Chapter 26
Four hours. It’s the fastest I can take us to the hospital in Portland, where Maria Carmen is being treated.
An hour to organize it all, one more to drive to the nearest landing strip where a jet from Vancouver waits for us, one to fly down to Portland, and one for our security detail to drive us through rush hour traffic to the hospital.
And I don’t think Andrea and I have exchanged ten words the whole time.
She’s preoccupied, clearly, and I’m lost in the ramifications of our hasty return, trying to take into account every single parameter, every variable.
If the man who shot Andrea is really responsible for it, then he’s watching from the shadows, waiting for us to come visit Maria Carmen.
This means we don’t even have a few days before danger could strike.
It’s immediate. Prepared. Armed.
As much as I want to believe the four ex-military men I hired will be enough to protect us, I can’t be certain. All it takes is one bullet, and this is all over.
With a steady and efficient pace, we make our way toward the room number they gave us at the front desk, and my eyes scan our surroundings the whole time, much like the men escorting us. Andrea pays no attention, though, steadfastly focused on our destination.
We turn into yet another sterile and over-lit corridor, and I spot a familiar face. Andrea does, too, releasing my hand to run to her father, who’s sitting on a bench. Two of the security guards keep up with her, and the rest of us hasten our steps.
The commotion causes her father to lift his eyes from his phone, and when he sees her, he stands up just in time to welcome her leap into his arms.
“It’s good to have you here, peanut,” he says to her as I arrive.
“Two of you stay with us,” I tell the guards, “and two inspect this floor. Secure it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What is all this?” Mr. Walker wonders, looking at the men walking away.
“I’ll tell you later. How is she doing?” Andrea asks.
“She woke up about half an hour ago. Your mom and Rafa are inside. We can’t be more than two with her.”
Andrea nods and walks to the door, standing in the doorframe as I shake her father’s hand.
“She looks well,” he tells me. “You took good care of her.”
“I did my best.”
“You, however, you look a little …” He motions at his eye, reminding me of the bruise on mine.
“That’s nothing. How is Maria Carmen? Any new development?”
“She should pull through. We won’t know right away if there’s any brain damage from the swelling. They put her under for the first twenty-four hours to prevent as much of it as possible, but we’ll have to be vigilant over the next few months.”
“And physically?”
“She broke her hip in the fall. They are giving her a replacement tomorrow morning. They wanted to wait before they did it, to make sure she …”
He doesn’t finish his sentence, but I understand what he meant. They had to make sure she’d survive the head trauma first.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Walker. I know Maria Carmen is very important to your family.”
“Call me Michael. Or Mike. And yes, she’s our cement. I don’t know if Andrea told you, but Isa left me shortly after we had Rafa.”
“I had no idea, no.”
“The pressure my family was putting on us became too much for her, and she decided she would rather do it alone than do it with me. Maria Carmen came to the motel I was staying at, and she gave me the scolding of my life. She’s the one who made me open my eyes and realize what I was doing.
It’s thanks to her that I went no-contact with my family.
Thanks to her that we had Andrea, and I’ll forever owe her that.
That’s why when she offered to sell her house to help pay for a new, bigger one for the kids and come live with us, I didn’t hesitate.
Our humble life might not be perfect, but it is to us. And it all happened because of her.”
“You should be proud of what you and Isabella have built. It is a good life.”
Rafael arrives at the door, and he and Andrea exchange in sign language for a moment. I don’t understand what is being said, so I quickly figure they’re conversing in MSL. Then she gets inside while her brother joins us in the hallway. We shake hands, and I ask him how he’s been doing.
“And your mother?” I wonder after he told me he’s hanging in there.
“It’s taking a toll on her. Two months ago, she almost lost Andrea. And now, this …”
“I’m very sorry.” I can’t help but sigh.
“It’s not your fault. It’s just bad luck.”
I shove my hands into my pockets to stop myself from signing more. They need to know. We have to tell them someone is after me, and potentially Andrea. And that whoever is after us was willing to hurt Maria Carmen to smoke us out.
I walk up to the door and watch as Andrea hugs her crying mother. Isabella looks exhausted, which tells me she’s probably been here the whole time, looking after her mother.
One of the men I hired for our safety returns after having inspected the floor. “Sir, we may have found the man you mentioned, with the face tattoo.”
My entire body tenses, and I step to the side with him. “You found him?”
