Loving the Czar (The Blakemore Files Book 6)

by Olivia Gaines

  His head leaned against hers as he spoke, “I am raising my sons to care for this land and this home, as will our children. Do not think for one minute that I will not care for you and care for your heart, but you will not only be my wife, but a life partner as we build something new...together,” he told her as he stood.

  She fought back her tears. “So you are planning to make your entire operation one that is legitimate, so you can be like Victorío and walk in the light?”

  Eduardo leaned back against the arm of the couch. “How did you put it, ah yes...Oh Hell Naw!”

  He chuckled a bit as he continued, “Do you know how much private school tuition is...in Argentina? Not to mention the cost of a few pounds of jet fuel every Friday and Sunday. Hell, we have five children. I would be bankrupt in less than a year. Did I ever tell that my youngest brother Carlos is in college at UCLA? He has been accepted to graduate school at Stanford. Hugo was paying for his tuition...well until your loca sister killed him. I pay a lot of damned tuition. At this rate, I may have to be on a street corner in America and sling bags of coke myself.”

  “I am sorry for your brother’s death,” she said softly.

  “Hugo was a power hungry, stingy asshole, but he was my brother,” he said. “I don’t really miss him, but killing him...eh...he is gone now.”

  He stood slowly stretching. She watched him walk into his closet as the light flickered on. The top drawer of his bureau was opened as he pulled out a small box. His movements were purposeful when he returned as he stood before his wife and took to one knee.

  “I had this made after you arrived. It is an engagement ring. Ryanne Trodat Delgado, will you accept this ring as my promise to be a good husband and father to all of our children,” he said.

  The ring was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. The center stones were two princess cut emeralds flanked by four sapphires and two diamonds. “The emeralds represent us. The sapphires represent the boys and the diamonds are the daughters you shall give me,” he told as he held her hand.

  “Daughters?” She said.

  “Yes, the one you are carrying plus one other,” he told her.

  Her hand went to her stomach, her eyes wide as they searched his face. Her mouth was moving but nothing came out. She was finally able to muster the words, “What makes you think it is a girl?”

  “The fullness of your breasts, I spotted that immediately,” he said as he held her hand. The look on her face showed him that she thought he was a bit of pig for noticing her boobs first. “I am a man. Somedays, I am better at it than others, and I know some days, because of my job, I have to be a monster. Ryanne, you have proven to me that even a monster can be loved. I want that, I want your love...but I also want your respect.”

  Her hands covered her eyes as she continuously swatted away the tears. “I can’t a respect a man who finds it necessary to hit me so he can make me do what he wants. Hitting me is unacceptable.”

  “I had to do it because you showed me such disrespect in front of my employees. I could not let it go without handling it on the spot. I notice everything with you. I knew the moment I saw you standing on the porch that you were carrying my child. You careful choice of foods, not partaking in wine or fish...I was only waiting for you to tell me,” he said.

  There were many things he wanted to tell her but he was hanging beyond the precipice of vulnerability. “I am...trying to find the right words to tell you everything...especially the part about me coming to Texas to kill you Ryanne,” he told her.

  The shock on her face was obvious. Eduardo grabbed her hand and kissed the knuckles. “When I spotted you in that store with those ridiculous underpants I was drawn into the magic that is you. After we shared our first night, I woke up wanting that feeling for the rest of my life. Ryanne, I wanted to be a better man so I could be deserving of you, which is why I did not kill any of your family. Your marriage to me is supposed to be a punishment for my failure to do as I was instructed. I consider you my reward for valuing life. I did not kill those men on Sunday because you have awakened the good in me, a good I want you to instill in our children, in my boys, in our life. Would you believe that this morning for the first time in 10 years, I prayed... a prayer that there would be a way to keep you in our lives because I truly comprehend that I would be lost without you,” he told her.

  Ryanne started to cry. She was uncertain if it was the hormones or being emotionally over wrought, but the flowed freely down her cheeks.

  Eduardo held her close after pulling her into his lap. “Please tell me these are tears of joy.”

