Scandalous Heroes Box Set (116 page)

“What the…” Smoke’s mouth tightened and then he looked at Ross. “You too, this how you feel?  That sitting down at a meal with the man who saved your life and your damn livelihood would somehow put your wife and kids in danger?”

Red flinched at the reminder of what they all owed Julio. He had been too hasty.

“Yes. Pretty much,” Ross said in a low voice.

Smoke leaned forward and placed his hands flat on the table. “Let me go on the record saying this… that’s a douche move. Only a bitch with no memory would slap the face that made it possible for your wife and children to see you every night. Or did you forget about the assholes gunning for our asses?” He stepped back and pointed at them. “They stole our company name, did all kinds of trifling shit. Almost shut us down. And you sit here and say you don’t want your family in the crossfire? There would be no damn families if it were not for Julio,” he said in a tight voice.

Red nodded. “I know he’s your friend –”

“Damn right he’s my friend. I’d take a bullet for him. I’d take a bullet for both of you. That’s how I roll for my boys. I don’t judge you and get caught up in bullshit.” Smoke paused. A vein throbbed in his forehead. “Damn, now you got me wondering.”

“Wondering?” Ross asked, watching their partner carefully. Typically it took a lot for Smoke to burn or get riled, but when he did…there were usually fireworks. The man could be unpredictable.

“If I do something you don’t like or think might corrupt your family or place them in danger, would you just write me off. I mean you haven’t even said hi to the man. You don’t know if the shit you heard is true. You didn’t even give this man, your friend, the fucking benefit of the doubt.” He slapped his chest. “So…I’m wondering how you . . .” He pointed at Red and then Ross. “How you’d treat me.” He nodded repeatedly, his hot gaze pinned Red to his chair. “We been through some shit together, but seeing how you handle this, someone you owe big time, it’s got me wondering.”

Ross sat forward in his seat with his hands clasped. “You’re right. It was a douche move. I fucked up. My daughter had a dance recital the night he invited me to the first dinner and I should have accepted the invite the moment it came. I owe the man and Cherise would be pissed as all get out if she knew I hadn’t accepted.” He paused. “But you’re wrong to think I would treat you the same or differently for any reason. When you disappeared, Julio wasn’t the only friend about to tear down this city to find you. He had different resources, can’t argue that, but we did things that we all agreed we’d never discuss again. You my boy and there’s very little you could do that would change my opinion or how I would treat you. If you started fucking up, I would do exactly the same thing you are doing now, pull your ass on the carpet and talk some sense into that hard head of yours.”

Red’s heart plummeted. He’d been the one to bring all the gossip to Ross and started all of this shit. Now he had to face the bear and deal with the fallout. Things had changed. He had a nephew who probably dabbled in Julio’s world. Blaine and Donnie would kick his ass all over town if their son was targeted because of this bullshit. He needed to fix this fast before the twins came to town.

“You talking crazy, now Smoke,” Red said, running his palm across his face. “Nothing you could or would do gonna change us, we brothers. You got a problem, you in some shit, we all up in it. That’s how we roll, so cut that drama.”

“Drama?”

Red waved Smoke down. “We messed up. I messed up. Forgot stuff, important stuff. My bad, you right, it’s a douche move. I haven’t reached out to him, or welcomed him back home yet. The real reason is… I’m not sure how to do that. The Julio I know was a damn carpenter. He had a magical touch with wood, a dry sense of humor, and stayed to himself or hung with you. This Julio… is a top man in the damn mafia or cartel, same thing in my book. What do I say to him? What’s up my man, killed anybody lately?”

“Only if you want to be next,” Smoke said dryly.

Ross chuckled.

“I know, right? You gotta admit things have changed, I don’t know where the lines are with this guy, what if I cross them? I always liked him, I just never knew him that good,” Red said, trying to explain his hesitation.

Smoke straightened and shook his head. “Julio is married. Just like you and you.” He pointed at them. “He wanted to introduce you to his wife…think about that for a moment. His wife.”

Ross nodded.

Red wanted to kick his own ass for forgetting that fact. Denise would be sure to have something to say about that. “Damn, that’s deep. A man doesn’t do that for just anybody.”

“Especially in his business,” Ross said in that quiet tone of his.

