My Darling Mayhem
: Chapter 18

I moved aside, my mouth still open. ‘No, you’re not a stranger… I’m sorry. I didn’t⁠—’

Then I stopped because how was she making me feel guilty when she hadn’t even called ahead to see if she could visit? Granted, I would never make my mother ask, nor would I get angry if she just showed up—which she had just now.

Securing the door and ignoring how my son had already ran from the couch and thrown himself at his grandmother, I tried to piece together how she was here…and why.

She usually planned her trips months in advance with me, so she knew I would be free to visit extended family with her. She also wanted to be sure I had a clean place for her to stay, which, at the moment, I did not.

‘Mom, I’m so glad to see you.’

Her intelligent gaze slid back my way as she fought a smile. ‘You are not.’

‘I am,’ I tried to add a little extra enthusiasm, but she knew me better than that.

My house was a disaster. She was right. I wasn’t excited that she was here. I would be if she left and gave me two days to prepare for her.

I decided to change the subject. ‘Can I get you coffee?’

‘¿Dejaste de hablar español?’

The urge to roll my eyes was strong. ‘No, Mama. I haven’t stopped speaking Spanish.’

Yes, I had.

‘I’m merely more comfortable with speaking English. Besides, you raised me on both.’

She scoffed. ‘Your father did.’

She meant Leo, not Manny. She never spoke of Manny or acted like he was a part of our lives. Which was why my brother took Leo’s last name. I had considered it, but my cousins all remained Vasquezs, and while my father was terrible, he was also my dad. That damn postcard lingered in my mind, a little golden symbol of parenthood that shouldn’t belong to him but did.

I knew she’d never turn down a cup of coffee, so I started brewing her a cup.

‘Do you have bags?’

‘Grandma, you can stay in my room if you want,’ Cruz offered excitedly.

My mother smiled at him warmly. ‘Gracias, nieto.’

Cruz tilted his head. ‘What’s nieto?’

‘I thought he was learning Spanish.’ My mother accused me with a click of her tongue.

‘He is, but he hasn’t learned everything.’

I moved so I didn’t see her face reflect what I already knew she was thinking.

‘It means grandson.’

Cruz smiled, then darted back to the living room, already bored with the conversation. I prepared her coffee how I knew she liked it and hoped she’d remove her sweater and shoes. Every time she did, she seemed to relax a bit more.

She was seated on my couch, pulling a framed photo of just Cruz and me into her hand.

She smiled warmly, tracing a finger down my face. It took me back to when I’d first had that photo taken. It was black and white, and I was crouched in front of Cruz, smiling up at him while he pinned his forehead to mine.

I watched as her hair shifted in front of her, and I saw it was completely white now. When had that happened? I took in the rest of her, ensuring nothing else had changed. Her dark brown skin, while still impeccable, was starting to show her age. She was getting close to seventy now, and it made my chest ache. My mother was beautiful, but seeing her age felt strange. She still had arched, dark brows that never seemed to need to tweeze or wax, at least for as long as I had ever known her. Her lashes were thick and full, framing her amber eyes that were still just as bright as ever.

She was taller than me, probably closer to five feet seven inches, and she still dressed like she was about to head out on a cruise with her wide-legged cotton pants, simple button-downs that she kept rolled at her elbows, and a silk scarf tied around her slender neck. She was well-toned from her hobby of playing tennis every Tuesday and Thursday with my aunts. I smiled, seeing how she matured with grace and remarkable beauty.

‘You’re staring, Henrietta.’

A shudder nearly had me dropping her coffee. ‘¡Mamá!’

Her dark brows narrowed as if she knew exactly what she’d just done. ‘Am I supposed to visit my only daughter’s home and call her Renny?’ The derision was evident in her tone as she reared back.

‘Everyone else has called me that, Mom. My entire life.’

She sipped her coffee, glaring at me from over the rim. ‘Not your whole life. You’ve picked a new name.’

I needed to change the subject. ‘So, what brings you to town?’

‘Perhaps I missed my daughter and wanted to see her.’ Her thin shoulders lifted as she returned the photo to its place on the side table.

I’d believe her if I didn’t know her so well. It was the end of October, and her church was planning some sort of harvest festival.

