61. Chapter 61
Walking behind Mary, I pause at the bar to get a fresh beer since we’ll be going into Church right after talking to Mateo. At the door, Mary’s practically vibrating in her seat to see Mateo, and I quickly put in my access codes, making sure no one can see the numerical one.
“Oh,” Mary cries as she wheels over to his side and slipping a hand into his. “ Tío (Uncle) Mateo.” She covers one hand over her mouth as she tries desperately to silence her sobs.
Drae gives me a slight nod and quietly slips out, shutting the door behind him.
“Shhh, now Mary. I’m alright now thanks to your man and the club.” As gently as he can, he pulls her into his side as much as he’s able to since he’s still laying on the bed and hugs her as she continues to cry.
After a few minutes, she pulls back, drying her eyes. “Did that bastardo (bastard) do this to you?”
Mateo smirks. “Your Spanish is coming along well, but I hope you’re learning more than just curse words.”
Mary levels him with a glare that could shrivel balls and he immediately sobers.
“ Sí (Yes), he did, and I will take great pleasure in getting my pound of flesh back. However, I do not know if I can give you more information than that, as I know from working with other MCs that they protect their women at all costs.”
Her shoulders slump as she sighs. “Plausible deniability. Fuck, I think the ladies might be right in their idea to get a commiserating tattoo of that fucking line along with ‘club business’.” She sighs again but nods. “However, I do understand.” She looks up at me and I shrug.
“It all depends on what Mateo has to tell us. You know I’ll give you the cliff notes version if I’m able to.”
Mary gives me a small smile before bolting upright in her chair. “ Mierda (Shit)! Did anyone tell Abuelo (Grandpa) that you’re here and safe?”
Mateo turns to me, though I don’t miss the corner of his lips kicking up in amusement at Mary swearing again in Spanish, and I wince. “I don’t know if Thor did or not. I didn’t and I apologize for that. However, I’m sure we will soon because I’m going to bet that we’ll be calling Antonio after hearing what Mateo has to say.”
She nods as she chews on her lip. “Okay, then I won’t say anything to him. However, I don’t know if I’ll be able to lie if he texts me.”
“If he texts you, just tell him he needs to talk to me.” Leaning down, I give her a kiss and feel even more tension leaving her now that she knows Mateo is safe.
They spend a few more minutes talking before Mary gives him as much of a hug as she’s able to.
“I’ll leave you gents to do your thing in Church and go help Levi and Mae. If you’re still up for it after Church, come find me. I’d love to fully introduce you to your grandniece and grandnephews.”
He squeezes her hand, smiling widely. “I’d very much like that.”
Giving Mary a kiss, I watch her as she wheels out to the main room and joins Mae right as Levi calls for the bunnies to quiet down. Shutting the door, I turn back to Mateo.
“Let me just check your vitals, your worst wounds, and remove your IV and catheter, then we’ll get you into Church. I’ve got a t-shirt and sweatpants here that I think will be about your size. How are you on a pain scale? Don’t bullshit me.”
Mateo huffs. “I’m about an eight, but I don’t want to take anything until after I talk to you and the other club members. I don’t want to pass out before telling you what I know. Shit, and if possible, not until I see the kids. I’ve been looking forward to meeting them in person for a long time now.”
After taking his vitals and recording them, I look over his wounds, happy that none of them are looking infected or inflamed. There were a few that I was worried about since they were caked with dirt, grime, and who knows what else. Then I get to work removing his IV and catheter.
He shudders when the catheter is finally out. “Fuck, I hope I never have to have one of those again.”
“With your line of work, I hope so, too.” Tossing my gloves, I wash up and pull out some spare clothes out of the closet. “Let’s get you up and see if these fit.”
Carefully, I help him sit up, and I’m surprised when he doesn’t even grunt in pain, though I do notice that he’s clenching his jaw fucking hard enough to rival what I’ve seen Thor do. But then again, I know these wounds aren’t his first with him being the heir to a mafia family.
Nor will they be his last.
Once he’s dressed, I press my hand against the scanner and input my code. The door to Church opens, and I lead Mateo to Levi’s nearby vacant seat since I don’t want him to overexert himself. Then I take my seat.
Thor bangs his hammer on the table and everyone quiets down. He turns toward Mateo, and they seem to mentally size each other up.
“Mateo, welcome to the Steel Archangel’s clubhouse. However, I was hoping it would have been on better terms.”
Mateo huffs slightly as he shakes his head, and his eyes tighten as he tries to hide his wince. “ Gracias (Thank you), and that would have been much preferred over how I arrived here.” He stops and frowns. “I am assuming you want me to get straight to the point, sí (yes)?”
