Sparks (18 page)

“Stop it, or we won’t make it to poker,” Tomas warned.

“Stop what?” Bernie gave him an innocent look.

“Trouble.” Tomas nipped his finger, then released it.

Bernie laughed. They finished dressing and left. Tomas escorted Bernie with his palm against the small of his back through the door of Miguel and Robert’s house. They had barely cleared the doorway before they were accosted.

“Did you read the latest J. D. Robb?” Malik demanded.

“Yep. Took me ten minutes to read it. Tomas kept distracting me.” Bernie smirked.

“
Ten minutes
. You know I hate you for being able to read that fast. But I’ll like you again if you tell Harper he’s wrong. We need your memory for details. I don’t trust Bur not to side with Harper. You remember that scene….” Malik’s voice faded as he pulled Bernie with him.

“Hello to you too, Malik!” Tomas called.

Malik flapped his hand as he continued to pull Bernie over to the group that included Harper, Robert, Simon, Alex, and Bur. They joined the circle of men and started talking heatedly. Tomas rolled his eyes and went over to get a beer. Grabbing one, he leaned against the wall by Alejandro, Miguel, and Hector. He drank some of his beer.

“Look at the little fucker, acting like he owns Harper,” Ramirez growled as he came and stood beside him.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Tomas retorted.

“Just because he’s some supposed
star”—
Ramirez sneered—“doesn’t mean he can act like he’s Mr. Know-It-All.”

“Yeah. That’s your job,” Tomas said dryly.

“I don’t know why you’ve all just seemed to accept him. Just because he’s Bernie’s brother doesn’t mean shit. He isn’t much of anything since he retired. Who the hell retires at twenty-four?” Ramirez hissed.

“I’m tired of hearing you whine about Bur. He’s staying with Harper. If you have an issue, take it up with Harper or Bur,” Tomas said impatiently.

“I can’t talk to either one of them. Harper is unreasonable when I say anything. And Bur gets that little arrogant smirk that makes me want to punch him,” Ramirez snarled.

“Did I hear my name? Hey, Gerald.” Bur’s cool British accent sounded cheerful.

Ramirez glared, then stomped away. Bur snickered. Tomas raised his bottle and drank some more.

“Can I talk to you?” Bur asked.

Something in his tone made Tomas uneasy. “Sure.”

Tomas led the way as they went through the kitchen and onto the back patio. He leaned against the rail. Bur stood with his booted feet braced apart.

“I’ve found Dillard. Well, more like he’s found me. Some woman called and said he wanted to see me and Bernie,” Bur said.

“When Miguel was told to back off, he got a call from a woman too. When and where does he want to meet you?” Tomas frowned.

“Tomorrow morning at ten. Don’t know the address yet. She said she’d be back in touch with the address. Can you take us?” Bur asked.

“Like there was any doubt of that. I’m not letting you or Bernie go without me. Harper can come if you want,” Tomas said.

“Nah, that’s okay.” Bur shook his head, hunching.

“Doesn’t he know?” Tomas frowned.

“He knows I found Dillard. But… not about the other stuff. That I’m in therapy. There’s no reason for him to know.” Bur shrugged.

“Harper’s a good listener.”

“He doesn’t need my shit.” Bur lowered his gaze.

In his doing that, Tomas saw Bernie. His heart softened. Bur reminded him of himself—arrogant and opinionated. In the last few weeks, Tomas had seen that Bur genuinely cared about Harper, and they had developed a close friendship. Bur was the one who convinced Harper to come to the poker games and hang out with the guys again. He’d fixed the rift between Malik and Harper by getting Harper to stop pushing Malik away and finally talk with him. He’d even put up with Ramirez being an ass. Well… he’d taunted Ramirez, but when Harper was ready to cut Ramirez out of his life, Bur had convinced him not to. Tomas knew this because he’d seen Bur do it. It had shocked the hell out of him. But Bernie had explained that Bur wanted what made Harper happy.

“Maybe someday you’ll think differently. I’m a good listener too.” He put his hand on Bur’s shoulder and squeezed.

Bur glanced at him, shocked. “Why would you want to listen to me?”

“You’re Bernie’s brother. And although you’re sort of a jerk, I like that. Don’t let that go to your head. I still want to kick your ass half the time,” Tomas grumbled.

“I feel the same way too. Yet the fantasies of my kicking your ass fill my dreams. I get all giddy with it.” Bur laughed.

