Page 15 of Reckless Forever (Jennings Mafia Family #3)

Ivy

The sun was shining today, a perfect promise after the rain that beat down yesterday.

The ground was still a little wet, but I was about to take full advantage of the girl’s day out that I was having.

My cousin Esme, my godfather’s granddaughter, was in town today, and she asked me if I wanted to go out, and I wasn’t going to deny it.

Working from home limited all my in-person interaction to just the elderly, the muscle, and the harem. I was glad to be in the presence of someone with whom I could relate. We were the same age, and she was my favorite of her sisters; we were thick as thieves. We had always been.

“I’m so glad that you’re not stuck in that house with Abuelo, girl. I don’t know how you do it with those women. I can only stomach it for a couple of minutes,” she said as she rolled her eyes and looked up from her phone.

I laughed, “I don’t pay them any attention; I stay on my side of the house until I need something. I don’t bother them, and they don’t bother me.”

Emilio, my security detail, drove us through the streets until we arrived at the mall.

He parked and then went around to the back, opening the door for us.

He had his rifle on display; in Bolivia, there were no rules for the Cartel.

His holding the rifle like he was carrying a briefcase was perfectly legal.

Even the police feared the Cartel, so this was just another day.

Before we even got into the mall, I got a FaceTime, and Judah’s name flashed across the screen.

I answered it. As soon as I did, his face came into view.

He was in the back seat of a truck, dressed in an all-black button-down.

The business look, contrasted with the tattoos on his neck, made me groan.

“What’s up, beautiful? Where you at?” His voice boomed over the phone, making my cousin stop in her tracks and look at the screen from the side of me. I may not have offered the information about Judah, but I trusted her, so I wouldn’t hide it from her either.

“I’m at the mall with my cousin,” I answered.

“Why the fuck you dressed like a spy?” He asked as his expression changed. He was referencing the oversized hoodie, shades, and hat I was wearing.

I laughed it off, “It’s hot in Bolivia, I don’t want to get sunburned.”

Grateful that he didn’t push the issue, he nodded and then asked me about work.

“I told them that I had an emergency. Whenever my cousin is in town, I always hang out with her. Are you on the way to handle business? You look like boss mode has been activated.” I shot back.

“Yeah, we’re on the way to the fifth session,” I nodded as I turned in the direction that my cousin was pointing. I smiled once I saw that they had brought one of my favorite boutiques to the mall.

“Let’s go in there,” I said to her.

“Aight, baby, go ahead and enjoy your day shopping. I’ll call you tonight.” He said.

“Okay, have a good day,” I replied before we disconnected the call.

Before I could even put the phone into my pocket, I got a text message. It was money, way more than I needed for a simple day out.

Judah: Shopping on me

Me: Judah, you do know I have money, right?

Judah: Yeah, and you don’t have to spend it, that’s what you have a nigga for. Talk to you later, Ma.

I blushed at the term. Judah and I had never put a name on what we were. Granted, his little pet names had been more frequent, and I did nothing to correct him. But I didn’t know that he was my man. That would be another discussion for another day.

“Girl, who was that fine ass man on your phone, and why is he sending you down payments for cars?” She asked as she looked over my shoulder at my phone.

I blew a deep breath and gave her the whole spill as we walked through the racks. I halfway expected her to tell me what I already knew. But she surprised me with her response.

“Why are you pushing him away? For Abuelo? Please! He’s like ninety. He’s lived his life, and it’s not fair for you to be closed off to love. He’s in the house with six perras drogadas (drugged bitches); he can control them. Not you.” She scoffed, which made me burst into laughter.

“Esme, you know the situation.”

“And I do! But damn, that’s not fair. Everyone’s life is moving on, and you’re just sitting away and rotting in the house. Girl, let that man love you. Stop fighting it.”

“What about the Cartel? So just get him killed?”

She stopped and looked at me, her thick curls falling over her full lips. She blew them away and pushed her hair out of her face. I knew that realization had hit her.

“No, don’t get him killed. But still be open to whatever happens.

Abuelo loves you. Maybe explain the situation.

It’s worth a try if you want to make it work.

