by Wilder, L.
“I needed to talk to you.”
“Wait … how did you know where I live?”
“You remember how I told you I worked with computers?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, it just so happens that I’m really good at it,” I jested.
An inquisitive look crossed her face as she said, “Obviously.”
“You got a minute?”
“Sure.” She took a step back and motioned me inside. “Make yourself comfortable.”
I took a quick glance around the room as I walked over and sat down on her oversized navy sofa. While it wasn’t overly fancy, it was clear she’d worked hard to make it a nice place. She had several large pieces of white-washed furniture that had been made to look older than they really were, and pictures of quotes and farm animals hanging on the walls, which gave it a rustic, country feel. Even though it wasn’t exactly my style, I liked it. “You’ve got a great place here, Reece.”
“Thanks. My mom has been helping me fix it up a little. It’s been a process. Our tastes aren’t exactly the same, but I appreciate her efforts.” She sighed as she sat down next to me. “Anyway … I’m guessing you aren’t here to talk about my apartment.”
“Not exactly, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear about it. I want to know everything that happened to you during and after your pregnancy and the birth of my son, even the stuff that might seem insignificant to you.”
She nodded as she quietly replied, “Okay.”
“I’m sure he’s sleeping, but … could I see him?”
“Of course.” A soft smile crossed her face as she continued, “His room is right down the hall.”
I followed her to his room and my chest tightened when I found Tate sleeping soundly in his crib. He was wearing a pair of pale blue pajamas. His little fingers were curled up in balls at his sides, his hair was dark, and his cheeks were full and rosy red. It was hard to believe that I had a small part in creating something so beautiful, so unbelievably perfect, and yet, as I stood there staring at him, there was no doubt in my mind that he was mine. “He’s really something.”
“Yes, he is.” She smiled as she asked, “Would you like to hold him?”
“I don’t want to wake him.”
“Don’t worry. The kid can sleep through anything.”
She reached into the crib, gently lifting him into her arms, before carefully passing him on to me. When I noticed the bandage on his head, I asked, “So, he’s really okay?”
“Yes, Jackson. He’s fine,” she assured me. “He fell asleep on the way home and hasn’t made a peep since.”
“Good.” I chuckled as I looked over to her and said, “He’s a good-looking kid.”
“Yep. Just like his father.” Her smile quickly faded as she whispered, “I’m really sorry that I didn’t find a way to tell you sooner.”
“That’s not completely on you, Reece. I had my part to play in all this, too.” I paused for a moment as I tried to find the right words to say to her. “I knew you were the one for me, but I let my pride stop me from going after what I wanted. It not only cost me time with you, it cost me time with my son, and I can assure you—I won’t let that happen again.”
“When I went to the clubhouse and saw you with that other woman, I was so torn. I wanted to tell you about Tate, I really did, but I thought you were with someone else. I was embarrassed and hurt, and I let those feelings keep me from doing the right thing.”
“I have a knack for finding people, Reece. I should’ve looked for you. I should’ve found you and set things straight.”
“So, maybe you’re right. Maybe we both had our part in this. The question is … what do we do now?”
“We find a way to put this all behind us and focus on the road ahead.”
“About that, I want you to know … I don’t expect anything from you. We’ve been doing really well on our own, so don’t feel obligated. If you aren’t up for this, I’ll understand. You can walk out that door tonight and never look back.”
“There’s no way in hell that’s gonna happen. I’m not going anywhere, Reece. I’m in … one hundred percent.”
12
Reece
From the first time I laid eyes on Jackson, I thought he was attractive. Hell, he was more than attractive. Who was I kidding—Jackson was smoking hot, and it was a struggle to keep my hormones in check, especially when he wore faded Levi’s with his leather cut. But seeing Jackson hold our son in his arms took him to a whole new level. As I watched the two of them together, it made me fall for him even more. That’s when I knew it wasn’t my hormones that I had to worry about—it was my heart. I had to do what I could to protect myself from getting hurt so I gave him an out, hoping that it’d push him to give me a much-needed honest reaction. My entire body grew tense as soon as I said those words to him, and a dreadful feeling washed over me while I waited for his response. So, when he told me what I so desperately wanted to hear, I couldn’t have been more relieved.
