Victoria slowly pushed the silver diamond of her earring into her right ear with a slight shake of her fingers at seven in the evening on a Saturday. The Miller woman was quite anxious while she stood in front of her full body mirror in a simple, off the shoulder, black dress that stopped a few inches above her knee as it was officially the night of her dinner with the Galindo family. Emily had called her on Thursday, a few days after her trip to Charming and her evening with Nestor, and had set up a date for that following Saturday.
The Miller woman had been anxious all Saturday morning and throughout the day as she tried to prepare herself for her dinner with the leader of the Galindo cartel. It didn't really help at all that Victoria didn't have to work at the hospital today and the Reyes brothers were busy with the club, so the brunette woman had to keep herself occupied. Victoria ended up doing all the laundry in her house and stressed baked two cakes and three dozen cupcakes.
The baking did calm Victoria down a little bit but now that she was dressed and ready to go, her nerves were definitely back. The Miller woman trusts Emily with her life and she was basically becoming Nestor's friend since they've been talking more but Victoria was just on edge to be around Miguel. She knew that Miguel was dangerous by what Angel had told her about the Galindo cartel and what she had seen on the local news, so Victoria couldn't help but feel nervous about the dinner with the leader of the Galindo cartel.
Victoria let out a sigh as she shook her head to stop her thoughts from going too far about something bad going wrong tonight. It's just an innocent dinner in a public place, the brunette woman reminded herself as she fixed the sleeves of her black dress. The Miller woman briefly closed her hazel eyes as she tried to prepare herself for tonight before she was suddenly interrupted when there was a knock on her front door. Victoria couldn't help but frown since the club was busy all night and that was usually the only people that comes to her house.
The Miller woman honestly didn't know who it could be, so Victoria quickly shouted, "one second," before she grabbed her black leather clutch purse that she had earlier stashed her gun inside for just encase something were to happen tonight. Victoria then quickly jogged her way to the front door of her house with her black heels clacking against the wooden floorboards before she opened up the door to see who was there.
Victoria couldn't help but to be shocked, though, when she noticed that it was the Oceteva man who had been knocking on her front door. The Miller woman would have figured since Nestor is Miguel's head of security that she would just see him at the restaurant that she was meeting the Galindo family at, so she was surprised to see Nestor here right now in front of her.
There was an amused grin playing on Nestor's lips while he waited for the brunette nurse to say something. However, when Victoria didn't utter a single sound as she continued to stare at him with her wide hazel eyes, the Oceteva man playfully waved his hand in front of the shocked woman's face as he teased, "hello? Is anyone awake in there?"
Victoria's tan cheeks immediately blushed beet red in embarrassment once she realized that she had gotten caught in her shocked state before she mumbled as she glanced down at her black heels, "sorry." The Miller woman then stood like that for a few seconds until she could get rid of her blushing mess before she slowly pushed a loose string of her brunette hair that had fallen out of her elegant bun and causally leaned her body against the doorway of her house as she curiously wondered, "so, what are you doing here?"
The Oceteva man crossed his arms over his white button down shirt as he stared down at the brunette woman with a slight smile playing on his lips as he always enjoyed watching Victoria turn red with embarrassment before he shook himself out of those enjoyable and normal thoughts as he cleared his throat. "Miguel and Emily wanted me to come pick you up for tonight," Nestor uttered as he answered the pediatric nurse's question.
Victoria couldn't help but immediately begin to frown when she heard the cartel assassin's response before she mumbled, "I thought I was meeting them there." The Miller woman remembered exactly that only a few hours ago, Emily texted and called her about where to go tonight for their dinner, so she always figured that she was, in fact, meeting the Galindo family at the restaurant in Oakland.
Nestor lightly shrugged his shoulders like he didn't have a clue about what was going on about the change in Victoria's travel plans before he muttered, "I guess Miguel changed his mind." The Oceteva man, however, did, in fact, know why he was picking Victoria up because it was his idea in the first place. Nestor had considered the pediatric nurse a friend over the last couple of days of them talking and meeting up with each other - along with the fact that Victoria always seemed to help him forget about all the bad shit that he has done in his life for a little while. The Oceteva man figured, this way, he would get that opportunity to feel that calmness again, so he had immediately jumped at the chance to pick up the Miller woman when Miguel and Emily were speaking about their dinner plans an hour ago.
The pediatric nurse stared across at the cartel assassin for a moment with her brows furrowed in confusion before she also lightly shrugged her shoulders and muttered, "oh, alright." Victoria honestly didn't mind spending a little extra time with Nestor on the way to the restaurant. They had hung out together three days this week whenever they could - which usually happened to be them getting a drink after work since they are both so busy - but Victoria liked having the Oceteva man in her company. They both get along greatly when they are together like old friends, so Victoria shot the cartel assassin a small grin before she told him, "well, I'm ready whenever you are."
The Oceteva man shot the brunette nurse a grin right back as he was glad that Victoria was accepting his offer to drive her to the restaurant where Miguel and Emily would be meeting her. Nestor then unfolded his arms from his chest once he knew Victoria was in agreement to his plan before he held out his right arm and teasingly exclaimed, "after you, Ms. Miller."
Victoria couldn't help but roll her hazel eyes in amusement at the cartel assassin's playful attitude to herself as she turned around before she closed and locked the front door behind her. The Miller woman then faced the still grinning and relaxed Oceteva man once she was sure that her house was secure for the night before she linked her arm through Nestor's and muttered with a small chuckle, "you are so extra."
Nestor glanced over and down at the brunette woman on his arm with a small amused smile playing on his lips as they walked down the pathway of the house before he asked, "what?" The Oceteva man waited until they reached his black Audi before he teasingly uttered, "I'm just being a good chauffeur, Ms. Miller."
The pediatric nurse let out a loud chuckle that brightened up her whole face before she shook her head in amusement at the dangerous man beside her. Victoria could always find herself laughing or smiling whenever she was with Nestor - the Miller woman had come to realize through their four meetings together - and this time wasn't any different. "I'm sure you are," Victoria teased right back as she tapped her point and middle finger against the center of the cartel assassin's chest before she slowly moved her hand from Nestor's warm and steady body.
The Oceteva man shot the brunette woman a large grin as he released Victoria's lower arm before he silently opened the passenger door to his Audi. Nestor pushed the door open as he straightened out his body before he lightly placed his hand on Victoria's lower back and guided her into the black vehicle. The Oceteva man waited until Victoria was safety secured into the Audi before he closed her door and quickly rounded the car and got into the driver's seat.
The cartel assassin and the pediatric nurse silently rode out of the deserted mountains that hid Victoria's house for her safety in complete silence with only the radio playing softly in the background. However, it wasn't a bad or awkward silence one would expect from two people that only just began to get to know one another this week. It was relaxing and calming between the two adults that they both appreciated from their hectic lives, respectively, as the head of security of the Galindo cartel and a pediatric nurse who also helps the local motorcycle club.
The comfortable silence in the black Audi continued for a couple more minutes until Nestor pulled onto the highway and began the drive towards Oakland to the restaurant at where Victoria would meet the Galindo family. The Oceteva man glanced over to the pediatric nurse for a quick second before he focused back onto the busy highway and curiously wondered, "so, how has your day been? Didn't you have the day off?"
Victoria nodded her head as she turned her attention onto the Oceteva man beside her instead of all of the deserts and mountains that they were passing. The Miller woman couldn't help but release a small chuckle at how her day had gone with her anxiety getting the better of her for the most part before she mumbled, "oh, it has definitely been very eventful."
Nestor glanced back over to the Miller woman when he came to a stop at a red light before he furrowed his brows when he heard the obvious annoyance and nervousness in Victoria's voice. The Oceteva man couldn't help but to be curious to Victoria's reaction, so he focused back onto the road when the light turned green before he inquired, "how so?"
