Page 46 of Mace
I choked out a laugh, because making beautiful babies was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment.
She shot me an unguarded smile. “My Huri is crazy about you. He’s going to find your mother and you will both be welcomed into our family.”
Listening to her words, hope surged in my chest. I felt my blush slowly receding. I gave her hand a quick squeeze. “What you describe sounds like a beautiful dream.” Tugging my hand from hers I tell her, “Unfortunately, I think I messed it up already.”
His grandmother snorted a laugh. “There is no problem in the world that three smart women can’t solve if they work together.”
Wren nodded in agreement.
With a wave of her hand, Ruby eyed me curiously. “Tell us this mistake you made, and we will figure out a way to fix it.”
“My mom was stuck in Mexico because my father took her passport. She’d always wanted to return home, but when I was a child that was impossible. There was no proof I was an American citizen, and she was scared that if she did go to the authorities then she might be sent back, or I might be taken from her. She knew that my father might try and get me involved in his business, and that if he ever took me to the US then I should call one federal law enforcement agency after another and offer to turn state’s evidence against him for immunity and try and get my mother out. My worry is that he’s too possessive to allow her to slip his grasp if he ends up in jail. I think he’d implicate her, just for the satisfaction of knowing she’s behind bars at a women’s prison. When he was here and she was there, it wasn’t so bad, but now he’s back here and my mom is with him, I’m scared what he’ll do.”
“Your mother is right about protecting yourself. You must start calling now.”
“I already did. They assigned me a handler. I’m supposed to meet up with my parents in a few days. My father brought my mother here to use as leverage to get me to come back and marry the man he picked out for me. If I alert the feds, then they’ll arrest him and give us immunity, but if I let Mace and his club handle it instead, we won’t be guaranteed immunity from federal prosecution.”
Ruby’s voice cut into my long explanation, “This whole situation sounds complicated. I don’t trust the feds. They’ve screwed over our people too many times.”
Wren frowned, “If you trust my son and his club, then you prove your loyalty. Loyalty and honesty are very important to these men. However, they cannot give you the immunity from prosecution that you see for yourself and your mother.”
“We might get sent back to Mexico, and I’d lose Mace,” I said.
Ruby finally understood the quandary I was in and jumped in to add. “And if you chose the feds, you’ll get the immunity you need but you risk losing Huri. He’ll see it as you not trusting him. You’re sitting here wearing his cut, possibly with his baby in your belly. You would do well to talk to him and let him help you find a solution that solves all these problems at once.”
“He knows everything. His club found a stash of my father’s drugs and have made arrangements to trade my mother for his stuff.”
Both women were shaking their heads, like no man would never do that.
“My father is unhinged. He wants his million dollars’ worth of drugs back. Like I said, he’s possessive of my mom, so I think he’ll find and way to double-cross the Slayers or make the trade and then track back with his men and hunt us down. Mace knows how dangerous my father is, so he doesn’t want me anywhere near him. The feds won’t move until I am eyes on with my father, because they don’t want any false starts to tip him off that they’re hunting him.”
Both women looked at each other. I could tell from their expressions they understood how complex and dangerous the situation was, so I threw down the idea that had been going through my head. “The advantage of setting up an early meeting with my father and clueing the feds to show up, is that Mace wouldn’t be anywhere near the shoot-out. I know my father, and if he’s cornered then that’s what he’ll do. I can’t have the man I love jumping into my father’s crosshairs thinking he’s saving me. I know it’s dangerous for me, but I’m starting to think that keeping Mace and his club brothers out of the line of fire and securing the promised immunity is the only thing I can do. It’s the only way me and my mom can have a future free of worry.”
Both Wren and Ruby’s expressions turned empathetic. Wren finally spoke, “I’m worried about you getting killed. While you’re protecting everyone else, who is going to be protecting you?”
I knew my expression was showing my distress, but I couldn’t help it. Shrugging, I said, “Hopefully, the feds.”
Wren’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know, Alicia. There are too many moving parts. What if something happens after youget there, like if your father gets to you before the feds arrive or heaven forbid, he brings enough firepower to kill the team the feds send. Look how long it took them to get Pablo Escobar.”
I turned her words over in my mind, still not seeing another way out. That’s why when my phone rang, I grabbed it, hoping it was Mace checking up to see how the meeting with his mother and grandmother was going.
Disappointment must have been clear on my face because Ruby asked, “Who is it?”
My eyes lifted to hers as the phone rang again and I turned it to her so she could see the caller ID. “It’s my father, so I’ve got to take it. Wish me luck.”
Wren grabbed my wrist and said, “Be bold, Alicia. Bold but careful.” When she let my wrist go, I stood up, slid the door open and raced upstairs to take the call where no one could hear.
Chapter 18
Alicia
The moment I answered, he said, “Alicia, I must talk to you now. Are you alone?”
“Yes. What’s going on?” My father rarely called because he was always paranoid that someone was eavesdropping on his phone calls. He liked texting and was prone to being cryptic. Today, he seemed agitated.
“Those gringos stole what’s mine.”
“Didn’t they offer you a trade?” I asked innocently.