Page 21

CHAPTER 21

Camila

I sighed as I sat on Carmen’s bed, watching her pack a bag. Kilo had warned me that they were going to make their move next weekend and that we needed to be ready. Mama and I had both quit our jobs. We hadn’t been at either place of employment long enough to get time off, and we were going to need to lay low until the club gave us the all clear signal.

That meant we were once again pulling Carmen out of her classes and away from the new friends she made. “Hopefully it will only be for a few days, Bug,” I told her. “Then you won’t miss a thing.”

She nodded, giving me a weak smile. “I know.”

Her understanding, and barely concealed disappointment, made me sigh. No kid should have to live like this. She knew what all this meant in the past and she was preparing herself to have to run again. I couldn’t blame her because if it came down to it, I was going to send her and Mama away.

I didn’t know where yet, but I had a small savings stashed away and if I had to, I’d buy them a one-way ticket to some foreign country. Somewhere that they could sit on a beach and live out their lives away from the threat that always seemed to loom. Without me with them Kruzman wasn’t likely to follow. I was the only one the FBI could use to testify against him.

I couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d be after us, even though Kilo had asked if there was anything. It had to be because I was a threat to his continued freedom. What else was there? And while I knew deep down that I’d done what I needed to in order to make sure that both me and my family survived, I couldn’t help but continue to wonder if I should have never made the choice to work with the FBI. It was an impossible situation. And one that wasn’t of my making. That didn’t mean the guilt wasn’t there. I loved my mama and sister so much. I couldn’t live with myself knowing something happened to them. And now there was Kilo.

The fact that he and his brothers were willing to help protect us made my heart want to burst inside my chest with happiness. But I was scared. For him. For his brothers. They were his family. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Not for me.

My sigh was heavy and when Carmen sat on the bed next to me and wrapped her arms around me in a sideways hug, I leaned my head on her shoulder.

“None of this is your fault. You always take responsibility for things that aren’t yours to claim.”

I lifted my head and stared at her. Her pretty brown eyes were earnest and bright. “You have an old soul. You know that, right?” Some of the things she said surprised me sometimes. Heck, most of the time. She was an incredible girl, and she was going to grow up into a caring, kind, insightful woman. I’d give my life to make sure she had the opportunity to become what she was meant to. “I love you so much, Carmen.”

“I love you, too. I just think you should consider something.”

“What’s that?”

“The way you always fight to protect me and Mama? To make sure our lives are as easy as they can be?” I nodded. “That’s what Kilo’s trying to do for you.”

I sighed and nodded again. “I know. It’s hard to give this over to him. To let him take on a burden that’s not his to carry.”

“You’ve been doing it for us for years. For Dad.” She paused a moment, then asked in a soft voice, “Are you angry with him?”

“With Dad?”

She looked down at her lap and nodded.

“No,” I sighed. “I just want to know the truth. The FBI has their theories of why he got involved with Kruzman and what happened, but I can’t make the man we knew into a bad guy in my mind. You know?”

“I know,” she replied in a solemn tone. “I just keep thinking about that time he took us to the fair.”

“You wanted to ride the carousel horses so badly.”

“But I was scared I’d fall.”

“He climbed up on that horse, pulled you in his lap, completely ignoring the guy running the ride while he shouted about weight limits and that parents weren’t allowed on the ride.”

Carmen giggled. “We rode it four times together.” There were tears shining in her eyes as she looked up at me again. “Is it possible for a man to be bad but still love his family deeply?”

“Probably,” I admitted. “I still can’t see it though. I don’t know if we’ll ever know what happened. Sometimes good men make bad decisions.” I gave her a determined look. “I’ve just decided that there’s some reason we don’t know about and I’m going to hold close the memories from when we were younger. And remember that he loved us.”

“He was a flawed man, just like any other, but he loved the two of you more than you’ll ever know,” Mama said from the doorway.

Shame crept in as I stared at her. She had tears tracking down her face. “I’m sorry, Mama…”

“Don't be. You’re allowed to talk about him.”

We’d had this conversation before. I knew that she had no idea why Dad was killed either. Other than Kruzman was just an evil person. Dad must have slighted him in some way that he took offense to. It was hard to make that connection in my mind.

That there were people out there who just killed others because they could. Self-defense made sense to me, but still it was difficult to wrap my head around taking a life. I would. For Carmen. For Mama. For Kilo. Even for myself, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t struggle with it afterward. There was no struggle for Kruzman. I could still picture his smug, satisfied smile after his men shot my father.

“I’m going to make the guys lunch. They’re over working on the new clubhouse. It’s sort of a way of saying thank you.” I shrugged. “It’s all I can offer.”

“They’ll love that,” Mama told me, coming and sitting on the other side of Carmen. “We could come help you.”

“I appreciate that, but they may not appreciate me showing up unannounced, let alone bringing two other people. I’ll leave enough food for the two of you for lunch and dinner. And you can meet them all later.”

“Thanks, Mija.”

