Six Guns: Volume Two (6 page)

I nodded. “See, that’s why my father was in business with you. That’s why I want to remain in business with you.” I tapped the side of my head. “Intelligence, Bello. That makes a good business partner. That’s why you and I can make this whole thing work together. But trust—no. Trust has nothing to do with the business aspect of it.”

His mouth fell agape again. “You’re wrong. Trust is everything. You have to trust me to know I’ll show up with the merchandise on time and so forth.”

I stopped walking and this time put my hands behind my back as I faced him. “That’s something entirely different.”

“Tell me.”

I pressed my lips together into a small smile. “Responsibility is what you’re speaking of. Yes, I do think you’re responsible, Bello. I know you’ll show up and you know I’ll show up.” I glanced back at the men standing guard still near Bello’s helicopter. I pointed toward them. “But do I think you wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me dead, kill every single man with me, and leave our bodies to rot in this field?” I put my hand back down. “No, I don’t think you would. That’s what I mean when I say trust. I’m not one who’s going to be comfortable turning my back to you for very long.” My mouth curled upward again.

Bello studied me for a few moments before busting out into a fit of laughter again. “You have made a good point there, my friend.”

What a term of endearment. I was Bello’s
friend.
Somehow it sounded as though it had another meaning behind it.

“You take me by surprise, Nicky Cain.” He was still recovering from his laughter. “I think I may like you more than I did your father.”

Thank god.

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to walk into with you, Cain, but I like you. I do.” Bello patted me on the back. He then turned to point toward the helicopter. “Those are my bodyguards. They’re with me always because I—like you—trust no one. They’re my security.”

I nodded toward my cars of men. “I understand. So, are your concerns taken care of?”

He looked me in the eye. “Yes, yes. I do believe you’re going to be a huge benefit to work with, Nicky Cain. My fears are no longer there, I assure you.”

Thank fuck. I felt like I’d been holding my breath this entire time and wanted nothing more than to exhale and then lap up the air I’d been neglecting myself from during this meeting.

We walked back to our original spots. Remmy and Seton were still there, their faces stoic but their eyes revealing their own concerns about what we’d spoken about.

“Same time, same place?” Bello asked.

I nodded. “Of course. We’ll be here.”

A huge grin spread out over Bello’s face again. “As will I. As will I.” He turned toward Seton and Remmy. “Gentleman.”

They nodded toward him as he turned around and headed back in the direction of his helicopter.

“He seemed…happy,” Seton stated gruffly as we made our own way back to our vehicles.

“He’s one big happy bastard,” I commented.

Remmy’s eyebrows rose. “So it went well then?”

