Julius Champion doted on his bitches with every look, touch, move, word and breath. Ty Walker was no woman but he had one who doted on him like that so he knew it felt good.
His eyes moved to his wife who was wearing a white sundress, another halter top, dress skimming her body to her hips then flaring out in a wide skirt that went down to just above her ankles, the silver, high-heeled sandals he bought her in Vegas on her feet, his diamonds at her ears, neck and wrist, her hair up in a mess at her back crown, tendrils escaping but the arrangement highlighted the bling. With her tan, the not-minimal cleavage she was showing, most of the skin of her back on display and the fabric skintight to her hips, she was, as usual, all that but a fuckuva lot more all that than normal.
Julius sauntered back, got close, grabbed his vodka rocks from where it was sitting on the island and leaned his hip on the island opposite Ty.
“I’m guessin’, since you didn’t find time to give me a brief before we went to dinner that all is good with your boy,” Ty said quietly.
He’d phoned Julius that afternoon after having lunch with Lexie and they’d had a very long conversation.
“We had a chat,” Julius replied. “He said there is no fuckin’ way they got wind he’s makin’ moves. I reminded him his job description does not include any of his movements blowing back on you and that you gave him a fuckload of cake to perform these duties to your satisfaction. He reminded me he is not a fan of any cop but that he’s had his own run in with the local boys, knows what was done to you, has got a skin tone where he gives a shit and he appreciates the pay but likes the work and would in no way fuck this for you. I don’t know him but for this job but the man who gave me his name is solid, I trust him, he knows why I need this and it would shock the piss outta me he steered me wrong.”
Ty looked to his friend and summed it up. “So we’re good.”
Julius caught Ty’s eyes, smiled and nodded. “We’re good.”
This meant CPD were scrambling.
This was good and it was bad. He liked that they were scared, he liked that they were so scared the plays they were making were huge and stupid and he couldn’t say, after thinking on it, that he didn’t get something out of watching them turn on their own.
But he didn’t like to think of where that scared would take them if they set their sights outside the inner circle.
Ty looked back at the two women who had been standing at the railing, drinking, talking and looking at the view. Now they were folding their long bodies into the loveseat to focus on drinking and talking.
As he watched, suddenly they both burst out laughing.
Ty smiled then, without taking his eyes off the women, said to Julius, “And the phone call that took you away at dinner?”
Julius replied immediately.
“I say this and I say this so you know I do not mind it. Colorado ain’t a hard place to be, Anana’s lovin’ this trip and I’d go down for you. But I cannot risk a trip to Dallas after haulin’ my ass out here twice.”
“Understandable,” Ty muttered.
“Not done,” Julius said and, hearing his tone, Ty looked to him then Ty read him. He’d seen that look before, not often, but he’d seen it and when he’d seen it was any time Julius spoke about the man he killed, a man who he did not pray to God for forgiveness for killing, a man he was not only glad was dead but glad he got to make him that way and he felt this because he loved his sister. And what he said next was because he loved Ty.
“Made a couple of calls. Lexie is not unknown after her time with Rodriguez. What she was known as was untouchable. The minute her foot stepped over the Dallas city limits, Shift got word, thought you got shot of her and she was fair game. He was dickin’ with her and bidin’ his time. Since Rodriguez hit the cement without his face, Shift knew what he was gonna do with Lexie and he figured at her return the time was right.” Julius’s eyes started to burn when he said low, “So, no. You mistake me, Walk. I am done with him which means he is done.”
Ty pushed away from the counter, turned to his brother and murmured, “Champ –”
Julius shook his head. “Got a man on it already.”
“He ordered the hit on Rodriguez,” Ty told him something he had not shared and Julius blinked.
“They were brothers,” Julius whispered, shocked and now even more pissed because Julius had a number of rules he lived by and the one at the top, right under taking care of your family, was never turning on a brother.