The Miller woman couldn't help but huff out an embarrassed sigh while her tan cheeks turned beet red as she felt like that she had been complaining and ranting to the Oceteva man about the same thing for the past three days. "I've just been dreading tonight," Victoria mumbled out when Nestor looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. The brunette nurse felt embarrassed that she was still so nervous about the dinner with Galindo family but she couldn't help it after knowing who Miguel is.
The Oceteva man let a small smile play on his lips as he drove through Oakland at the fact that Victoria was so nervous about tonight. "You mentioned that over coffee when Emily called you the other night," Nestor noted before he took a quick glance over at the Miller woman and inquired, "you're still nervous?" The cartel assassin had been trying to relax Victoria's mind about tonight for the last couple of days, so he was surprised that the pediatric nurse was still worried.
Victoria huffed out another but louder sigh as her worries about tonight began to cloud her mind once again. "I know it sounds stupid," the Miller woman began with an embarrassed mumble before she confessed as she nervously messed with the zipper on her black clutch purse, "I'm just anxious about meeting Miguel again." The cartel leader just made Victoria nervous - especially since she only met him once at the clubhouse.
Nestor couldn't help but release an amused chuckle at the brunette woman that was nervous about meeting Miguel - his closest best friend in the world. It just amused the cartel assassin when Victoria easily hangs out with him after knowing what he did in his past life and what he currently does. "You hang out with an assassin and a former Navy Sailor," Nestor stated the obvious before he teased the woman beside him with a smirk playing on his lips, "how could you possibly be nervous about seeing Miguel?"
The Miller woman rolled her hazel eyes as she knew that she shouldn't be scared to meet her old best friend's husband when she hangs out with Nestor, an assassin, along with the Mayans, a motorcycle club, and is basically family with the motorcycle club in Charming. "I told you it was stupid," Victoria mumbled in embarrassed like she did every time that this topic would come up and her mind would run wild with nerves.
The Oceteva man could tell that the pediatric nurse was starting to stress herself out, so Nestor lightly and cautiously placed his right hand onto Victoria's exposed knee before he softly assured the brunette woman, "hey, it's not stupid. I'm just teasing." Nestor squeezed the Miller woman's knee before he placed his hand back onto the steering wheel to not make Victoria uncomfortable and continued in a soft tone of voice, "but, honestly, you have nothing to worry about, Victoria." The Oceteva man shot the brunette woman an assuring smile as he stated, "this isn't going to be an interrogation - trust me. Miguel wouldn't be taking you to a restaurant if he wanted to kill you and he certainly wouldn't do it in front of Emily and Cristobal."
Victoria did feel slightly relaxed at Nestor's reassuring words like he had been doing these past couple of days but when the cartel assassin reached the end of his speech, the Miller woman couldn't help but let out a loud scoff. "Well, that reassuring," the pediatric nurse sarcastically exclaimed as that didn't exactly help her nerves.
Nestor released a deep chuckle at the nervous but sarcastic woman beside him before he lightly waved his hand and muttered, "you know what I mean." The Oceteva man paused for a moment as he focused on taking a right turn before he glanced over to the anxious nurse and assured her, "Miguel just wants to get to know his wife's childhood best friend. I promise, you aren't in any danger."
The Miller woman silently stared into Nestor's calm brown irises as she slowly took in his words while her right hand unconsciously gripped the black handgun in her clutch purse. Victoria knew that her thoughts were irrational since it wasn't likely Miguel would kill her just because of her connection to the Mayans - especially not with so many witnesses - so Victoria took a deep breath before she mumbled, "yeah, you're probably right."
The Oceteva man shot the pediatric nurse a wide but teasing grin when he could see that she was beginning to relax her body more while he slowly pulled his black Audi to a full stop in front of the meeting place with the Galindo family before Nestor told the Miller woman, "well, I'm glad we are in agreement because we're here."
Victoria instantly furrowed her brows as Nestor's words before she quickly took a glance out of the tinted window of the passenger seat - where she noticed the bright red sign for the restaurant; Duende. The Miller woman hadn't even realized that they were at the restaurant already - which immediately caused Victoria's anxiousness to return. However, Victoria knew that she couldn't turn back now or back out, so the pediatric nurse took a deep breath before she told Nestor in a mumble, "let's get this over with."
Nestor chuckled at the unmotivated Miller woman, who wasn't exactly excited about her dinner plans, while he turned off his black Audi. He found it amusing that the woman, who hangs out with dangerous people on a regular basis, was this nervous. However, Nestor decided to not tease her anymore - encase Victoria tried to escape before the appetizers. Instead, the Oceteva man stayed silent as he exited out of his vehicle before he rounded the Audi and opened Victoria's door.
The Oceteva man held out his hand for the pediatric nurse to grip before he gently helped Victoria slide out of the low Audi. Nestor waited until Victoria was settled after she fixed the straps of her black dress and she gave him a small smile before the Oceteva man placed his hand onto Victoria's lower back and lead her towards Duende. Nestor, however, could feel the Miller woman's nerves by the shake of her body, so before he opened the door to the busy and loud restaurant, the cartel assassin leaned down and whispered by the shell of Victoria's ear, "you'll do fine."
Victoria glanced up at the Oceteva man for a small moment as she absorbed his kind words before she nodded her head with a smile playing on her lips. The Miller woman took another deep breath to ready herself for the meeting with her old childhood friend and the leader of the Galindo cartel before she nodded her head to herself and opened the wooden door to the restaurant to finally face the music.
The cartel assassin and the pediatric nurse silently entered Duende with Nestor's hand still resting comfortingly on Victoria's lower back before they came to a stop when a bright smile moved in front of them. "Hello! Welcome to Duende!" A cheery voice that belonged to the blonde woman in a white button up shirt uttered before she inquired, "do you have a reservation this evening?"
The Oceteva man gave the familiar blonde hostess a polite smile that he had seen on many occasions of Miguel coming to this very restaurant before the cartel assassin answered the woman's question in the same polite manner as he knew that the hostess wouldn't give him any trouble, "Mr. Galindo is already expecting us."
The blonde hostess's green eyes widened when she heard the very familiar name of the man that basically co-owned the Duende restaurant. "Of course," the woman uttered once she got control of her emotions and acted like her normal and professional self before she stated with a wave of her hand, "Mr. Galindo is in his regular private room."
Nestor gave the blonde woman a small nod as he knew that Miguel wouldn't be anywhere else - especially when he's with his family - before he uttered a small, "thank you." The Oceteva man then placed a little bit of pressure onto Victoria's lower back before he silently lead the anxious woman towards the back of the restaurant with his hand.
The Miller woman couldn't help but cautiously glance at everything and everyone as she slowly walked through the packed out restaurant. The fact that Miguel has a private room like the hostess mentioned made Victoria that more nervous since there wouldn't exactly be any witnesses if he did decide to kill her. However, those tragic and horrid thoughts were immediately washed away, though, when Victoria saw the happy family of the Galindo's gushing over their son around a circular table. It made Miguel seem so normal, so it helped the Miller woman relax a tiny bit as she and Nestor entered the private room.
It only took about a minute and a half before the cartel assassin and the pediatric nurse was noticed when the blonde woman that is Emily Galindo happened to glance up and saw her old childhood best friend. The wife of the leader of the Galindo cartel quickly stood up from her seat and excitedly exclaimed, "you're here," before she rushed to pull the brunette woman into a tight hug.
Victoria released a slightly awkward chuckle while she hugged the blonde woman back just as tightly as she still felt nervous under the gaze of the leader of the Galindo cartel. However, the Miller woman knew that she needed to stay calm and relaxed, so she glanced up to the taller woman and uttered with a small smile, "I told you I would come."
The Galindo woman slowly released her old childhood best friend before she shot Victoria a wide grin. "I'm glad we could do this," Emily confessed as she felt this was the first time in a long time that she has actually been around someone that she sees as a friend instead of Miguel's mother or his associates all the time.