“Are you sure? Because I really need you to be sure.”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” He looked down at Tate in his arms, and a softness crossed his face as he answered, “I’ve already missed so much time with him. I can’t imagine missing another minute.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Looking at him with our son nestled against his chest made it hard not to let myself slip into a fantasy world where I could imagine Jackson and myself raising Tate together, falling madly in love, and spending the rest of our lives in perfect bliss. But to think that we could make this thing work without tearing our lives apart was just that—a fantasy. The fact was—Jackson didn’t know everything about me, and I certainly didn’t know everything about him, especially when it came to Satan’s Fury. While he’d mentioned his brothers, told me a couple of amusing stories, and even shared some of their names, he’d never really told me what went on behind closed doors of that clubhouse. Those were the secrets he kept all to himself, and something told me that wasn’t going to change. I thought back to the surveillance video, which I’d secretly recorded on my phone, that Detective McKnight had shown me from the night Rodrigo was murdered, and as I looked up at Jackson standing there holding our son, it terrified me to think that he might’ve had something to do with his death. I hoped the “lighter thing” was just a coincidence, but I had to know for sure. I couldn’t let myself fall for a murderer, and I definitely couldn’t let him be around my son. I simply didn’t have a choice. I had to ask him now before I put everything I cared about in jeopardy. “I need to ask you about something.”
“Okay.” He walked over to the crib and carefully laid Tate down onto the mattress. Once he was sure that he hadn’t woken up, Jackson looked back over to me and whispered, “Should we go back in the living room?”
“Yes. That would probably be for the best.”
He followed me out of Tate’s room, and once we were seated on the living room sofa, Jackson looked to me and asked, “What do you have on your mind?”
“It’s a little complicated,” I started. “You remember me telling you that I work at the paper?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Well, I’ve been working on this piece about one of the Mexican cartels for the past few months. I decided to write it because my uncle was one of the higher ups in this particular cartel.” When I noticed the disturbed look on his face, I knew I had to explain further. “I know it may be hard to believe, but my Aunt Camilla didn’t know that he was associated with the cartel when she married him. My mother told me that she was working as a travel agent when they had met. He owned one of the resorts her company used for their tour packages. One thing led to another, and the next thing they knew, my aunt packed up all her stuff and moved out to California.”
“I’m guessing things didn’t turn out so well for her.”
“No, they didn’t.” I sighed. “They started out okay, or at least I think they did. I remember her visiting
us a few times, and she talked to Mom on the phone quite a bit. She seemed happy, but Mom never really bought into it. She never trusted my uncle, especially after she found out that there were questions surrounding my aunt’s death.”
“She died?”
“Yes. Just over eight years ago. Even though nobody could prove it, we all knew that Uncle Rodrigo had something to do with it. I had always hoped that one day I could do something to get back at him for what he’d done, but I just found out that he was murdered a few days ago.”
Jackson’s voice was low and strained as he asked, “What was your uncle’s name again?”
“Rodrigo Navarro. Why? Have you heard of him?”
“Wait … You’re telling me that Rodrigo Navarro was your uncle?” he asked with a sarcastic chuckle. “Fucking unbelievable.”
“Yes. Do you know him or something?”
“You could say that.” Shaking his head, he grumbled, “Fuck me. You’re Alex’s cousin. I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”
“What? Who’s Alex? I don’t know anyone—”
“Alejandra Navarro.”
My blood ran cold the minute he said her name. “How do you know Alejandra?”
“It’s a long story. A really long story, but Alejandra is my brother’s ol’ lady.”
“That can’t be possible. Alejandra is in California with her father.”
“Like I said, it’s a long story.” His eyes narrowed as he demanded, “You need to stop this shit with the cartel, Reece. You can’t go snooping around these guys without putting your life in jeopardy. They’re dangerous people. You have no idea how dangerous, and it’s not just your safety that you have to consider. You’ve got Tate to think about. I know it’s important to you, but no article is worth your life. You’ve gotta walk away from—”
“Stop. I’m not walking away from my article, Jackson. There’s too much on the line.” I could feel my frustration building as I snapped, “But I don’t want to talk about my article right now. I want to know more about Alejandra!”
He let out a deep breath before answering, “I don’t know much. Just that she left home eight years ago and ended up in Memphis. For one reason or another, she was hiding from her father when she met Shadow.”
“She’s been here for years? But that doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t she contact us? Why wouldn’t she tell us that she was here?”
“I can’t answer that. I just know she kept it a secret from everyone, including Shadow. He didn’t know anything about it until her father came here looking for her.”
“Oh, my God. Is she okay? Did he hurt her?” I gasped.
“No. She’s fine,” he assured me. “She and Shadow are good. Really good.”
“When can I see her?”
“Whenever you want. She’s just a phone call away.”
“I just can’t believe it. Alé is right here in Memphis … My mother won’t know what to think.”
“I’m sure Alex will be glad to see you both. She’s been on her own for a long time. Having her family back is going to mean a lot to her.”
“It’ll mean a lot to me, too.”
