Page 21 of LA Reign

Lucia smirks, picking up the sarcasm in my tone, or maybe she just knows the kind of man I am. “What was that like? Did Alejandro go all psycho and break his jaw?”

My beautiful wife rolls her eyes. “Not quite, but I’m sure he would have if I hadn’t stepped in. At the very least an arm.”

True. I’d like to break more than his arm, though. The thought of him ever touching any part of her has jealous anger simmering in my veins. I drop a kiss on Alana’s head before pressing my lips against her ear, so Lucia won’t hear. “Roll those eyes at me again, princesa, and I will take my belt to your ass.”

She tips her head back, a flush creeping over her cheeks and a wicked smile playing across her lips. So she likes the sound of that?

My cock twitches in my pants. Now is definitely not the time for that. “How was your evening, Lucia?” I ask, changing the subject.

“It was okay. Your friend, Jax, stopped by to see you. He thought you weren’t leaving until seven. He’s nice though. He ordered me a pizza.” She licks her lips at the memory. Of Jax or the pizza, I’m not quite sure. I hope it’s the latter.

I wasn’t expecting him last night, and he didn’t call to say there was a problem. But then again, I haven’t been seeing as much of him lately. Since Alana came back from New York last week, I’ve spent almost every waking moment with her. Which probably, and very unfortunately, needs to stop. My business needs my attention just as much as she does, even if that isn’t even nearly as pleasant. I should check in with him.

With a promise I’ll join them both for lunch, I kiss my wife once more and head to my study, firing off a text to Jax to tell him I’m home. He texts back immediately to tell me he’s on his way.

Whatever he showed up for last night must be something he doesn’t want to discuss over the phone. Thankfully it wasn’t urgent enough that he disturbed my dinner with the mayor, or my time with Alana.

Still, I brace myself for whatever shit has already hit the fan, or is certainly about to.

Leaning back in my chair, I listen intently as Jax fills me in on recent developments with a family of brothers who’ve been a thorn in our sides for far too long. Jax is sure they’re the ones behind a recent spate of disturbances. It’s very unlikely they would be brave or stupid enough to challenge me directly, but they would try to take over some of the enterprises my associates operate. The kind that I take a healthy piece of change from in order to allow them to operate safely in my city.

“So, you think the Ortegas are making a serious move?” I ask him.

He nods. “They’ve not done anything outright to challenge any of our associates yet, but it looks like they’re getting their ducks in a row to me, amigo.”

I mull the information over. The oldest Ortega brother, Joseph, is a piece of shit, and there’s something about him that I’ve never trusted. But he’s always kept his nose out of any business that directly concerns me, and he’s never given me any outward cause for concern. “If you’re right, then this could land us in the middle of a fucking war, Jax. People will expect us to take action to shut those little motherfuckers down.”

“Yeah. But we’ve got men watching him. If he makes a move, we’ll know about it. Hopefully we can deal with this shit before it even happens.”

“I fucking hope so, amigo. I want extra men here at the house until the problem is dealt with, too.” I won’t take any chances when it comes to Alana’s safety, and these assholes can sometimes be unpredictable.

“Of course, I’ll get on it right away. But speaking of the house, I saw the Ramos girl is staying here. What’s the deal?”

The deal is, I’m a sucker for my wife and will give her any damn thing she wants. I don’t admit that to Jax. He knows anyway. “What else could I do? She turned up here the night before last, telling Alana and me she hated staying at her foster home. That the family there, the Bakers, were bad. Turns out she was right. So now she’s on her own and pregnant. She needs help, but it's a temporary measure until we figure out something more permanent.”

He gives a single shake of his head. “Okay. I get that, but she’s a Ramos. Miguel Ramos was a weaselly motherfucker. You’d better hope the apple fell far from that tree.”

I only know Miguel Ramos by reputation, and it wasn’t a good one. In fact, he was the kind of man I would never do business with.

But now I’m reminded of the way Lucia responded to me yesterday when I told her she needed to follow my house rules. “Did you ever hear about him and his kids? Those rumors about the way he…I don’t know, the way he treated them?”

Jax’s eyes narrow as he thinks. “Yeah. I heard he was a cruel bastard. He used to make his sons beat the crap out of each other until only one of them was left standing. Nothing beyond that. Why do you ask?”

I shrug, sure he was just as cruel to Lucia, if not more so. If what Jax has just mentioned was public knowledge, then who the fuck knows what went on behind closed doors? “Just wondering. I don’t think Lucia had a particularly good relationship with him.”

“Well that wouldn’t surprise me. But, still, you are harboring the last surviving members of the Ramos family, amigo. Two generations of them. I hope you know what you’re doing, is all.”

“I don’t think the girl and her baby are going to start a criminal empire any time soon.”

He huffs out a laugh. “She might still have some enemies hanging around. Her father was a motherfucker and who knows how many people he pissed off. They might still want revenge, and she might be all that’s left to them.”

“I’m well aware of the risks, Jax.”

I’m annoyed now, even though I get that he’s looking out for me. He’s telling me what I already know, and I agree with every word he’s saying. But somehow, between Alana’s fighting spirit, Lucia’s disarming honesty, and my own budding conscience, the girl is still here.

“Okay. And don’t get me wrong, she seems like a real nice kid…”

“But she’s a Ramos.” I finish the thought for him. “Like I said, it’s a short-term arrangement. As soon as I can figure out a way to get her out of here while keeping her safe, she’ll be gone.”