Chapter 7
MARTINA
“We lived in one of the poorest towns in Hancock County, Tennessee. My daddy was a shiftless bastard who never had a job and spent more time in the county jail than at home. Then, when he did come home from his latest stint, he’d manage to get Mama pregnant.
I’m the oldest of four boys, and there’s no more than eighteen months between any of us.
Says a lot about my father’s criminal record, but she loved the hell outta him. I don’t know why, but she did.”
“I’m guessing you took after your father in size.”
“Ohhh yeah, Daddy was as tall as me and just as broad, but he couldn’t keep his sorry ass outta trouble. There wasn’t a bar fight, a card game, or a back alley deal my father wasn’t involved in. The only thing he didn’t do was work, but Mama took him back every time.”
“Hmmm, I guess we both got short-changed in the father department. My broth—I mean, I never knew my father. Apparently, he ran off right after I was born.”
“You have a brother too?”
“No, no, just me and my mom.” Shit, close call. The last thing I needed Diesel knowing is that I’m related to Eduardo.
He cocks his head but doesn’t question.
“So, are your brothers still in Tennessee?”
“Yeah, when they aren’t doing time at County.”
“They took after your father, huh?”
“Yeah, kinda hereditary.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. “The Jackson men were well known for knocking up women and spending time in the correctional facilities in and around Tennessee—me included.”
“The knocking up women or the jail time?”
“Both, I guess.”
“You guess?” I cock my head. “Either you have children, or you don’t.”
“There was a woman back in the States who claimed I was her baby daddy, and since we’d gotten together a couple of times, I figured it could be true.”
“So, what happened?”
“I let her move in with me while she was pregnant, paid all her bills, even went with her when she went into labor.”
“Sounds like you did everything right.”
“Yup, right up until she delivered a very dark-skinned baby.” He cocks his head. “She was a fair-skinned redhead, and I ain’t African-American, so . . .”
“Wow, that sucks.”
“Yeah, she really had me believing it was my kid.”
“I’m thinking you’re a little too trusting.”
“Yeah, that’s what Blood says. He also says . . .” he pauses and looks at the ceiling.
“He also says what?”
Diesel rolls his eyes. “Blood says, all I see is a pair of big tits and a place to shove my dick.”
“I see.” I try my best to stifle my laughter. “He might be right. About the trusting thing.”
“Maybe. I was always bringing home stray animals, and my mama would laugh and say we barely had enough for us to eat, yet somehow she’d feed the strays too.”
“She sounds like a great woman.”
“She did her best, but trying to raise four rowdy-ass boys by herself wasn’t easy. Got to the point where she just gave up.”
“I get it.” My mother felt the same way with Eduardo. As much as she loved him, once he got older she couldn’t control him or what he did.
“She died last year.” He focused on putting the dirty dishes in the sink.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Breast cancer. By the time she was diagnosed, it spread to her lungs.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Funny thing, she never smoked. Never went to the doctor’s for checkups either, and by the time they found out, it was too late. She only lasted two months.”
“Were you able to get home to see her?”
“My brother Darrel and I were with her. My other two brothers were doing a joint stint after getting busted for running underground gambling and racketeering with some local mobsters.”
“Geez, I thought that only happened on TV.”
“Of course, my father’s still alive and raising hell. Last I heard, he was down in Mississippi, shacked up with some woman who ran a whorehouse.”
“Sounds like the makings of a Lifetime movie.” I weigh my words, then ask, “How did you end up in Tijuana?”
He stares up at the ceiling again.
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it,” I assure him. “Aside from the being in jail part, my life has definitely had its sharp turns.” I spread my arms wide. “Like landing in a biker-owned strip club with the outlaw himself.”
He barks out a laugh. “You got a funny fuckin’ way of putting shit.”
“Well, it’s true, so c’mon, spill, I guarantee I won’t be surprised, and if I am, I’ll act like I’m not.”
“Nah, I’m sure you don’t wanna hear the fucked-up story of my life.”
“Quite the opposite.” Which totally surprises me. When I ducked into The Tropics last night, the only thing on my mind was hiding out and maybe getting a low-level job to earn quick cash. Then, in less than twelve hours, I’m on the edge of my seat, raptly waiting for Diesel’s life story.
He cocks his head. “You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Three years ago, I was married to a stripper at a big club in Nashville.” He opens the dishwasher and starts stacking the dishes.
“I thought we were happy, but the first time I caught her cheating with her personal trainer, she claimed he was just showing her some new exercises. I didn’t believe her, but I let it go when she quit the gym and promised it would never happen again. ”
“You’re very forgiving.”