I was so shocked about my cousin that I almost forget why I’d brought up the article in the first place. I glanced over at Jackson, and my chest tightened with apprehension. Now that I knew there was an actual connection between Jackson and my uncle, I was even more nervous that he might have had something to do with his death—that he truly was the person on the surveillance video. Needing to know for sure, I reached for my purse and as I took out my phone, I said, “I need to show you something.”
“Okay.”
I pulled up the video and once it started playing, I handed him the phone. His face was completely void of expression as he started watching the video. “What is this?”
“Just watch.” I waited for it to finish then asked, “Is that you?”
“Who?”
“The guy in the parking lot.”
His brows furrowed as he asked, “What makes you think that’s me?”
“You didn’t answer my question, Jackson. Is that you?” When he didn’t immediately answer, I knew it would take some pushing to get him to talk. “You know, I can remember the night we met like it was yesterday. I’ve replayed it in my head maybe a million times over the past couple of years. I can remember what you were wearing, the style of your hair, and even the scent of your cologne. You were so incredibly handsome. I couldn’t believe you were interested in me, much less that you were actually nervous … then you did this thing with your lighter.”
“Yeah, and?”
I took my phone from him, and after I got it to the place where I’d seen him in the parking lot, I handed it back to him and said, “You kept striking it over and over. I remember you calling it a ‘nervous habit.’”
He silently watched the video for a second time, and once it was done playing he looked over to me and said, “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say here, Reece. This video doesn’t—”
“I want you to say that it isn’t you on this video! I want you to say that you didn’t kill Rodrigo and tried to cover it up by setting that fire.”
“I didn’t kill Navarro, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have if I’d gotten the chance. You were right when you said he was a bad man, and as far as I’m concerned, he got what was coming to him.”
“So, this isn’t you in the video, and you had nothing to do with his death?”
“You’re asking me questions that I can’t answer.”
“It’s a simple question, Jackson.”
“I’ve already said too much when I told you I didn’t kill Navarro. That’s all you need to know,” he barked.
“But—”
“You’re not listening, Reece,” he warned. Jackson ran his hand over his face as he let out a deep, frustrated breath. “You’re walking a fine line with all this, a line that should never be crossed under any circumstances.”
“Does this have something to do with your club? Is that why you can’t tell me what’s going on, because I know something is going on, Jackson. I’m not stupid. If my uncle was coming after Alejandra and she was your friend’s ol’ lady, then he would’ve done something to stop him from hurting her.”
“Leave it, Reece.”
“I can’t just leave it, Jackson. That’s not who I am!” I argued.
“You don’t have a choice with this.”
“Why not? This is my family we’re talking about. I deserve to know the truth.”
“Reece,” he warned again.
“This Shadow guy … He’s the one who killed my uncle, right?” When I saw the look of determination on his face, I knew he wasn’t going to answer. “Just forget it! It’s not like you’d tell me even if he did.”
“You’re right about that.”
I stood up with an aggravated huff and started pacing back and forth. “Well, I guess all those rumors about the men of Satan’s Fury are true.”
“Some of ‘em, but not all,” he said, his words clipped.
I threw my hands up in the air as I grumbled, “Well, that’s reassuring.”
“Look, I know it may not be easy, especially since I haven’t given you much reason to, but you’re just gonna have to trust me, Reece.” He reached for my hand and pulled me towards him as he continued, “You’re gonna have to trust that I’m going to be there for you and Tate, to know in your heart that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you both. I’ll put my life on the line to keep the two of you safe. I give you my word on that, and my brothers will do the same.”
“Why would your brothers care what happens to Tate or me?”
“Because I care what happens to you.” He continued, “These men are my family, Reece. A family that’s joined not by blood, not marriage, but by choice. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for me. Hell, any one of them would take a bullet for me, and they know I’d do the same for them.”
“This whole club thing is scary, Jackso
n. I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“You can handle it, Reece. Hell, you can handle anything you put your mind to. I just need you to give this thing a chance.”
“And if I can’t?”
“You can.” He stood up to face me, and as he towered over me, I found myself leaning towards him as he whispered, “Two days. Two days was all it took for me to fall for you, and spending the last two years without you was torture. I’m not going through that again. Now that I have you back, I’m not letting you go. I can’t. I’m a selfish bastard, and I just don’t have it in me to walk away, so we’re just gonna have to find a way to handle it together.”
He looked at me with so much emotion and such longing that I could feel it all the way to my bones. I wanted to fight it, but I couldn’t resist the pull towards him. Like Jackson, I wanted to hold on to what we shared. I wasn’t ready to let it go either, so I answered, “Okay.”
“Trust your heart, Reece.” His arms snaked around my waist, holding me firmly against him as he leaned forward and briefly kissed me. I could feel the warmth of his breath as he said, “You’re it for me, Reece Winters. You were back then, and you still are today.”
“Call me crazy, but I feel the same way about you.”