Victoria nodded her head with the same small smile playing on her painted red lips before she softly murmured, "me too." The Miller woman, despite being so nervous and anxious of tonight with Miguel, was quite glad that she was hanging out with Emily again. The blonde woman with the same bright blue eyes that she had when they were children was someone that Victoria wanted to know like she used to, so Victoria knew this dinner was also a way to get close to Emily again and hopefully gain her old best friend back in her life.
Emily squeezed her childhood best friend's lower arm with an excited grin still shining across her nude colored lips before she murmured, "I have some people I want you to meet." The Galindo woman then lightly turned around with the Miller woman's lower arm in her grasp before she pointed towards her son as she began to introduce her family, "I know you already met mi rayito de sol [my little sunshine]."
A large smile immediately pulled onto the Miller woman's face at the sight of the youngest Galindo member, who she only got the opportunity to meet once when she had coffee with Emily. The pediatric nurse couldn't help but walk around the large circular table to greet the small, adorable child as children have always been a soft spot for her. Victoria bent down once she was in front of the small child's stroller before she lightly trailed her finger tip against Cristobal's soft cheek as she murmured with a small smile playing on her lips, "hola, beautiful boy."
Victoria watched as a wide grin played on the small child's face as he let out a cheerful giggle for a moment before she straightened out her body as she stood back up to her normal height. However, though, the Miller woman's smile instantly disappeared when she noticed that the leader of the Galindo cartel was heading straight towards her. Ah, crap, Victoria swore to herself as she could feel her nerves sky-rocketing into overdrive.
"Hello, Victoria," the smooth and suave voice of one of the most dangerous men in California greeted as he came to stop in front of the brunette woman. The leader of the Galindo cartel gave the pediatric nurse a wide grin and pulled Victoria into a polite hug before he stated, "it's good to see you again, Victoria."
The Miller woman tried to calm her nerves as best as she could while Miguel's rough arms hugged around her back that could easily sever her spine. Victoria released a silent deep breath and took a step back once the leader of the Galindo cartel released her so she could at least breathe without being so close to the dangerous man. The brunette woman then gave the man a polite smile as she tried to get control of her emotions before she murmured, "you too, Miguel."
The leader of the Galindo cartel gave the anxious pediatric nurse another wide smile as he stared into Victoria's hazel eyes before he waved his hand towards the circular table. "Please, have a seat," Miguel requested in a easy and relaxed tone before he also joined the table as he took back his original seat beside his son's stroller.
Victoria immediately swallowed down the thickness in her throat as she watched Miguel walk around the table as she felt like she could breathe a little bit better when the most dangerous man's attention wasn't solely on her. The Miller woman briefly closed her hazel eyes as she reminded herself that nothing was going to happen to her before she took a deep breath and walked around the table to take a seat at the last space.
However, though, when Victoria went to pull out the shiny cherry wood chair to join the Galindo family, the Miller woman was surprised when a large hand shot out from behind her and pulled the chair out for her. The pediatric nurse swiftly turned her head to the side at the motion before she noticed it was the Oceteva man. Victoria honestly had forgotten about Nestor's presence ever since she had seen Miguel, so seeing the cartel assassin helped Victoria relax a little bit more since she's, surprisingly, comfortable when he's around her.
The Miller woman, with the help of the Oceteva man, slowly and silently took her seat on the comfortable chair around the circular table before Victoria felt Nestor push her chair towards the table. The pediatric nurse turned her head to the side once she was settled in her chair before she gave Nestor a thankful smile and murmured her praise, "thank you." Victoria was honestly already feeling better now that she remembered that Nestor would be close by. She didn't know why, but the Miller woman felt herself relaxed and safe whenever she is around the cartel assassin after only befriending one another this week.
The Oceteva man gave the obviously anxious nurse a silent nod of his head before he squeezed the Miller woman's bare shoulder. Nestor could see and feel the tension every second that Victoria was inside of the room with Miguel, so the cartel assassin bent his body at his waist before he leaned down until his lips were at the shell of the brunette woman's ear. "You gotta relax," Nestor teasingly whispered and squeezed Victoria's shoulder once more before the cartel assassin straightened his back and headed to the front of the entrance of the private room.
Nestor couldn't help but find it amusing how nervous the Miller woman was obvious being around, his best friend, Miguel as he took his stand as head of security for the Galindo family. Victoria had only been this nervous around him once or twice until they started to get to know one another more, so the cartel assassin found it humorous that Victoria was so nervous when they hang out with one another. It was amusing for the Oceteva man to watch the Miller woman twitch and awkwardly move in her seat from her obvious nerves of being around Miguel.
The private room in the Duende restaurant was silent for a few minutes as everyone got themselves situated in their seats around the large circular table before the blonde Galindo woman was the first one to speak. "Victoria, I would like to introduce you to Cristobal's nanny," Emily began as she looked over at her childhood best friend before she pointed to the brown eyed woman beside her and introduced the aforementioned woman, "this is Maria."
The Miller woman turned her attention onto the quiet nanny that she had noticed when she had walked into the private room as she followed Emily's pale hand before she gave the brown eyed woman a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you," Victoria murmured as she greeted the youngest Galindo's nanny.
Maria silently and shyly nodded her head once in a bowing and greeting fashion with a small smile playing on her lips as she stared across at the brunette woman. "I've heard so much about you," the Galindo family's nanny commented as she remembered how Emily had been gushing about her old childhood friend all week long.
Victoria couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise before she asked, "oh, really?" The Miller woman turned her head to the side so her attention was solely on the blonde woman before she inquired with an expression of teasing shining across her face, "have you been spilling my embarrassing childhood moments?"
The Galindo woman playfully rolled her blue eyes before she lightly waved her right hand and uttered with a smile playing on her nude lips, "of course not." Emily lifted a smirk onto her face as she stared across at her childhood best friend before she teasingly added, "if I wanted to embarrass you, I would do with you in the room so I can watch you become a red mess."
Victoria immediately rolled her hazel eyes right back at the blonde woman with a relaxed chuckle before she mumbled in amusement, "same ole Em." The Miller woman felt like no time had left her and Emily as she remembered this teasing and calm aura that used to surround Emily and her during their childhood and their school years through pre-k to senior year. Victoria honestly felt herself relax now that she was joking around with Emily, so she shot the Galindo woman a wide smirk before she teased right back, "but remember, Em, I have just as many embarrassing stories as well that I would love to share."
The Galindo woman let out a loud groan as she did not want to relive any of her embarrassing moments while the Miller woman continued to laugh before the leader of the Galindo cartel spoke up. "I would love to hear about these stories you speak of," Miguel began as he looked across at Victoria before he glanced over at Emily with a smirk and murmured, "especially if they involve embarrassing my wife."
The Miller woman and the Galindo man shared a small laugh as they watched how red Emily was turning for a few minutes before Miguel turned his attention back onto Victoria. "But before we do that, you need a drink," Miguel told the pediatric nurse before he pointed at the array of bottles in the center of the circular table and inquired, "so, what will it be? Bourbon? Vodka? Tequila? Scotch? Wine? Water?"
Victoria bit down on her bottom lip as she glanced at the different types of bottles before she took a quick look at the glass in front of Miguel - where she noticed that he was drinking bourbon. The Miller woman wanted to keep on the cartel leader's good side and she didn't want to give him any ammunition to kill her, so Victoria decided that she would impress Miguel as she requested, "I could go for a glass of bourbon."
The leader of the Galindo cartel let a smirk grace his lips as he told Victoria, "excellent choice." Miguel stood up from his seat and leaned over the table before he grabbed the bottle of bourbon that he had already opened. The Galindo man then poured the amber liquid into a crystal glass before he reached across the table to hand the drink to the Miller woman.
"I do not know how you guys drink that stuff," Emily mumbled with a disgusted expression on her face as she watched the pediatric nurse take a sip of her alcoholic drink. The Galindo woman picked up her alcohol of choice which happened to be red wine and uttered, "at least wine actually has a flavor," before she took a gulp of her aforementioned sweet drink.