“Why wouldn’t it have?” I asked them nonchalantly as if I hadn’t almost just shit my pants back there. I opened up the car door and got inside. Seton and Remmy exchanged glances before climbing inside the car, too.

~~~

I saw Stan’s rickety old piece of shit car outside my driveway as I pulled in. There was no way I could hide the smile from my face knowing I had family inside my house. My mother had died. So had the father I didn’t even know I had. All I had left was Stan.

“Holy shit! Look at you!” Stan bellowed out as we rushed to one another for a brotherly embrace. “Nice clothes, man.” Stan looked up at the ceiling and around the house. “Nice pad. How the hell did you manage all this? I had no idea you were living the high life in Haven.”

Lilah stood behind Stan. She raised her eyebrows and gave me a small smirk.

“I guess you’ve been acquainted with Lilah,” I stated, patting my cousin on the back another time.

He turned toward her and grinned. “I told her she was too good for you.”

“She is,” I stated, licking my lips deliberately as I knew she was watching. Lilah chuckled as she crossed her arms in front of her. I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for being here when he got here.”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled as we all entered the living room.

“Seriously, bro, what kind of job do you got? I need in on a piece of all this,” Stan stated as he tested out the comfort of my couch.

“Funny you should say that.” I sat down across from him in an off-white leather chair. “I have some things I want to discuss with you.”

Stan kicked up his feet and placed his hands behind his head. He laughed. “What? Are you some kind of high profile drug dealer out here or something?”

I raised my eyebrows as Lilah’s stare crashed into mine. This was a defining moment. Should I ask Lilah to go fetch us some drinks so she’d leave, or let her stay? I ran my fingers through my hair. If she wanted to know the
real me,
what kind of stuff was going down, I’d let her sit here and listen. She was a big girl. She could make her own decisions. If she wanted to leave me, she was free to go. It would be better if it was all out in the open. That way I had a clear conscience when it came to her. Then again, should I let her know my business? She wasn’t my wife or anything.

Fuck it.

I made a decision.

“My father was the head of a mob group here in Haven. He was a very powerful man. He’s dead now and has left an empire to me,” I said, sitting back and awaiting Stan’s reaction.

He didn’t say anything for a moment as if assessing if I was joking or not. His eyes shifted from Lilah to me. “What?” He sat forward on the couch, his hands going between his knees as he studied me. “You serious? I thought your father was some loser your mom dated a long time ago.”

“So did I. She hid the truth from me to protect me,” I explained.

Lilah shifted in her position on the couch near Stan. She then stood and smoothed out her skirt with her hands. “Maybe I should…”

“Stay,” I told her more as a command. “Sit.” She ran her fingertips across the material of her skirt one more time before settling back down on the couch. I returned my attention to Stan. “What do you have back in Lazerne?”

Stan laughed. “A shithole of a life.”

“Any connections whatsoever?”

“Just my dad…”

“Again, any connections whatsoever?” Everyone knew how I felt about my lowlife uncle. He had been a leech to my mother. He was the kind of person that when they came into a room, their mere presence made you sick to your stomach like you could spew everywhere. A disgusting piece of shit person. Thank god Stan was nothing like him. He must’ve taken after his mother—whoever she was.

Stan let out a nervous laugh. “No.”

I stood up then and paced back and forth in the large room for a few minutes. “Do you like what you see, Stan? Do you want a place like this to call your own? All it takes is for you to have my back and do what I ask—no questions asked. We’d be a team again just like we were as little kids, as asshole teenagers who got into a lot of trouble together.”

Stan’s brown eyes narrowed for a moment as he processed what I was telling him. “You’re serious, aren’t you, Nicky?”

I paused directly in front of him and looked him in the eye. “Dead serious.”

“If I had a place half as nice as this…” he mumbled, his eyes going to the high ceiling above him.

“How about this house?”

I heard Lilah gasp behind me but didn’t bother turning around.

“You want this one, Stan?” I asked him.

Stan left out another awkward laugh. “This house? It’s yours, Nicky. I can’t take your house.”

“I’m moving,” I told him, knowing it was also an announcement to Lilah. “My father, he had a mansion which is pretty much the gathering place for the group. I think it’s time I moved in there. This can be yours.”

“I can’t afford…”

“I’m
giving
it to you,” I assured him. “It’s a gift.”

Stan’s hands glided back and forth against the leather material of the couch. “I can’t accept this, Nicky.”

“Consider it a gift.”

“For what?”

“For being here. For being my cousin. For having my back like I know you will.”

“I’ll always have your back. You know that,” Stan told me.

“I do know that,” I replied. “Which is why I want you to have this place. Make it your own. Do whatever you want with it. It’s yours now, Stan. This house is fucking yours.”

Stan began biting on the edge of his fingernail.

I could feel Lilah’s heated stare boring into the back of my head knowing I’d just given her home over to my cousin. Didn’t matter though. This wasn’t her choice to make. She had to know that.

“I mean…” he began. “What is it you want me to do?”

“Does it matter?” I asked him. “If you get everything we never had as kids…everything we deserve to have in this life and more…does it really matter what I ask you to do?”

Again he chuckled, his eyes locked in on the seriousness of my face. “No, I guess not.”

Lilah stood up then and left the room, her high heels clicking madly on the floor.

I placed my hands behind my back and looked down at my cousin. “Look, what I really need you for is to be my eyes and ears.”