  “These are just tears of exhaustion. I have no idea how I am going to tell this to my family. When my daddy finds out...”

  “I am not afraid of your Father! I am Eduardo Delgado! What is he going to do, punch me in the face?” he said in a huff as he folded his wife into his arms. “Besides, he will have to get through Tonda first!”

  They leaned back on the couch, his hand rubbing her stomach, saying a vow of gratitude that his prayer had been answered and heard. “I will deal with your father man to man. You are my wife now, your father will come to understand.”

  It was only two days later that Eduardo had to eat his words.

  Chapter 18. Didn’t see that coming...

  Ryanne barely got her entire family, a car seat and Tonda into her Dodge Journey. It felt even more out of the norm to have Tonda in the passenger seat jumping at cars coming too close and side seat driving. It got so bad, that Ryanne had to pull over on I-20 to talk him down. “Tonda, you are in good hands. Just as you kept an eye over me while I rode the horse with Micah, I will take good care of you. I have driven on this interstate since I was 16. I will not have an accident.”

  “It’s just so many cars, everyone is driving so fast, it is making me nervous,” Tonda said as he gnawed on the end of the giant knife case he was carrying. Ryanne reached over and took the knife from him.

  “Please relax, I got you,” Ryanne told him as she put on the signal to merge back into traffic. A similar conversation was had with Eduardo before boarding the plane. The idea of his entire family all in on one plane, then all in one car was making him freak out. He wanted to travel in a separate vehicle with Tonda. It took some coaxing to get him in the car, but somehow or other, they made it in one piece.

  The ride to her parent’s house was not very long. The kids had a million questions starting with Andres wanting to know if her parent’s home was where the servants lived. Yuňior wanted to know if they had cable and WiFi. “I heard there are 400 channels on your American cable television. I heard you even have sexy channels!”

  Eduardo turned in the seat and popped him upside the head. “The only sexy channel you need to worry about is channeling the sexiness of numbers in your mathematics exams! Your reports need to become much better son.”

  Micah wanted to know if her Mommy was nice and if she would love him as well. Ryanne got out the car and bent down to hug him. “My mother will love you as much as I do.”

  As per protocol, Eduardo never entered a room without Tonda assessing any threats first. There was no doubt in Tonda’s mind what was going to happen when his boss entered that house. He walked in first to be greeted by Big Sarge and noticed the look on the man’s face.

  Big Sarge yelled, “Who the hell is this big ass Muther....?”

  “Daddy!” Ryanne called out to him. Big Sarge moved into the best defensive fight stance he could muster with a bad hip.

  “I ain’t scared of yo’ big ass. I will drop you like a sack of liquid shi...!”

  “Daddy!” Ryanne yelled to him again. Big Sarge had moved over closer to the door waiting, as he kept his eyes on Tonda. Eduardo barely had time to react as he stepped over the threshold into the home of Big Sarge and Dora Trodat before he was cold cocked by a big black fist. He dropped to the floor in slow motion, landing first on his knees as he held his nose, his eyes on Tonda in disbelief as he fell to the floor. Tonda stood
still watching his boss fall. If Eduardo’s vision wasn’t so fuzzy, he would have sworn he saw Tonda smiling. He hit the floor with a thud as his children and Ryanne stepped over his body. Angel was laughing, “Daddy fall down!” Ryanne ignored him as well, as she made a beeline for her mother’s outstretched arms. She didn’t look down at Eduardo as she passed him.

  “Eduardo, that is my Daddy, Big Sarge,” she told him.

  Dora embraced Ryanne briefly releasing her to take the icepack to Eduardo for his nose. It did not surprise her that her Mother already had it ready. Big Sarge was still standing over Eduardo scowling.

  “...That's for...that’s for...hell, for just being damned you!” Big Sarge yelled at his new son in law.

  He swiveled on his good leg to face Tonda, “...And what are you supposed to be...his body guard...if so...you’re fired! You gigantic, Big Foot looking son of a Muther...”

  “Daddy! Children are present,” Ryanne warned her father.