Miguel let out a small chuckle at his wife before he told her with a grin playing on his lips, "it's an acquired taste, mi amor [my love]." The leader of the Galindo cartel then looked over to his guest of the evening before he inquired, "how are you liking the bourbon?" Miguel lifted up his own glass of the amber alcohol as he told Victoria, "it's a '93 Buffalo Trace aged twenty five years."
Victoria's hazel eyes immediately widened when she heard the name of what she was drinking. "Wow, I've heard about this one," the Miller woman commented as she gazed down at the amber liquid before she mentioned, "I read it an article a few months back." Victoria furrowed her brows for a moment as she tried to remember the article before she snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "yes, the article mentioned that one bottle is about ten thousand." The Miller woman shook her head in disbelief at the priciest drink that she has ever had in her life before she complimented towards Miguel with a small smile, "it's very good, thank you."
The Galindo man tipped his head in a nodding fashion as he accepted her praise while he took a sip of his own glass of bourbon before he shot Victoria a wide grin and mused, "ah, a fellow alcohol connoisseur." Miguel gave the brunette woman an impressed look as he could appreciate someone that knows their alcohol before he told the pediatric nurse, "well, I'm glad you are enjoying it. Please, have as much as you like."
Victoria gave the Galindo man a thankful nod and a small smile before the private room grew silent with the married couple and the pediatric nurse looking through their menus and the nanny playing with the small child and a stuffed lion toy. The tranquility continued for a few more minutes before Miguel looked up and between Emily and Victoria as he wondered, "I'm curious about something. How did you and my lovely wife come to meet?"
The Miller and Galindo women immediately glanced over at each other at the question with grins shining across their lips before they both uttered at the exact same time like they used to do as kids, "on the red slide at the park on fifth street." The old best friends couldn't help but share a laugh together before Emily looked over to her amused husband and explained, "it happened when we were about four, I think, and we both wanted to go on the only slide in town by the old elementary school and we just instantly clicked."
Victoria nodded her head in agreement as she remembered that moment when she had met Emily Thomas - now Galindo. It was during a weekend when her brother, Nathan, was gone at his friend's house. Victoria really wanted to play on the big red slide that day but her mother was gone at work on the streets and her father was, thankfully, passed out from his twenty-four pack of cheap beer, so little Victoria had wondered to the park that Nathan always brought her to - where she ultimately met the bubbly blonde that was Emily Thomas.
"It helped that Em over here was a girl," the Miller woman began to tell Miguel with a soft chuckle as she nodded her head towards the blonde woman. "I've only hung out with boys ever since I could walk," Victoria explained to the Galindo man before she paused and changed her sentence, "well, really only Ezekiel. He's always been my best friend since I was in diapers." The brunette nurse turned her hazel gaze over to the blonde woman before she concluded with a playful grin on her face, "so, Emily was definitely a great addition to my life when we were growing up."
A bright smile immediately lit up the blonde Galindo woman's face as soon as she heard the words come from the pediatric nurse that meant the world to her - especially after not talking for years. Emily reached across the table and squeezed Victoria's hand as she gushed, "aw! I felt the exact same way when we were kids." The blonde woman gave the brunette a wide smile before she softly murmured, "you were always my best friend through everything."
The leader of the Galindo cartel silently listened as his wife and the woman who seems to know everyone around Santo Padre talked to one another while he sipped on his bourbon with interest shining throughout his brown eyes. Miguel had always been curious about Victoria ever since he briefly met her at the Mayans clubhouse. He could never understand how a pediatric nurse like her could be mixed in with all of the bikers, so Miguel decided that he would subtly approach the topic of Victoria's connection with the Reyes men since Victoria did bring up the younger one. "Is that why you are involved with the Reyes brothers?" Miguel curiously asked as he stared across at the brunette woman before he continued, "because you were friends when you were kids?"
The Miller woman couldn't help but bite down on her lower lip and she took a shaky and deep breath. Victoria knew that she would get asked about her connection with the Reyes men sooner or later by Miguel as she figured Miguel would want to interrogate her about her life since she was involved with Emily now. The pediatric nurse completely understood, though, but she was still a bit anxious about being interrogated by the dangerous man since that hadn't happened since she was eighteen and she got in trouble by the local Charming police for public intoxication with Juice when they went and tried to get tacos at three in the morning.
Victoria knew that she couldn't avoid the question any longer after she got out of her thoughts when the leader of the Galindo cartel was still staring at her, so the Miller woman quickly downed the rest of her glass of bourbon to gain the confidence that she needed to talk to Miguel before she began her story about the Reyes men. "My parents weren't the best of people throughout my childhood," Victoria muttered as she anxiously played with her fingers while she briefly spoke about the two people that she hated thinking about before Victoria glanced up to Miguel and stated, "I had my older brother but sometimes I would end up playing by myself."
"But one day," the Miller woman continued with her story, "little EZ, who was one at the time, and his mother were taking a walk down the street and that is where EZ noticed me with this bright red firetruck that my brother had gave me and he wanted to have it." Victoria let out a small chuckle as she remembered that moment before she concluded with a soft smile, "anyways, long story short, EZ ended up running up on the front lawn and started pouting about wanting to play with it." Victoria lightly shrugged her shoulders and murmured, "and we've been best friends ever since."
Miguel nodded his head with a carefree smile playing on his lips after he listened to Victoria's story about how she came to be close to the youngest Reyes man. The leader of the Galindo cartel could understand the connection with the pediatric nurse and the Mayans prospect a little better now as he had seen how protective Ezekiel gets when someone mentions Victoria's name - just like the older Reyes. "Is that how you got close to Angel as well?" Miguel inquired as he was even more curious about the relationship between the pediatric nurse and the biker.
It wasn't Victoria that answered Miguel's question, though, as the aforementioned man's wife quickly let out a loud giggle before she exclaimed as she jumped into the conversation, "God, no!" The blonde woman waited until she could get her tipsy giggling under control before she looked over to her husband and told him with a small chuckle as she remembered their childhood together, "Angel and Vic hated each other."
The Galindo man's brown eyes widened slightly when he heard the words leave his wife's mouth. "Really?" Miguel questioned with his brows furrowed once he moved his gaze back onto the pediatric nurse. The leader of the Galindo cartel was quite surprised to hear that the two didn't like each other by how close they seem when he saw Angel with the pediatric nurse and how protective he always gets like his younger brother does.
Victoria couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle at Miguel's reaction to her and Angel's beginning relationship. It was a reaction that she got quite a lot when someone would ask how she and Angel knew each other since it was way different to their relationship now. "Angel and I were never really close while growing up since he was a few years older than me," Victoria began to explain to the puzzled Miguel before she playfully rolled her hazel eyes and muttered, "he was basically my own personal bully growing up."
Miguel's brows continued to be furrowed as he stared across at the pediatric nurse in confusion as he tried to understand what he had seen at the Mayans clubhouse between the two. "You guys seem very close, though," the Galindo man commented as he remembered how the pediatric nurse and the biker had interacted with one another before Miguel wondered, "what changed from the beginning of your relationship to now?"
The Miller woman bit down on her bottom lip as she remembered the exact reason why she and Angel ended up getting close. It was something that broke her heart every time that she thought about it. "Well, after their mother was killed and EZ went to prison," Victoria began as she mentioned a bad moment in their lives before she stated, "Angel and I ended up leaning on one another for comfort." The brunette woman decided to not mention the whole part where she and Angel started sleeping together while they comforted each other before she uttered with a small shrug, "we ended up growing on one another and we've been close friends ever since."
The Galindo man nodded his head as he hummed to himself while he silently took in the Miller woman's words. It helped Miguel understand the relationship and the connection between Victoria and the Reyes brothers that he had recently been curious about. However, the one question that was still on the leader of the Galindo cartel's mind was how Victoria, a pediatric nurse, could be mixed in with the local motorcycle club. "Is Angel how you got involved with the club?" Miguel questioned as he decided to take his interrogation about his wife's old friend a step further.
