Page 30 of Avenging Kelly

Two hours later, we landed. There was a car parked in a spot near the terminal, and when a small Hispanic woman stepped out, London grinned. “What a great surprise,” he called out as he jogged over to the woman and engulfed her in a tight hug.

I grabbed our duffels from a baggage handler and walked over to the pair. Obviously, London knew the woman and was very fond of her.

“Marianna, how’d you know we’d be here?” London asked as he untangled himself from her tight hold. The woman appeared to be young—maybe in her late forties or early fifties. She had an infectious smile that even I wasn’t immune to.

“My son-in-law called to ask if you could stay with me for a few days, and I was more than happy to say yes. Who is this handsome young man?” she asked as she turned her radiant gaze to me, one I couldn’t help but return.

“Kelly Brown, ma’am,” I introduced myself.

London chuckled. “I’m sorry. Kelly, this is Marianna Cordoza, Duke’s mom. Marianna, Kelly is a friend of Gabby’s.”

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with his phrasing, but that was a discussion for another time. I put down the bags and shook the petite woman’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Let’s go. I put on a pot of carnitas before I left the house. I hope you boys are hungry,” the woman stated, leading the two of us to her Chevy Crossover.

“Is this the car Duke, Ace, and Corby got you for Christmas?” London asked as she hit the fob to open the back for me to stow the bags.

I opened her door, getting a sweet smile for my effort, and then I hopped in the back seat behind her. London got into the front passenger seat and turned toward me, giving me a wink.

“What do you do, Kelly?” she asked as she maneuvered us out of the parking lot and down a service road toward the highway.

“He, uh, he’s working with me on a case. He recently got out of the Army,” London answered for me, which was a relief. I doubted the woman would be so welcoming if she knew I was on a mission to kill anyone and everyone who had harmed my family.

“My John—Duke, as you boys call him—he was a Marine, you know,” the woman offered proudly.

“Yes, ma’am. I met John… er, Duke. Nice fellow.” There was more to that story, for sure, because Chambers looked nothing like his mother.

London turned with a smile. “Marianna is Duke’s late-mother’s partner.” And there was the story. I relaxed a little at his comment. It was good to be in the company of someone who understood all the bullshit judgment that went along with being queer.

Marianna chatted about the time she’d spent in Hawaii with Duke, Ace, and Corby, seeming very accepting that her son was in a polyamorous relationship. It was nice to hear the affection in her voice when she talked about their family holiday.

We arrived at a cream-colored stucco home trimmed in gray-blue. There was a rock-and-cactus garden in front, and an American flag attached to one brace on the front porch. It looked like something out of a greeting card.

I hopped out of the crossover and went to the back to get our luggage since London hadn’t protested about us staying with the woman. I was interested to see how things shook out.

We were sitting at her kitchen table about an hour later, ready to dive into some of the best smelling beef I’d ever been around. There were even homemade corn tortillas. The woman was a hell of a cook.

“How long have you boys been dating?” Marianna asked just as I shoved half a taco in my mouth.

I quickly dropped the other half on my plate and covered my mouth with my napkin as I glanced at London, seeing amusement on his face.

“How’d ya know?” London asked her, not at all what I was expecting.

“We’re dating?” I cocked an eyebrow at him as I swallowed. Hell, I didn’t know we were labeling this thing. It probably would have been rude to say we hadn’t even fucked yet.

London chuckled at me before turning to Marianna. “It’s pretty new. I guess Kelly’s still trying to adjust.”

Oh, I wasn’t having a problem adjusting at all. In fact, I needed to adjust myself from the sound of his voice to keep from offending the lady. London had me sprung at the drop of a hat. I hoped to hell I got the chance to feel him from the inside sometime soon.

As I was about to compliment Marianna on the meal, London’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He retrieved it and glanced at the screen before furrowing his brow. “Excuse me for a minute. I need to make a call.”

He walked out the door to the backyard, and I turned to Marianna. “I, uh… This is great,” I said as I made another taco for myself.

“It was my Delia’s favorite recipe. My abuela taught me to make it when I was young before I got kicked out of my family for being a lesbian,” the woman said off-the-cuff.

I had to laugh, and thankfully, she joined me. “London is a wonderful young man. I hope you’ll make him happy. All the men he works with are like sons to me, and I’d hate to think you wouldn’t treat London with the respect he deserves.”

It was the sweetest I’ll-kick-your-ass talk I’d ever heard, so I nodded and dug into another taco. I vowed then and there to take London to meet my mother officially if I ever got the impression she’d be happy I’d found someone.

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