It was Sunday morning, and Kilo had mentioned that the whole club would be at their property all day. So I spent the morning cooking. I made enough to feed an army—or enough to be a snack for some bikers, if Overdrive's appetite was any indicator. Mama and Carmen helped me pack everything into my little car and I made the drive to the club’s compound. I was nervous, thinking I should have given Kilo a head’s up, but I wanted it to be a surprise.

When I pulled in, I saw a few of the guys watching my car with suspicion, but Kilo said something to them and came over.

“Hey, Mercy,” he said with a grin. He didn’t look put out that I’d dropped in.

“Hi,” I told him. “I-I brought you guys lunch.”

Kilo’s brows shot up. “Really?”

“Yes, I...wanted to say thank you. To all of you. For what you’re doing for us.”

His smile spread slowly over his face. “I knew you were sweet, Baby, but Jesus…” He paused as he looked in the back seat, then his eyes widened. “Wait... All that is for us?”

I’d gone a bit overboard. There was so much food the pans and dishes were covering the seats and floorboards. I nodded, my cheeks heating.

“I figured you made some sandwiches.” He paused, then a mischievous glint lit up his eyes. “What’ve you got?”

“Tamales, Carne Asada, Chilles Rellenos, Sopaipillas-”

“Holy shit. OD is going to lose his mind,” Kilo said with a chuckle. “We’ll have to roll him onto his bike.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I brought some paper plates and things like that,” I told him.

“We have everything we need inside. Let me get a couple guys to go in and set up the tables and we'll bring the food in.”

It didn’t take long for the word to spread, and the guys came over to my car to help carry everything.

“This smells so damn good,” Mercenary told me with a grin. “I fucking love tacos.”

“The tortillas are homemade,” I offered. That was what I’d made the carne asada for, then I’d cut up all the fixings that they may want to have on them.

“Is that guacamole?” Code asked, edging Mercenary out of the way.

“Move fucker,” Mercenary grunted, elbowing him.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I was starting to get used to the way these men spoke to one another. And not one of them had been rude to me. “Could you take this inside?” I asked Mercenary, handing him the tray with the meat on it. I was mostly trying to avoid the scuffle that would surely break out if they kept shoving at each other that way.

“Sure.”

I handed the dish of guacamole to Code. From that point on it was a line of guys waiting to take the rest in. It didn't take long before we were all sitting down inside.

Overdrive let out a grunt of delight as he polished off his third taco in as many minutes. “This is amazing, Camila,” he groaned, then he shot Kilo a devious look. “Maybe you’re not so set on this guy?” he asked, tone hopeful. “I’d make a good old man.”

“Fuck off,” Kilo told him. “She’s mine.”

I laughed and patted Overdrive’s arm where it rested on the table. Kilo shot me an intense look. I used my other hand to pat his shoulder. “Sorry, Overdrive. I’m sort of set on this biker.”

Overdrive let out a mournful sigh. “Sure, they always go for the pretty ones.”

As if Overdrive wasn’t pretty. There wasn’t a man sitting here that wasn’t gorgeous. They were all tall, muscular, tattooed, and dangerous. Every woman’s secret fantasy.

“I just wanted to say…” I froze when every eye landed on me. That was a whole lot of sex appeal to be aimed at one woman. I swallowed and smiled nervously. “My family,” I added, “just wanted to say thank you. To all of you. The fact that you would go to such lengths to keep us safe when you don’t have to-” I shook my head, emotion overcoming me.

“You’re one of ours now,” Ruck said, speaking up while everyone else seemed to be struggling with what to say to an upset woman. “We always take care of our own,” he added. “Besides, if you keep cooking like this for us, you’re going to have every man here in love with you in no time.”

My cheeks heated and I laughed along with everyone else. Ruck seemed to be very skilled at setting everyone at ease. He’d broken up the tension at the table with his last statement and we all went back to eating.

Kilo had filled me in on their plan. The parts they had finished anyway. Apparently Overdrive and Bolo had gone early this morning and found somewhere out in the desert the men were going to lure Kruzman and his men to. I still had my doubts that Kruzman would show up, but it was possible. He’d been chasing me for four years. He had to be as eager to get this finished as I was.

I looked around the table as the men gorged themselves and prayed that no one would be hurt. I couldn’t take it. There were times I wished that I could handle this myself, but I wasn’t stupid. Even though Kilo and I had been shooting a couple times a week over the last month and a half that I’d known him, I wasn’t even close to proficient enough to take on someone like Kruzman. Not to mention the killers he employed.

I wanted to keep professing my deep gratitude to these men, but I knew that it would just make them uncomfortable. They seemed to be taking my offering of food as the profound thanks it was meant to be. That would have to be enough, because I was pretty sure I couldn’t pry any emotion out of them even if I had a crowbar.

Kilo wrapped one arm around my shoulders and I basked in the feeling that, thanks to him, I’d managed to add ten big brothers to my family. And one boyfriend. My heart was so full. If there wasn’t the threat of this fight coming up, I’d think that I was the luckiest girl in the world. Who knew that it’d be a biker who ended up giving me everything I could ever ask for? I’d always suspected that there were people who were just meant for one another, and now I knew it with certainty.