(April's POV)

I was trying hard not to freak out by the time Coco and Marcus left Templo. Creeper had already kindly led me away from the Templo door after I hovered awkwardly for a few minutes, contemplating breaking every Mayan rule and going in there.

"It's not your place, Princesa," he said quietly, pulling me over to the bar. "Gotta ride it out."

When the door finally opened and they walked out, I let out a quiet sigh of relief that neither of them were showing signs of a scrap.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, looking between them.

"All good mija," Marcus nodded, "enjoy your night."

"Let's go," Coco agreed, holding his hand out for me. After a moment's hesitation, I took it, allowing him to pull me up and lead me out of the clubhouse, to his bike.

"Do I want to ask what happened?" I muttered, as he swung his leg over his Harley, handing me my helmet. He grinned crookedly, watching as I snapped it on and got on behind him.

"You don't need to," he responded, kicking out the stand and turning on the engine. "Hold on tight."

I tucked my legs against his, wrapping my arms around him and pressing my body against the cool leather of his kutte. He smelled intoxicating, all tobacco, leather and cologne. There was nothing more tempting than a Mayan in his element.

We didn't drive far, pulling up outside a quiet place on the outskirts of town. For a minute I was worried he was going to take me to a fancy place (neither of us were dressed for it), but I should've realised that wasn't Coco's style. It was refreshing actually; Esai always took us to expensive restaurants, showing off his dad's money earned from the club, but I never felt comfortable. I wanted a place where I could relax, eat good food and enjoy another person's company without panicking every 5 seconds. Like that, Coco and I complimented each other perfectly. I needed to stop comparing the present with the past, though, and just enjoy what was happening in front of me, now.

Coco led us to a table in the corner, sitting at the back so he could see the front and side door from his seat. It actually made me smile; you could never fully take the soldier out of him. We ordered, and I smiled when I realised there was the quiet strumming of a live acoustic guitarist sitting by the bar. I enjoyed the music for a minute, noticing how quiet Coco was being. Maybe he was regretting asking me out.

"What's up with you?" I eventually asked, tired of the awkward silence. He looked at me, grimacing, as if he had been caught doing something he didn't want me know about. He shrugged, blowing his hair out of eyes before gesturing between the two of us as he spoke.

"I don't really know how to do this… I ain't exactly the romantic type, Chica. Most of my relationships, if you can even call 'em that… they were more…" He seemed to be struggling for the right words.

"Hook ups?" I supplied, giggling when he shrugged awkwardly, taking a pull on his beer.

"Like I told you before… I got 3 kids from three different moms. I ain't fucking… boyfriend material," he muttered, glaring at the table as if it had done something to offend him.

"Well, who says I'm looking for a boyfriend?" I asked him, raising my eyebrow questioningly. His dark eyes met mine.

"You ain't exactly a one night stand kind of girl," he commented, taking another drink.

"Who says?" I replied again, flippantly. He was 100% right, of course, but I was curious to know why he made the assumptions he did. He grinned crookedly at the challenge.

"Oh yeah? Ok. How many men you been with since Andy was born?" He asked. I met his question with silence. "That's what I thought," he nodded, picking at the label on his bottle.

"Just because I don't sleep around doesn't mean I'm looking for a knight in shining armour, Coco," I told him. "I don't need someone to save me. I'm cool with keeping it casual." Even I could hear that slight snap in my tone. Instead of it pissing him off, though, he smiled.

"If I wanted to be casual with you, April, we wouldn't be sitting here," he said, indicating the diner around us. Interesting. Clearly he didn't ask many girls to dinner then.

"You know what I mean," I blushed. "All I'm saying is, I'm not expecting you to put a label on it, ok?"

"Ok," he smiled, nodding.

There were no more awkward conversations as we ate. We chatted about Andy and funny things I had caught him doing, growing up. In turn, Coco talked about things he had done with the guys when they weren't on club business. I think, for once, he appreciated not having to filter stuff out. I knew the life and what it entailed. He didn't have to bullshit me in any way.

When we were done, Coco paid the bill and then we headed back out to his bike. He caught me off guard when his hand gently reached for mine, clasping our fingers together. His hand felt rough, bearing typical signs of street wear, but his touch sent a jolt straight through me.

"Do you uh, need to get back to the kid?" He asked, "Or can I take you somewhere?"

