Loving a Bad Boy (20 page)

Julio wondered what was going on as he
placed the dishes on the countertop, fully prepared to
eavesdrop.

Eyebrows furrowed, she glanced at him and
then looked down at the countertop. “Okay. I can arrange that. And
no, she has no next of kin. None that have shown up in the past
four years that I’ve been here anyway,” she said with a distinctive
bite in her tone.

Surprised at her level of involvement with a
neighbor, Julio crossed his arms and leaned against the counter to
see how this played out. Something told him that Pam would get
whatever she thought she needed for Mrs. O.

“
You’re her social worker,
authorize it. Get someone to stay with her a few days until she can
function on her own again.” She picked up a fork from the tray and
then slammed it down. “Don’t Pam me, Belinda. You can do this. She
has no one. If she comes home and something happens to her while I
am at work, things will get real ugly. You have my professional
opinion that she should not be alone.” She paused and frowned.
“Hell yeah I’ll put it in writing. And I’ll interview the person.”
She laughed although it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m busy too, but
we have to make time for those that can’t do things themselves.”
She nodded. “Call me when you set things up and I’ll start
interviewing them today.” She hung up and released a deep breath.
He expected her to start cursing.

Instead she moved to the sink, placed her
hands on the countertop and dropped her head. “You didn’t have to
bring those in here, I planned to get them later,” she said without
looking at him.

“
I just thought I’d help.
Mrs. O alright?” He thought he heard a sniffle.

She nodded. “Yeah, she’ll be home
tomorrow.”

“
You don’t want her to be
alone.” He wasn’t about to pretend he hadn’t been
listening.

“
She’s sick and can’t do
for herself. I don’t have a lot of time off, and have plans to
leave town. At any rate when I return to work I can’t take care of
her.”

“
Want me to hire someone?”
After all Pam had done for him that was the least he could do and
it’d make him feel a whole lot better.

She shook her head. “She won’t allow it.
I’ve tried many times, but she’s too proud. Besides there is
something else I want you to do for me.” She waved him off and
failed to see the flash of surprise that crossed his face.

“
We’ll talk about it
later, after I get Mrs. O settled and you get Tex squared away.”
She looked at him and he was struck mute by the pain in her gaze.
Whatever was bothering her had to be more than Mrs. O.

Without thinking he walked forward and
embraced her. He knew it’d been the right thing to do when she
clung to him briefly before stepping back. “Whenever you’re ready
to talk, let me know. Whatever you need, you’ve got it,” he said,
before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

She nodded against his chest but didn’t
speak.

“
I mean it, Pam. Come to
me if you have a problem. I’m good at figuring solutions.” In his
mind, most knots could be unraveled with proper knowledge and time.
He built his reputation in the Cartel on the premise of defining
the problem correctly and then searching for a solution. His last
name and methodology helped him climb to the upper ranks within
three years. He was very confident this was one thing he could do
for her.

Chapter 12

Julio’s stepfather had cautioned him to
reasonably gather as much information as possible before resorting
to force or violence. He’d give it a try before resorting to
Francisco’s preferred method of straight-up torture. Although
Gerald and Francisco lifestyle views varied greatly, both his
mentors agreed violence was sometimes necessary.

Julio glanced at his watch while listening
to the report from Andre, one of Roberto’s men. The tall, lanky man
wore his salt and pepper colored hair in a long greasy-looking
ponytail. His dark tee-shirt and jeans looked worn, almost
threadbare. His inability to remain still, and the way he checked
out every nook and cranny of the room put a bad taste in Julio’s
mouth. This was a man who knew more than he was telling.

That pissed Julio off more. His boy was laid
up with a bullet hole and these suckers couldn’t get their shit
together. Fingers itching, he forced down the urge to punch the man
in the gut. It was too soon. Hopefully, this idiot would say or do
something stupid. Julio calmed himself with the knowledge that most
arrogant suckers, like Andre, usually messed up. Poised to listen
more carefully, his gaze landed on the pockmarks on the man’s
face.