  Big Sarge was fit to be tied from the moment Ryanne called to tell him she was on her way home and bringing guests to spend the night. He immediately noticed the pudge of her belly in the dress and the fullness of her chest. There was no consoling the man as he turned his anger towards his daughter, still yelling, “...and you! You got some damned nerve walking back through this front door married, pregnant, dragging four damned kids and a drug czar. You were only gone for a week! I am not going to even talk about you failing to tell me you were bringing King Kong who is standing over in the corner!”

  He looked back at Tonda. “Don’t just stand there, you damned Yeti - find something to sit on that will hold all of your big ole’ ass!”

  Andres was smiling like he had hit the jack pot. He watched her father with amusement, like he was recording every word, every nuance.

  She grinned at her father. “Yes, Daddy, I am going to have a baby and be nice, you are going to hurt Tonda’s feelings.”

  He was frowning when he looked at Tonda, who could not help but crack a smile. Tonda now understood where La Doctora got her spirit. “Hurt his feelings? Hurt his feelings? I can’t even process any of this right now... Hell, my feelings are hurt. You married a South American drug kingpin! Isn’t he on America’s most wanted list or some shit?” He was still frowning at Eduardo too who had managed to sit upright.

  Dora was helping her son in law to his feet as she pressed the ice to his nose. “Eduardo, you have to get up because I can’t have you bleeding on my nice rug. Come on, on your feet, walk it off...”

  The kids were all standing there as Micah spoke up, “Mama, I have to use the potty.”

  Big Sarge’s neck seemed become elastic as his head bobbed up and down like it had suddenly turned to gelatin. “Mama? They are calling you Mama already? Aww hell naw....”

  Eduardo, finally on his on his feet spoke, “I will take him so I can check on my nose.” He gave the stink eye to Tonda who only shrugged his shoulders as his boss walked past. He also gave the stink eye to Big Sarge.

  “Don’t be looking at me sideways! Ain’t nobody scared of your mean looks! And how the hell does he know where the bathroom is in my house Ryanne?”

  “Daddy, really, it is a one level ranch. The bathroom is down the hallway. You must please stop grumbling like an old bear, you are scaring the children,” she told her father.

  He started to hobble his way over to his chair as Tonda moved swiftly to lend him a hand getting into his seat. He began to pray out loud, “Lord, why hast Thou forsaken me? One daughter is married to a man who likes to shoot people. This one is married to a kingpin and my namesake has gotten serious with a woman who dresses in bug clothes...”

  Tonda had taken a seat by Big Sarge and was watching everything like it was a movie. “Seňor, what are these bug clothes?”

  Big Sarge relaxed a bit for the first time since Ryanne had gotten on the plane. “Bug clothes, you know. Sweaters with little ants one them, skirts with grasshoppers, earrings with mosquitos. I wouldn’t be surprised if she walked in here wearing a cockroach hat.”

  Tonda started to laugh. “A hat with cucarachas?”

  Ryanne, who had followed her mother into the kitchen, returned to the room when Micah came down the hall. “Mom, Dad, these are our children, the eldest is Eduardo Junior, Andres, Micah and of course, the little one here is Angel.”

  Angel had already climbed up into the chair with Big Sarge and held the remote. “TV Abuelo...TV?” the child asked.

  “Did this child just call me Grandpa?” Big Sarge asked.

  “Yes,” Ryanne told him.

  “Lord Jesus...” Big Sarge said as he showed Angel how to operate the remote. Ryanne nodded to Yuńior who opened his back pack.

  “Seńora Trodat, I present you with our finest Colombian coffee. It was picked and fresh roasted this morning from our farm,” he said handing the bags of coffee to her. He said it with such a charming smile before he asked Dora, “Can I have the password to your Wi-Fi?”

  Dora pulled back her neck like the child smelled like 6 week old milk.