"Miguel!" The blonde Galindo woman instantly scolded her husband as soon as she heard his question. Emily shot her husband a slight glare as she recalled their conversation earlier about not mentioning work before she mumbled, "I thought we promised that we would leave business out of dinner tonight."
The Miller woman could feel the tension building between the married couple, so Victoria quickly gave them a small smile and assured the Galindo's as she stated, "no, no, it's okay. Everyone's always curious." Victoria knew that if she didn't answer Miguel's question right now, then it would just come up some time later and Victoria would rather get it out of the way while she still had the courage to do so. The Miller woman took a deep breath before she began her tale about how she got into the Mayans inner circle, "I didn't get involved with the Mayans until two or three years ago."
Victoria poured herself another glass of the high priced bourbon as she tried to gather her thoughts before she focused back onto the curious Miguel and continued with her story, "I was just out of nursing school and was starting my job at the hospital when one of the Mayans got hurt during a run." The Miller woman took a sip of the smooth bourbon before she uttered, "Angel knew that I would be able to help, so he ended up at my place and I helped patch 'em up." Victoria lightly shrugged her shoulders as she commented, "I guess Bishop appreciated the help with his men, so I always end up helping them out when they need me - like you saw when you were at the clubhouse last week."
Miguel nodded his head as he murmured, "ah, that makes sense." The Galindo man recalled exactly what the pediatric nurse was mentioning when he, Nestor, and Marcus had showed up at the Mayans clubhouse. Miguel remembered seeing the large bag and the injured biker when they had stopped by to conduct some business about his missing drugs and had seen the brunette woman that was currently in front of him.
The table in the private room, unfortunately, grew silent after Miguel's last sentence. Victoria usually wasn't this awkward but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to the leader of the Galindo cartel. The Miller woman didn't want to talk anymore about the Reyes men or the Mayans to give Miguel any ammunition against them, so Victoria decided to stay quiet as she avoided Miguel's brown eyes and continued to sip on her heavenly bourbon as she prayed that Miguel wouldn't ask anymore about the group of important men in her life.
Thankfully, though, the blonde Galindo woman had noticed the awkward tension that took over the private room after a few silent minutes. Emily knew it would happen and that was the reason why she tried to tell Miguel to keep business out of tonight with mentioning the Mayans as she knew it would make Victoria anxious. It was just something Emily knew that would happen - even though that she hadn't been in Victoria's life in years - so the Galindo woman loudly cleared her throat to get everyone's attention before she asked with a simple smile shining on her nude lips to end the awkwardness, "should we order?"
Miguel gave his wife a large smile after he moved his steady brown irises off of the Miller woman before he murmured, "that sounds perfect, mi amor [my love]." The Galindo man then moved his attention back onto Victoria before he politely asked her as if he wasn't just interrogating her, "are you ready to eat?"
The Miller woman gave the married couple an awkward smile after she finally pulled the glass of bourbon from her lips as she still felt anxious about any type of conversation that was to come. Victoria knew that she couldn't show Miguel her fear, though, so the pediatric nurse took a silent deep breath before she murmured with a tight smile, "I'm ready if you guys are."
The leader of the Galindo cartel nodded his head in Victoria's direction before he uttered in agreement, "very well." Miguel then looked over the pediatric nurse's shoulder and towards the door of his private room before he called out to his head of security, "Nestor."
The Oceteva man didn't even have to say anything to Miguel as he already knew what he needed to do. Instead, Nestor opened the door to the private room and briefly looked around the hallway before he noticed the familiar waitress that always waits on the Galindo family. The head of security gave the woman a silent nod towards the private room before he allowed her to enter and closed the door behind them.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Galindo," the waitress quickly greeted the married couple as soon as she walked into the private room with a cheery smile on her pink colored lips. The brunette waitress walked up to the circular table and pulled out her small notebook from her black apron before she politely asked, "are we ready to order?"
Miguel nodded his head and uttered as he gave the waitress a slight smile, "yes, we are." The Galindo man then moved his gaze over to the Miller woman and stated, "you are our guest of honor this evening," before he lifted his hand in a waving motion to let Victoria know that she could order her meal first.
Victoria gave the Galindo man a thankful but slightly nervous smile before she moved her hazel eyes down to the menu that she had read at least one hundred times during the awkward silence. The Miller woman moved her hazel irises over the menu for a moment as she looked for the meal that she had picked out earlier before she looked up at the patient waitress. "I'll have the fideua," Victoria requested as she felt like she could go for some seafood pasta right about now.
The brunette waitress quickly wrote down the order on her notebook as she commented with a small smile, 'excellent choice." The woman then moved her gaze over to the familiar nanny of the Galindo family before she inquired, "and what will you be having this evening, Ms. Maria?"
The nanny of Cristobal Galindo gave the familiar waitress of Duende a polite smile before she looked down at the menu in her hands and read off her order, "I'll take the brocheta de camarones." Maria silently closed her menu before she softly murmured after she ordered her shrimp brochette, "thank you."
The waitress for Duende nodded her head as she wrote down the nanny's order before she lifted her gaze and looked over to the married couple. "And how about you, Mr. and Mrs. Galindo?" The brunette woman inquired before she asked as she knew what the happy couple usually ordered when they would have dinner at the restaurant, "are we going for some tapas tonight?"
"Yes, we are," Miguel uttered to the waitress before he ordered a plate of marinated Spanish olives and a Spanish omelette with mussels that also comes with a side of pork skewers, "we'll take the aceitunas alinadas and the tortilla española y mejillones escabechados." The Galindo man then closed his menu while the waitress wrote down their order before he looked over to his wife and inquired, "is there anything else you would like, mi amor [my love]?"
The blonde Galindo woman bit down on her bottom lip as she looked over the menu for a few seconds before she nodded her head and uttered, "yeah, I think there is." Emily loved trying new things whenever they would come to Oakland for dinner, so the blonde woman looked for an item that she hadn't tried yet before she told the waitress that she wanted the pork rillette plate, "We'll also have the montiditos de manteca colora."
The waitress, once again, nodded her head as she finished writing down the orders before she murmured to the Galindo woman, "of course." The brunette woman looked back up to the circular table once she had placed her notebook back into her apron with a wide smile before she told them, "I'll be out with your food as quickly as possible."
The private room, unfortunately, grew silent once the waitress had taken her leave as soon as she had finished speaking to place their order. Victoria couldn't stand the silence as it was awkward and it was making her even more nervous than she had been all night, so the Miller woman decided to focus on Miguel since she knows barely anything about him - along with the fact to stop him from asking any questions about her relationship with the Reyes men and the Mayans.
Victoria only knew that Miguel was this big and bad cartel leader from what she had heard from the little bit of information that Angel had told her about, so the Miller woman decided that she would focus on that since she was curious how her old best friend's husband even got involved in all that. "So," Victoria uttered as she interrupted the silence after she cleared her throat before she inquired, "did you always know that you wanted to go into the line of business that you are in?"
The Galindo man let a small smile lift onto the right side of his lips while he was drinking his bourbon as he had been curious when Victoria would come out of her shell and begin to question him about his life. Miguel honestly didn't mind the Miller woman questioning him about his work since he could tell that she was honestly curious along with the fact that she is involved with the Mayans so she would be able to handle it.
The leader of the Galindo cartel placed his glass down onto the circular table once he had finished a sip of his bourbon before he looked over to Victoria and answered her question as he leaned back in his chair, "well, it was right after high school. My father was in charge of the family business at the time and he sent me to America to learn how to become apart of the business from a fellow associate of his." Miguel placed his arm on the back of Emily's chair and squeezed her bare shoulder before he continued about his past with a wide grin shining across his face, "I ended up staying in the states for a couple of years until I got my degree while I was being taught about the family business - where I met this beautiful woman."
Emily immediately released a lovesick giggle from her lips when her husband mentioned when they met in college and murmured as she stared into Miguel's brown eyes that always made her fall in love all over again with the man beside her, "it was the best thing to ever happen to me," before she pulled her husband into a sweet but short kiss.