“
The normal safeguards
were in place during the transfer. Every man on the team had been
vetted, and had worked for us before. There was no reason to
suspect anyone of foul play,” Andre said, his tone that of a man
who had carefully structured his responses.

Julio sat forward in his chair and steepled
his fingers beneath his chin. “Then how do you explain the missing
guns?” He asked in a calm tone.

“
I…I have no idea. I’m
just saying—”

Julio’s fist hit a nearby
wooden accent table. “No, you are making excuses for your team. A
half million dollars' worth of guns and ammo does not simply
vanish! And you tell me no one on this
vetted
team saw or knows anything to
help find the shipment. Fuck you! I will personally destroy each
and every person that worked this detail.” He leaned forward,
watching trails of sweat drip from Andre’s pinched face. Julio’s
lips curled as he released the next words with whipcord precision.
“And that includes you.”

The man swallowed hard and backed up. “I
have done nothing other than follow the instructions—”

“
A half million dollars!”
Julio yelled as he jumped up from his seat. “Somebody screwed up
and a half-fucking million dollars is gone.” Eyes narrowed, he
lowered his voice. “You want to tell me again you were following
instructions when a half million dollars was taken from beneath
your nose?” He flung off his jacket so his holstered gun could be
seen clearly. Pointing at the pale, quaking man in front of him, he
asked in a silky voice filled with a dark promise of menace, “What
happened with this last shipment? Think hard before you answer,
your life will depend on it.”

“
Mr. Cardenas, I
swear…”

“
Don’t!” Julio raised his
hand, cutting him off. “Just tell it to me again. Every detail, no
matter how small. It may be important.”

Andre swallowed so hard, his body shook. “We
looked for Ghost.”

Julio turned suddenly.
“What?” Out the corner of his eyes, Julio watched as Roberto
slumped in the chair and Carlos closed his eyes.
“
Ghost
?”
Something told him things were about to get interesting. He
unholstered his gun and held it in his right hand. “Tell me about
Ghost.”

Andre’s head swiveled between Roberto and
Carlos. Neither man spoke. In a flash, Julio raised the gun and
fired above Andre’s shoulder. The tee-shirt moved as the bullet
whizzed by.

“
Oh shit!” Andre screamed
as he hit the floor.

“
My God!” Carlos yelled,
falling from his chair to the floor.

“
No!” Roberto said,
standing with his hand held out in supplication. “No. He knows
nothing—”

“
Quiet, Roberto, or the
next bullet will slam into you. Sit your ass down.” Julio’s eyes
remained on the shaking man lying on the floor in front of him. If
he could apply the right amount of pressure, he’d get the answers
he needed. Talking helped but there was definitely something to be
said about Francisco’s kick ass first method.

“
This is not—”

“
Family or not, if you say
one more word, Roberto, I will shoot you. Shut the fuck up and sit
down.” Julio’s voice rose at the end. It proved effective, Roberto
sat.

“
Stand up, Andre.” Julio
waited until the man stood. “Do you wish to see the moon tonight?”
The soft tone of his voice boomed in the quiet room.

Andre visibly trembled. “Yes, Sir.”

Julio nodded and lowered his gun. The
tension in the room was palpable. “Tell me about Ghost. Is that a
person?” he asked in a reasonable tone.

The man swallowed hard and nodded. His eyes
slid to the right. Julio fired the gun again, this time it slammed
into the hardwood floor next to Andre’s feet. The unmistakable
smell of urine filled the room. Jaw clenched, he spoke in a clipped
tone. “You look at me, and only me, when talking to me, is that
clear?”

Andre swallowed hard as he nodded. “Yes,
Sir.”

Julio waved his gun as he spoke. “So, Ghost
is a person. Why were you looking for him?” His mind raced over all
the data he and Tex had been given. Had they overlooked a file? Tex
would have said something if he had come across such an unusual
name. Had he come across something? Was Ghost the reason he was
shot?

The man’s shoulders slumped. His Adam’s
apple rose and fell before he spoke. “He was supposed to meet us
near the caves to help us reach the drop-off point.”

