Twisted Tides (Forged Hearts #2)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

EVIE

“A Beautiful Lie” by Thirty Seconds To Mars

A s 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.”

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.

“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 threatened his family, 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.”