Victoria couldn't help the small smile that rose onto her face as she watched the married couple. The Miller woman could see how happy Miguel makes Emily, despite the fact that she did love EZ and the blonde woman together when they were all in high school, and that made Victoria happy as she could tell that Miguel was the one for Emily by the way a certain glow surrounded the blonde whenever she would talk or when she's around Miguel.
The Miller woman watched the married couple become lovesick with one another as they smiled and kissed for another minute or so before Victoria decided that she would focus back onto the topic of the leader of the Galindo cartel. Victoria wanted to learn as much as she could about the dangerous man, so Victoria took a sip of her bourbon before she curiously inquired, "did you always know that you were going to follow in your father's footsteps into the family business?"
Miguel focused his attention back onto the Miller woman once he heard her question before he shook his head with a chuckle. "I actually had no interest in joining my father while I was in high school," the Galindo man stated before he glanced over Victoria's shoulder and over to his best friend and head of security. "Nestor and I used to always say we were going to be astronauts when we were kids," Miguel uttered with a smirk playing on his lips before he called out to his best friend, "isn't that right, Nestor?"
The Oceteva man turned his body to the side while he continued to have an eye on the door of the private room and looked over to the Galindo man with his own smirk playing on his lips as he remembered their childhood dream job. Nestor tipped his head in a nodding motion as he murmured with amusement in his voice, "yes, sir."
The leader of the Galindo cartel and the head of security both shared a moment of laughter as they remembered all the moments from their childhood when they thought they would become astronauts before the Galindo woman suddenly exclaimed, "oh, my God!" Emily had all of her attention on the Miller woman as she exclaimed when she suddenly remembered something when she heard about her husband and his best friend's childhood dream job, "that reminds me of the time when we said we were going to be these famous ballerinas that cured sadness with our fabulous dancing skills."
The Miller woman immediately let out a heavy groan before she mumbled as a blush lifted onto her tan cheeks, "oh, don't remind me." The brunette nurse remembered that before she wanted to go into the medical field, she and Emily wanted to be these healing ballerinas. It was such a childish dream that it embarrassed her even just thinking about it. Victoria shook her head with a small chuckle before she voiced her thoughts, "that was such an embarrassing dream of ours when Mr. Ham told us we would never accomplish it."
Emily rolled her blue eyes at the memory of their first grade teacher's words to them when they wore tutus to class for six months straight before she exclaimed with a shake of her head, "he was such an ass for crushing two seven year old's dreams." The Galindo woman puffed out her chest with her red wine settled in her right hand before she uttered with a look of confidence on her face, "we could have totally been ballerinas."
Victoria couldn't help but let out a loud chuckle at her childhood best friend before she sarcastically uttered, "oh, yeah, totally." The Miller woman shook her head in amusement as she stared across at the confident blonde woman before she continued teasingly, "we would have toured the world curing everyone of their sadness like goddesses."
The Galindo woman looked at the pediatric nurse as if she couldn't believe that Victoria wasn't being serious like she was about their childhood dream job - even though she wasn't actually sincere. "What?" Emily mumbled with her brows playfully furrowed as if she didn't know why everyone was watching her with grins on their faces before she exclaimed with a wide smile spreading across her nude tinted lips, "it could have happened!"
The Miller woman shook her head in amusement at her old best friend's childish behavior before she murmured with a smirk playing across her lips, "whatever you say, Em." Victoria actually found herself relaxing after the words teasingly slipped out of her mouth. It made Victoria feel like no time had passed between her and Emily. It was like that they didn't, in fact, spend years apart from one another.
The private room was then soon filled with the sound of an enjoyable laughter and a grinning Oceteva man from his security post at the front door after they all had watched as Emily pouted at the Miller woman and the aforementioned nurse playfully stuck out her tongue. It was like that awkward tension from fifteen minutes ago just disappeared after a few memories were shared between the group of adults.
The evening dinner at Duende slowly but surely began to go more smoothly as the night went on between the Galindo couple and the Miller woman after their shared laughter along with the elephant in the room that came in the form of the Galindo cartel. The three adults spent the rest of their night getting to know one another better while they ate their meals and drank their wine and bourbon. They shared bunch of laughs and details about their lives like old friends would before the enjoyable night was suddenly interrupted when a cell phone began to ring throughout the private room.
Victoria furrowed her brows at the loud sound as she remembered that she had silenced her cell phone when she was still at her house. The Miller woman didn't want to have any interruptions from Angel or Ezekiel, so she had made sure that her cell phone wouldn't be a problem as she knew Angel would just keep on calling until she answered. However, Victoria relaxed her body when she realized that it hadn't been her cell phone when the Galindo man answered his device in a quiet murmur.
Victoria didn't want to be nosy as she figured it had to deal with the Galindo cartel, so the Miller woman just focused on her delicious plate of seafood pasta and her high priced bourbon while Miguel continued to speak into his cell phone. There was only the sound of the Galindo man speaking to someone over his device for a couple of minutes before, finally, Miguel ended the call and placed his cell phone back into the pocket of his black slacks.
The first voice that spoke through the silent private room after the interruption into the dinner happened to be from the wife of the leader of the Galindo cartel. "Is everything alright?" Emily gently inquired with her brows deeply furrowed as she softly laid her hand onto her husband's upper arm. It was very abnormal for a call to happen during dinner, unless it was important, so Emily was concerned to what could have happened.
Miguel gave his wife an assuring smile as he murmured, "of course, mi amor [my love]." The Galindo man placed a soft kiss onto Emily's forehead to ease her obvious worrying before he simply told her, "it was just business." Miguel waited until he was sure that Emily understood that nothing was wrong before he faced the Miller woman. "I'm sorry to cut this lovely evening short, ladies," the leader of the Galindo cartel apologized to both of the women before he continued, "but Marcus has some information that I need to intend to."
Victoria immediately waved her hand and told the Galindo man, "don't worry about it. I completely understand." If there was someone that would understand, it would be the Miller woman with her being a pediatric nurse. It wasn't the same with Miguel but there were times when Victoria had to be paged to the hospital whenever a post-op child needed her since she was one of the only nurses that specializes in pediatric surgery.
Miguel nodded his head and uttered as he was pleased that the Miller woman understood what happens when duty calls, "thank you." The Galindo man then focused his attention solely onto his wife beside him as he lightly placed his warm hand onto Emily's right cheek before he softly promised in a small murmur, "I will make this up to you, mi amor [my love]."
The blonde Galindo woman gave her husband a small smile as that was what Miguel always does whenever he has leave during their time together. It was a common occurrence that she was hundred percent used to, so she didn't exactly mind. However, Emily did love to tease her husband, so the blonde woman widely grinned before she teasingly murmured, "you better."
Miguel shook his head with a small chuckle as he watched the playful side of his wife before he murmured, "I will," and pulled Emily into a small but meaningful kiss. The Galindo man held his wife in that position for a minute or two as he silently apologized for leaving during their dinner before he pulled Emily up with him as he stood up from the circular table to leave for his meeting with Marcus.
Everyone in the private room each began to prepare to leave Duende once they saw the leader of the Galindo cartel stand up from his seat with Maria gathering little Cristobal's diaper bag, his toys, and his bottle from around the table while Emily gathered her son in her arms. However, Victoria was the awkward one out, though, as she didn't know what she was supposed to do since she only had a clutch purse. The Miller woman settled on gathering the money from her purse to pay for her meal to stop the awkwardness that she could feel by just standing there.
"Put that away," the Galindo man immediately told the Miller woman in his loud voice, which scared the pediatric nurse, when he looked over at Victoria and realized what she was doing. Miguel shot the brunette woman an amused smile as he had seen her jump before he uttered, "you were our guest tonight, so the meal is on me."
Victoria bit down on her bottom lip as she stared across at the Galindo man. She hated having other people pay for her since she always liked to do something with her hard earned money, but Victoria knew that it would be best to allow Miguel to pay as she knew it would be rude. The Miller woman, finally, nodded her head in agreement to the awaiting Miguel once she came to a conclusion before she promised, "but the next one is on me."