Stan gave me a bewildered look.

“You know, if you hear anything or see anything suspicious, to let me know. Lilah is opening her own clothing place downtown. I want you to be her own personal body guard and follow her everywhere. She needs protected, and I need to know she’s safe. There’s no one I trust more to get the job done than you.”

“That’s it? Just follow her around.”

“You’ll have a gun.”

“A gun?”

“Yeah. Just in case.”

Stan scratched at the back of his neck for a moment as he thought the whole thing over. “I can do that, Nicky. I can make sure Lilah’s safe.”

I felt complete relief. “Yeah? Come here, man. It’s so fucking good to see you.”

Stan stood then and shook my hand as we embraced again. “This is really mine?”

“All yours,” I told him again, my eyes going to the open door where Lilah had slipped out. Now to explain that to
her.
“Come on man,” I said, “Let me show you around your new pad.”

SIX

CROSS

“My job here is almost done.” Victoria looked around the large room that made up most of my beautiful boutique—my dream—and admired all of the work we’d put in together over the past few weeks.

The CAIN DESIGNS sign had been placed days ago, and already we had some press urging us for some details on a story they could run in the local newspapers on what type of clothing would be sold, opening day times, but mostly they seemed interested in the name I chose for the store. It was causing the kind of attention I’d been hoping it would cause. So far everything was going as planned. Opening day was right around the corner.

“I have to admit, I’ll be sad to be moving on.” Victoria’s bottom lip protruded a little bit. “I have
so
loved working with you, dear Lilah.”

I walked over and gave Victoria a hug. I’d been nervous working with such a high profile designer in the beginning, but now we’d become close friends. She was a little fake for my taste, always talking in that sweet, almost-baby tone, flashing a smile just to get the attention of someone more popular, but all in all, this had been a wonderful experience. Actually, it was a once in a lifetime experience, and one I wouldn’t have had if not for Nicky. He told me he would make my dream a reality, and he certainly did. Now I was nervous for opening day, but I tried to push that out of my mind for now and work on finishing up details.

Victoria walked to the far end of the room, her heels clicking against the elegant marble floor. “What about that door?” she asked, pointing to the far wall. “You said not to touch it, but why?”

I gave her a small smile and shrugged. “It leads to another room. Nicky told me to leave it be, that he was going to have someone come in later on and arrange things in there.”

“Nicky’s going to use it?” Victoria’s dark painted-on eyebrows rose.

I pressed my lips together for a moment. “I think he’s going to turn it into an office space for himself or something.” Really, I didn’t know what he was going to use it for, but he’d told me to let it alone, so I’d obliged. What did I care what it was used for anyway?

“Hmm…” Victoria placed a finger to her lips, her eyes still plastered to the closed door. “Interesting.” But she didn’t bother saying anything more after that. “Well, dear, I have lunch plans.” She walked back over to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Call you later?”

I nodded. “Thanks, Victoria—for everything.”

She grinned and spun abruptly on her heels before exiting the building.

I sat down at my large desk and took in the scenery. This was all
mine.
It belonged to me. What a surreal feeling. Tears came into my eyes as I thought about how last year at this time I’d been with Mark and how terrible my life had been. My, how things had drastically changed—for the better. I owed a lot to Nicky. Meeting him was the best thing to happen to me. I was now living the kind of life I’d always thought I’d deserved. I smiled as I continued to take in my surroundings before pulling over a stack of paperwork and starting to get some work done in the peace and quiet of the vacant store.

The front door buzzed sometime later, catching my attention. My head shot up in surprise to see a man dressed in a top of the line suit looking around. Shit. I should’ve locked the front door after Victoria stepped out.

Slicking back the stray strands of hair on the sides of my head, I stood and plastered on my best professional face as I rose from my desk to greet him.

“I’m sorry, I’m not open yet,” I said in a loud tone.

The man turned my way, his striking blue eyes catching me by surprise as he met my gaze. “Oh, hello.” He smiled then, showing perfect white teeth.

“Hello.” I returned the smile and walked over to him.

“I had some business downtown and the Cain Designs caught my eye. I like fine clothes.” He chuckled then. “I guess I was interested in what was going to be sold in here. I didn’t know you weren’t open yet.” He smiled again and extended out his hand. “I apologize. How rude of me. I’m Robert Simeon.”

I reached out and he took my hand in his, his fingers brushing over the top of my knuckles briefly as he stared into my eyes and then released me.

“And you are?” he asked.

I blushed. “Oh, of course. Lilah Cross.”

“Are you the owner, Lilah Cross?”

“I am. We’ll be opening next Monday. I’m just getting everything in place right now. I will also have a men’s clothing line that I think you may find appropriate for your tastes.” My eyes scanned his suit. “Looks like you dress extremely well.”

“Thank you.” His own eyes scanned over me then, making the heat rise from my neck up into my cheeks. “How come I’ve never heard of you before, Lilah Cross?”

The way he kept saying my name had me all flustered, and I wasn’t sure why. I was going to be meeting people like this all the time. Might as well start practicing getting it down pat right now. It’s not that I wasn’t a personable person; it was more that I wasn’t used to having to speak with upper class people like
this
guy.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. “Because I’m new in every aspect of the word.”