“Well, we saw him, but he fled before we could reach him. We lost him when he exited to the street and blended with the crowd.”
A shiver prickles at my neck, a lasting sense of danger looming. I was right. This was a trap. Thankfully, Horvat seems easily spooked, and our hired security might be enough to deter him.
“Keep an eye out for him and potential others,” I instruct with severity. “We won’t stay here too long, we’re too exposed.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the man walks further down the hallway, I return to the door. Isabella’s tears have stopped flowing, and Andrea is beside Maria Carmen, holding her inert hand.
“MC, can you hear me?” she asks softly. When there’s no reaction from her abuela, she squeezes her hand and continues with, “I’m here. Your favorite grandchild has arrived.” Isabella huffs in reprobation, but Andrea ignores her.
“Wake up, anciana. I brought my sexy boyfriend with me.” This time, Maria Carmen stirs awake, her eyes fluttering open. “Are you kidding me?” Andrea lets out, half laughing with relief, half offended.
“Te tomaste tu tiempo, ?verdad?” she mumbles, still dizzy from her sleep.
Whatever that was, it flies over Andrea’s head, and she leans into her grandmother to give her a hug. “Hola, abuelita,” she greets her, tearful.
“Hola, carino.”
“How are you doing?”
“I haven’t been this high since the eighties.”
“Mamá!” Isabella protests. Andrea giggles, indulgently shaking her head.
“Did I hear you mention your boyfriend?” MC asks.
“Of course you heard that … Did you hear when I called myself your favorite grandchild, too?”
“As long as only you and I know, it’s fine.”
While Andrea giggles at her grandmother’s antics, Isabella comes to the door with me. She wraps her arms around me for a brief moment and then motions for me to get in.
“Ah, Alejandro …” Maria Carmen greets with unmasked glee. “Come closer, carino.” Once I’m on the other side of her, with Andrea opposite me, she takes my hand. “I’m sorry you two had to cut short your little trip. But I’m happy you’re here.”
“I’m glad we could make it,” I reply.
While the words ring true, part of me still wishes we could have stayed in Canada, safely hidden. Andrea’s eyes meet mine, and we barely hold each other’s gaze before looking away.
A tense silence fills the room until Maria Carmen says, “Have you two been fighting?”
“No, we … we had a disagreement. It’s okay,” Andrea explains.
“Is that what happened to your eye, mijo?”
“No, we were definitely not quarreling when that happened.”
She seems to understand the underlying meaning behind my words, as a sparkle of amusement dances in her eyes. “Nieta, you need to treat your man better, or I’ll steal him from you. Apologize to him.”
“What makes you think I’m the one in the wrong?” she asks, slightly vexed.
“Well, I know you can be annoyingly stubborn.”
“You taught me everything, you old bat.”
“As annoyingly stubborn as your granddaughter might be,” I say, “I’m afraid I’m in too deep.”
The old woman nods before looking down at our hands in hers. A frown twists her brows as she notices something. “Have you been wearing my ring?” she asks Andrea.
We both look down, and fuck … The tan lines didn’t look that obvious back in the car when we removed our rings. But with all the hiking, we have quite a tan, and our fake wedding bands left white lines at the base of our ring fingers.
When Maria Carmen notices mine too, her shock grows tenfold. “Did you two get secretly married?!”
Before we can answer, Isabella appears at the door to practically shout, “What?!”
“No, we didn’t,” Andrea quickly says, freeing her hand from her grandmother’s to hide it behind her back.
“You’ve been wearing rings on your wedding fingers. Both of you,” Maria Carmen insists.
“It wasn’t like that. I promise we—”
“You two eloped?” Now it’s Michael, standing by his wife’s side.
“We didn’t!” Andrea promises.
“We need to tell them the truth,” I interject, sensing the situation spiraling out of control. “They need to know, Andrea, for their own safety.”
That shuts everyone up, and Andrea gives herself a few seconds to think about it. But she must have already thought things through, because she’s quick to find my gaze and nod.
“Ask Rafa to come in,” she tells her parents. “And close the door.”
Lex is right. They need to know. I’ve been considering it the entire journey here, but I was too scared to bring it up, to let them know MC was hurt because of me.
Seeing her in this hospital bed, so frail and pale, broke my heart. I could have avoided it. Should have. But I failed her. I refuse to fail the rest of them.