"I can be persuaded to stay out a little longer," I teased. "But it depends on where you wanna take me?"

"I can think of a few places I wanna take you, Chica," he answered, grinning wickedly. "But right now there's something we gotta do. Hop on," he instructed, handing me a helmet, as he kicked out the stand and righted his bike.

We only rode for about five minutes before reaching our destination. It looked to me like a large, metal warehouse, with a security door on the front. We approached the door, Coco grabbing my hand quite naturally this time. I never would've pegged him as a hand-holding type. Maybe he could sense my nerves.

I noticed the security cameras blink on as Coco hammered on the door.

"Yo, Pauli, open up bro," he called, looking at the camera. "It's just Coco."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a muscular guy stepped out, heavily tattooed. I froze when I saw the rifle in his hand.

"Jesus Christ, Johnny, you want me to kill you?" He asked, gesturing to the firearm. "Who's this?" He asked, lifting his chin in my direction. Charming.

"Friend of mine," Coco answered coolly. "We wanna borrow the range… that cool?" Pauli nodded.

"Knock yourself out brother, you know where everything is," he told him. "Lock up when you're done though. I'm out for the night." He tossed a set of keys to Coco, before getting in his truck and driving away without looking back. I decided I didn't want to ask where he was going with a rifle in his hand.

Coco led us through a couple of sets of double doors, before entering a room filled with weapons. Metal cages surrounded the walls, containing every firearm you could ever think of, plus a dozen more I had never seen in my life. Looking to my other side, I noticed several rows of shooting lanes, already geared up with targets. I couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh.

"You brought me to a shooting range?" I asked, shaking my head. What was he thinking? No wonder Coco hadn't had many successful dates.

"Had to," he answered, fishing through one of the cabinets as if he knew what he was looking for – which, to be fair, he probably did. "I want to make sure you know what you're doing."

"What do you mean?" I asked, hopping on to a bench to wait for him to finish ransacking the supplies. He grinned triumphantly, pulling out a sleek looking handgun, along with a box of ammo. I watched as he dumped his findings next to me, loading up the gun with bullets and then holding it out to me expectantly.

I looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, before he sighed, running his free hand through his hair. I noticed he did that whenever he felt stressed or frustrated.

"You live alone with your kid. I just wanna make sure you can look after yourself if you ever need to," He explained softly, and I couldn't help but smile. As fucking strange as this choice of a date was, the reasoning behind it was cute as hell. This wasn't about him showing off his shooting skills. It was about him wanting to protect me and Andy.

I grinned, reaching my hand out and taking the gun. It wasn't as heavy as I thought it'd be, which made me realise why he was rummaging around in the cupboards for so long. He was looking for a suitable weapon… for me.

He smiled, encouraged by my willingness to participate.

"I haven't done this in a long time," I warned him, letting him know this was likely to be a disaster.

"You've shot a gun before?" He asked, surprised. "What kind?" He led me over to the closest lane, unhooking the ear defenders and holding them out for me to put on.

"Um… a black one?" I answered sheepishly, making him shake his head. "I'm not sure. It was Esai's. He tried to teach me once, but I was pretty embarrassing. It was heavier than this."

"Probably a glock 17," he murmured, more to himself than me. "He shoulda put more thought into the weight of it. If it's too heavy, you won't be able to shoot it straight or deal with the recoil." He sounded disapproving and I smiled.

"And here I thought all you do is point and squeeze," I teased, earning a mock glare from Coco and a tap on my ass. He tilted his head towards the target, moving to stand behind me as I focused.

"Relax," he whispered in my ear. "You need to breathe when you shoot. One of the worst things you can do is hold your breath. Now, don't focus on your target as the end goal. You need to look through where you're aiming, as if the target doesn't even exist. Take a breath, relax into it, and squeeze."

I did as he instructed, not wanting to admit he was the one making it hard to concentrate when he was standing so close to me. He was patient with me, giving me little tips and encouragement as I practised. By the time half an hour had gone by, I was hitting well within my target each time. I grinned when he pulled the defenders from my ears and took the gun from my grip.

"How did I do?" I asked and he shrugged, smiling crookedly.

"Not bad. It wasn't perfect… but it also wasn't embarrassing," he said, referencing my own assessment earlier.