  Andres stepped forward to present Big Sarge a walking stick. “Sir, the wood from this tree is only grown in a small section of Colombia. These trees are trimmed each year with only small branches being removed. It is some of the most prized wood in all the world. When I heard about your hip, I had our master carver make you this one of a kind walking stick.” He too smiled a charming grin at Dora, “Do you make awesome fried chicken too? I would like to try some...how do you say...collage greens...and the meat from the bones of the neck of the pig...can you make this meal?”

  Ryanne had to step in as Dora reached for the towel on the kitchen sink. The look on Dora’s face was enough to have Ryanne to ask the boys to take a seat. “Did that boy just ask me to make him some collard greens and neck bones?” Dora’s eyes were wide as she grabbed another towel from the drawer and wet the end. Ryanne took that one away from her mother as well.

  Ryanne smiled at her mother. “He is a bit obsessed with black culture.”

  Ryanne could tell Eduardo was angry when he returned to the room with toilet paper stuck in his nose, breathing through his mouth. So could Big Sarge.

  “Ain’t no need sitting over there being angry... you deserved that punch in the nose and you know it! The problem is, it has been a long time since anyone has called you out on your shit. Four months ago you were trying to kill us all and now you walk in my house, married to my daughter...and having impregnated her in some foreign land...” Big Sarge’s lip curled in disgust.

  Eduardo’s nose had stopped bleeding. “Actually Seňor, we conceived the child here...”

  Big Sarge leaned forward in his chair, still holding fast to Angel. “What do you mean here? Here as in the United States...here as in the great state of Texas....cause I know like hell you don’t mean here in my damned house!”

  He called for Ryanne, “Girl you better tell me you and this man were not fornicating in my house!”

  Ryanne called out from the kitchen as she made sandwiches for the kids, “No Daddy, we made the baby in Houston in a seedy motel with a flashing light that said cheapo rooms. Honey, show Daddy the gift you brought him!”

  Eduardo was shaking his head and holding up his hands to Big Sarge. “Seňor that is not true. The hotel in Houston was a very nice place. It had a four star rating.”

  Big Sarge was still giving his son in law the evil eye. Tonda could not stop smiling watching his boss squirm. Ryanne was truly a special woman. Tonda was also giving his boss the evil eye. He knew Ryanne was already pregnant when she arrived in Colombia. He thought about the trip they had made to the US a few months ago and his boss had left him at the hotel. He had been with Ryanne. For some reason, this made Tonda feel betrayed.

  “What? I am a very virile man!” He said to Tonda. He laid the accent on thick as he winked at Ryanne. “I cannot help this.”

  Eduardo frowned at his body guard as he turned his attention to his father in law. “Señor, your daughter ha
s come to mean the world to me. I am in love with her and I am here, so there will be no animosity between the two men in her life. She will be safe, protected and loved. You have my word,” Eduardo told Big Sarge.

  Big Sarge extended his hand for a gentleman’s shake. “And if you don’t I will come and put a bullet in you, do you understand?”

  Eduardo nodded. “I understand.” He accepted Big Sarge’s handshake but squeezed the man’s hand hard. “If you hit me again, you do know that I will kill you. You understand?”

  Big Sarge squeezed his hand back. It took everything in him to not punch Eduardo again. Ryanne smiled a large grin, “Great! You two have found common ground. I will make us all a snack!”

  In the kitchen Dora helped her daughter make snack plates for her newly acquired grandchildren. She asked her daughter, “Ry, are you certain about this?”

  “I am not certain about anything Momma other than I am married to that man, carrying his child and in love with these children,” she told her mother.

  Dora didn’t miss a beat, “...But are you in love with the man?”

  “I love him,” Ryanne said as she placed plates on the table.

  “That is not what I asked you child,” Dora said.

  “But that is my answer and I am sticking to it.” She gave her mother a weak smile.

  “No, you are not getting off so easy. Saxton fueled a plane to come and get you from Corpus Christie, flying into Pissy Piedra or wherever the hell this one lives to come and get you this time may not be so easy,” Dora told her.

  Ryanne took a deep breath. “Honestly, I am so filled with emotions from this pregnancy, the week I just had, and either having to constantly pee or eat is too much right now, but I am going to have a really good life.”