“We’ll have to compare them sometime.” Tomas chuckled.

Bur sobered and then said, “Do you think Dillard hates me? Us?”

“Even if he does, you and Bernie have each other. And my family is there for you both. The men inside the house are your friends. They’ll be there for you all too.” Tomas gripped his shoulder.

“Even Ramirez?” Bur smiled, a devilish curl of his lips.

“Even him. Although he might act like a bear about Harper, he’s someone who will help you if you need it.”

“Hmmm… that’s good to know.” Bur looked contemplative.

The sound of footsteps made Tomas look up.

“What’s going on?” Bernie looked suspicious.

Bur glanced at Tomas with apprehension.

“Come here, honey
,
” Tomas said, opening his arms.

“Oh boy. This must not be good,” Bernie said, coming over to him.

Bur stood behind Bernie, and Tomas saw the unease in Bernie’s gaze.

“We’ve found Dillard,” Tomas said gently.

Bernie stiffened. “Is he dead?”

Tomas studied the lines of strain on Bernie’s features. When he had told Bernie and Bur about the woman and the message from Dillard, Bernie had seemed to accept it. Bur, on the other hand, had hired investigators to find Dillard. With each report of no leads, Bur had become more determined to find something, but Bernie had started to lose hope of finding Dillard. Even though Tomas had told him often that it would be fine, Bernie had convinced himself the worst had happened.   

“No. He wants to see us tomorrow,” Bur said softly.

“Do you think he hates us?” Bernie turned to Bur.

Bur hugged him tightly and said, “As a certain smart-ass pointed out, even if he does, we have family.”

“Tomas is smart, and an ass.” Bernie chuckled.

“Hey. I resemble that remark,” Tomas quipped.

“At least you admit it,” Bernie said.

“No matter what happens tomorrow, you have me. You both do.” Tomas hugged Bernie, pulling Bur in with him.

They snuggled into his side.

T
HE
next day, Tomas glanced at Bernie sitting in the passenger side of the vehicle. Bernie was sitting quietly, staring at the passing scenery. He had been very withdrawn since they had told him about Dillard wanting to see them. A hand appeared beside his shoulder. Without looking at Bur sitting in the backseat, Tomas took the paper with the address from him. He read the address.

Frowning, Tomas said, “I know that address.”

Bernie looked at him sharply. “You do?”

“Yeah.” Tomas gritted his teeth.

“How?” Bur demanded from the back seat.

“We did their landscaping a few months ago.” He drove to the address.

Tomas got out of the car and joined Bernie and Bur, facing the house. The landscaping job he had done on the challenging house looked good. It had turned out even better than the plans he had come up with. They walked up the driveway, then up the slight incline to the steps to the door. As they reached it, it opened.

“Nice to see you again, Tomas. And you must be Bernie and Wilbur. Come in,” Megan said, gesturing.

“What the hell is going on?” Tomas glared at her.

Megan was unfazed. “If you’ll come this way, it will be explained.”

Megan stepped back into the house and walked away. They followed her. Tomas clenched and unclenched his fist. Bernie put his hand over it, and Tomas laced his fingers with Bernie’s. Megan stopped in a doorway. Entering, they didn’t see anyone. A sound made them glance to the left. A glass door slid open, and a figure stepped in from outside. The lanky man strolled toward them in a relaxed gait. He was in jeans and a T-shirt, yet a feeling of power was in his carriage. When he was close, the man pushed back the shades holding back his shaggy brown hair. The features were identical to Bernie’s, but those pale green eyes were shrewd, not missing anything.

“Tomas, it’s good to see you again,” Dillard said.

“We’ve never met, Dillard. Or is it Del?” Tomas glanced at Megan.

“He prefers Del.” She smiled a small grin.

“We’ve met a few times,” Del replied.

Tomas studied the man. “I don’t remember meeting you.”

Bernie’s hand was tight on his. Tomas squeezed his hand gently. Del looked down at their clasped hands, then back at his face.

“Think of a gangly kid asking lots of questions about seven years ago.” Del’s smile was smug.

Tomas studied him, eyes narrowed. A tickling of a memory came to him.

“The sponge,” Tomas said.

“Yep. I learned a lot that summer.” Del laughed.

