by L. R. Wright
For a while, Lei and Ari continued to see each other, with her sneaking out to see him on occasion so they could be together.
When Jackson died, she finally thought she and Lei would be together. But he had already committed himself to Makayla, offering to stand by her side because she had no family left.
When he married Makayla, Ari tried to get over him, but she couldn’t. Although she dated other men, she knew she would die still loving Lei.
She forced her mind away from her thoughts and traced his jaw with her fingers. “I couldn’t sleep. I knew you and the others went up to search the house, so I thought I would wait for you to come back.”
He stayed silent while she shifted her position on his lap and ran the back of her hand down his cheek.
“I heard Alexa and Dro come back,” she continued softly. “I panicked initially. I just had to see if you were alright.”
“I’m fine. Alexa had to come and rescue me, though.” He laughed faintly. “She came at just the right time.”
She giggled as she relaxed into him. “So, Alexa, saved you? That’s...different.”
“I think Dro had something to do with that.”
Ari smiled, thinking of her brother and Alexa. “Well, I’m glad he did. She’s pretty stubborn.”
“You’re not lying,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. “I’m glad she decided hiding was no longer an option because I was glad to see her.”
She intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed. “I’m glad you’re okay. Are you any closer to figuring out who did this?”
He shook his head. “The only thing we do know is that Melissa is involved.”
“Melissa?” She sat upright. “Who’s that?”
“Don’t you remember her, Dro’s one night stand from hell? Alexa broke her finger at the bar?”
“Oh yeah, I remember that.” She leaned back against his hard chest. “How do you know she’s involved?”
“She left a message for Alexa.”
“Well, she better hope Alexa’s not the one who finds her. She would have better luck with Kendrick.”
They both laughed at that because Kendrick was considered the violent one of the group. And they both knew he would be a piece of cake compared to Alexa. She wasn’t as violent as Kendrick, but Melissa had threatened her children, and that wasn’t something someone could do and get away unscathed.
Ari rose and stepped away from him. “You need to go.”
As much as she wanted him to stay, she knew Makayla was probably waiting for him. He grasped her hand again and stood up. “I don’t know how long we have to be down here.” He cradled her face in his hands. “But I want you to know how much I—”
“Shhh. Don’t say it. I know.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, then pulled her closer, and deepened the kiss. She stood on the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, taking what she could in the moment. But eventually, reluctantly, she broke the kiss and pulled away.
Turning away from him, she held back the tears until she heard the soft click of the door.
***
When Lei walked into his room, he was glad Makayla was asleep. He just wanted to put this day behind him. He slowly slipped his shirt off, then his pants, and crawled into bed next to her.
Lei loved Makayla, but not like he should. She was his wife, but his mind was constantly on Ari. He didn’t believe in regrets, but the longer he stayed married to Makayla, the more he resented the choices they all made so long ago. For once, he just wanted to be happy with the woman he loved more than his own life. He wanted that undying kind of love Dro and Alexa had. But he made a promise to stay by Makayla’s side for better or worse. And he would keep that promise to her because he did love her and wanted her to be safe and happy.
Makayla turned to face him. She hadn’t been asleep after all.
“I thought you were sleeping,” he whispered.
She reached up and touched the bandage on his temple. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. It’s nothing big.”
There were tears shining in her eyes. “But you’re hurt, Lei.”
“It’s just a cut.”
“Did Ari clean you up?”
“Yeah, she saw me when I was coming in and insisted on tending me.”
Although Makayla never said anything about it, he knew she was well aware of his past—and present—with Ari. After all, Makayla and Lei had been friends since Kindergarten. They had grown up together. And Makayla had made a few comments on how much Alana resembled him.
“Good. I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried,” she said and kissed him
He pulled her into his arms. “I know, baby.”
***
Makayla sighed and willed the tears not to fall. She waited until she heard Lei’s soft snores then pulled away from him. She’d known he was with Ari. She could smell her on him. It was no secret that Lei and Ari had a connection. She knew he secretly wished he could be with the other woman.
If she was selfless she would have let him go a long time ago so he could be happy with Ari. But she wasn’t. She couldn’t help it, she loved him, even though she had long ago accepted the fact he would never love her like he did Ari. She didn’t think that he realized she knew about them. But she did—all too well. She also knew Alana was Lei’s daughter and every chance Lei got, he was with Ari.
Makayla was okay with that. Really. She figured she was damaged goods anyway. She couldn’t give Lei a child, but he had still agreed to marry and protect her. He had never wavered on his oath, and she knew he would die keeping that promise.
She fell in love with him when she was twenty-years-old and had never stopped. At first she had hoped he would love her the same way. Ultimately, she chose to give up that dream and just enjoy the piece of him he was willing to give her. She rolled over and smiled at her husband. Reaching out, she skimmed the bandage on his head with her fingers. “I love you, Lei.”
“I love you, too.”
Startled that he’d heard her, she burrowed into his open arms and smiled when he placed a chaste kiss to her forehead.