At Thor’s chin lift, Mateo continues.
“I was drugged in my own home. Somehow, Diego managed to break into my estate, or paid off or threatened one of my men, and drugged me. It was either in the wine or the food. I am not sure which one it was. I remember getting drowsy after eating and then I woke up in a rustic out building.”
“How many men do you keep at your estate at all times? I’m assuming you aren’t saying that you were at your family’s estate.”
Mateo shakes his head again at Thor’s question. “No, it was not la casa de mis padres (my parent’s house). I have at least sixteen men around the perimeter, gate, and outside every entrance. Inside, there are another fifteen. More when Lorenzo and his men are there.” He shakes his head, his eyes blazing angrily. “If you have not already, if I could have someone reach out to mi padre (my father) and Lorenzo to start combing for how many traitors are in our midst, I would be forever grateful. If they haven’t already started, that is.”
Smoke gives him a chin lift. “As soon as we had your identity verified, both from your prints as well as from Mary in regards to your tattoos, eye color and birthmark, I called him to let him know. Though, I’ll have you know that it was not fucking easy to convince him to stay the fuck where he is. At least, not until we’re ready for him to come here.”
Mateo smirks. “Let me guess, have him show up with a few of his guards and demanding to either hand ‘Diego’ over to him for justice or demanding to be taken to him? I’m sure Diego has men watching your clubhouse to see how you react to finding ‘Diego’ dropped on your doorstep. They’ll then report back to Diego that you fell for their hat trick.”
“Fuck, he’s good,” Judge mutters and Bear bumps his shoulder, grinning.
“Well, he should be, since he’s gonna be the next Don.”
A few guys chuckle and even Mateo has a hint of a smile as he shakes his head.
“Yeah, that’s what we were thinking of pulling. However, we were leaning more toward the demanding to be taken to him one. Now, what else can you tell us about what happened when they had you?”
Instantly, all smiles disappear as Thor turns the conversation.
“Well, like I said, it was a rustic out building. Once I came to and got my bearings, I realized they’d tied me to a chair and had stripped me down to my underwear. It was still daylight, but I wasn’t sure if it was the same day or not. I could hear other people talking through the gaps in the boards, however, it was mostly women’s voices. For a while anyway. Going off of how the sun moved through the gaps, I’d say I was in there for a few hours before the women were suddenly quiet and Diego and Phillip Cole came into the room with a few men that Diego had turned from our family over to him. Diego is hell bent on taking over from Padre (Father) in my stead. Once he’s Don, his plan is to kill Padre (Father) and slowly steal power from the other Spanish families. Of course, he plans to use the network of nuestra familia (our family) to further his fucking trafficking ring, whore houses, and the Oasis homesteads,” he says, curling his lip as bites out the words.
Bones frowns as he leans forward. “Is he really that fucking dense that he doesn’t think we’re gonna figure out that you’re Mateo rather than Diego? Or your father?”
Mateo hesitates. “Back when we were kids, we pulled the stereotypical twin prank of switching places. We both know each other’s mannerisms and quirks. The only downside was our eyes, so we could only do it in places where we could wear glasses. I’m sure you two pulled stunts like that as well, sí (yes)?” he asks as he looks from Dragon to Thor, both of whom share a knowing smirk and Mateo’s lips kick up a little in the corner of his mouth.
“Well, when he came into the room I was being held in, he looked just like I would in a suit. He styled his hair like mine, was wearing colored contacts, and he either had his neck tattoos removed and used makeup to cover up the traces that couldn’t be removed, or he used entirely makeup to cover them. Now, as for how much more he’s changed of his body, I don’t know the answer to that because Phillip was the one that did all of this to me, while Diego just leaned back and watched,” he says as he gestures to his body. “However, Diego was the one who directed where Phillip would cut into me.”
Pausing, he rubs his throat and I curse myself for not thinking about that as I get up and walk over to the mini-fridge we keep in here. “Fuck, man, sorry. I should have given this to you right away.” I hand it to him and he tips his head gratefully at me.
“ Gracias (Thank you), and no worries.”
He takes a few sips, and then caps the bottle.
Gunner taps the table. “If Diego was so pissed at you, then why didn’t he have a more active role in your torture?”
Mateo’s brows dip heavily and he frowns. “Honestly, I’m not sure, as I fully expected him to have taken control as well. I do know I was supposed to have a meeting with Padre (Father) today and he might not have wanted to ruin his suit if he had planned on taking my stead. Especially if he only bought a few of the style that I prefer to wear.”
Thor turns to Smoke. “Did Antonio say anything when you talked to him?”
