Page 44 of LA Reign

I laugh. “You could say that.”

“So… you just jumped on a plane to New York and didn’t tell anyone where you were going?”

I nod. “Yep. I used my own credit card too, because I just really needed to get some distance. For me to remember that I had a life of my own. I sent Lucia a text telling her I needed a few days. She’ll tell Alejandro, and that’s fine. I know he’ll be worried, but I just couldn’t face talking to him myself. I still can’t.” I glance at my purse on the side table and think about my cell phone. It’s been switched off since I sent Lucia that message, and I’m guessing the second I turn it on, I’ll see a million increasingly angry calls from him.

No, that’s not fair. He won’t just be angry, he’ll be worried. Maybe. Who the hell knows? Maybe he listened to his dad and agreed with him. Maybe I’m already yesterday’s news. The idea breaks my heart, no matter how upset I am.

“Do you think I did the wrong thing?” I ask Kelsey. “Should I have stayed and hashed it out?”

Kelsey holds her hands up. “Only you know that, Alana. You were upset. More than upset. You have every right to come here and visit your best friend, any time you like.”

“But?” I can tell from her expression that there’s a “but” coming.

She sucks in a breath and grimaces. “Look, from what you’ve said about Alejandro, he’s not going to be satisfied with you sending a text to your houseguest. Maybe you should give him a call?”

I chew my lip and look at my purse. “I don’t know. I’m still so pissed at him.”

Kelsey nods in agreement. “And you should be, sweetie. Letting his daddy say those things about you is kinda fucked up.”

“But?” I say again. One of the things I usually love most about Kelsey is that she’s open and fair. She tries to look at all of the angles before making a decision. But sometimes, like now, I kind of want her just to nod and agree with me. Naturally enough, she doesn’t, and I know deep down that’s for the best. I didn’t just come here for the wine. I came here because I trust her.

“Well, maybe he did say something to his daddy after you left? Maybe he was just hurting too, taken aback?”

I nod. She makes an irritatingly good point. “I did wait a little while. I was so convinced that he’d tell his father he was wrong. I waited and waited and… nothing. Just his dad, banging on about how useless I was.”

“Well, his dad is clearly a grade-A asshole—but grade-A assholes can sometimes be hard to argue with, you know? Perhaps Alejandro was letting him get it out of his system. I’m not making excuses for him, and believe me, if it turns out he does agree with his dad’s outdated messed-up macho bullshit, I’ll be the first to slap him across the head with my hardback copy of The Handmaid’s Tale…”

I laugh out loud, which makes a nice change from crying. She’s not kidding, either. She winks at me and carries on. “I’m just saying that from everything you’ve told me, he seems to adore you. Worship you, actually. I doubt that would just switch off so quickly. So, maybe you should hear him out? You owe yourself that much, never mind him.”

I nod. “You’re right. Of course. And I will. After I’ve calmed down and don’t feel so goddamn emotional.”

“And you’ve made him sweat for a while?” Kelsey adds with a wicked grin and a flash of her eyebrows.

I lift my wine glass to my lips and grin back. God, it’s good to be with her again. She has a way of putting everything into perspective. Without defending him exactly, she’s made me realize that I need to face up to what’s happened, not just run away from it. “Well, that’s just an added bonus,” I reply.

I don’t know if it’s Kelsey, or the wine, or just being away from all the drama for a minute, but I am feeling a whole lot better about the situation.

Chapter

Seventeen

ALEJANDRO

Jax looks at me with a smile on his face as he puts his cell back into his pocket. He’s found her. Fuck. I could kiss him right now.

He wouldn’t be smiling like that if she was in danger, and immediately my anxiety levels go down a notch. A dark and buried part of me was filled with dread, worried that the Ortegas might have taken her as some kind of twisted power play.

“Seems your girl boarded the 4:15 flight to JFK, amigo.”

“Fuck,” I sigh. I’m relieved, yes, but now I’ve got a whole new set of worries. I damn well hope she isn’t going to see her snake of a father. I don’t think she would, but there’s always a possibility. I hate that man with a passion, but he is her dad, and family holds sway even when we don’t want it to. Just look at me for proof. Sitting in my office and letting my own father mouth off about Alana like that. I should have punched him in the face after that first sentence escaped his lips. Once this is all sorted, we will be having serious words.

“Samuel!” I call my assistant, who’s waiting in the other room. He comes running into my office like the place is on fire and he has the only bucket of water.

“Yes, boss?”

“Call the airport and have the jet ready to go to New York as soon as possible.”

He nods. “I’ll get right on it.”