And when you move to the States, send me pictures every day so I can pretend I’m somewhere else.

” She laughed and grabbed my hand to pull me in the direction of some handmade dresses.

We spent the day going from store to store, with Emilio taking guard outside of each one, barely guarding us and flirting with every Spanish girl whose butt was big enough.

I was so glad to just have some girl time.

She was exactly what I needed for a good mental reset.

All of this going on inside the house, coupled with my mixed feelings about Judah and me, she couldn’t have come at a better time.

Once we were done, we got into the truck and took our seats.

I took my phone out of my bag and checked my notifications.

Since Judah had been in his meeting, I hadn’t been glued to it.

Everything else could wait. I clicked on my emails, and the first one that caught my attention was the one with “congratulations” in the subject line.

Dear Ms. Ivy Montana,

Congratulations. You have been selected for the SkyWatch international conference. This year’s conference will be held in New York City, and we look forward to seeing you there. Confirm your participation by clicking the link below.

At first, it was standard until I continued to read the email in its entirety, and that’s when things changed for me. I have never clicked a link so fast in my life. In fact, I was moving so fast that I misspelled my name twice trying to type it in.

Then I leaned over and showed it to my cousin; she didn’t get the hype at first, until she got to the last line.

“You see? This is the damn universe bringing you together. Pictures, every damn day.” She said as she pointed a finger at my face, making me laugh.

“I got you, I promise,” I said. I fought the urge to text Judah, but I knew he was in a meeting where he couldn’t use his phone.

My heart raced as I thought about how the hell I was about to convince Padrino to let me go to New York City. That would have been another challenge in itself.

Emilio pulled back up to the estate, let us out, and grabbed our things. He took Esme’s things to her truck. She walked straight to it, didn’t even come back inside to say goodbye to Padrino.

I pushed open the door of the estate and went into the study, where I knew he normally was if he wasn’t in the sitting area.

I twisted the doorknob, and that was my first mistake instead of knocking.

Yenny and the newest girl were on the couch doing whatever in the corner as he read the newspaper like he didn’t have a whole freak show in front of him.

He shouted in Spanish for them to get out, and they peeled themselves from the couch and walked toward the door. Yenny rolled her eyes at me as she walked out. I smirked at her.

I sat in the chair in front of him. He put the paper down and gave me his undivided attention.

“I have something that I wanted to tell you,” I said as we spoke in Spanish.

“What’s that?” He asked, clasping his hands in front of him.

“I was invited to a weather convention in New York City. I would like to go.” I said as I gave him the biggest smile that I could muster.

“No,” he said sharply, quicker than I expected.

“Padrinoooo,” I whined.

“You know that you can't-” he started before I cut him off.

“Padrino! I know! It’s been two years. That’s a long time. You know I love my career and what I do, I want to go.” I pleaded. Barely having to fake the one tear that fell.

He took a deep breath and looked at the pout on my face. His fingers tapped on the desk while he was deep in thought.

“How long?”

“Seven days.”

“You can go-” I smiled and squirmed in my seat before he raised his hand to stop my premature celebration. He continued.

“Under one condition. Emilio goes with you. Seven days, and I want all the details. You go to New York City and come back home. Anything else will be forbidden. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” I said as I walked around the desk and kissed his cheek before I ran out the door before he could change his mind.

I could barely contain myself. I wanted to go to New York for no other reason but to have a chance to see Judah.

Sure, he would come to Bolivia again, but it wasn’t like he could just bypass my godfather and come to my room.

This was going to be an unrestricted meeting.

I picked up my phone and counted down the hours to 10 p.m.

It was 10:30, and the FaceTime hadn’t come yet.

Judah was always on time, so I don’t know if his work ran over or if something had gone wrong.

By this time, I was pacing the floor, and my anticipation of sharing the good news with him was replaced with worry.

By the time it was 11, I was on pins and needles.

I know that the phone worked both ways, but only one of us had restricted use of our phones, and I didn’t want to overstep by making a call.

11:30, the phone finally rang. I answered it.

“My bad, baby. Mateo had me at his compound looking at something.”