“Don’t be too harsh on Lucius,” Carter tells Jax. “You can hate him, you can write him off, but don’t judge him too harshly. You don’t know how hard it is to be him. It’s not a position you can step down from.”
Jax shakes his head. “Of all people, I didn’t expect you to come to his defense. He betrayed you despite your long history and years of friendship.”
I grab Jax’s hand. I love this man so much. He pulls me close, arm around my shoulders. A single embrace makes me purr with contentment.
“It’s true,” Carter says, “but I’ve never made it easy on him. Neither have you. Anyway, who am I to judge, right? And he’s the only relative you have left. I know that he loves you, Jaxson, in the way he knows how to love.”
“When are you leaving?” I say, seeing how the Lucius conversation is making Jax uncomfortable.
“Sometime next week. I’d like to see your mother if you could arrange that.”
“That’s totally up to her, I can’t help you there.”
Mom hasn’t had an easy life since he left. I have no idea if she has the strength or desire to be in the same room with him.
“Is it okay if I smoke?” Carter says.
I shrug. “I guess it won’t kill me if it’s just this once.”
We stop near a bench so Carter can light his cigar.
“Do you want some ice cream?” Jax says, pointing at a Cold Stone Creamery across the street.
“Yes, I’d love a pistachio cone,” I say. I realize as Jax walks away that he is giving me some time alone with Carter. I watch quietly the little ritual Carter has with the cigar, cutting off the tip, looking at the lighter flame for a while before he brings it to the cigar, inhaling hard.
“What a lovely family scene,” Rick Esposito says, startling me. He claps his hands. “Bravo.”
What the hell is wrong with him? How does he always know where to find me?
“You, Sir, must be the infamous Carter Wade,” Esposito goes on.
Where is this going? Is he here to arrest Carter?
Carter stares back at Rick curious. “Do we know each other?” he says.
“I know you,” Rick says. “You might not remember me, after all you only saw me once. As for me, it’s hard to forget the man who killed my father.”
Carter straightens his body as he takes a step toward Esposito. “I’ve never killed a man in my life.”
“Maybe not directly. Carlos Torres. Remember him? He was your partner back in Tijuana twelve years ago. You betrayed him, left him to die in the hands of the cartel.”
My blood freezes. So that’s Rick’s story? Is this where his interest in me has stemmed from all along? Was he hoping I’d lead him to my father?
“Your father tried to steal from the cartel,” Carter says. “There was nothing that could be done.”
Rick smiles. “They came to the house, you know, a few days later. They killed my mother and sisters after they tortured them in front of me. They laughed, said they’d keep me alive so my suffering would remind their enemies what they’re capable of.”
Carter's face goes pale at Rick’s words. “I’m sorry, son. I didn't know that.”
“No, because you ran away, you bastard. You could have protected us but you only cared about yourself.”
“Is this why you were nice to me?” I hiss at Rick, stepping in front of Carter. “So I would lead you to him?”
“Ella, step back,” Carter says, pushing me to the side.
“What? You think I’d hurt a woman?” Rick tells him, laughing. He turns to me. “I don’t blame you for what he’s done.”
“It was a messed-up time,” Carter offers.
Rick smiles and I fall into a daze as a gunshot is fired. Am I dreaming? Is this happening? Who shot who?
Jax comes running, dropping two ice cream cones on the way, to tackle Esposito. The two men roll down to the ground, a tangled mess.
Carter is on the ground, too, face down. Dad! I drop to my knees over him. I turn him over, pushing his hair back off his forehead. His hands are on his stomach. Blood, I realize, so much blood gushes through his fingers.
“Pressure,” Jax yells at me, “put pressure on the wound.”
I look at Jax, but I can’t really see him. I think he’s overpowered Esposito, taken the gun from him, but I might be dreaming.
“Listen to me,” Carter says.
“You’ll be okay,” I say, recovering my senses. I move his bloodied hands away, using the lower part of my dress to cover the wound, my hands pressing down hard. I don’t know why I haven’t fainted yet.
“I always kept an eye on you and your mother.”