Twisted Tides (Forged Hearts #2)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

JAMESON

“Cult of Personality” by Living Colour

M ateo and I decide to bring back some breakfast for our family. Eli and Philip left this morning with nothing but a cup of coffee to join Gus—Eduardo’s primary personal security detail and long-time trusted friend. I mean the entire group that had gathered around the island, our found family, have returned to ensure everything is running smoothly at the clubs while we strategically plan our next move. We are still waiting for Mr. Martinez’s response to our blatant attempt at retaliation and expect him to bring hell to our doorstep, but his fury has yet to make an appearance and come our way.

Mateo pushes the seat back in my vehicle to accommodate his large frame as I start the car. I connect my Carplay, and one of my favorite songs starts playing. I hit the air conditioning button several times to full arctic blast mode to combat this Texan heat in a city that just seems to bake on the concrete slab it resides upon. I saw Theo cook an egg on the hood of his car once in high school, proving it could be done. Unfortunately, it also took away some of the paint.

I smile. Lesson earned.

Mateo glances over at me, seeing me lost in my thoughts about my idiot friends, as he turns up the dial and starts bobbing his head to the music.

Well, look at that, bro has good taste in music.

I look over at him and witness my girlfriend’s brother. He shakes his head, singing and playing air drums. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ” Taken from the “Day of Infamy” speech is one of my favorites, and apparently Mateo is fond of it too, especially in this particular rock song.

I slow down as I approach the local taqueria and ease up on the gas as I pull into their drive-thru entrance. There is a long line, but things progress quickly, and I lean back so Mateo can lean over toward my window and order when it is our turn. He has the list, and he knows what he wants, too.

I pull up when our turn comes and scrunch up my nose at his order. “What the hell is nopalitos?” There’s another car in front of us receiving their order, and he looks at me and laughs.

“Cactus,” he replies cooly.

I pretend to gag, now knowing what it is. “Why the fuck would you eat that? Great fiber?” I’m now trying any excuse to guess at why he chose that out of everything they have on the menu.

“Well, I like it for one, and it is better than what your girlfriend ordered,” he counters.

I gulp dramatically. Curiosity winning, I take the bait. “Okay, enlighten me. What did she order?”

He looks me up and down, trying to decide if he wants to tell me. He smirks evilly at me and then replies, “Tacos de lengua.”

I shrug. “I have no idea what that is. It sounds good, though.” I counter.

Mateo nods, agreeing with me. “Yes, delicious, if you like beef tongue.”

I look at him in horror.

“That’s what it is?”

He nods, confirming. “I’ve had that before. It tastes…” I look for the right word. “Salty.”

He nods again, agreeing.

“Yep, I agree. Definitely salty.”

Suddenly, all the saliva floods my mouth, and not in a good way. I need to change the conversation. I don’t have to wait as the server at the window repeats our orders. Mateo looks over at her, winking, and I see the blush forming on her cheeks.

“Here you go, boys, and I threw in something extra.”

I grab the bags, hand them to Mateo, and thank her for the food.

“Do you want to know what tripas are?”

I hold my hand up, halting this conversation. “Definitely not.”

He laughs loudly, slapping his leg. Tears spring from the edges of his eyes as he fights back the fit of laughter.

“Save it. I’m so done. If it tastes good, that’s all I need to know.”

He tightens his hold on my shoulder as he slaps my back while I am driving. “Bro, welcome to the family.”

I smile. Indeed.

We walk through the door with the bags. Evie and Emma come over to take them from us. They unpackage everything, and I see Evie frown. I look over at what she is holding, and she lifts a paper.

“Sylvia?” she reads. “What the fuck is this?” She looks at me, and I feel like taking her against the counter in response to her outright act of jealousy.

I find it to be such a turn-on, knowing that the thought of another woman flirting with me consumes her with fury. I already know my little vixen has a temper, and I’d love to test it out, but maybe without an audience this time.

Unless, of course, it is back at Eduardo’s club in a voyeur room.

I inwardly moan at the thought of angry sex with Evie, if it is anything to go by that night we shared back at his club. I shake my head, blocking that thought because if anyone else saw her naked, I’d have to gouge their eyes out.

I realize I have zoned out and laugh.

Evie is still staring at me, assessing and, no doubt, plotting my demise. “It’s not mine,” I reply, lifting my hands in surrender. “Ask your brother.”

She looks at Mateo, who seems unfazed by her dramatics. He rolls his eyes. I guess that’s what happens when you live together for a while. He reaches her, snatching the paper out of her hands, and quickly shoves the paper napkin into his pocket.

“For a rainy day,” he remarks absently. “Now, let’s eat.”

We sit around the island like last night, but it’s time for breakfast and coffee instead of tequila and limes. I look over at Eduardo, who is striding into the kitchen, freshly showered and ready to start his day of mafia dealings. Now that everyone is on the same page, there is no use in sugarcoating anything.

Eduardo is eating his tacos, and he moans around the food. “I love when my tripas are extra crispy.”

Mateo snorts. “I know, but don’t tell Jamesy here what it is. He doesn’t want to know.” His hands are raised in a halting motion, and he is not attempting to hide his mocking tone.

I look at my plain bacon, egg, and cheese taco, shrugging off the comment. “Some things are better left unsaid.”

“Agree.” Eduardo laughs, knowing my sensitive palate full well. “It’s bad enough that I discovered Evie ordered cow tongue tacos.” I place my food down, taking a big swig of orange juice.

“You said you liked my tacos.” She looks at me, puzzled, and dare I say offended.

“I do, but they are salty.”

