56. Chapter 56
Emotions roll through me as I stare blankly out the window, but my mind is a whirlwind. However, it doesn’t escape my notice that Patch’s body is tense as hell and I can feel the anger rolling off him in waves.
I keep trying to figure out how someone was able to get past all the guys. The only way I can even think of is if they shimmied under the cars, but wouldn’t someone have seen that?
“Siren, I need you to call Thor for me.”
Blinking rapidly, it takes me a second, but then Patch’s words sink in and I quickly find Thor’s number. The phone rings and the call connects via Bluetooth.
“Patch.”
“Got a tail. Black SUV. Minnesota 927 URM.”
My body freezes and I carefully turn to look out the side-view mirror to see if I can see them. When Patch changes lanes and turns off the normal route to the clubhouse, the SUV follows suit.
“Just got off the phone with Axe. A few have broken off to swing around and follow them. Keep going to the clubhouse. I’m calling Church as soon as we get there. Everyone else should already still be at the clubhouse.”
“Got it.”
The line goes dead and my guess is that Thor’s calling someone, probably Levi, at the clubhouse to let them know about what’s going on.
My gaze goes back to the mirror and stays glued to it as Patch drives through town, but the SUV continues to follow us. It isn’t until we turn onto the road leading to the clubhouse that the SUV peels off and goes in a different direction.
Minutes later, Patch parks in front of the clubhouse and barely has the engine turned off before he bolts out of the truck and runs over to my door. My fingers fumble with the seatbelt, but I finally get it off and open the door so that he won’t have to touch the handle. He immediately picks me up and carries me inside. My hands begin to shake as he goes to pull away and he curses.
“I-It’s okay. I think the adrenaline is just wearing off,” I tell him, knowing he needs to go into Church even though I’d much rather be wrapped in his arms.
He frowns, his gaze roaming over me as he checks me over. “Are you sure?”
“Go on into Church, Patch. We’ll help Mary. Like she said, it’s probably the adrenaline crash,” Elvira says as she and Mae walk up toward us.
Patch hesitates, but I wrap my hand around his neck, pulling him forward and kissing him.
“It’s okay, really. I’m sure after a bit, it’ll pass. They need you,” I tell him as I tilt my head toward Church.
His lips thin and I can see the war raging within him in his eyes. Finally, he gives me a curt nod and kisses me. “Stay inside. Don’t go out for anything.” With one last quick kiss pressed to my forehead, he stalks to the bar and takes the beer Ethan holds out to them and heads into Church.
Sighing, I look down at my hands and will them to stop shaking.
Elvira pats my shoulder. “Come, let’s go into the kitchen and get your mind off things. We’ve already started preparing supper.”
“Okay,” I reply weakly. Fuck, even my voice is a little shaky. Looking around, I start to panic. “Where are the kids?”
“In the playroom watching a movie. Drae is with them since I was also helping in the kitchen,” she says.
My shoulders sag in relief at her words and I give her a grateful smile that she returns.
Following them into the kitchen, my mouth waters at the combination of smells from whatever they are cooking.
“We’re making a beef stew, cornbread, biscuits, garlic mashed potatoes and regular mashed potatoes with gravy, and a salad.”
Lord, I can’t stop the moan that leaves my mouth. “That sounds amazing. What do you need help with yet?” Pulling up close to the counter, I undo my sling and carefully stand. Elvira brings over the tall stool that Patch got for me, and I get settled in.
Mae passes me a peeler and I glance down at my hands. They’re still slightly shaky, but as long as I’m careful, I shouldn’t hurt myself.
As we prep and cook, conversation easily flows between all four of us. Watching Mae and Elvira interacting makes my chest hurt with longing. Out of all of us ladies, Elvira seems to be closest to Mae, which is probably in part because of what happened when Mae was kidnapped earlier this year. Still, seeing how close they are and the bond they share makes me wish I could have something similar while growing up with my own mother. But then again, would I have turned out like her as well if I had?
Hours pass and I start to worry that supper’s going to get cold if the guys don’t get out of Church before long. It’s already six o’clock.
“Granny, when’s supper going to be ready?” Lindsey asks as she peeks into the kitchen, hanging onto the doorframe. Behind her are my kids with Drae behind them.
I turn back toward Mae and Elvira for direction. They share a look and then nod.
“You guys can come in and we’ll get you some food,” Mae tells them before turning to get them bowls and plates down from the cupboard.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Drae’s body going rigid and when I turn to look at him better, he’s scowling at his phone. “Ladies, I need to help Sasha with something. All of you stay in the kitchen.”
Frowning, I watch him rush out of the room and outside. Dread pools in my stomach and I wonder what’s happened this time.
I jump slightly, thankfully not falling off my chair, when a door slams open and the guys file out of Church before heading straight outside after Drae.
Turning toward Mae, intent on asking what’s going on, she gives me a wide-eyed look and then purses her lips while slightly tilting her head and looking down at the kids.
Exhaling, I can only sit and wring my hands while we wait. Within minutes, the kids are eating at a small table that’s back here while quietly talking amongst themselves. Wringing my hands again, the ladies and I all share a concerned look.