"I will feel better leaving you with this now," he told me, pulling out an identical gun to the one I had been using. I frowned.

"What do you mean? Doesn't this belong to the range?" I asked, confused.

"Nah. Pauli keeps some of my personal stash back here, in case my place is ever raided," he explained. "I want you to take it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, nervously. I had never owned a gun before.

"It'll make me feel better… knowing you can protect yourself. Besides, El Padrino has been talking about hooking you up with one since he met Andy. You won't hear any complaints from him," he grinned. "Just keep the safety on," he warned, as I took it and put it in my bag.

"I will… thanks for teaching me Coco," I smiled, not resisting the urge to run my hands up the front of his kutte to rest on his shoulders. He clocked on to my mood instantly, his gaze darkening with lust as he took a step towards me, pushing my back against the partition between the lanes. I tangled my fingers into his hair as I pulled him down to me, meeting his lips with a searing kiss. The tension between us had been building over the past half an hour and I couldn't resist him any longer.

He met my actions with equal enthusiasm, lifting me from the floor to pin me against the wall. I impatiently pulled his kutte from his shoulders as he trailed kisses down my neck. For once I didn't care that I was a grown woman, responsible for a 10 year old. Right now, all I knew was that I wanted him.

Coco brought his lips back to mine, our tongues fighting for dominance for a few minutes. With my legs still wrapped about his waist, he carried me over to the bench, laying me down on it. His hands made quick work of my jeans, and I gasped as his fingers finally made their way to the place I wanted to be touched the most.

"Fuck," I whimpered, as he rubbed in circles a few times before sinking 2 fingers inside me. I moaned into his mouth as he worked me over, his lips never leaving mine. Within a few seconds, I was gasping his name, as I hit my high.

"Shit," I whispered as I caught my breath, making him chuckle. He was leaning over me, his tattooed chest bare and inviting. He kissed me deeply as I explored his bare torso, before groaning when my hands dipped below the waist line of his jeans. I sat up, pulling the rest of his clothes off before pushing him down on the bench, so I was kneeling in front of him.

"Can't play too hard," he grunted, "ain't nothing to clean up with in this place."

"Who said anything about needing to clean up?" I winked before taking his tip in my mouth. He let out a loud moan as I took him all the way in, hollowing my cheeks as I began exploring him with my mouth and tongue. I knew we were acting like horny teenagers, something I hadn't done since Esai, but I didn't care. I felt alive and in the moment when I was with Coco. His fingers made their way into my hair, guiding me as I brought him closer to climax. After a few minutes, he let out a groan as he came, holding my head still to catch all he was giving out. I didn't mind, swallowing quickly, before pulling away gently. Coco had his eyes closed, leaning with his back to the wall as he captured his breath. I looked around at the mess we had made, our clothes strewn everywhere, and giggled nervously.

The sound attracted Coco's attention, who opened his eyes lazily. I was surprised when he held his hand out, pulling me into his side. He held me to him for a few moments, leaning over to kiss me on the top of my head.

"Damn, mami. I ain't had it like that in a long fucking time," he told me, making me smile.

"That makes two of us," I replied, leaning up to kiss him once more. I was relieved it wasn't awkward between us. We both stood up, collecting our clothes and getting dressed. I helped Coco put all of the equipment back where it belonged, noticing his slight frown of disappointment as he locked what looked like a sniper rifle, back into its case.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you in action one day," I told him, nodding to the gun. "I've heard you've got quite the talent." He grinned.

"I'll show you some time," he promised, before frowning again. "Though I hope you don't see me 'in action'. I'd rather you be safe." He looked away awkwardly, like he always did after admitting he cared. I smiled to myself, not pushing him any further.

We left the range, Coco locking it behind us before we both climbed on the back of his Harley. It was a short ride back to the clubhouse and, when we got there, I was surprised to find it was pretty quiet. I spotted Alvarez's road king parked next to Bishop's bike and I sighed. I guessed I wouldn't escape without seeing him, like I had hoped.

I hopped off Coco's Harley, smiling when he pulled me in for a kiss. I blushed as I heard whistling from across the lot. Turning my head, I saw Angel and EZ sitting on the steps, grinning.

"Assholes," I muttered, flipping them off, earning a crooked grin from Coco.

I walked over to the guys, embracing them both. The Reyes boys had quickly become my brothers.