‘Okay, Mama. I’ll let it go for now and get you set up in the office.’ I stood and walked toward the back of the house, trying not to get annoyed that she’d arrived just when it seemed of all the times, she shouldn’t.

The text came through while I was grocery shopping for my mother. She’d thankfully agreed to stay home with Cruz. I felt like I needed a moment to clear my head and process the silence from Archer. My gut was in knots over the idea that Thistle had told him about my connection to El Peligro.

I’d texted him several times, but he hadn’t replied yet, so I was annoyed when Brian’s text popped in.

Once I was in my car with the groceries loaded, I responded.

My fingers drifted back to Archer’s text thread, seeing I’d already messaged him twice. Dammit. I couldn’t keep harassing him, but something felt off with my mother’s sudden appearance.

My fingers flew.

As I was staring at my phone, a call came through, which had me jumping.

It wasn’t Brian, and the area code wasn’t even local…I would never typically answer it, but I was too paranoid over what had happened with Saul and my mom showing up.

“Hello?”

There was a pause, and then, “Renny?”

The voice was familiar yet not. I had only heard it periodically from talking with my mom over the years or if she wanted to show me a video and he was in the background speaking. Yet, I knew it was him.

“Juan?”

My heart pounded chaotically in my chest, like a trapped bird in a cage.

“Yeah…it’s me. I wanted to⁠—”

I pulled my phone away from my ear and pressed my thumb to end the call.

I was going to throw up.

There were zero chances that I would start speaking to my brother again after almost twenty years, the day after what happened with Saul and now my mom. Something was wrong.

Was Archer in danger?

The number called again, but I ignored it and started toward home.

It was dinner time, and I still hadn’t heard back from Archer. My nerves were shot. I refused to ask my mother about my brother’s calls. Her loyalties were more than clear. However, I was determined to wear my mom down and figure out why she was here.

She was stirring my son’s favorite soup while humming a song to herself when she suddenly stopped.

“You’re too thin and pale…”

I folded the clothes before me, resisting the eye roll I wanted to send her. “I’m not pale. It’s just almost winter…and I’ve actually gained weight since you saw me last.”

She laughed while tossing a tomato and then a few peppers into the blender. “En las nalgas.”

I snapped my head around right as she hit the blend button, drowning out any response I might have.

Cruz came out a second later and hugged my mother’s side. Once the blender had finished, he tipped his head back.

“Why do we need salsa, Grandma?”

My mom clicked her tongue. “Salsa goes on everything, mijo.”

“But aren’t we having soup?” His little nose scrunched, and I smiled, remembering when I stood in my stepdad’s kitchen, asking him question after question until he finally set me on the counter and let me watch him cook.

“We can put salsa in the soup, too, if we want. But I’m going to have your mom make us some chips. How does that sound?”

“I love it when she makes chips.”

I knew better than to argue.

“So, Henrietta, mi amor. When are you going to tell me about this boyfriend?”

“Why do you assume I have a boyfriend?” I pulled a handful of corn tortillas from the package, then grabbed a knife and cutting board.

My mom stirred and prepped the salsa while keeping her head down. “The leather property patch on the back of the couch that says you belong to a man named Archer.”

My hands froze, my pulse hammered, and my eyes scanned the living room. I had left it out?

Shit. Shit. Shittttttttt.

Wait. How did she know it was a property patch? My mother sighed and reached for the pan she’d gotten out for me. “Warm your oil. You act like you’ve never done this before.”

I grabbed the oil, poured a generous amount into the pan, and then flicked the burner. My mouth was dry, and my voice cracked as I tried to explain. “It’s new, but we’ve been friends for a little while.”

“You never said.” She moved around me, putting things away. I hadn’t talked to her since Archer arrived and we started our friendship. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but my mind was so preoccupied, and the deep loneliness I usually felt wasn’t there.

“He just moved in last month, but we’ve been around each other almost every day.”

I didn’t see her face, but I heard her scoff. “He’s dangerous, Renny.”

Cringing at her nickname for me, I started quartering the pile of tortillas.