CHAPTER 12
March 19, 1998, Alexa’s house:
Alexa nibbled on a ham sandwich and waited for Dro to arrive. She had just come from the hotel with Lei. Over the past couple of weeks, she had been trying to break up with Erik. But he wasn’t taking the hint. It wasn’t her choice to hurt him like that, but Steve had shown his true colors a couple of weeks before. They heard Steve had threatened Erik as a means of getting to her. And she wasn’t about to let Erik get caught up in this mess.
She felt that by limiting contact with him, Steve would back off. But Erik was holding on. She had told him on numerous occasions she didn’t want him anymore, even going so far as to pretend she and Kendrick were together, which Dro wasn’t too happy about. But that was another story.
Things were getting hot between her family and Steve’s. Dro had broken Steve’s jaw at the homecoming dance, and Steve’s father was hell bent on revenge. Pop had been trying to handle the situation, but he was also dealing with important Martinez business, so he couldn’t devote the time he needed to the situation. Dro was managing security as best he could, but there was only so much he could do from college. Lei picked up the slack for Dro, and no one had made a move against them yet—which was good.
At the hotel earlier, Alexa had noticed Erik hanging around with Steve and his father. Lei accused her of being too nice to Erik and suggested she ask Dro to handle him. She had her doubts about that. For all his talk of keeping things light, Dro seemed to enjoy scaring all her potential dates away and keeping her for himself.
She heard a knock at the door and bellowed, “Come in.”
Dro stepped into her room. “You need to stop being so nice to Erik.” He must have talked to Lei.
She glared at him as he approached her. “Hi, to you too, Dro.”
“Lei told me what happened this af
ternoon. You need to stop being so nice and just break up with that idiot.”
“I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I care about Erik. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Do you want him hurt?”
She sighed and stood then paced back and forth across the room. “No I don’t. But I also don’t want to break his heart.”
“At this point, it doesn’t matter. You said you wanted him safe, and we all agreed you would dump him so he doesn’t get entangled in this bullshit.”
“Dro, I did dump him. I’ve told him I don’t want him. He doesn’t believe me.”
“Well, he’ll believe me. I’ll talk to him.” He plopped down on the bed, picked up her half-eaten sandwich, and took a bite. “But I can see why he doesn’t believe you. Besides the fact that you’re being too nice, you’re one hell of a liar.” When she rolled her eyes, he grinned. “You’ve been lying to him from day one, and he’s believed every single one of your lies.”
Alexa felt bad for leading Erik on, and that was a first for her. Erik was different from other boys. Besides, they had been friends since middle school. She snatched the sandwich from his hands. “Fine. Do your worse. I guess I’ll just have to deal with him hating me forever.”
“Is that the problem? You don’t want him to hate you? What the hell is wrong with this picture?”
“Don’t start, Dro. I just told you to do your worse. But no, I don’t want him to hate me. I’ve known Erik for a long time and he’s been a good friend to me.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “I don’t want him involved either. Steve is up to something and I want Erik to be far away from me when this goes down.”
Dro stood and slowly walked up behind her. “Lei told me you guys saw Steve and his father today.” He rested his chin on her shoulder. “I want you to stay away from them. Steve is mad. He lost serious cool points when I snapped his jaw. And he’s not very smart. But with his Dad backing him, we could have some serious trouble. Pop wants us to keep everything tight until he can take care of Steve’s father.”
She tilted her head to the side, resting it on his. “I understand, Dro. You don’t have to understand about Erik, but I do care for him.”
“I don’t understand. I’ll never understand. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t want to understand anything about you and someone else. But I’ll tell you this. When I do talk to him, you have to roll with me, whatever I say.”
“What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to make it convincing. As long as it gets the job done, right?”
“Like I said, do your worse.”
***
March 19, 1998, Martinez Hotel:
Later on that same evening, Dro was in the hotel bar with Alexa. When Erik arrived with another classmate of theirs, Janine, Dro felt Alexa nudge him with her elbow.
“He’s walking in now,” she said.
“I see that.” He jerked her into an intense kiss, tangling his hand in her dark hair. When he broke it off, he couldn’t help but smirk at the blush creeping up her neck to her face. He ran a finger along her jaw and she closed her eyes in response.
He glanced in the mirror behind the bar. Erik was gaping at them. Perfect. Dro turned back to Alexa, who was staring at the ceiling.
She stood up abruptly. “Make it quick. I’m ready to go home,” she said and dashed out of the bar.
He noticed Janine chase after Alexa as Erik approached the bar.
Erik ordered a shot, drank it down, and slammed the tiny glass on the bar. “Keep ’em coming,” he told the bartender.
Dro moved over and slid onto the barstool next to him. “Cut him off, Drew,” Dro told the bartender.
Erik glared at Dro. “What the hell are you doing?”
“He’s underage. Stop serving him. He’s done.”
Erik slammed his fist on the bar. “Says who? I showed him my ID and who the hell do you think you are?”
Dro smirked. “You don’t know? Soy el jefe.”
