“That depends on what you have to say for yourself, Mr. Martin. Are you working with your son to take us down?”
Mr. Martin looks at Mateo but answers Eduardo’s question. “Absolutely not. He is forcing me to help him, or he threatened to hurt my grandson. I was hoping to get him to work with me, but I just couldn’t bring it up. I had a phone call the other day, and he is in the area now. This needs to end, and that means my son needs to die.”
Eduardo nods at his two men, and they get up and walk to the front and back entrances of the coffee shop to look out. “We heard your conversation with your son at your home.”
Ramón looks up in disbelief. “You bugged my house? When?”
Eduardo waves his hand away, and Jameson beams, proud of the part he played in keeping us safe by stealing a page out of Eduardo’s playbook. “That’s not important. What is important is what he said to you.”
Eduardo and Mateo exchange a look, which I don’t understand.
Ramón nods in understanding. Recollection of that conversation is fresh in his mind, and he spares not a single minute to share the details of it. “He wants you to take over for him. To be the heir he wanted all along to solidify himself a place in the mafia world. His true heir. With those types of connections, he feels his political standing will soar, as will his wealth in the illegal drug trade across the border. He wants you, Mateo, and I am entrusted to deliver you to him.” He stands up.
“No, Mattie. You can’t go. I won’t let you.” Emma stands, too, pleading. “He is a monster, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve been on the receiving end of it with his son, too. You can’t leave us.”
Mr. Martin looks at Mateo. “I don’t think any of you understand here. He doesn’t just want his son, his only heir, to take over his business. He wants his sisters, too.”
The room is so quiet you can hear a pin drop. The anger that radiates off Eduardo is palpable. The air grows thick. He stands abruptly, toppling the chair over.
“Over my fucking dead body will he take Emma from me.” His words are deadly and vicious. His chest heaves as he restrains himself from having a fit of explosive rage.
Emma places her hand on his, and he breathes in deeply. He closes his eyes, trying to collect his hot temper, which only a few have had the displeasure of witnessing.
He looks over to Emma, and he seems to calm a little at her soothing touch. She calms his inner monster and makes him a better person. We all know this.
I look over to Jameson, and he is entirely rigid—his lips parted. I swear he has stopped breathing. I place my hand over his cheek, and he sucks in a deep breath, like he is revived by my touch alone.
“Fuck, no,” he says angrily. “He can’t have you.” I look over at him but talk to everyone around us.
“He has already been here. He knows where we are, and he wants us. You see that guy behind the counter with the black eye?”
They all turn to look at Dylan, and he visibly pales at the attention of the angry group in my blended family.
“He knows that we come here. Dylan told me when I got here. He threatenedhisfamily, and I told him to call Mr. Martinez and let him know when we leave.”
Everyone looks at me, saying my name in unison. Jameson turns my face to look at him, ignoring the angry cries contesting my decision, but it’s already been made.
“Why, baby? Why would you tell him to do that?”
I look down before meeting his eyes. “So many people have been hurt to help us, and he has a baby. A baby, Jameson. A defenseless baby that Mr. Martinez threatened to hurt.”
Emma gasps, and a small sob comes out of her as Eduardo soothes her, running his hand through her hair, murmuring loving words to her.
“It’s time, Mattie. You have to go with Ramón. You have to end this. If that means we must go with you, then so be it. He stole our past. It’s time we reclaim our future.”
Chapter Thirty
JAMESON
“Nitro (Youth Energy)” by The Offspring
“When did you get this?” I hand the keys over to Eduardo.
“Evie stopped by the office the other day, and she gave me a ride over to pick it up. Dax didn’t ask any questions, but Liv told him we needed the condo in Padre Island to hide if things went bad. I think this is truly the definition of 'if things went bad. Don’t you?”
He nods in agreement, biting his lip in concentration. “Yeah, I think it is.”
I planned this thinking that it would just be a precautionary measure, that we wouldn’t need it. I mean, I hoped we didn’t need the keys, but I am glad I had the foresight to get them. Otherwise, it would be hard to know if we are being watched and then needed the keys before Emma and Evie are forced to leave with Mateo. Because they are going to have to leave with him. I am still unsure about Evie and Emma having to go, but we will get a better idea when we hear it directly from the source. When we have an idea of what he really wants with our family.