“Can you try calling me, Wren? I picked it out; it keeps me safe…”

Her eyes rounded as she gaped at me. “That’s what I just called you. Renny is Wren, and you’re lucky I called you that instead of your given name, Henrietta. You were named after my grandmother, who would roll over twice in her grave at how you’ve spit on her.”

Shaking my head, I continued to slice. “I mean no disrespect, but Renny is a part of Henrietta. Wren is a beautiful bird that can endure and last in tough environments…they’re resilient.”

My mom’s hand was on her hip as she glared at me. “And this name keeps you safe?”

“Yes, it does.” However, that wasn’t true after Saul had recognized me. My new name didn’t do shit for me.

“If safety is so important, why are you willingly driving around with ¿el diablo?”

I leaned in, whisper-yelling back at her in shock, “Really, the devil? Archer is the devil, now?”

My mother’s face didn’t change; she merely shrugged slightly. I shook my head while slowly adding the chopped tortillas to the pan.

“Do you know what he’s a part of? You have no idea why it’s so dangerous to be near him.”

My stomach flipped around, trying to replace purchase, but it was like a fish on land. “What do you know about it, Mama?”

“I know he’s been a problem for far too long.”

I stirred the frying tortillas so they didn’t burn. “What is that supposed to mean?”

With a lowered voice, she murmured, “He uses territory in the city to run guns and pharmaceutical drugs…it’s been going on long enough and has been growing so that someone needed to intervene.”

I had a lump forming in my throat. “Who?”

My mother’s lips pursed while turning away from me.

No.

I followed her as she turned away and lowered my voice to a harsh whisper, confirming the fears that had been stirred up last night. “Are you saying my neighbor is running illegal activities through territory that belongs to my…brother?”

My heart felt like it had galloped straight through my chest. This was why she’d come. Somehow, she knew I was in close proximity to Archer…I had no idea how she knew unless I was being followed or he was, and I fell into the report. But why was she even still working with Juan? She’d left my biological father because of this life, but my father had yanked her and my stepdad back into it without a choice. It wasn’t until he died that she finally started living freely…but as soon as Juan resumed the role, it was like she happily stepped right back into it.

“It’s more complicated than that, Henrietta.”

My fingers were shaking from how angry I was. How dare she only come here to keep tabs on me. How dare she use our relationship as a way to communicate something from Juan.

“Did he send you?”

Her silence was deafening, which meant he had.

“He’s worried about you now that he’s aware of your connection to the problem.”

“How come he won’t just come himself?” I still refused to think through what it meant that he’d called me or considered it an attempt to reach out. Why now when there’d been nothing for so long?

My mother shook her head, flipping her burner off and spinning to grab bowls. “Because it’s not his decision regarding what happens to you. We both came here to protect you and Cruz.”

Fear pierced me like a bullet, shallow and dull.

“What do you mean, whose decision is it?” My mind tugged at her other words that implied my brother had also traveled here.

My mouth was so fucking dry. Anger surged and swirled inside my chest like a hurricane. It slammed against my reasons, my past, and all the hurt I’d filed away where Juan was concerned.

“Cruz, come eat.” My mother moved away from me and joined my son at the table. I hadn’t even realized she’d finished the chips and ensured everything had been cleaned and put away.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket with a text, so I moved to the laundry room to check it.

My fingers moved briskly as my heart continued to pound.

Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I returned to the kitchen, seeing my mom and Cruz already about to eat. “I uh…I’ve been waiting for Archer to get in all day, and he just texted me that he’s back. I need to ask him about a school email I got regarding Cruz’s class.”

“You can’t just call him?” My mother quizzed, watching me as she scooped soup into a bowl.

“No. I need to see him in person. I might be out for a bit. Do you mind putting Cruz to bed?” I walked up, pressing a kiss to the top of my son’s head. My mother’s gaze was cold as she watched me.

“I suppose, but we need to talk at some point, Henrietta, and it needs to be tonight.”

My answer came in the form of a slight nod. I knew she was right, and deep down, I knew there was a chance I’d even encounter my brother over the next few days if my mother’s arrival was anything to go on. I just needed a second to withdraw from the situation and check in with Archer.

He’d been gone all day, and all I wanted to do was ask him if he knew and whether he still loved me. My stomach had been in knots. I needed this.

My mother and whatever the hell else was going on there could wait.