Suddenly, the front door opens up and I frown when the guys all crowd together as they make their way back into Church. A small gasp escapes me when I can see bare flesh peeking out from in between their bodies and I know it’s not one of them since the body is bruised, cut, and bloodied.
My gaze darts around the room until I find Patch, who apparently is one of the guys holding the person, but he must have had his head lowered before since I couldn’t see him. Briefly he looks up and for a second, our gazes lock, but nothing in his eyes gives anything away as to who they are carrying.
But then I see it.
“ Tío (Uncle) Mateo!”
Someone curses and I hastily climb down from the stool and into my chair. The ladies thankfully don’t stop me, but the men sure do. Either that or the ladies knew the guys would try to stop me.
“Please move! I need to get to my tío (uncle). He’s hurt,” I beg repeatedly, but none of them let me pass. Why won’t they let me through?
“Please, Mary, you’re going to hurt yourself if you keep struggling,” Odin says as he tries to get me to sit back down in my chair and I frantically wipe at the tears streaming down my cheeks.
Wait, when did I stand up?
“Mary, if it really is Mateo, do you think he’d want you to see him as he is now?”
That has me pausing. No, he’d hate to cause me any sort of pain, but also, not being able to see him is causing my anxiety to ratchet up like no other. I need to see him and see that he’s alright. I’ve already lost too many people in my life.
“I know,” he replies sadly, and I realize I must have said that aloud, “but give the guys a chance to get him looked at and fixed up. We’re going to figure out who he is for sure, but if you could tell me any identifying marks that would be able to help us with that, it would be appreciated.”
“Besides their eye color, the biggest difference is their birthmarks and tattoos.”
Odin nods for me to continue as he squats down in front of me. My gaze goes toward Church, but the door is already shut.
“Focus, Mary.”
My gaze goes back to him and I blink as I nod. “Mateo has kind of bright, silver-gray eyes, whereas Diego has dark, inky-silver eyes. Mateo’s birthmark is on his right side and is brown. Overall, it’s in the shape of an oval, and the last time I saw it, it wasn’t raised at all. Diego’s is on his left side and is brownish-red. His is in the shape of a circle and is slightly raised and bumpy.”
Odin nods and it’s only then that I realize he’s been recording me. “What about the tattoos you mentioned?”
“Keep in mind that the last time I saw them together was when I was fifteen and at la casa de mi abuelo (my grandpa’s house) house. We were out on the deck because they were swimming, but I wasn’t allowed to.”
I shut my eyes at the onslaught of Eileen’s voice in my head, not able to block it out or the residual stinging of my cheeks, which she had slapped repeatedly after being told to head back inside to change out of my swimsuit.
“You’re too fat to go swimming. No one wants to see a beached whale when they’re trying to relax and have fun. Besides, no one here wants to play with you or get to know you better. You have no place in this family, and I don’t even know why you’re here or why we’re throwing you a party. All of this is a waste of money that’s once again being spent on someone who doesn’t deserve it.”
The reason why I was there is that Abuelo (Grandpa) wanted to throw me a quincea?era, but neither Eileen nor Carmen would let him do things how he wanted. Or at least, that’s what I had overheard. They had told him that I wanted a simple party with just family. Nothing extravagant. No extra frills. Hell, the fanciest thing there was the sheet cake with all the pretty roses on it. And because Eileen and Carmen would never allow me to get close to him, he didn’t know that I’d been secretly hoping for a nice quincea?era where I could celebrate with my friends and both sides of my family.
Blinking, I shake off those thoughts.
“Both of them have the family crest tattooed on them, but Tío (Uncle) Mateo has his over his heart and Diego has his on his back. On Tío (Uncle) Mateo’s left arm, there are a bunch of roses and some script in Spanish dedicated to la memoria de mi abuela (my grandma’s memory). Last I knew, he had no tattoos of skulls, but Diego has a full sleeve on his right arm with various skulls on it. Those are the big ones that I remember.”
Odin clicks off the recording and I slump back in my chair.
“Thank you, Mary. This will most definitely help. We’ll find out what happened, and if he really is Mateo and not Diego, then I’m sure you’ll be allowed to see him.”
“Thank you.” My throat tightens as my vision once again turns a little blurry with my tears.
He gets up and heads toward Church, and Punisher and Beast follow him. It’s only then that I realize the three of them must have been the ones to keep me from going to Mateo, but in my panic, I hadn’t recognized who they were at first.
Punisher stops before going into Church and he talks quietly with Mae for a few moments before he heads inside. Mae comes over to me and gives me a hug that my body slouches into. I feel like I’m drained and completely wrung out.
“How about we eat and then head to the playroom with the kids? We can curl up with them on the mats and bean bags and cuddle the heck out of them while we watch a movie?”
Not having any energy to argue, I agree and follow her back down the hallway.
Please let Tío Mateo be okay. Abuelo (Grandpa) would be so devastated if something happened to him and I don’t know how I’ll take losing someone else.