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Taking a deep breath, I checked my phone, then went down the hall toward my room, knocking.
"It's me," I called.
"Hey," Eva said after coming to the door and unlocking it. "Is everything okay?"
"Reign is in the hospital. He's going to be okay. But shit is rocky right now."
"Because of Miguel and his friends," Eva guessed, voice lowered to a whisper so Jacob didn't overhear.
"Jacob, Huck said you can go hang with him in the common area while your mom and I talk. It's alright," I added, seeing his wide eyes. "You're not in any danger. I just need a couple minutes to explain everything to your mom. No big deal. Huck said he will feed you too, but I am going to advise you pick something that doesn't require cooking. I don't think the man could scramble an egg."
"Okay," Jacob said, staid, withdrawn, but moving past us and into the hallway, shoulders hunched.
"I don't think I've ever yelled at him like I just did while you were gone," Eva admitted. "My throat hurts," she added. "I mean, here I was thinking that he was just a little led astray, but a good kid. But he was there," she said as I moved inside, closing the door. "He was there where a man was being held captive and hurt. He was hurt, if he is in the hospital," she said, eyes filling up. "He was there. And he didn't come to you guys and tell you. No. He stole from him, then came back here to try to act like nothing happened. That's not something a good kid does, Colson. That's fucked up. God, I'm such a shitty mom," she decided, voice cracking.
"No," I said, reaching out toward her, pulling her against my chest, wrapping her up tight because she seemed like she was falling apart. "You're not a bad mom, Eva. You're one person. They are a whole group. And they, no doubt, made him all kinds of appealing promises. And one of them is his uncle. That has to factor in. He's not a bad kid. He's young and easily influenced. Once he is away from those assholes for good, he will straighten back out. You will see to that. This is all. This is all fixable."
"He was a part of an MC president being held captive and tortured, Colson. Nothing will ever fix that."
"Alright," I said, grabbing her shoulders, pulling her back a few inches so I could look in her eyes. "I know Fallon lost his shit out there earlier, but he's young too. And his dad was missing. And there it was looking like there was no hope. Then Jacob was holding some of it hostage from him. I'm not saying it's okay, but I think we can all see ourselves doing something similar for someone we love."
"That's true," she agreed, nodding. "I mean, I'm not even mad at Fallon. I... I get it. I wanted to wring my own son's neck out there. And I love him. They don't know him from Adam. But they're not just going to forgive and forget something like this."
"No," I agreed. "But Reign is a good man. He will likely just make the kid wash bikes and do a sort of community service or some shit like that."
"So, he's alright?"
"He's in surgery," I corrected. "I don't know anything else, but Cash seemed optimistic. Reign has been through a lot of shit. He can survive this."
"And then—" Eva said, trailing off.
"And then," I agreed, nodding. "I don't think I need to explain to you that I can't give you the same kind of assurances for your brother as I could for your son."
"Yeah," she agreed, nodding, exhaling hard. "I feel like a terrible person saying this, but I really don't care," she said, shaking her head at herself. "What happens to Miguel," she clarified. "I don't care. I'm sure he has it coming. I mean, it was bad enough when I thought he was just involved in drugs and pimping and in-fighting and beat-ins and shit like that. But this? Kidnapping and torture? No. I just... that can't be excused. He has whatever is coming to him. I don't know how Jacob is going to handle his fate, but that's a road to cross when we get to it, I guess. So what now?" she asked, looking up at me, eyes exhausted, face raw from tears she must have shed while we were off thinking we were saving the day.
"Honestly, I don't know yet. Until Reign is out of surgery and talking, we are all at a standstill unless a fight comes to us. That means that you and Jacob are at a standstill with us as well."
"But.. no," she said, shaking her head. "I have a life. A job. A mom. Oh, God. My mom."