Tomas explained to Bernie and Bur. “It was when we did Jerrod’s property about seven years ago. He was always going away on business. One time, he came back with this really skinny beanpole. Shy thing, until Jerrod got him working with us. Then he wouldn’t shut up asking questions. He remembered everything we said. Hell, even came back some days after doing research on the Internet. Kept us on our toes with what he knew.” Tomas looked back at Del. “How’d you know about Bernie? You used Jerrod to have us take the job. What? Were you trying to get close to Bernie?”

“No one uses Jerrod. Jerrod is the one who came to me, about a year ago, demanding to know why I hadn’t told him I had a twin brother. I told him I was a triplet, and asked how he’d known about my brother. He filled me in on this man he met through Tomas—a good friend. I couldn’t believe it. After all these years.” Del shook his head.

“Why didn’t you just come to me?” Bernie asked softly.

Tomas held his trembling hand tighter.

“You weren’t even supposed to know I was here. Except, as usual, the mid-bro couldn’t keep out of things. Had to keep digging. You just had to ride in and stir things up, right, Wilbur?” Del sighed.

“Then you shouldn’t have sent me the letter, you manipulative fucker,” Bur replied.

Tomas looked at him in shock.

“It had to be him,” Bur said. “He always liked to control shit. This is just like when we were kids. He’d find a way to make things his way and convince you that was what you wanted all the time.”

“I don’t do that anymore, except when it comes to my business dealings. And I’m not the one who had to come in boots stomping, inserting himself and handing out money.” Del’s tone was mild.

“So how much money did you set aside for us?” Bur’s tone was snide.

“This isn’t about me.” Del’s tone was still mild.

“Always your response,” Bur said.

“Brat.”

“Whiner.” Bur sneered.

Bernie pulled Tomas back and led him into the hall. “I need to talk with them alone. Pull the big-brother card. They tend to bicker.” Bernie glanced at Megan. “Is there somewhere he can wait for us?”

“Yes,” Megan said.

“Are you sure?” Tomas cupped his cheek.

“I am.
Te amo
,” Bernie said, kissing him softly.

“Okay. Come find me if you need me.” Tomas didn’t want to leave him, but it was Bernie’s choice.

“It’s okay.” Bernie squeezed his hand.

Megan walked away. He followed her, glancing back at Bernie. Bernie smiled at him, then went back toward the living room, where Bur and Del were still bickering. Megan led Tomas to the back patio. She sat, and Tomas took the chair across from her.

“I don’t appreciate being used,” Tomas growled.

“I don’t give a fuck what you feel.” Megan’s tone was cool.

“If Del is planning to fuck with them, I don’t care who he is. I will bury him.” Tomas leaned his elbows on the table.

“Better men than you have tried. And all failed.” Megan sounded snotty.

“He must be paying you a lot to instill such loyalty,” Tomas sneered.

“He doesn’t have to pay me.”

“You’re his assistant.”

“He’s retired, leaving me the CEO of his holdings,” Megan said flatly.

“So the assistant thing was a ruse too. You people—”

“What? I needed to make sure you were the right man for Bernie.”

Tomas sat back in shock. “Excuse me?”

“Despite what you think, Tomas, Del has his brother’s best interest at heart. And he wanted to see what sort of man his brother was involved with. It just happened to work out that your company is the best landscaper in the area, which gave me an opportunity to work with you. To get a feel and see the sort of person you were up close. If I felt you were not right for Bernie, I would have told Del.”

“And what the hell could he have done?”

“He would have ruined your business and reputation until no one would give you work. Then those of your family. And that’s only for starters. It’s a good thing you’re a good man. And before you ask, no, he is not a criminal. He’s just a very powerful man who you don’t want to fuck with.” Megan smiled viciously, stood, and went into the house.

Tomas breathed out. “I hope Bernie is okay.”

B
ERNIE
leaned in the doorway as his brothers traded barbs. His heart ached with how familiar it was. Bur provoked, and Del was calm. Bernie went over to them. He gripped the back of each of their heads and squeezed.

“Knock it off,” he said affectionately.

Del glanced at him cautiously. Bernie released Bur and pulled Del into his arms. Bur’s hands slid over Bernie’s, caging Del between them. He was stiff, not returning the hug. Then suddenly, Del shuddered.

“You don’t hate me, Bernie?” Del’s voice sounded lost.

“I could never hate you,” Bernie said.

“You should. I left you there.” Guilt colored Del’s tone.

“You did what you had to do. I didn’t protect you,” Bernie said softly.

“I hope therapy gets you over that guilt,” Del said.