Page 98 of Into the Light

“I did.”

He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before bending down to look at her in my face as she buried her body in my chest.

“Good, mija. You need to talk about it. She needs to be talked about.” It reminded me how grateful I was for him and how happy I was for hiring him.

“Are you guys ready?” he asked. It was my idea to have Santiago come with us to the diner. I’d informed him this morning of the plan. He would wait for us outside in case anything went astray, then he’d be able to remove Ember from whatever fight broke out.

“I still don’t agree with this,” she argued. “I don’t need protecting. It’s my family.”

“Just in case,” Santiago encouraged as he grabbed her in his arms, laying a brotherly kiss atop her head.

As we took the elevator outside, opting to use the Jeep instead of my bike, we went to the parking garage.

“So, does this mean I am out of a job now?” Santiago asked as we rounded the corner to our Jeep.

“What?!” Ember screamed, her voice echoing in the concrete parking garage. “Why would you say that? You cannot leave me.”

Sensing the panic in her voice, I wanted to alleviate some of it for her.

“Not unless you want to be. We have a lot of property out in the countryside. In fact, so much property we might need you to stay in the guesthouse, if you wanted.” I gave him a little wink.

“Of course, I am staying with you guys now.” He laughed before jabbing her in the side. “Maybe now I won’t have to play Uno until one in the morning with you while you cry over Swiftie music.”

“Hey. She is a lyrical genius. Don’t tell me you didn’t love her new album.” She puckered her lips at him, and he only chortled before getting in his car.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked when we pulled up to the little parking lot behind the diner, not wanting to alert anyone we were coming. The plan was that I was meeting with Mr. Ortiz, and when Ember’s dad came through, Walsh would guide him inside. Ember would be with me at all times.

“No, but let’s get this over with,” I said as we walked in the front door. The front sign was losing even more coverage and now only the D was lit up welcoming us in. The bell jingled and we walked toward the back booth. Sue was behind the counter today. We’d bought her entire day out, and I tipped her generously to come by only when needed.

Mr. Ortiz didn’t know that the diner was bought out, because who would expect a shithole like this in the middle of the day to be full of patrons, especially if it was a meeting requested by hisstepson.

We piled into the back booth and gave Sue a wave. I let Ember climb in first because I wanted to be able to protect her if something were to happen.

Sue brought us two chocolate milkshakes and gave a quick wink before making herself scarce.

“We got this . . . together,” Ember said as she wrapped her puffy, pink lips over the straw, taking a sip. Her mouth let out a little whimper, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Make that noise again and I’m calling this meeting off so I can fuck you over this table.”

The shock on Ember’s face only made me laugh when the bell of the door caught both of our attention.

I stood up.

“Sir,” I said, nodding at him, my body blocking Ember, at least until I moved aside and he had a full view of her smiling right up at him.

“Mr. Ortiz,” she said so confidently, her voice not shaking even an ounce, and even I was impressed because my own tone couldn’t say the same. Just as he was about to say something, she gestured to the other side of the table. “Please sit down.”

He looked between us, and I shrugged before sitting next to her, giving her thigh a little squeeze underneath the table. She took her hands off the table and crossed them.

“We have some things we need to discuss about your son.”

“Why is she here?” He directed the question to me, ignoring Ember completely.

“Ember can tell you.” I snidely remarked so the conversation could go back to her. She deserved a voice, maybe even more than I did.

“No,” Mr. Ortiz simply responded. “I have nothing to say to the woman who used my son so that her brother could kill him.”

“Ah, now that is where you are completely incorrect, and we cannot wait to show you today,” a new voice chimed in, and we all snapped our heads up. I was impressed that Walsh walked in here so stealthily, he must’ve come through the kitchen entrance.

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