Smoke gives a chin lift. “Yeah, after describing what all had happened to him, he asked when Mateo showed up and I told him. Then he muttered that he knew it wasn’t Mateo in the meeting with the other Dons. At first, Diego-in-disguise acted mostly like how he expected Mateo to act, but then he suddenly started talking more and more like Diego would have. That’s when he sent a message to Miguel, who is currently the head of security under Antonio’s second, Tomás, to look at the security footage. He said that they found a few moles and were taking care of them, however he did not give me names.”
Mateo grunts in frustration. “Diego has always criticized the other Dons, as well as Padre (Father) and myself, when it came to our business investments. We look at ways to better our cities as well as our family’s stance and power. Not to mention keeping gangs out that hope to encroach on our territory or businesses. By improving our territory and showing that we protect it, mi abuelo (my grandpa) hoped that if anyone is going to join a gang or the mafia, they would join our ranks instead. And for the most part, it seems to be working.
“Diego wants to be a dictator, lording over everyone with an iron fist that he uses to threaten people into submission. He wants to bring back how things were done in our ancestors’ days. The Dons of the older ages. I’m not saying we don’t get our hands bloody with our way of doing things, because we most certainly do, but he wants to take it to the extreme. To reign with absolute terror and brutality. I will not allow him to bring those dreams to fruition.”
Sensing we need to bring things back around to Stephan and Diego’s plans; I rap my fingers on the table.
“Did they torture you in one setting or multiple settings?”
“Multiple. The first go around, I believe it lasted about a half hour or so before they left for the meeting. Diego ordered some guards to stay outside the door. However, they must have been either incredibly estúpido (stupid) or they were dropping false information on purpose.
“If we assume that the information is true, then Stephan is planning an attack that will happen before the weekend is up if Mary and the kids are not turned over to him. Diego is apparently getting tired of Stephan not delivering them and is giving him one last chance to redeem himself. If he doesn’t, he’s going to kill Stephan himself. I’m not sure what Stephan is planning, as they didn’t allude to that. I just know it’s coming.
“After a couple of hours or so of sitting there in that shack, Diego came back and tried to get out of me where mi daga de oreja was hidden. I am assuming you know about the daga de oreja ? My family’s eared daggers?”
“A little,” Thor says, and Mateo takes another sip of water before continuing.
“Diego cannot succeed Padre without it. Each daga de oreja (eared dagger) is engraved with our names and the dates we are born. The original daga de oreja (eared dagger) that the first Don of our family owned is passed on to each successor to show that they are worthy of leading our family. However, in addition to that, the Dons also receive a replica daga de oreja (eared dagger). When someone in our family dies, that date is then engraved on their daga de oreja . Our family keeps a wall of remembrance of our ancestors, which is currently in la casa de mis padres (my parent’s house), pictures of those of nuestra familia (our family) that have or are working in the mafia side of things. Not everyone wishes to have their daga de oreja hung under their picture when they pass, choosing instead to leave it to su familia (their family), but most do.
“The Dons are remembered differently. While, yes, our pictures are on display in the muro ancestral de nuestra familia, our family’s wall of ancestors, they are also on a wall in the Don’s office. It is under those pictures where our daga de oreja will hang once we have died. However, when we have legal business, the wall of our family’s Dons is hidden behind a secret wall.
“Now, the reason why I told you all of that is because Diego must present mi daga de oreja (my eared dagger) if he wishes to continue the ruse and succeed Padre in my stead. My guess is he’s scoured my house and couldn’t find it, nor would he have. He also cannot take my place as himself, should I be killed, since Padre and I took back his, Carlos, Isaac, and Gianna’s daggers by force. He is running out of options and the other Spanish Dons will not recognize Diego’s claim as the Don of our family without a daga de oreja .”
“No wonder he’s been acting desperate,” Dragon mutters under his breath and Mateo nods in agreement.
“ Sí (Yes).” He pauses and turns to me. “If his plans fail, his last ditch effort is to eliminate Lorenzo, Marco, and Miguel as they would be in line after me. Reason being that he would only go after them is that, to date, no woman has been allowed to become the Don of our family. Not in a sexist way, at least as of late, but because none have had any interest nor have had what it takes to be the Don. Then, regardless that she is his half-sister’s daughter, Diego’s plan is to take Mary by force, marry her, and earn the title of Don that way.”
“What the fuck,” someone mutters, but I don’t turn to see who spoke.
What the fuck, indeed.
And there is no fucking way that I’m letting Diego implement any of his plans.
“Then we need to up our fucking game plan to make sure none of that happens. We’re on lockdown. Smoke, you said you had more stuff for us. You’re up,” Thor says, his voice hard and razor sharp.
Smoke grins darkly as he gives Thor a chin lift. “This is what I found out.”