“Too forgiving, ‘cause a month later, I went to pick her up at the strip club one night, and she wasn’t outside waiting for me. So, I go in and find her in the office bent over the desk, taking the owner’s dick while sucking off one of the bouncers.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah, I kinda lost it. Ended up putting the bouncer in the hospital and gave the owner a broken arm.”
“Can’t say I blame you.” I make a pained face. “What happened with your wife?”
“She justified the whole thing, saying she did it for extra money so we could buy a house. Seemed she’d been whoring herself out for a while, and somehow she twisted it back on me, making me sound ungrateful for not appreciating her ambition.”
“Amazing. Just shows what you can get away with if you have the right cover story.” Eduardo’s been doing it for years.
“Only thing was, the owner had some mob ties in Kansas City, and they didn’t look kindly on the owner of one of their most profitable clubs getting busted up. They gave me two choices. Get the fuck outta Tennessee or get fucked up in Tennessee.”
“So, really one choice.”
“At the same time, my loving wife hired a big-time lawyer with all the money she made whoring and was charging me with mental abuse and PTSD.”
“How did that work?”
“She claimed watching me beat her boss and the bouncer senseless messed with her head. I tried to remind the lawyer that she was fuckin’ her brains out while married to me, but he slapped a restraining order on me, claiming I was unbalanced, while reminding me of all my priors.
” He slams the dishwasher door shut. “The only logical solution was to pick up and get the fuck out.”
“Yup, definitely a Lifetime movie.”
“Kinda put me off women.” He laughs. “I mean, I still like women, but I swore no more serious involvements.”
Good to know.
“You said you were married twice, so was this wife number one or wife number two?”
“She was number two. Number one was a sweet girl I went with in high school. We got married right after graduation. Having no money, we moved in with my family, and soon found out living in the same house with my crazy brothers wasn’t the best idea.
She ended up running off to Chicago with my younger brother, who was gonna set her up with a modeling agency, and a week later, I was served divorce papers. ”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you should just give up. Either you have the worst luck, or you pick the worst women.”
“A little of both.”
“Did your brother marry her?”
“Nah, he ended up getting busted again in Chicago. Seems the modeling agency turned out to be an escort service. A year later, she was back in Tennessee, shacked up and pregnant by some other guy.”
“I’m seeing a pattern here. I can also understand how you’d be a bit skittish.”
He wipes down the counter top, and I’m amazed at his domestic skills, then sad that I’ll never get to meet the mother who probably instilled these skills.
“Now that you know my whole sorry story, tell me how you ended up in TJ?”
I’d been so engrossed in his past history, I failed to come up with a plausible reason for myself. “Well, I—”
Three sharp knocks on the door save me, followed by, “C’mon, fucker, get your lazy ass outta bed.”
Diesel holds up his index finger and heads for the door.
He swings it open, and Blood, the brooding VP, strolls in.
“I’ve been texting and calling you. Why the fuck aren’t you in the gym?
It’s ten-thirty. I’m goin’ crazy; the place is busy as shit, and—” He stops short when he sees me sitting at the kitchen table.
“Ahhhh, I get it.”
“No,” I hold up my palms, “I don’t think you do.”
“At least you celebrated your birthday in style.” Blood shamelessly lets his gaze drag over me. “Big step up from the usual club whores you stick it to.”
Diesel spins Blood toward the door. “Hey, fucker, watch your mouth, huh?”
“What?” Blood defends. “I meant that as a compliment.”
Diesel pulls open the door. “I’ll be at the gym in half an hour.”
Blood checks me out again. “Hey, brother, for her I might make an exception.”
“Shut it.”
Blood laughs at Diesel’s warning, then claps him on the back. “Seriously, brother, consider the day off as a birthday present from me to you.”
Diesel pushes Blood out the door and then returns to the kitchen. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries, I kind of enjoyed it.” I stand to avoid any more questions about how I got to Tijuana. “I guess I should see about getting my clothes out of the dressing room downstairs.”
“No problem. I’ll text Ricky, and have him bring them up.”
I close the distance between us. “I know things didn’t end up the way you wanted last night, but I really do want to thank you for being so kind and making me feel so comfortable.” I rest my hand on his arm. “A lot of guys wouldn’t have been so nice.”
His gaze travels to my hand, and for a split second, there’s electricity between us. I jerk my hand away, and he swipes up his phone, frantically typing a message. A few seconds later, his phone beeps with a response.
“Ricky said he’s on his way up with your clothes.” He motions toward the bathroom. “You can take a shower if you want.”
“Thanks. I’ll just wait for my clothes.”
“Right.”
Yup, and just like that, we’re back to awkward again. I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but it’s not like anything I’d ever experienced.