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“Your grandfather was a man named Eli Marks. He was one of the best men I have ever known. He was my father’s best friend and closest confidant. When my father was killed, I was ten years old, and it was Eli who took over raising me and preparing me for the role I would one day hold. Eli held that role in my place until I turned twenty-one.
“Eli’s daughter, Etta, was like a little sister to me. She was nine years younger than me and was only with him on the weekends. She lived with her mother most of the time. However, when she was sixteen, her mother was killed in a car accident. Etta came to live with Eli, and that was the first time she truly saw the family and its workings.”
He paused, cleared his throat, took a drink of coffee, and I waited, holding my breath. He was telling me about not only my mother, but also my grandfather. I’d never had a name for anyone, except my immediate family.
“The family can be referred to as many things. Some call it the mob, others the Mafia. We just call it the family because that is what it is. Not all are blood, but once they are family, that is the only thing that matters. Blood can’t always be trusted. The family can.
“Now, Etta knew because her mother, Yvonne, had told her just enough so she understood things. Yvonne hadn’t wanted to be a part of the family, and she gave Eli a choice. It was her or the family. He chose the family. Your mother’s birth wasn’t something he knew about at first, but once he did, she was protected. He demanded a relationship with her.
“Etta loved Eli, and she enjoyed being with the horses. The track was her favorite place to be. She accepted this life and lived it to the fullest. Until she met a boy at one of the races, who she fell in love with. She kept it hidden for a while, but eventually, Eli found out about him. Being who we are, he checked things out, and the boy, Liam, was the son of a group that we do not associate with. Their form of organization and ours are not the same. They have no standards. No guidelines.” He stopped then and took another drink of coffee.
Blaise’s hand found mine under the table and squeezed it gently. I needed that. I knew more was coming, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. I hadn’t known this was going to be my family history. The one I never thought I’d truly know.
“When Eli told Etta what he’d found out and that Liam had singled her out on purpose because of who she was, she was devastated. She was also pregnant. With you. I had taken over as the boss at this point. Eli thought she wanted to abort it, but he struggled with that option. Etta didn’t want an abortion, but she never talked to me or Eli about her decision.
“One day, she was just gone. Of course, I sent out the best, and we found her. Etta, however, knew us. She knew how we worked. She got better at running. Until, one day, we couldn’t find her. It took years.
“Eli died, not knowing where she was, where you were. If either of you was alive. I’d sworn to him I’d find you both. He had a heart attack and never recovered fully. He never made it home from the hospital. With his last breath, he had made me promise that when I found you, I would keep Etta’s wishes. Let you live your life but protect you.”
My dad wasn’t my father. That news kept reeling through my head. Over and over. Cole wasn’t my brother. No. I didn’t believe that. They had been my family. All I’d known.
“How do you know I’m that baby? I had an older brother, Cole,” I said, thinking that made more sense.
“It was Blaise who found you. Living in Texas with a man you believed was your father and a brother. We sent someone into the apartment you lived in to take hair from your brush and test your DNA. It was a match. You are also an exact replica of Etta. I have pictures, when you want to see them,” he said, looking at me pointedly.
“Blaise was nineteen when he got the lead that sent him to you. Eli was like a grandfather to him. He adored the man and was determined to find Etta and you. What Blaise found instead was that Etta had been gone for sixteen years, which was why finding her had been so difficult.
“Luke Reese had lost his first wife and was raising his son alone. We know that he met Etta at a bar, where she was waitressing. They married, she became the mother of his son, and he became your father. The death of your mother, however, placed him with two kids to take care of. He was a weak man and eventually turned to a few addictions, as you know. You were the one who kept them fed, cleaned the house, made sure they made it home at night. What Blaise found infuriated him, and he was ready to charge in and take you out of that life. But I steered him away from that. You appeared to love Luke and Cole. I agreed that Blaise could keep an eye on things and check in to make sure you were safe. He did for six years. The time you were living in a shelter and the man appeared giving your dad a job wasn’t luck. It was on Blaise’s order. When food arrived at your apartment with no explanation, that again was Blaise making sure you were fed.” He paused and looked at Blaise. “So, it wasn’t until you were left alone that we sent Melanie, your mother’s closest friend, to come get you.”
Garrett stood up then. “The rest of the story is Blaise’s to tell.” He turned and picked up his cowboy hat and put it back on his head. “Thanks for breakfast, Gina. Delicious, as always, my dear.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
“I’ll leave you to the rest,” Garrett said, then turned and walked out of the house.
I sat back in my seat. I realized food had been set in front of me at some point, but I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want to eat. I had to digest this. I needed the rest of the story. I turned to look at Blaise.
“You watched me for six years?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Yes, I did.”
I was confused. He had looked for me, found me, and watched over me, so why had he treated me the way he did when I came here?
I shook my head. “I am not understanding things. When I came here, you hated me,” I said.
“No. I hated what I felt for you. I didn’t want to. You had lived a shit life. Saxon was perfect for you. He’d give you all the things you never had, and he wasn’t the future boss. He was just part of the family.”
Wait. What?
“You wanted me for Saxon? You didn’t even know if I’d like him. If I could love him. You can’t decide that for someone.”
Blaise sighed. “Trust me, I know.”
“What changed your mind?”
A small smile touched his lips. “You.”
He squeezed my hand again. “You’re not even bringing up the fact that you’ve been told that the family is organized crime. We are the mob. I will be the boss in the next few years. This will never change.”