She leans forward and murmurs in my ear, “I love salty things, baby.” She licks my ear, and Emma coughs, speaking up.

“Okay, can we please get through breakfast?”

Evie shoots her an ugly look, and Emma beams at her.

“What the fuck kind of family have I gotten into?” I say, barely audible, but apparently not low enough because Eduardo chuckles. Great, now I am sitting here with my taco and a hard-on after Evie’s comment. I adjust myself as discreetly as possible.

My phone chimes, distracting my thoughts just as Emma’s does simultaneously, and we both share a look.

Eduardo straightens upright and looks between us with an expression of displeasure and wondering what the message could be that involves Emma and me, but not him.

Evie’s jaw tightens, and I touch her face and turn her toward me to kiss her quickly before showing her my phone. “Here, read it for me. My hands are greasy.”

She smiles, knowing full well that I am doing this to show her that I have nothing to hide from her.

I know we have many things to work on, and the first one is trust. I need to continue building trust between us, and this time, there will be no more secrets. It is a group text from Liv and Dax. I see the recognition on her face as she reads it, and then a smile spreads when she sees the picture of a baby boy taking up the screen, and his weight and length are displayed under his name.

“Kaden Brodie Johnson,” she reads aloud. “He’s beautiful, Emma.”

I look up to see Emma touching her phone. Tears run down her face, and Eduardo kisses her cheek and licks away her tears. I look at his devotion to her and finally understand his feelings toward Emma. I only wished back then that I could have those feelings of love, protectiveness, and utter devotion to someone. They were childhood friends and then became so much more.

Evie senses me looking at something and looks over at her sister as well. I see the same realization on her face. It’s not one of jealousy. Her features soften, and I squeeze her hand. She looks up at me, and when our eyes connect, I express with as much emotion as I can the feeling I have and the hope for us to have a similar connection. She squeezes my hand before releasing it and walks over to Emma.

Eduardo shrugs. “You guys go. I have some things to take care of here, and if you are there with them, Jameson, I would feel much better.” He clasps me on the shoulder and starts to walk off.

“Wait,” I hear Emma call out to him.

He stops quickly and turns toward her, immediately concerned for the panic rising in her voice.

“Yes, babe. What is it?”

She walks over to him. She bites her lip, and I can see the wheels in her head spinning about how to phrase her following words.

“Um.” She twists her engagement ring around. “I was hoping that maybe I could tell Liv the truth. I have been feeling guilty for lying to her for a while now, and I really want her to know how much I value her friendship and maybe allow her to get to know the real me.”

Her shoulders slump forward, and I realize how much she looks like Evie in this instant. The thought that they have gone through so much is terrifying to me. All Evie has been through was also without anyone there to hold her and love her. I know she had her brother with her, but it is not the same. Eduardo is so devoted to Emma, and she has relied on his strength to get them through some of the most challenging times, but who did Evie have?

“Hey, sis. Do you want some company to go and see your friend?” I see Evie’s look of uncertainty flash across her face before she shuts it down and looks to Emma for an answer. She thinks Emma will blow her off. The vulnerability she tries to hide behind a strong fa?ade is heartbreaking. She braces for her response as if the words Emma speaks could physically crush her.

Emma doesn’t hesitate before she replies. “You mean, do I finally get to introduce my sister to my other bestie?”

Evie lifts her head in surprise and happiness. Emma quirks an eyebrow upward, and Evie cannot contain the laugh that bursts forth.

Looking at them both, I can tell they will get there sooner rather than later. Their pieces are now whole; now that Mateo is in the picture, they have come full circle and have their family back together.

I walk over to my girlfriend and take her hand, bringing it to my lips. I kiss it gently and then drop it. “We should all go,” I say, looking at Emma. “Me, Evie, and you?” I ask so they don’t think I would leave Mateo out. “Do you want to go, Mateo?”

He is quick to reply with a, “Fuck no. I need to sleep, and I mean for a whole day. I’m tired as fuck.”

I place my hand behind Evie’s neck. “We should probably go and get some rest, too.” I look over to Emma. “When do you think we should go?”

Emma scrunches her nose up in thought. “Well, she just got home from the hospital, and we need some time to plan for any retaliation from Mr. Martinez that should be coming our way soon.” She looks over to Eduardo, and he confirms.

“Yes, babe. Maybe give her some time to rest, and then you can all go over to visit, or if Jameson can’t go, then I can take you girls to catch up.” He thinks about it for a second. “How about this weekend? I have some work at the club, and you can spend some time with your friend and let her know to plan for them to visit her and to…” He pauses and swirls his hand in the air. “Whatever it is you want to tell her.”

The girls nod in unison and agree to make a date to visit this weekend to see Dax and Liv’s newborn.

“I can take them then,” I confirm with Eduardo, and he agrees that it is still a better choice. “I’d like to catch up with Dax if he’s home.” Which I suspect the fucker took advantage of some paternity leave if he could.

Eduardo claps his hands. “Okay, it is settled then. Jameson will take you girls, but now I need to see what I can find out about Mr. Martinez.”

Mateo stands. “I’ll meet up with you in a bit. I have somewhere I need to be, and then I’ll meet you at the club?” he asks, and Eduardo nods. “Jameson?”

I shake my head no.

I grab Evie by the hand and drag her out. “We have some catching up to do.”

Evie barely has time to grab her bag as I’m ushering her out by the arm. I hear Eduardo laugh, and I get it. If I spend the rest of my life telling her how much I love and cherish her, it still won’t be enough for the rest of the time I wasn’t there with her. The only thing I can do from this point on is devote myself to her.