Miguel let out a deep chuckle before a wide smirk lifted onto his lips and he muttered to the brunette woman in agreement, "deal." The Galindo man then placed his hand into the right pocket of his black slacks before he pulled out his wallet. Miguel opened up the piece of Italian leather before he grabbed a couple of hundred dollar bills to cover everyone's meals and drinks.
The group of adults all filed out of the private room and into the busy restaurant once the Galindo man exited with his wife and child by his side. Victoria allowed Maria to walk in front of her with a polite smile on her face before she followed along. The Miller woman glanced around the restaurant as they walked as she didn't really have the time when she had entered since she was so nervous. However, though, while Victoria was looking at a beautiful painting of Spain, her thoughts were soon interrupted when Nestor sped up until he was next to her.
The Oceteva man loudly cleared his throat through the busy restaurant to gain the Miller woman's attention before he playfully bumped his hip into Victoria's black dress covered one and teasingly uttered, "I told you that you didn't have anything to worry about." Nestor had known that Victoria would be okay tonight with Miguel and he had been right all along as he had noticed when Victoria stopped being so anxious about fifteen minutes into the evening.
Victoria immediately rolled her hazel eyes at the Oceteva man's teasing with a deep red blush on her cheeks before she mumbled in embarrassment, "oh, shut up." The Miller woman knew that she had been silly to be nervous for a dinner with her childhood best friend and her husband but Victoria knew that she had a reason to be cautious since Miguel is a dangerous man. However, that didn't stop the embarrassment Victoria felt by Nestor's teasing as the night turned out pretty good.
Nestor let out a heavy chuckle as he watched the brunette woman become annoyed with her beet red cheeks and her tense standing. "Aw," the Oceteva man murmured as he decided to further his teasing before he cooed into the shell of Victoria's ear, "is little Miss Victoria embarrassed that she freaked out for nothing?"
The Miller woman glared over at the man beside her for a moment at his continued teasing but it didn't exactly last that much longer as she couldn't help the small smile that lifted onto her lips. The Oceteva man just made her feel so relaxed and safe that Victoria couldn't stay mad. Instead, she slapped his hard chest and playfully muttered, "you're the worst."
The cartel assassin and the pediatric nurse shared a playful chuckle together as they continued to walk through the busy restaurant with small jabs being thrown at one another before they finally arrived out on the street in front of Duende, where the Galindo family, Maria, and two other men, that Victoria figured were apart of Miguel's security team, were waiting on them.
The leader of the Galindo cartel turned his attention onto the Miller woman when he noticed her presence standing along the streets of Oakland before he reminded her and his wife, "Nestor and I need to go visit Marcus at the clubhouse." Miguel pointed over to the man with the buzz-cut and goatee before he continued, "but Benson, here, will drive you lovely ladies anywhere you want to go."
Victoria nodded her head in understanding as she had been curious about the driving situation since Nestor did pick her up from her house and she figured the leader of the Galindo cartel would need his head of security for whatever, Marcus, the president of the Oakland charter needed to talk about.
The Galindo man took a step closer to the Miller woman until he was in front of her before he uttered his farewell for the evening, "it was nice see you again and to get to know you." Miguel glanced over to the blonde woman behind him before he faced Victoria with a smile and continued, "I can see why my wife wanted to arrange this dinner tonight and keep in touch with you after so many years apart."
A small grin lifted onto Victoria's lips at the Galindo man's words before she murmured as she glanced over to Emily, "I'm glad she did, too." The Miller woman then focused back onto Miguel before she also uttered her farewell for the night as she showed her praise, "thank you for the meal. I'm glad we got the chance to do this."
Miguel nodded his head in agreement before he promised, "we'll set up something soon." The Galindo man then remembered something that he had bought the other day before he told Victoria, "I picked up this perfect bottle of bourbon from Ireland last week. We'll have to have a drink sometime now that I know you know your alcohol." Miguel gave the brunette woman one last smile after he watched Victoria nod her head in agreement before he headed over to his family to say goodbye for the evening.
The Miller woman couldn't help the soft smile that rose onto her lips while she watched Miguel, a dangerous cartel leader, walk over to Emily and Cristobal before he placed a loving kiss onto his son's forehead. It made Victoria remember that there was always two different sides of a person - no matter how dangerous they may seem and after tonight, it made Victoria understand a little bit more of how her childhood best friend ended up with the leader of the Galindo cartel.
Victoria felt like she was watching a homey and heartfelt movie as she continued to watch the small family that she never really did have all her life before the Miller woman's thoughts were soon interrupted when the Oceteva man stood in her line of sight of the loving family. Nestor waited until the pediatric nurse looked up at him before he spoke in a gentle voice, "shoot me a text when you get home safely." The cartel assassin didn't really like that he wouldn't be the one to drive Victoria home but he knew that he had to be with Miguel for the meeting with the Oakland charter. Nestor trusted Benson, someone he had personally brought into his security team, so he knew Victoria would be in good hands.
The Miller woman nodded her head while she stared up at the taller man as she was used to Nestor asking this of her over the last couple of days that they've been friends. It was something that Angel had always asked her to do when she would, on the off-chance, go home alone so Victoria didn't really mind. "Be careful," the pediatric nurse told Nestor after she agreed to text him. Victoria immediately scolded herself for saying that, though. It was something that she did for Angel like a reflex since she was always worried about the older Reyes whenever he would go on runs.
Thankfully for the Miller woman, though, the head of security for the Galindo cartel didn't take it the wrong way. Instead, the Oceteva man shot the pediatric nurse an amused smirk before he nodded his head in agreement. Nestor reached across from him and found Victoria's warm hand by her side before he squeezed her small limb as he silently promised to be careful.
Victoria gave the Oceteva man's hand a small squeeze as she felt his rough fingers graze the back of her hand before she released it when she noticed the leader of the Galindo cartel heading their way. The Miller woman gave Miguel a small smile and a nod before she watched the two equally dangerous men enter Nestor's black Audi and drive off into the night.
"Ladies," an unfamiliar voice spoke up once no one could see the red lights from the car as the Audi turned the corner - which immediately caused Victoria to turn around and realized it was Benson, one of the security guards, who had spoke up. The man with the buzz-cut pointed his arm towards a black SUV that was a few steps away from the restaurant as he told the three women, "if you are ready, we can get going."
Emily nodded her head with a slight smile on her face before she murmured, "thank you, Benson." The blonde Galindo woman looked over to her childhood best friend and nodded her head towards the vehicle before she walked towards the black SUV with her son settled in her arms and the two women following closely behind.
It was a calm and relaxing feeling in the air as the three women walked towards the black SUV with the surprisingly cool atmosphere in Oakland flowing through the streets during the middle of July. The two security guards that had stayed with the Galindo woman opened up the passenger and backseat doors and stood to the side by the time the women walked up to the vehicle.
The nanny, Maria, placed the diaper bag onto the floorboard in the backseat of the SUV before she turned her attention onto the youngest Galindo with a small smile adoring her face. "Ven acá, principito," [come here, little prince] Maria cooed to the small child before she carefully grabbed Cristobal from his mother's arms and began to sing a small tune as she placed the youngest Galindo into his car seat.
The Miller woman smiled and waited as she watched the Galindo family nanny sing to the young child while she entered the black SUV and buckled Cristobal into his seat. Victoria stood still until she saw Maria get into the black SUV before she went to follow to get into her own seat. However, before Victoria could get into the backseat, the Galindo woman instantly stopped her with a light touch on her lower arm while she asked, "do you want to sit in the front?" Emily let out a small chuckle before she explained, "I know Cristobal can get a little fussy during car rides."
Victoria gave her childhood best friend a small smile before she shook her head and uttered, "oh, I don't mind." The Miller woman looked into the backseat of the black SUV with a grin shining across her lips when she saw the youngest Galindo playing with a small toy before she told Emily, "I would love to spend some more time with the cutie."
