Page 101 of Ridin' True
Mami was waiting for me at the kitchen island, her expression a warning in and of itself.
I stood opposite her, willing myself to be patient.
“I didn’t understand why anyone on this earth could possibly want to harm you—but then you bring that man into my house, and I suddenly wonder if I have my answer.”
My eyes widened, appalled by her no-holds-barred statement.
“Mami!” I cried on a gasp.
“You told me he was a mechanic. You didn’t tell me he was part of a motorcycle gang.”
“Oh, my gosh,” I breathed, taking a step back as I gaped at the woman I thought I knew. In all my thirty-three years, I’d never known her to be so quick to judge. “You can’t be serious? Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I’m your most responsible child, and you think I’ve given my heart to agangmember?”
“Given your heart? To the tattooed man in that vest?” She huffed a sigh, as if I was the one being preposterous. “Alexia, since you’ve started seeing that man, you’ve been skipping mass. You changed your job—a job, I presume, with a description you weren’t as forthcoming about as I thought. You’ve made an enemy of a man outrageous enough to try tokillyou. Are you going to stand there and tell me thisJedhasnothingto do with your present circumstances?”
“Youjustmet him. Are you going to standthereand tell me you knowanythingabout him? I can’t believe you’re blaming him for this! He’s not in agang, mami. It’s a club. There’s a difference.”
“Semantics, Alexia. And you’re right. I don’t know him. But I know you, and—”
“Exactly. You knowme. Which means you should trust me when I tell you, Jed is the best man I’ve ever met. When I tell you I’m safe and I’ll be fine, the only reason I think that is because ofhim. The only reason I’ve not been swallowed up by my fear is because ofhim. He protects me, mami—and he would never let anything bad happen to me, which is more than I can say for even my own brother. So, don’t you dare judge Jed.”
“What?” mami asked, flinching at my words. “What has Alejo ever done to you?”
“Oh, mami…” I sighed.
“Lexi,” Alejo warned.
I jerked my gaze in the direction of his voice and found both Alejandro and Isabella standing inside the kitchen, engrossed in our argument. I could see it written all over my twin’s face—his plea for my silence. But I’d been silent long enough. I wasn’t going to let my mother paint Jed as the villain when it was the sins of her own son that pushed us together in the first place.
“A month ago, Alejo came to me for ten thousand dollars,” I began, staring right at him. “He was in debt with the drug cartel.”
“What?No!” cried mami, horrified.
I shifted my focus her way and continued, “I didn’t have the money, but he’d already offered me as collateral. So, when he didn’t pay up, they came afterme.They kidnapped me, threw me in a trunk, and held me against my will in the middle of nowhere.”
“Oh, my god,” gasped Bella.
“And you know who found me? Who saved me? Who paid the debt and saved us both? Jed. He barely even knew me then.”
Her hands lifted over her mouth, mami looked from me to her precious boy. “Alejo,” she breathed.
I pressed on, wanting to put an end to the whole exchange. “As for the shooting, Fred Hoffman made poor life decisions, and I happen to be the person he blames for his downfall, I guess. I can’t explain the thought process of a desperate man. What I do know is this—Jed is not to blame foranyof it. Honestly, I think this family should know better than most that the only person responsible for their actions is the person who committed the act.
“Now, as much as I was looking forward to dinner, I think we’re just going to go. You’ve been very rude and judgmental, and I won’t ask Jed to stay and pretend he didn’t hear this entire conversation. I hope we can try again another night.”
“Wait, Lexi,” murmured Bella, taking hold of my hand as I pushed my way between her and our brother.
I paused, gave her fingers a squeeze, then pulled away. “I’ll call you later.”
She nodded, putting up no further argument, and I continued into the next room. I stopped short when I saw Jed sitting on the couch next to Giselle.
“Hey, Ellie.”
“Hi. Guess what? He knew about my piggy-cow bank, and he gave me a whole five dollars to put inside!”
I glanced at Jed, who merely shrugged in reply, and I knew in that moment, I was never going to be able to let him go. Not ever.
Speaking around the knot suddenly lodged in my throat, I replied, “That’s very sweet. Did you say thank you?”
