Page 94 of Ridin' True

“No need to dress up for us,” added Winnie.

I laughed a little and then pointed at the TV. “Any recommendations on what to watch?”

Tess glanced back over her shoulder then gasped as she moved to sit beside me. “Have you heard of that show about the Mormon moms on TikTok? Mind numbing garbage but click bait for sure.”

I handed her the remote, and we all settled in to watch.

A few minutes later, Jed lowered a plate of food onto my lap, pressed a kiss into my hair, and mumbled, “Eat, darlin’.” He then told Winnie and Tess they could help themselves, and he called in another order for himself.

Jed didn’t have any interest in the show, but he stayed close—taking my plate when it was empty and refilling my glass of whiskey. The girls and I binged half the season, pausing only for bathroom breaks. We were getting ready to start our fifth episode when my phone started to ring.

Winnie grabbed it off the coffee table and handed it to me. It was Alejandro calling. I wasn’t sure why. We hadn’t had a real conversation since our fight, and I didn’t have it in me to deal with our relationship just then.

I let it ring through to voicemail, but I didn’t return my focus to the television.

Thinking about my brother made me think about getting kidnapped—and neither of us had told mami or Bella about what happened with Rocco. But no one in my family knew about the second kidnapping or the threat Hoffman issued, either. I couldn’t keep it all a secret anymore. Someone tried to kill me that afternoon, and I had to tell them.

How I was going to convince them I was okay and I had people keeping me safe, I wasn’t sure. They were going to freak. I needed to figure out a way to relay as little as possible without leaving too many holes in my story.

Not two minutes later, Isabella was calling.

I frowned down at my phone. It was after ten.

It was possible they were calling because something happened with mami. If that was the case, I was poised and ready to lose my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer the phone. I didn’t want to hear it. If it was serious, they’d leave a voicemail or send a text.

“Hey,” murmured Tess, resting a hand on my wrist. “We can go if you need to take some calls.”

When my phone started to ring a third time, it was mami calling.

“Take that,” insisted Winnie. “We’ll say goodnight. Call us if you need anything?”

I nodded as they stood and then took a breath before picking up mami’s call.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Whereare you? Are you okay?” she practically shouted.

Instant panic caused my heart to race. “What? Mami, what’s wrong?”

“What’swrong?It’s all over the news, Alexia! The shooting at your apartment. They didn’t say which unit was targeted. Tell me you’re okay,hija.”

“Oh. Right. The news. I didn’t think about that,” I murmured, deflated.

“Were you there? Did you hear anything?”

“Mami—mami, it was my unit. The shooter was aiming for my unit.”

“What?”

She went off in Spanish, something she did when she was really upset. I wasn’t fluent, so I didn’t understand most of what she was saying.

“Mami—mami. Mami!” I cried, trying to get her to listen to me. “I’m okay, alright? I’m okay.”

My phone beeped, alerting me to another incoming call. I glanced at my screen and saw Alejandro was calling again. All at once, I felt completely exhausted.

“Where are you? I’m coming over right now.”

“No, mami, it’s late. I’m with Jed. You don’t need to come over.”