The blonde Galindo woman released a small chuckle as she could see the truth of the words from Victoria's mouth as the Miller woman stared at her son with adoration in her hazel eyes. Emily could see just how much the pediatric nurse loves kids, so the Galindo woman nodded her head and murmured a soft okay before she and Victoria entered their respective seats in the black SUV.
The two security guards spoke for a minute or two after the women and child were secure in the vehicle before Benson climbed into the drivers seat and the other security guard, Jay, headed to the other SUV to speed to the Galindo compound to make sure the house was secure for Mrs. Galindo's arrival. The two security guards gave each other a small nod before Jay headed out back towards Santo Padre with Benson following a few minutes behind.
The black SUV was silent for a few minutes as they drove through the dark night in Oakland in a comfortable atmosphere before the Miller woman turned her attention towards the babbling child beside her. Victoria couldn't help the bright smile that lifted onto her lips when she met the honey brown eyes of Cristobal Galindo. "Hey, there," the pediatric nurse cooed as she let the small child wrap his hand around her point finger when he reached for her.
Victoria listened to the heavenly sound of the small child giggling before she picked up the stuffed animal that was a lion and waved it in front of Cristobal like the small animal was dancing while she made funny faces at the youngest Galindo. It was like a reflex for Victoria as she always did that for the children at the hospital as it always lifted a smile onto their faces and that was the joy of her whole day - seeing the ill children look and act happy during a bad time in their lives like she wished that she had when she was growing up with an abusive father and an absent mother.
The black SUV was filled with nothing but the youngest Galindo's heavenly laughter which gained the attention on his mother. Emily turned her body the best that she could in her tight dress and a seat belt until she could see into the backseat before a small grin lifted onto her lips at the sight in front of her. "He likes you," Emily told her childhood best friend as she continued to watch as her son looked at Victoria in amazement and amusement.
Victoria quickly and briefly shot her hazel eyes to the blonde woman with a small smile before she looked back at the child that wanted her attention. "Well, good thing I like him too," the Miller woman joked to what Emily had said as she could feel herself falling for the innocence and joy that was coming from the youngest Galindo. Victoria shot the small child a grin when he finally released her finger and placed the lion in his lap before she covered her face with her hands. The pediatric nurse could hear Cristobal squirm in his seat before Victoria swiftly lifted her hands and exclaimed, "peek-a-boo!"
The black SUV was silent for only about a few seconds before the small child immediately let out the cutest giggle that anyone had have heard - which immediately caused the three women to laugh at the excitement bubbling from the youngest Galindo. "You are going to have him spoiled rotten for your attention," Emily teased as she shook her head in amusement. The blonde woman watched as her childhood best friend and her son played peek-a-boo for a few more rounds before Emily softly murmured, "I'm glad we did this tonight."
Victoria gave the small child one last smile and placed the stuffed lion between his grabby hands before she turned her attention onto the blonde woman once Cristobal was occupied. The Miller woman gave her childhood best friend a soft smile before she uttered right back in the same gentle tone that Emily had used, "me too."
Emily pushed a portion of her blonde hair behind her ear as she stared across her at childhood best friend. "If I'm being honest," the Galindo woman began with a light blush on her cheeks that, thankfully, no one could see in the dark vehicle before she told Victoria, "I was nervous that you would end up bailing tonight."
Victoria stared over at the blonde woman with her brows slowly beginning to be deeply furrowed. "Why?" The Miller woman curiously wondered as she twitched her head to the side in confusion.
The Galindo woman let out a small chuckle before she explained, "well, obviously, you know what Miguel does for a living." Emily lightly shrugged her shoulders before she stated, "I was just nervous that it would scare you off." The blonde woman knew that Victoria's involved with the Mayans and the Reyes brothers but Emily had still been nervous for the past couple of days that her cartel husband would be too much for the pediatric nurse to handle.
The Miller woman couldn't help the tiny laugh that escaped through her lips once she realized why Emily had thought that she would bail tonight. "You know I'm tougher than that, Em," the brunette nurse joked while she hid the fact that she been scared out of her mind before and during the most part of their dinner with being in the same room as the leader of the Galindo cartel.
Emily playfully rolled her blue eyes at her childhood best friend before she mumbled, "I know, trust me, I know." The Galindo woman knew first hand how strong and tough that Victoria can be from their younger days. Emily had seen the brunette woman at her lowest point when they were sixteen and everything in between, so she knew exactly how tough Victoria is. The Galindo woman shook her head after a moment as she pushed away the guilt that she felt for her best friend experiencing all those horrible memories before Emily softly uttered, "I'm just happy that we are back into each other's lives."
Victoria gave her childhood best friend a soft smile as she could hear the truthfulness through Emily's voice. The Miller woman reached across the seat and squeezed the blonde's hand that was resting on the middle console before she murmured, "me too. I'm glad we ran into each other last week." Victoria honestly found it a blessing that she and Emily connected back together so quickly. She didn't realize how much that she missed having the blonde in her life until they had coffee last week. It was like having a missing piece back in her chest with having her best friend involved in her life again.
The two childhood best friends grinned across at each other as they both knew what the other was feeling about connecting again before they were soon interrupted when there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. The person that wanted their attention happened to be the security guard as Benson politely asked the women, "did you have anywhere in mind that you ladies would like to go this evening?"
The Galindo woman turned back to her childhood best friend after she heard Benson's question with a bright smile spread across her lips before she inquired with a hopeful tone in her voice, "would you like to come to the house for a nightcap?" Emily didn't wait for Victoria to answer before she quickly added to convince the pediatric nurse to come with her, "Miguel is usually gone for a couple of hours when he has a meeting, so that'll give us some more time to catch up and I'm sure Nestor can drive you home when they get back."
Victoria couldn't help the small smile that pulled onto her lips as she realized Emily was still the same person that she grew up with as the blonde used to always babble when she wanted something - like she was currently doing. The Miller woman didn't really have to think about the question, though, before she was nodding her head in agreement since she didn't have anything waiting for her at home with Angel busy with the club. "I'd love to," Victoria told the grinning blonde before she spoke to the security guard, "the Galindo's house it is, Benson."
The security guard nodded his head once while he kept his eyes on the dark road before he murmured as he headed towards the Galindo compound, "yes, ma'am."
The black SUV was soon overcome with excitement coming from Emily once she knew her childhood best friend was coming to her house so they could talk more as the blonde felt like that they barely had any time to talk with just them along with the sound of Victoria chuckling at the excited blonde and the youngest Galindo giggling from all of the happy noises surrounding him.
The vehicle was filled with a sense of tranquility as the two best friends began to talk about which movie that they would watch with a glass of wine once they reached the Galindo compound while they rode through the desert roads and tall mountains as they arrived in Santo Padre. However, while the two women talked like they never lost touch, no one noticed the incoming car heading towards them when they were passing a supposedly empty intersection before it was all too late.
Victoria only remembered talking to the Galindo woman about a bottle of red wine from Italy before her whole world was literally thrown upside down when the black SUV began to flip over and over again. The Miller woman immediately pushed away all the nerves that she was feeling while the car flipped as she had the need to help. Victoria was scared out of her mind while the car continued to flip but that didn't stop her from quickly taking her seat belt off and hurriedly shielding Cristobal with her body as she tried to protect him as best as she could while he cried into her chest.
The Miller woman hadn't even noticed that her body began to absorb pain until the black SUV finally came to a stop with the vehicle settled upside down. The position made the pain come in strong motions that Victoria could barely handle it. The brunette woman took a strangled deep breath once her vision wasn't as blurry before she sluggishly lifted her head to check on the youngest Galindo in her arms.
The pediatric nurse couldn't help but release a sigh - which hurt whichever part of her body that was injured - when she saw there wasn't even a scratch of Cristobal. Victoria was silently praising the Gods for protecting the innocent child before panic immediately pushed through her veins. The Miller woman could only feel this intense pain swallowing her body before Victoria's whole world slowly turned dark, no matter how hard that she tried to fight it, as her eye lids closed for the last time.