Chapter TWENTY-THREE
“WHAT THE HELL are you doing?” Luke asked when he stepped up to the car.
“I’m driving,” Roberto said. “You drove the whole way here.”
“It’s my car, a*shole. Get out.”
“No can do. The reason Cruz wanted me here was to make sure the drop sight was cop-free. I want to drive around before the deal goes down.”
“Then tell me where to go,” Luke snapped.
“If I’m giving directions, I’m not focusing.”
The big goon’s crooked nose reddened with obvious blood pressure. Roberto didn’t care. Behind the wheel, he had more control. He’d rather take on Luke than the Louisiana police. Although, Luke would probably be willing to kill him a lot quicker. Risky? Yes. But he wasn’t walking away from his chance at DeLuna.
“Get in.” When the man didn’t budge, Roberto added, “I swear if this goes down wrong, I’m gonna tell Cruz and the Boss that you stopped me from doing my job. If you think what Cruz plans on doing to Brad’s bad, imagine what he’ll do to you.”
Luke fisted his fat hands as if wanting to yank Roberto through the window. Then the goon huffed and moved around to the other side of the car.
One problem solved. Now all he had to do was figure out if the cops were really at the drop site. And if they were, he had to convince Luke to call off the drop. While the deal wouldn’t go down, they wouldn’t be handing over more of DeLuna’s powder product to the cops. Of course, Roberto would need proof that the deal had been compromised.
No easy task, considering he had less than an hour. But if successful, this might work in his favor. Cruz would trust him. The closer he got to Cruz, the closer he got to DeLuna. The sooner he could walk away from this seedy life. Maybe he could start over again. Give life another try.
An image of Sara filled his head. He pushed it away. “How’s this supposed to go down?” he asked as Luke dropped into the car.
When the man didn’t answer, Roberto hit the steering wheel with his palm. “Talk, or I call Cruz and tell him you’re not working with me.”
“We sit out front of the coffee shop a block off Bourbon Street,” he said. “One of us wears a red baseball hat. I got it in the trunk. They find us, show us the dough, and we show the powder. We switch off.”
Not if the cops were watching. “Have you met these guys before?” Roberto asked.
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
Roberto gripped the steering wheel as an idea formed. He needed help. And he knew the perfect person.
“You’re a good boy.” Leah set Spooky on the examining table.
No threatening phone calls. No wine headache, and a shot of caffeine. Even with the poor night of sleep, and after glancing at her office’s shrinking bank account, it felt like a good day. She was being optimistic, both about her decision to talk with Eric Taylor, the new vet in town, and about her half brother. But she hoped Rafael had realized he was wrong about Luis’s involvement and had moved on.
“You used it, didn’t you?”
Leah glanced up at Sara. “Used what?”
“Your purple friend.”
“No.” Leah chuckled.
Sara pointed a finger at Leah. “You sure? Because you’re smiling, and that’s not been the norm lately.”
Yeah, Leah had hit a rough patch. But things were looking up. “Positive.”
“What are you doing?” Sara moved in.
“Giving this guy his shots. Tonight, I’m delivering him to his new owner.” She’d thought about it driving here. He bought her coffee; she’d bring him a cat. Seemed like a fair trade.
“He agreed to take him?”
“Not yet, but I’ll persuade him.”
“How?” Sara wiggled her eyebrows.
“I’ll get creative,” Leah teased. She gave Spooky a scratch behind the ear and reached for the needle.
Sara moved in and held the docile cat. “You’re going to start seeing him, aren’t you?”
The question had played on her mind all morning, but hearing it aloud caused an emotional knee jerk. “Maybe.” She dropped the syringe in a metal pan. “I might regret it.”
“Or you might not.” Sara bumped her shoulder. “Go for it.”
Leah inhaled. “It happened so fast. Five days ago, if you’d told me I was planning to let some guy into my life, I’d have asked what you were smoking.”
“Love at first sight,” Sara said.
Leah shook her head. “It doesn’t exist. Lust at first sight, maybe.”
“But according to the experts, that’s a good start. Studies show that within three minutes a person recognizes a possible mate.” She tapped her nose. “Have you smelled his armpits?”
Leah laughed. “No.”