“Yeah, that’s where the real insult is. He wanted his wife to meet you and yours so that she had some friends here other than Vianca, because you know my lady was there the first day, she’s just that way.”

“Denise is too,” Red said. “I haven’t told her Julio was back. She keeps saying she wants him to make her a chest of some kind. Wonder if he still does that?”

Smoke snorted. “I’m not going to feel sorry for your ass when she finds out. Vianca has the jump on her. Cherise know about the dinner invite?”

“No, not really. I knew we had other plans the first time and this time… I haven’t mentioned it yet.” Ross finished lamely.

Smoke chuckled shaking his head. “It’s going to get hot up in here soon, fellas. My lady invited yours to a small luncheon at Pam’s, Julio’s wife, in a couple of days. Any bets on what’s going to be discussed?”

Ross closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m dead.”

Red could see Denise now, her eyes would shoot bullets at him. Crazy ass would be the nicest name she would call him. He pulled out his cell and the crumpled invite from his pocket. Searching for the number to RSVP, he dialed.

“This is Benjamin O’Connor, I’d like to confirm dinner for my wife and I tomorrow night.” He met Smoke’s gaze. The man was laughing at him. Red stiffened at what he was hearing.

“Oh. Well thank you.” He removed the phone from his ear slowly and slid the invite to Ross. His partner gave him as weird look before accepting the note. Ross made the same call and wore a look of shock, which was how Red felt.

“Rescinded?” Ross said in a low voice staring at Red.

“You too?” Red released a breath, for a moment he thought Julio had targeted just him when he took back the invitation to dinner.

“Yeah. What’s going on?” Ross turned toward Smoke who stood in front of them with a slight frown.

“Our dinner invitations were rescinded, that’s what the person said on the phone. You know about that?”

Smoke snagged a chair and sat slowly. “No…nope, I had no idea.”

“What does it mean, though?” Red asked, wondering if he and Ross were on a shit list or something.

“I don’t know. Julio and I are friends, but he doesn’t tell me everything,” Smoke snapped.

No one spoke.

Red couldn’t help but feel responsible, if he hadn’t talked to Ross about his own fears, they probably wouldn’t be in this mess.

“Well, I am going to talk to Cherise tonight and come clean. Once she meets Pam and they become friends, maybe we’ll be on the next dinner invitation list. I’ll offer my apologies to him in person then.” Ross sat back in his chair, his gaze briefly touching Red’s before moving on to Smoke.

“I bet Vianca already talked to Denise, but I’ll state my case, listen to her rants for a minute, and then hope for another shot to make this up to him.” He paused. “Unless…unless I have Denise buy a wedding gift and we send it to them with a good wishes card, or something like that.” He liked the sound of that. All brides enjoyed gifts, right? His wife certainly had.

“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to Cherise.”

“Just so you know, Vianca is trying to talk Pam into having a small wedding reception here since she and Julio didn’t have a wedding ceremony. From what my lady’s been telling me, between the pressure from Julio’s mom and Pam’s aunt, she’s leaning toward the idea.”

“Julio wants to have a wedding reception? Wouldn’t that draw attention?” Red asked, wondering why the man would do that.

“Attention?” Smoke laughed. “Julio now owns Kolaris.”

Ross straightened, his eyes narrowed. “The real estate developing company that builds shopping malls and office buildings?”

Smoke nodded. “Yeah, and you would know that if you had taken a moment to contact him and congratulate him on his marriage.” He shook his head. “His attitude toward our company could make or break us in the coming years. Trust me every politician and public official will try to get invitations to that reception if they have it. Julio has a legit business and it’s well-funded.”

Red couldn’t speak or process what Smoke said. On one level, he knew organized crime covered their tracks with legitimate businesses, but he couldn’t fathom how owning a development company played into that. “I thought his wife was a nurse.”

“She is,” Smoke said, meeting his gaze.

“Why didn’t he get a business in that field?” Red asked.

Smoke shrugged. “Like I said, she’s the nurse. Julio is into building things, always has been. He’s looking into some big projects which could’ve kept our guys busy for the next few years at least. It’ll be interesting watching this play out.”

“Has he talked to you about starting a separate construction company?” Ross asked, watching Smoke.

Red hadn’t thought of that, it would be a smart move on Julio’s part.

