Usually, when a guy meets a girl's family, they're pretty nervous, but this was the one time it was different. We were meeting under different circumstances. We weren't meeting the family because of my engagement, but because they placed a threat to our family.
Dad held the meeting at our house while mom took Emma out for the day. Ace, Chase, and Brax arrived, going to the kitchen. Frazier came with Nik, and Jordan arrived with JJ Drew also showed up with Hunter.
Then the knock we all awaited to happen. I answered the door only to see not one but four guys and a woman standing there.
"Hello, I'm Marisol Santiago," the woman said. "May we come in?" Her tone was warm and polite. Nothing like I imagined from the things I heard. I nodded and stepped aside. The five of them stepped inside and looked around the house.
It wasn't until she laid eyes on Chase that she quickly made her way to him, pulling him into her and giving him a passionate kiss.
"Some things never change," Enrique said to Luis, who nodded.
We walked over as she asked, "Where is my boy?"
"He's busy knocking up his wife," he smirked, earning an eye roll from Ace.
"Call him," she demanded.
"Fine," he sighed, making a call.
"Marisol, we're not here for a family visit," Ramon said.
"Oh, hush. Never deny a mother the right to see her son," she said, shooting him a look.
While they introduced us to everyone, another knock came at the door. I answered to see a dark-haired guy standing there. He walked past me over to Marisol. Well, okay, just let yourself in, buddy.
He walked over and hugged her. "Hey, mom."
"Zackery," Marisol greeted the guy. "How are my grandbabies?"
"Getting big," Zackery answered.
"How's the wife?" Marisol asked.
"Pregnant," he answered.
She gave him a look. "It's the last one. I already got fixed."
"What about you and dad? When are you going to make things official?" Zack asked her.
"We aren't, and you know that. It's the only way to keep you and your family safe," Marisol reasoned.
"But you love him, right?" Zack asked.
"Always, but we also knew years ago the repercussions if people found out about you. It's complicated. Now shall we?" She asked, looking at us and telling the guy who walked in the discussion was over. I guess every family has secrets.
We all sat down at the table as Luis started, "So I hear my baby brother has been causing some issues."
"Issues more like tossing threats around," Frazier grumbled, earning a look from dad.
"It seems your brother has an issue with Emma choosing RJ over them," Dad said.
"Emmaline? Why?" Luis questioned.
"She walked away from them and their money because she loves my son," Dad answered.
"Smart girl, she is," Luis mentioned.
"Well, now she has accepted my boy's marriage proposal, and they aren't happy about it," Dad added.
"Spoiled brat," Enrique mumbled. They looked at him, and he said, "My brother, not your son."
"Well, because of them disrupting a family function, I had to call Ace. Listen, I don't need foul blood between us, but if they keep up their shit, I will have no choice to put a bullet in their head," Dad said to them.
Hector leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. "So, what do you propose?"
"Help us take care of the situation, and we promise to leave your family alone," Dad said.
Hector leaned back and rubbed his chin deep in thought before leaning over to Luis and whispering something. Luis nodded in agreement, then looked at us. "We'll do you one better. We have a proposition of our own."
"What is that?" Asked Ace.
"We are having some issues with the Garcia crew," Hector mentioned.
"What issues?" Ace questioned.
"They are messing with things they should leave well enough alone. They also have the Mendoza crew backing them," Hector added.
"That's fucking great," Brax mumbled.
"They only have the Mendoza crew backing them because they need help since they got the Feds on their ass," Chase said.
"This is true, but nevertheless, we need them to stop," Enrique said.
Ace and dad looked at each other, then at the others as dad asked, "What kind of job are we looking at?"
"In and out. You come in, take care of the crews, and then you're out. We'll send more details later. So?" Hector asked.
Dad sat there for a minute, thinking. Then finally said, "Fine, but on one condition."
"What's that?" Hector asked.
"I want permission to take out Carlos and his wretched wife, Maria. They both make my dick itch," he said to them, making it hard not to laugh.
"Deal." With that, the five of them stood up as did we and left.
Dad looked at Ace. "Why do I feel like I made a deal with the devil?"
"Because you did. Ryan, the Santiagos won't go after you. They will keep their end of the deal, but if you fuck them over on this, your family, including the kids, will be six feet underground. You're lucky they answered the favor from Cabo," Ace said.
"Yeah, well, they owe us from the many times my family pulled their families ass out of the fire," he said.
"We'll be back to collect everyone when they have to return to school," Ace said.
Dad nodded. With that, they left along with the others. I looked at dad. "What now?"
"Now it's time to hide who Maggie, Leslie, and Emma's identities. RJ, no one can know it ties us to that family or anyone. Understand?" Dad asked me.
"Yeah, but how are the girls going to take it?" I asked him.
"It doesn't matter. As of now, the girls are no longer Santiagos," he said with a look, which I knew all too well; now to break the news to the girls.