“
Tell me about the
drop-off point and why you needed this person.” Julio returned to
his seat and reclined crossing his legs. Two fingers from his left
hand rested on his temple and the other hand held his gun. He
refused to look at Roberto or his punk-ass son. Those bastards had
withheld this information from him and Francisco. It had cost them
time. The need for retribution rode him hard. His hand tightened on
his gun. His boy was down. And these smug assholes had been sitting
on vital intel.

“
The Cartel owns a few
islands off the Bahamian coast where some of the weapons are
stashed. Once we are notified the weapons have arrived, we go in
and pick them up. Sometimes the caves are hard to navigate and we
need help taking the merchandise from the island. To make sure we
don’t tear up the boat, we use Ghost to find the way in and out of
the caves. He knows every cave on all the islands.”

“
From what I hear, there’s
not much to the uninhabited islands. I thought they were too
shallow or something. How can the Cartel store anything out there?”
It didn’t make sense.

Andre shrugged. “Maybe that’s what’s being
told to everyone to keep people away. But the Cartel’s islands have
serious storage capacity and top of the line security. No one has
ever stolen anything from those facilities.”

“
Once the merchandise
leaves, it becomes vulnerable, is that it?” Julio asked,
intrigued.

Andre nodded and wisely remained silent.

Julio’s mind raced. So there was another
party involved in this game. If this was the norm, then Francisco
would know about Ghost. But why hadn’t he mentioned it to him?
“Ghost didn’t appear?”

Andre shook his head. “No. We waited for a
while, but no one showed up.”

Julio nodded.
Ghost
. Tex would be
searching for a ghost. “This Ghost, where does he live?”

Andre shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never
seen or heard him talk. He appears in the dark with light signals,
and we follow.”

Julio glanced at a very pale Roberto. The
man’s eyes were glued to his desk. Julio’s gaze slid to Carlos and
clashed. Carlo’s cheek clenched and unclenched. Julio continued
staring until the other man turned away.

“
Basically, a half million
dollar shipment was entrusted to someone you don’t know, have never
seen, and aren’t sure can speak. Is that what you’re telling me?”
Julio deliberately struck an incredulous tone.

Andre stared at him, hapless. “Yes.”

For a moment, no one spoke. The hush in the
room grew heavy as Julio filled in blanks and discarded useless
information. When he had a clearer picture of the operation in his
mind, he spoke. “Continue. Tell me everything that happened after
that.”

While Andre retold the story for the fourth
time, Julio sat still, wondering how much information his godfather
and Roberto had kept from him. There’s no way Francisco didn’t know
about this Ghost. No one had mentioned this aspect of the
operation, and he wanted to know why. It took him a few moments to
realize Andre had stopped talking. The only way to get the rest of
his questions answered was to talk with Francisco. Julio stood,
grabbed his jacket and phone. “Andre clean yourself up and go find
Grimes. Get a bite to eat.” The quickness in which the man left the
room would have been funny if the situation hadn’t been so dire.
“Carlos, excuse yourself. I need to talk with Roberto.”

Julio turned toward the older man, ignoring
his son. Just as Julio expected, Carlos didn’t use the good sense
he’d been born with, and started talking. “I demand to know what
you plan to do—”

Julio whipped his gun up and pointed it at
Carlos. Roberto pulled a gun and pointed it at Julio. Fast and
heavy breathing punctuated the air.

Julio spoke between clenched teeth. “You
demand nothing from me. This is Cartel business. I’m the
mutha-fucking top dog in this room and if I drop your ass, no one
will pick it up. Roberto, either use it or put it down. If you
don’t drop it immediately, I will shoot his ass, and let you and
Francisco work out the details.”

Roberto’s arm fell to his side as he spoke
to his son. “Leave, Carlos. Don’t talk, just leave.”

A myriad of expressions crossed Carlos'
face. Hatred, anger, fear, and then resignation. The younger man
stood abruptly and left the room, closing the door with a dignified
click.

Julio spun on Roberto, the gun still in his
grip. “I saw no files on a Ghost. You were supposed to give me
everything on anyone connected to this case.”