best friend at the time and roommate—Julian’s mother.
“Your mom already knew that he was sleeping with her, and it wasn’t too much later that she ended up pregnant. They even sent your mom a wedding invitation to show her how much of an afterthought she was.”
Mateo looks over at me, and I shrug.
“So she planned that?” Matteo asks in confirmation.
“Yes,” he states. “And her plan worked. She had you and kept you hidden. She went off to college and met Evie and Emma’s father, who wanted no part of that life. I think that it was a relief for her to discover that. She didn’t want that for her other children either.”
Emma squeezes Eduardo’s hand. “Yeah, she almost cost us our happiness in the process.”
“I think she cost us a lot of unhappiness.” Mateo hits his hand to the table.
Mr. Martin nods. “I think it was hard for her, and unfortunately we may never know what she truly would say to it all. What her answer would be to those questions because of my son’s actions.”
Jameson scoots his chair closer. His fingers tighten around my hip. “Your son terrorized my girlfriend, and she almost died in that fire alongside her parents, if it wasn’t for Mateo. He saved her on more than one occasion.”
He holds his hand up to halt the conversation. “I haven’t talked to my son in years. I disowned him and my grandson when I saw their depravity. They were evil, and I wanted no part of them. I didn't know what he was doing until recently when he told me his son died and that you left his body placed in a car belonging to some woman and set it in a fiery blaze outside his home to find.”
Evie feigns indifference. “It was the least we could do to that sick fuck after what he did to my sister, and it’s only fitting that he died similar to my parents. An eye for an eye, right?”
Mateo glances over at Eduardo. “So what now?”
Eduardo stands with Emma, and they both look at Ramón. I can sense that Eduardo would have no remorse if he killed him if it meant that Emma would be safe.
