Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Encounter

CADEN

The last couple of weeks have gone by like clockwork. We are getting info from Anton about Ortiz and his schedules and where he goes.

The doctor came by, finally, after a few weeks, and Eva is already two months along. Her morning sickness has been going on all morning. Around lunchtime is when she finally starts getting hungry.

Every day she comes down with lunch, and we enjoy each other’s company, talking about everything going on. Today she was a little bit late, so I asked if after we ate, she wanted to go with me and Frankie to get Nate from school. She was so excited because it’s been some time since she’s been out of the house.

I have been taking Nate to school and picking him up for a while now. The women there are something else, I’m telling you. I have had grown women fucking flirt with me in front of their husbands. I just roll my eyes and think ~really~?

I show up with my bodyguards and all eyes are on us. Sometimes I wonder if they are expecting club music to start up. I have even seen women start to dress way differently than that first week.

So I figure, why not get Eva out and make an afternoon of it. We grab Tank and Frankie, and we all head out of the office toward the elevator.

“Connie, I will be gone this afternoon. Reschedule anything if needed.”

“Yes, boss! Bye, Eva!”

I see Eva wave at Connie as the elevator doors shut, and she grins as she looks up at me. I lean down and kiss her lips.

“Let’s go get our boy from school.”

We load into the SUV, and we head out to the school and pull into the parking lot. I get out and help Eva out, wrapping my arm around her. We walk to the front of the school with Tank and Frankie in tow.

Eva notices all the women staring and smirking our way and starts to tense up. They start flashing her dirty looks, but I have learned to tune it out. Eva is my one and only, and no other woman can remotely compare.

I can see her get self-conscious and look down at the ground. I grab her chin, lift her face up, and place a kiss on her lips. Then I whisper in her ear.

“Don’t mind all the other women standing around. They can’t even remotely compare to you and are extremely jealous. You are my goddess, queen, and the mother to my children. Nothing or no one will ever change that.”

She stands there as kids start filing out, and the women continue to stare in our direction while we wait for Nate. I see him make his way toward us, and he starts running, screaming, “Daddy, Daddy.”

Man, that shit hits me every day I pick him up. He quickly runs and jumps in my arms, then he sees his mom. He gets so excited to see her that he leans over to go into her arms.

“Nate, my boy, how about we do something fun today. What do you say? What do you want to do?”

We turn and head toward the SUV, but before we take a few steps and before Nate has a chance to answer, I get nudged in the ribs. I look over at Frankie, giving him a what-the-fuck look as he motions his head forward.

I quickly look and see Ortiz and his two goons Juan and Palo, standing by our car. Shit! I quickly shove Eva and Nate behind me and give the teacher a look.

Between me looking at her and what is in front of me, she knows she needs to get everyone cleared out. Man, why does he gotta do this shit at the school?

“Ortiz, why are you at the school? You could do this shit anywhere else!”

“I just wanted to see mi amor. It’s been hard staying away, but we will soon be together. She can hide behind you now, but she won’t be hiding from me soon. I hope she enjoyed her letter.”

I can feel Eva grab my suit jacket from behind me, and Nate is right behind my legs, between me and her. I can feel her tremble as Ortiz speaks. I see Frankie reach into his jacket as everyone else does the same.

The sound of guns cocking is louder than what we need it to be. We are in front of a fucking school, man.

I grab Frankie’s arm and shake my head. No, not here. He slowly pulls his hand back out empty, and everyone else pulls theirs out empty.

Ortiz turns to walk away with his jackasses in tow. I can see Frankie fuming out of the corner of my eye. He is just staring at me, and I give him a look.

We slowly make our way to the car, and I open the door for Eva and Nate to climb in. We all sit back as Nate climbs in my lap and Eva starts sobbing next to me.

I know she is scared and deep down I am too. I don’t know how long I will be able to keep my cool before I snap. The silence and tension is broken by my phone ringing, and I see Terrance’s name flash across the screen.

“Terrance, my man, what’s the situation?”

“We are ready. We made phone calls, and when people heard who it was that was looking, everyone and their kids came forward. I almost have everyone ready to gather. Just give me the word and where to meet.”

“How many are we talking about? How many stayed loyal?”

“We have about two hundred and fifty so far, but have more coming forward every day. We have people coming out of hiding for your ass. So this better be good!”

“Oh, it is! Meet me in a few days at my office. I will set up a conference room, and we will go over the plan.”

“You got it, man. See you then!”

I hang up and I see Tank and Frankie look at each other and slowly turn around and look at me.

“How many we got?”

“At least two fifty so far. He says more and more are coming out of hiding.”

“How many stayed loyal to my dad? Even after all these years? Shit, man!”

Eva asked, “Two fifty what?”

“Two hundred and fifty soldiers. They were loyal to your parents until they had to get out. They went into hiding and left all their info with one man they could trust because their lives depended on it. That was Terrance.

“When he knew Frankie was working for me, he gave me his number so in case I ever needed to go down this road, I would have manpower.

“Now that we are headed this way, we have to build our empire quickly to battle against Ortiz and his empire.

“Enough talk about that right now. Let’s go get some ice cream. How does that sound, Nate? Then maybe we will go to the park.”

I look at Nate and he just has a big grin on his face. So ice cream and the park it is. We drove for a bit, get to the ice cream shop, and park. When we get out and walk in, I swear I see some people stiffen up.

One five-year-old and his mom, trailed by a man that looks like a bodybuilder in a three-piece suit, followed by two bigger guys in suits wearing earpieces. Yeah, we aren’t fucking scary at all. No wonder people quickly get out.

We all chuckle when we see the people behind the counter have the same looks. We smile and tell them to relax. We just need some ice cream.

Everyone starts to place their orders, and once we have our ice cream, we decide to go outside to eat.

If we stay inside, I don’t think any customers will come in. So, we find a table to sit at as Frankie and Tank stand scanning the area. We laugh and talk about Nate’s day at school while we eat our ice cream.

I take my cone and dab it on Nate’s nose, which gets a giggle out of him while he tries to lick it off. After we finish our ice cream, we load back into the SUV and head toward the park.

I find a bench to sit on at the park, and Eva sits down next to me. Nate is with Tank and Frankie on the playground, and I can’t help but chuckle to myself.

“What’s so funny?” Eva asks.

“A few months ago, who would have thought in two months where we would be. Hell, I didn’t even know if you would come home with me that day. Eva, I am going to ask you again, but with a twist now.

“Eva, I am a dangerous man as I do things that are illegal, and my life is always in danger. Let me know now if you want out, but I promise I will protect you and our children with everything I have.”

“Caden, I am one hundred percent sure. You are my king, and I wouldn’t want us to be anywhere else than we are right now.”

“Good, because you are my queen, and I wasn’t going to give you or Nate up.”