After mom and Emma returned, Xavier and Angelo stopped by with Maggie and Leslie. The three girls sat on the couch as Angelo and Xavier stood to the side along with mom. I stood next to dad as he explained things to them.
"Are you kidding me?" Maggie exclaimed.
"Look, I understand how you feel, but if we don't do this, RJ and Emma can't be together," he said.
"I'll do it," Emma said, still sitting on the couch looking at us.
"What?" Maggie asked.
"I said," Emma said.
"I know what you said, but Emma, they are talking about erasing our identities," Maggie said, taking a seat next to her.
"I know," she said.
"But that means we can never have contact with the Santiagos ever," Leslie said. "It also means we won't see any of our family."
"I don't care. It's not like our family tried with us when mom and dad were making our lives a living hell. Look if you don't want to do this, fine. But I am. I love RJ, and his family is good to us," she said.
"So, you shift your loyalty like that?" Maggie asked.
"No, not, but my loyalty changed the minute RJ's family respected us," she said, standing up.
Maggie and Leslie looked at each other and knew Emma was right. They stood up and looked at dad. "What do we need to do?" Maggie asked.
"First things first, we need a funeral," he said.
"Why a funeral?" Leslie asked.
"To make it more believable," I said.
"This will interest attending our funeral," Leslie said with a shrug.
"Who will throw the funeral?" Emma asked.
Dad and I looked at each other, smiled, looked at them as Maggie said, "Why do I have a terrible feeling about this?"
"Have no fear the funeral director is here," someone said enthusiastically. We all turned to see Frazier walk over in a black suit and some funky looking wig. "So what do you guys think, huh?"
"I think you're a royal idiot," dad said.
"Oh, come on, I thought, I put my ensemble together well," he said defensively.
"I think you look nice," Emma said.
"Well, thank you, my dear. At least someone appreciates all my efforts," Frazier huffed.
"Yeah, that's because she doesn't have a taste," Xavier said.
That causes us to laugh and Xavier to shrug.
"I get no respect, I tell ya," Frazier groan.
"Okay, Rodney Dangerfield, can we get to the business at hand?" Dad asked, getting irritated.
"Oh, fine." He reached into a bag and pulled out the files, handing each one to the girls. They opened them as he explained who each of them are. "You are Margaret Lewis, Leslie Lewis, and Emmalee Lewis. As of today, you are no longer a Santiago. Your birthdays are February 5. Your parents died when you were infants, and you have no known family members. You transferred to Saintwood College to finish up your degree."
"What about our relationships?" Maggie asked.
"Ah, that's an excellent point. Well, after your untimely death, which devastated the boys. The boys sought solace in the arms of longtime family friends," Frazier reasoned.
"It's kind of sordid, don't you think?" Xavier asked. We all looked at him. "I like it."
"Now onto a few other matters," Frazier said.
"Such as?" Leslie asked.
"Glad you asked," he grinned, walking over to the door and opening it to find Leo, Liam, and Nik standing there. He walked back to them. "Ladies, meet your stylists who will transform you into someone else."
"I get why Leo is here, but why you two?" I asked Nik and Liam.
"Don't ask dude; we still don't know why we are here," Nik answered.
"Oh please, we're here to keep Nancy boy here in line, so he doesn't fuck shit up," Liam said.
Great the three stooges will mess with my girl. That should be interesting.
"Chop, chop ladies. We have a lot of work to do," Leo said enthusiastically. The three of them looked at each other and followed them.
Yep, things were about to get a lot more interesting.
While the girls were getting new identities, everything was in place about the car accident. Jordan could secure some cadavers and switched dental records, so when the Santiagos identified them, it was them.
We had to make things as believable as possible. We could not slip. The ME signed off on the death certificates and declared all three girls deceased. That didn't go unnoticed by their parents that this happened after meeting us. It made them even more determined to exact revenge, leading to the most unholy alliance.
"What business do you have with me?" The disguised voice said over the intercom.
"We want your help," Carlos said.
"With what?" The voice asked.
"To avenge our daughters' death," Maria said.
"Again, what does this have to do with me?" The voice questioned.
"It was because of the Jones family. They caused this," Carlos said.
"Oh? Interesting," the voice mentioned.
"Their youngest child proposed marriage to one of our daughters. After she accepted, she and her sisters die in a horrible fiery death in a car accident," Maria sniffled.
"I see." Just then, the door opened, and the person stepped out. They looked up, stunned.
"Considered it done," the person said with a smirk. "I've been waiting for years to exact my revenge. You added fuel to the fire. Boys, it's time."
All the Frazier boys, along with Gage, stood behind the person who stood in front of the Santiagos. The person turned and looked at the Frazier boys. "This time we finish them once and for all." Before the person left, they leaned over and said to Maverick, "But not before we torture them. Capisce?"
Maverick nodded when the person said, "We'll let you know when it's time. Be patient." With those words, they disappear into the other room.