Robert glanced around again. “This place is…incredible. You must have some nice connections.”

Again, I blushed. It was like his stunning blue eyes were ravishing me as he spoke. He kept looking me up and down and then back to my face again. I was suddenly very self-conscious of what I was wearing today and wished I had put some more thought into my outfit this morning. And when was the last time I’d looked in a mirror? I’d been working diligently. What if pieces of my hair were coming undone from my messy bun?

I swallowed. “Yes, I have a few.”

Robert laughed. It was a low, raspy kind of laugh, one that sent a fluttering feeling straight to my stomach. “I’m sorry again for barging in like this. But then again, I’m glad I caught you alone. I’m sure this place is going to be a prime location for all the local celebrities. Everyone is going to be dying for your attention.”

“I don’t know about that.” I gave him another shy smile as I played with my fingers. Why was I fiddling so much? What was the matter with me? I mean, okay, he was handsome and had those eyes, but still, was it just because he screamed of coming from money that I was afraid I’d slip up and say something stupid?

“Well, I do,” he whispered, leaning in more closely. I could smell his cologne. God, it smelled so good. I found myself almost wanting to lean in for a bigger whiff. “Talent as well as beauty are two things hard to come by.”

Blush. Blush. Blush. I was sure my face was flaming red by now.

The door burst open a little more forcefully this time. I stepped back, relieved by the distraction away from this Robert Simeon—that is, until I realized who it was.

“Stan?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Nicky’s cousin. “Is everything okay?”

Stan tossed an apple up in the air and caught it again. He then bit into it nosily and grinned as he seemed completely focused on Robert. “Everything’s okay with me. Everything okay here?”

I still felt too close to Robert so I took an additional step back. I felt as if I’d been caught, and some guilt ripped through me, but I hadn’t done anything wrong. “It’s fine. Why are you here?” I questioned him, my tone turning more bitter by the second.

Nicky loved Stan, this I knew, but there was something about him that irritated me. He was a gangly sort of man with plain features. He looked rough as if the street life back in Lazerne had hardened him. And as far as brains, from what I could see, I didn’t know if he had any.

“Who’s this?” Stan asked, walking over to us and inspecting Robert further.

Robert chuckled and extended his hand to Stan who rejected it. Not the impression I’d like to make. Robert was sure to associate me with Stan’s rudeness. My embarrassment quickly turned into anger.

“Okay…” Robert took his hand back.

“A potential customer,” I spit out at Stan. “As if that’s any of your business.”

Stan took another large chunk out of the apple with his front teeth. “It is now.”

“What are you talking about?” I hissed between my teeth.

“Well, I should go,” Robert said. “Pleasure meeting you, Lilah. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again soon.” He smiled at me again.

“Yes, I hope so,” I told him, watching as he walked to the front door and left. I turned on my heels and glared at Stan who was still munching on that stupid piece of fruit and sounding like a cow. I was still pissy that I had been forced from the house as Nicky handed it right over to him the second Stan stepped foot in it. The house and all its glory had been a bargaining tool to get Stan to stay, to be a part of the mob group with Nicky. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like moving into Carmine’s mansion wasn’t an upgrade, it was, but I couldn’t shake from my mind that Carmine had been shot there. I thought about it too often actually. It made me feel uncomfortable there, especially when no one could seem to figure out who the killer was. Why hadn’t they caught the person yet? It didn’t appear that the police were doing a whole lot either. It was almost as if Nicky had told the police to back off on the investigation, but I wasn’t entirely sure. I knew things, the things Nicky told me, but I didn’t know everything. I got bits and pieces here and there. “What are you doing here, Stan?”

Even his name annoyed me.

“I guess you didn’t hear,” he remarked.

“Hear what?” I put my hands on my hips.

Stan smirked. God, I wanted to wipe that smirk from his face with my fist. “I’m your new bodyguard.”

Bodyguard?

What the hell?

“What on earth are you talking about?” I spit out.

Stan put up his hand as if in defense. “Hey, don’t get all pissed off at me. It was Nicky’s idea. Watching you is my job now.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I huffed out. “A bodyguard? This has got to be some kind of sick joke.”

“Nicky thinks you need one.” Stan raised his thick eyebrows and began chewing with his mouth wide open again.

“What the fuck for?”

Stan shrugged but continued to smirk. I had to walk away or else I was going to end up throwing a punch his way. He was obviously amused by my frustration, so I’d take it out on the real culprit.

Bodyguard?
I texted to Nicky.
Are you serious?

It took a few minutes, but he ended up texting me back.
For your own protection. Don’t take it the wrong way.

I’m being watched
.

No, others are being watched around you.

I glanced back at Stan. He was now leaning casually against one of the walls, the apple the focus of his attention

Stan looks like he’s the one who needs a bodyguard.

He’s stronger than you think. Don’t underestimate him, hun.

I gritted my teeth together. Nicky was obviously dead set on this arrangement. I would have a face-to-face conversation with him about this later. For now, I had work to do to get Cain Designs ready. I walked to the front door and locked it, not wanting any more surprises to come strolling through that door. I decided to ignore Stan’s presence. What was really lingering on my mind though was Robert Simeon and the way he’d looked at me with those beautiful blues of his…