Page 41 of Brandishing Betrayals

Tears welled in my eyes as my sister called me out. Dax had been checking up on me for years. Once a year, I had received a flower in my mailbox, like a fucking reminder that he was still out there, and could get to me anywhere I went.

“What if the club could help? What if starting a war with Las Serpientes is exactly what needs to happen?” Jenna pressed on. “Aren’t you tired of living your life in fear?”

A broken sob choked out of me, as I tried to stifle it. Iwastired of living in fear, so fucking tired. Every day I it got harder to get up and go to work, harder to make it through the day. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, expecting to see him creeping in around a corner. Then the added stress of being around my men every night this week and unable to touch them, knowing that if I broke down and sank into their arms, I’d feelbetter for a moment, only to fear that Dax had seen me and would try to kill someone I loved.

“Oh honey,” Jenna cooed, and immediately wrapped her arms around me.

I fell apart in my sister’s arms, letting out all of the stress and pressure I had been carrying around for months. “They hate me.” I choked the words out between gasping breaths.

“Maybe they do,” Jenna said, not one to sugarcoat things, “but you haven’t given them a reason to trust you either.”

I knew that of course; I’d purposely been pushing them away. I’ve needed to push them away.

“You need to think about telling them the truth. At this point, it’s the only way. You’re only going to make yourself sick with worry, when they could be protecting you and Luke. You owe it to your son to make sure he’s taken care of.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded minutely. There wasn’t anything I could say. Iwasmaking myself sick with worry.

Maya

The drive home from Chicago was quiet. Luke played on his tablet with headphones in while I set my music low and zoned out while driving. I pulled into my parents’ driveway right at five p.m. Marcos’s black truck was already parked on the street in front of the house, three doors opened immediately as I pulled in.

Luke jumped out of the Civic as soon as the car was in park. He tossed his tablet and headphones to the seat next to him, and greeted his dad loudly, running toward the truck.

I sighed and took my time undoing my seat belt. I was sure I looked like crap, my hair a mess and my eyes were likely bloodshot. I had spent the drive lost in thought with tears swimming in my vision every now and then. Between the chat with my sister that morning and my appointment with my therapist the morning before, my nerves were fried.

I really didn’t want to sit through a family dinner with my ex-boyfriends when my walls were crumbled around me. I was too raw, too fucking emotional. I ignored the rowdy boys at the end of the driveway and popped the trunk on the Civic.

Climbing out of the car, I steeled my spine, but kept my head down. I really didn’t want to draw attention to myself, at least not until I managed to grab a shower and clean up. “Mom!” Luke called out as we walked up the driveway.

Forcing a smile on my face, I glanced over my shoulder at the four guys walking my way. “Yeah, babe,” I called back.

“Dad brought pizzas!” Luke’s enthusiasm always warmed my heart.

“That’s great!” I said, grabbing my duffle bag out of the trunk and slinging it over my shoulder. “Why don’t you help me unload the car really quick, then you can find plates and silverware for your dad. I’m gonna take a quick shower.”

“Sure mom!”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I grabbed my pillow and headed for the front door. It wasn’t until I was behind my closed bedroom door, did I finally let my shoulders fall. This was going to be an epic nightmare. I was going to have to get my walls up and cemented quick, or I was going to have a break-down during dinner.

Marcos

The guys and I followed Luke and Maya into the house. Maya immediately headed for her bedroom to shower, leaving Luke to help the guys set up pizza and gather plates and silverware. “How was your weekend, bud?” I asked my son.

Luke grinned broadly. “It was great. I hung out with my cousins and got to see all my old friends. Mom invited them to come down here to visit down here for my birthday.”

I paused, “And when’s your birthday again?”

“November 11th. It’s on a Saturday this year. Mom was going to talk to you about plans, but she was thinking my friends might be able to come down too.” Luke’s excitement warmed my heart, even if I was annoyed to not have been included in the initial planning stages. It would be my first birthday with his son. Was it asking too much to want to spend the day alone with my kid, without a bunch of strangers hanging around?

I plastered a smile on my face for my son’s sake, though. “Yeah, I’ll talk to your mom and we’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks dad! I really want you to meet all my friends! And my Chicago friends to meet my friends here!”

Sensing my mood, Nico spoke up. “What else did you guys do when you were in Chicago? Did your mom go meet any old friends?”

“No,” Luke shook his head. “She hung around Aunt Jenna most of the time, but she did go see her therapist on Saturday morning.”

“Therapist?” Nico asked, raising an eyebrow.

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