Chapter 26 #2
So, once Rafa has joined us, and the door is closed, I join Lex on his side of the room and look at my family.
The words seem stuck in my throat, or maybe it’s because I don’t know which ones to start with.
I’m about to ask Lex to do it himself when his hand comes to my lower back, resting there supportively.
“Lex and I weren’t vacationing,” I say first, looking out the window. “We were in hiding in a safe house in Canada.”
“What? Why?” Mom asks.
“The day I was shot, it wasn’t … it wasn’t an accident.
A woman from the FBI came while I was still in the hospital, and she explained people are trying to kill Nammota.
” I hear their gasps, but I don’t let it stop me.
“She told us there’s a million-dollar bounty on Nammota’s head, and for lack of a better option, they’re coming after Lex.
The man who shot me actually tried to shoot him, but I got in the way. ”
“Pollito …”
“I wanted to tell you, but we thought it would be safer if you didn’t know. But I was wrong. The man who shot me had a snake tattooed on his face. Just like the man who pushed Maria Carmen. He hurt her to get to me, and through me, to Lex.”
Only then do I muster the courage to look at my abuela. “I’m so sorry, MC,” I say, tears welling up in my eyes. “You’re here because of me, of us. He did this so we would come out of hiding.”
I’m forced to stop because I’m sobbing, and Lex wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his comforting embrace.
“But it’s ridiculous,” Mom says. “Why would they come after Lex when he’s been acquitted? He’s clearly not Nammota. They have the wrong man.”
I close my eyes, doing my best to contain my breathing. If we tell them the whole truth, we’re putting them in even more danger, aren’t we? We need to act dumb and confused.
Before I can do that, though, my father, who seemingly has had doubts for a while, says, “They’re coming after Alexander because he is Nammota. And Andrea … she did the hit while he was locked up, to get him out.”
Fuck. The cat’s out of the bag now.
Lex, who apparently refuses to insult my father’s intelligence, says, “No one can know. It puts Andrea in danger as much as it does me.”
My mom sits down as if drained of energy. She’s so pale, I worry she’ll faint. “Someone wants my baby dead,” she whispers to herself. “For a million dollars.”
“We’ll fix it,” I promise, wiping my tears away. “We’ll destroy the man responsible for it.”
“Do you know who that is?” Rafael signs.
I nod. When they all expect me to give them a name, I shake my head. “He’s powerful and influential, but we’ll nail him, I promise.”
They’re still processing it all, with my father now at my mother’s side, his hands on her shoulders, when a nurse walks in. She sighs and gives us a reproachful frown. “Only two people, please. And visiting hours are almost over.”
Rafa, Lex, and I are the first ones to react, stepping out while my parents stay in. My brother remains by the door while Lex and I walk a few steps away. “Do you think we did the right thing?” I ask Lex low enough for no one else to hear me.
“They had to know. Now, they’ll understand why I’m taking security measures for them, too.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Is there an alarm system in their house?”
“An old one. It doesn’t work very well.”
“Then I’ll have a new one installed. And a few cameras that cover the surroundings. A car with security parked outside at all times, and maybe two more to follow your parents to and from work.”
“Isn’t that a lot?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
“What about us?”
“We’re going back to Seattle. And we’re not leaving the apartment until we have something that can get rid of Becker.”
“What if we never find it?”
He thinks about it for a moment, grave, pensive … When he looks at me again, there’s an edge to his dark stare that I’ve never seen before. One that scares me.
“Then it’s a kill-or-be-killed situation. I’ll hire someone to get rid of Zane Horvat and Norman Becker.”
“Jesus …”
Morally, I want to protest. This doesn’t feel like us. Hiring a hitman to kill someone is vile and inhuman. We’re better than this.
But at the same time … Not only did I almost die, but my abuela, too.
Some part of me realizes her surviving the attempts wasn’t necessarily her attacker’s goal.
I would have also come out of the shadows for a funeral.
And that fuels the rage within me. If this truly is a kill-or-be-killed kind of situation, then there’s no other choice, is there?
Norman Becker, that monster who has hurt thousands of families with his scummy insurance company, wants us dead. He started this war, and I’ll be fucking damned if we don’t finish it. I have too much to live for to risk dying at the hands of that asshole.
He came after my family. No way I’m letting that pass.
“I think I’ll head to Seattle tonight and get a jump on things,” Lex explains.