“No. He knows I wouldn’t do that. We boys and that would be a bullshit move.” Smoke paused and tapped the table before continuing. “He’s offended. You should’ve been the first to reach out to him, you didn’t. It never occurred to me that he’d be this pissed about it, you guys were never close. And if not for Pam, I don’t think he’d give a damn. But a wife…a man looks at things differently when his woman is involved.”

“That’s true. I would be pissed if I thought someone disrespected my wife. I owe the man an apology and will be sure to do so at the first opportunity,” Ross said, sitting back in his chair.

Red nodded as he stood. “Me too.”

Smoke looked at each of them and shook his head. “Handle this with a quickness, fellas. Something tells me we need a man like Julio on our good side. Money is king out here and as long as he stays marginally clean, everybody will look the other way as long as they get paid. Here me?”

“Truth.” Red stood and headed for the door. He needed to call his wife and bring her up to date. No doubt she’d have some creative ideas on how to handle the situation. Once in the hall, his hand snaked down toward his crotch and he covered his balls. He liked where they were just fine.

Chapter 4

Belinda glanced at the address again and then back up at the mansion behind the gate. She and Pam had met years ago in Miami while working on a case together. Pam was a ferocious advocate for her hospice patients and had no problems challenging their case workers on their behalf. When she told Pam she was moving to Michigan to care for her dad, Pam had told her about her upcoming marriage and move to the area as well. They had kept in touch and were finally getting together.

“Damn, Pam, you got it like this?” she murmured as she eased her car up toward the intercom.

“Yes?” a masculine voice spoke before she could push any buttons.

Clearing her throat she spoke, “I’m having lunch with Pam.” She paused. “I’m Belinda Moore, Pam invited me to lunch,” she said in a rush. The gate opened and she was reminded of a Disney fairytale. The elegantly landscaped yard boasted of gorgeous flower beds and beautiful shade trees that she wished she knew the name of. The bricked driveway curved around a bend and she caught sight of a beautiful fountain in front of wide steps leading to a large double door. After turning off the car, she sat mesmerized by the manicured lawn and exquisite landscaping. Adam would love this, she thought as she stepped outside the car, inhaling deeply. He had taken a job with his mentor at a landscaping company, and the last few days he’d been chatting non-stop about grass and flowers.

Brushing the lint off her trousers, she hefted her purse up onto her shoulder and headed for the entry. Before she could knock, the door opened and a small gamine-looking man bowed slightly.

“Hello, Ms. Moore. This way please. Ms. Pam is waiting for you.”

“Thanks…?”

“Brooks.”

“Okay, Brooks, lead the way.” Belinda followed behind her escort, catching glimpses of artwork and elegant furnishings. They turned a corner and Pam stood there. Belinda released a breath. “Pam,” she said with feeling. “Your place is gorgeous. I was wondering who the hell I was coming to see. You married a prince or something?” she asked after they shared a quick embrace.

“Yeah, sure did,” Pam said, smiling. “He’s my prince.” She waved to a sofa. “Have a seat. I wanted you to come early, a few other ladies will be joining us, but I wanted me and you to catch up first.”

“Who? You have some friends coming for lunch?” Belinda had wondered why Pam called her last night asking her to come today; they could have easily gotten together another time.

Pam twisted the tassel on the small throw pillow. “Actually, they are the wives of some of my husband’s friends. I met one and she was a lot of fun, and if it was just her, no problem. But… I miss home, and now my aunt and Julio’s mom are pushing for us to have a wedding reception.”

Belinda sat back against the sofa and stared at Pam. “If you don’t want to do it, don’t. The Pam who bullied social services employees to get the best for her clients didn’t do things she didn’t think was right.”

Pam closed her eyes and slumped in the seat. “I don’t know if it’s right or wrong… I just don’t want to be on display, you know what I mean.”

Belinda nodded. She had never been married, but she knew how it felt to have a bunch of people staring at you, evaluating you. That had happened throughout her pregnancy. “It’s an icky feeling, you’re always nervous that you’re going to make a mistake that will forever be documented on video or file, those blasted things.”

Pam laughed as Belinda had meant her to. “I know, right? Five years from now Julio and I’ll be looking at the video and he’ll finally tell me what he really thought.”