"Where's Andy?" I asked, hoping they wouldn't say he was wide awake inside the clubhouse. It was pretty late.

"He passed out a couple of hours ago," EZ told me, "I laid him down in my trailer. Haven't left the lot since."

"Thanks EZ," I said, thankful that EZ had taken care of him. I trusted both the Reyes boys, but EZ gave me the impression he would be a little more responsible with kids than Angel would.

"El Padrino is inside," Angel told me, after embracing Coco as he walked up behind me. "He wants to talk to you."

"Great," I muttered, earning a chuckle from the guys.

"Will you keep an eye on Andy whilst I find out what he wants?" I asked, smiling when they all nodded. I rolled my eyes at the three of them as I walked up the steps to the clubhouse. They were already cracking jokes to each other, all lighting up.

I opened the door, surprised to find it almost dead. Marcus was sitting in the corner with Bishop, both of them nursing what looked like bourbon. They smiled when I approached, which I took as a good sign.

"Hey guys, sorry it's so late. Thanks for keeping Andy here, Bishop," I told him, embracing him as I approached.

"No worries, sweetheart. You know he's always welcome," Bishop smiled, kind as always. I had yet to see him be an authoritative Presidente, though I had no doubt it was in him. He shared blood with Alvarez, after all.

"Hey Marcus, Angel said you were looking for me?" I asked, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Despite my frustrations with Marcus, I was warming up to him, especially when he was being so good with Andy.

"I'll leave you two to it," Bishop said, sliding out of his chair and walking over to the bar. Traitor.

"Please, sit," Marcus said, indicating the chair opposite him. "I heard you went out for dinner tonight, eh? With Coco?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I knew this was coming.

"Yes, that's right," I answered, trying hard not to sound snappy. He looked at me levelly for a minute.

"I know I don't have to warn you about what comes with dating a Mayan," he said, and I sighed.

"Coco took me to dinner to thank me for giving his kid a job," I told him, quite deliberately missing out the part where I had sucked his dick not 1 hour earlier. "We're just getting to know each other."

"I doubt the dinner was a thank you, April," he said, sighing before continuing. "You're your own person, I can't tell you what to do. But I have a right to ask about choices that could affect my grandson." I bristled at that.

"And when I make a choice that affects my son, you'll be the first to know," I snapped. He raised his eyebrow at me, not appreciating my tone.

"I know what I'm doing, Marcus. I would never get into anything without thinking about Andy first, last, and everything in between," I said in a softer tone. He considered me for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Coco is a good man. Loyal. To this club… and to you, I should think, if that's what you choose," he said, surprising me.

"He took me to a shooting range," I told him, laughing when I thought back on it. "Gave me this." I pulled out the handgun I still had on me, showing it to Marcus.

"SIG P238," he whistled appreciatively. "She's a nice piece. Light, easy recoil. He made a good choice." He handed it back to me, and I nodded, putting it back in my bag. There was an awkward silence between us before he sighed.

"I didn't ask you over here to tell you not to date one of my brothers," he told me quietly.

"Then, what do you want?" I asked, suddenly feeling emotionally drained. It had been a big step, accepting Coco's invitation today. I didn't need hassle about it.

"I just wanted to say… you don't need to be alone, mija," he said gently, once again surprising me. "You've done a real good job with Alejandro. Would've made Esai proud. But you don't owe my son anything. So, if Coco will make you happy… you should pursue that."

I looked at Marcus in shock. Since seeing him again… it was like he had become a whole different person. I'd had my guard up from the start, waiting to see the old alpha male reveal himself, but this Alvarez was… assured, calm. He still controlled the respect of everyone around him, but it felt earned rather than forced through violence and fear. Looking into his eyes, I could see that he meant what he said, and not just about Coco. He was really trying to build a relationship between us, most likely for both Esai and Andy. I needed to start giving him more credit.

Without warning, my eyes filled with tears. Though I was ready to move on and not be alone anymore, it was still hard when I thought about Esai. I wondered if he would like Coco. I hoped so, though Mr Cruz was likely a little too wild for Esai's clean-cut taste. The stark difference between my two choices in men was laughable.

"No need for tears, Mija," Marcus said, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to me.

"Sorry," I apologised, dabbing at my eyes. "It's just been a long day."

"But the start of something good, I hope?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

I nodded. I hoped so, anyway.