Erik fiddled with his empty shot glass. “I know what your ‘crew’ calls you, but what does that have to do with me? I don’t have to answer to you.”
Dro motioned the bartender away. The man set a cold beer in front of Dro and headed to the other end of the bar.
“You really are an idiot,” Dro told Erik. “I guess you didn’t take Spanish. El jefe means ‘the boss.’ This is a Martinez hotel and the last thing we need is to get busted for serving a minor.”
“I saw you with your tongue all down Alexa’s throat like you own her.”
Dro shrugged and took a sip from his bottle. “How do you know I don’t? You don’t know anything about my relationship with Alexa. And if you saw me with my tongue down her throat, then you also saw that she wasn’t objecting in any way.”
“Whatever.”
“I don’t like you,” Dro said. “I’ve never liked you.”
“Well, it’s good that it’s not up to you to like me. She likes me and that’s all that matters.”
Dro tapped a finger against the counter. “There you go, feeling yourself too much.”
“She’s with me when you are away at school.”
“Not anymore. From now on, she’s only with me. This is not a competition, Erik. If it was, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“What do you want?” Erik asked.
“Just wanted to give you a little friendly advice. This infatuation you have with Alexa has to stop. Stay away from her. Don’t see her again, don’t even look her way.”
“What if she doesn’t want me to leave her alone?” Erik asked. “See, from where I’m sitting, you don’t know a hell of a lot about my relationship with Alexa.”
“I know all I need to know.”
Erik seemed to ponder that. “Well, I know Alexa. Something’s up. She confides in me.”
“Oh, you mean her little sob story? ‘Dro and I are supposed to be married...my father has determined I have to be with him...I like you but there are things you’ll never understand about my family...obligations that have to be kept.’ Am I close?”
Erik’s eyes widened. “Too close,” he mumbled.
Dro rolled his eyes. This really was too easy. “You don’t get it, do you? Alexa is a player and you got played.”
Erik shook his head. “She may surprise you.”
“Nothing about her surprises me. But you’re obviously surprised I know what your average conversation with her was about. Like I said, just let her go. It’ll be better for you in the end. And don’t think she’ll care when you’re gone. That’s what a player does. You’re nothing special to her. She finds some unsuspecting idiot so enamored with her they fail to see the game she plays on them, until she walks away with their dignity. So you should really consider this a favor and stay the hell away from her.”
Erik scowled at him. “So are you telling me this to help me or to keep her to yourself?”
Dro smirked. “I already told you that I don’t need to try to keep Alexa to myself. She’s already with me. This is just my way of helping you not to get on my bad side. She told you she was done with you. She means it. And now that I have to get involved, I’m irritated. It’s a waste of my time to be having this conversation with you right now. I don’t like talking to you. So stay away from her. Period. If you don’t, then I’m going to have to use other means to get the message across. We both know I don’t make idle threats.” He finished the rest of his beer, stood up, and walked out of the bar.
When he entered the lobby, Alexa was waiting with Lei and Kendrick.
“It’s done. Let’s get out of here.” Dro took Alexa’s hand in his as they headed out of the hotel with Lei ahead of them and Kendrick bringing up the rear.
As they walked to the garage, he noticed a black car heading toward them. It was too late to warn the others as the back window lowered and bullets sprayed in their direction.
From that point, everything happened in slow motion. Lei cursed and fe
ll to the ground. Kendrick yelled for Alexa to get down, but she had reached under her dress for her own gun and dived behind a car. Dro grabbed his gun and fired at the car, while he headed for Lei who was already moaning on the ground.
Dodging bullets, Kendrick and Alexa returned fire, each from behind a parked sedan. Moments later, the enemy’s vehicle crashed into a nearby telephone pole. Assuming one of his crew shot a tire out, Dro signaled to Kendrick who rushed over to check the occupants of the car.
By the time Dro reached Lei, Alexa was shouting to someone on her cell phone and the blood oozing from Lei’s wound had pooled on the cement. He grabbed Lei’s ankle and dragged him away from the street. But before he could examine the wound, Alexa was at his side.
She dropped to her knees beside Lei. “Is he okay?”
“Did you call Chase?” Dro asked. He couldn’t meet her eyes. He was no doctor, but Lei was losing a lot of blood. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yes. He’s on his way. Luckily, he was right around the corner.”
“Good.” Dro pressed his jacket over the wound on Lei’s chest.
“There were two of them and they’re both dead,” Kendrick said from behind them. “So I don’t know who they are or who sent them.”
The sound of screeching tires had everyone but Lei spinning around, guns at the ready.as Chase braked to a halt in a dark Expedition. Dro and Kendrick lifted Lei up, set him in the back seat then climbed in beside him as Alexa hopped in the front. The faint sounds of police sirens could be heard as they sped off into the night.
***
November 4, 2011, B5:
Alexa lay in bed, facing Dro.
He reached out and tucked a stand of her hair behind her ear. “I was ten when I saw my father kill someone for the first time.”
She gasped.