The idea of us separating sits wrong with me. We’ve been together every single day for over two months now. Being away from one another, even just for one night, when things are this dire, feels wrong.
“Stay with me tonight,” I bargain. “We’ll leave in the morning as soon as we know how MC’s hip surgery went.” When he hesitates, I add, “We can go to a hotel for better security, or my parents’ house. You decide, baby.”
“A hotel would be safer. I’ll see with your parents while we’re all here if they’d allow a team to search their house, to make sure there’s nothing there. Since Horvat wanted us to come back, it’s possible he set traps or surveillance there.”
A tap on my arm makes me turn around to find Rafa near us. “Surveillance?” he signs, having probably read the word on Lex’s lips.
With quick signs, I explain to him how things will be from now on until we catch the man responsible for MC’s attack. He doesn’t seem too happy about it at first, but he quickly gets the need for it. “You can’t keep that from Kate, right?” I ask, torn.
“You know how she is. She can smell deceit from a mile away.”
“She’ll worry like crazy. Hell, she might go after MC’s attacker herself.”
“I’ll try to contain her, I promise. But not telling her will only trigger the hound in her. She’ll do everything she can to figure it out.”
He’s right. It’s better if we can break the news to her and control the narrative. I turn to Lex again with a question in my eyes. “Are you staying tonight?”
“Yes, I’ll find a hotel with high security and book us a room.”
“Perfect. Thank you. Would it be okay to have dinner with my parents, Rafa, and Kate? In the hotel’s restaurant, maybe? If you’re up for it,” I add to Rafa. He nods and explains Kate will be here soon, straight from work.
Lex is just done booking our accommodations for the night when my parents come out. “She wants to see you two,” my dad explains. My mom still looks shaken, her face pale and confused. Hopefully, I’ll get to offer her some reassurance before we leave for Seattle tomorrow.
Lex and I take their places by Maria Carmen’s side, each taking one of her hands.
“So, my nieta saved you twice?” she asks Lex, much more tired than when we arrived.
“She did,” Lex confirms.
She sighs dramatically. “Ay, entonces ya no hay esperanza para mí.” I shake my head at that. Oh, then there’s no hope left for me. “You’ll never leave her now.”
“She could get tired of having to save me and be the one leaving me.”
His suggestion brings a little twinkle to her eyes, either from the humor of it or some remnants of hope. Just in case it’s the latter, I say, “I’ll never leave him. ?Dónde voy a encontrar otra verga tan perfecta?” Where else would I find another dick so perfect?
“No me andes restregando tu felicidad, chamaca insolente.” Don’t rub your happiness in my face, you insolent girl.
I chuckle at her feigned jealousy.
She yawns so hard it’s a wonder she doesn’t dislocate her jaw before saying, “I think I’ll rest for a moment.”
“We’ll leave you be, then,” Lex offers.
“Stay until I fall asleep, guapo. That way, if I never wake up, your face will be the last thing I’ll see before I leave this world.”
“Don’t say things like that!” I scold her.
“Cálmate, Andrea. I’m jesting.”
“Don’t even joke about it. You will get better.”
“Yes, yes … I will be fine.”
As she asked, we stay until her snores fill the room.
When Kate arrives, we both leave her to sweet dreams of eloping with Lex to greet my best friend.
I warned her we were on our way before we got to the plane, so she isn’t surprised to see us.
But that doesn’t stop her from attacking me with a bear hug, pressing me tightly into her skirt-suit.
“Where were you?!” she asks, releasing me from her tight embrace to hold me by the shoulders. “We were so worried when you didn’t answer.”
“We were in … Canada,” I say with a wince.
“Cana—What? I thought you were down south exploring the Caribbean Sea?”
“Yeah, I have a lot to tell you. But not here. Lex booked us a hotel room for the night. MC is fast asleep, so maybe we should all just head there. It’ll be safer.”
“Safer? From what?”
I don’t answer, looking at the two security guards posted, which attracts Kate’s interest. “Okay, what the hell is going on?” she demands.
“I’ll tell you. But not here.”
Of course, the hotel Lex picked is fancy as fuck.
Except for Kate, we all look a little out of place in the high-end restaurant on the top floor.
But we don’t really care, preoccupied by other things.
Lex got us a private room reserved for business luncheons or whatever, so we’re able to talk freely about what’s on everyone’s minds.
By the end of dinner, my parents seem slightly less worried.
They understand Lex has the means to fix this problem and that we’ll soon be out of the woods.