“You should. If his pits smell good, he might be your man.” When Leah continued to giggle, Sara said, “I’m serious. Google it. You’ll see. Good armpit smell means, come on, baby. Bad armpit smell… back away from the merchandise.”
Leah gasped. “Okay, what have you been smoking?”
Sara scratched Spooky behind his ear. “I’m not making this up. I sniffed Spooky’s rescuer’s arm pit.”
Leah rolled her eyes. “You did not.”
“That’s why I agreed to have lunch with him.”
“What did you do? Raise his arm, bury your nose in his pit, and say, ‘Okay, lunch is on’?”
Sara laughed. “No. It was an accident. I was putting some old files up in one of the high cabinets and he came up behind me to help. I didn’t know he was there and I swung around, and that’s where my nose went. One sniff and I could have stayed there all day.”
Longing filled Sara’s voice.
“He hasn’t called you back yet?” Leah asked.
“No, and I don’t think he will.” She shook her head as if to shift her thoughts. “So now I need to find me another armpit to sniff.” Humor laced Sara’s voice, but disappointment still shadowed her eyes.
Leah remembered Austin giving her his shirt that day in the parking lot. She’d believed the wine had made her drunk. Could it have been his smell instead?
“Why did you tell me this?” Leah frowned. “Now, tonight all I’m going to think about is sniffing his armpits.”
“Whose armpit?” Evelyn appeared at the door. “The neighbor’s?”
“You two are incorrigible,” Leah said.
“We try.” Humor left Evelyn’s eyes. “Eric Taylor’s on the phone. He said you called him about lunch today.”
Leah’s chest ached. She’d wanted to tell both Evelyn and Sara first.
“You’re gonna sell half the business to him?” Sara asked.
“I’m talking to him.”
“I don’t think it would be a terrible thing,” Evelyn said.
“Me, either.” Sara glanced at Leah. “But I kind of like our all girls’ club.”
“Me, too,” Leah said. “I just want to hear his ideas.”
“I think he wants more.” Sara made a funny face.
“If he says all the right things, then—”
“I’m not talking business. I’m talking about your business.” Sara waved her hand in front of her boobs. “He just got a divorce.”
“Please. He’s not interested in me.”
“I don’t know,” Evelyn said. “I saw him checking you out. Actually, I saw him checking you both out. Not in a disgusting way, just a second-glance kind of way. The way a man will move his eyes past you and then come back for another eyeful. Then their eyes twinkle a bit.” Evelyn sighed. “I love that look.”
“Me, too,” Sara said.
Leah sighed. “You two are such a bad influence.” Yet Leah couldn’t deny loving that same twinkle when she’d seen it in Austin’s eyes.
Roberto knocked and stood back on the porch steps. He held the red hat and an empty briefcase in his hands, praying this was the right thing. If this went wrong, Roberto wouldn’t be able to live with himself… or die with himself. Even in the afterlife, Anna would kick his ass for getting her baby brother in trouble.
The door opened. “Friggin’ hell!” Freddie hugged him. “We thought you were dead.”
“You thought wrong.” Roberto looked back to make sure Luke hadn’t followed. He’d parked a block up and walked. He’d only told Luke that he had a plan and would be back in five minutes.
He was down to three minutes now.
“Come in.” Freddie, looking half asleep, stepped back. Was the kid still tending bar? “Where the hell have you been?”
Roberto didn’t have time for chitchat. His phone in his pocket vibrated. He knew who it was, too. He’d barely gotten away from the car when Luke called Cruz.
“Look,” Roberto said, “I don’t have time to explain. But I need you to do something. And I’m not going to lie to you. You might have the cops up your ass, but they can’t get you on anything. You won’t be doing anything illegal.”
Freddie studied him and then smiled. “This is about Anna, isn’t it? You’re still chasing that son of a bitch.”
“Where the hell did you go?” Luke waited outside the car. “Cruz’s livid.”
“He’ll be more livid if we end up losing his merchandise to the cops.”
Roberto’s phone vibrated again. He pulled it out and got into the passenger side of the sedan. He checked the number to make sure he was right about the caller.
He was.
“What the f*ck are you doing?” Cruz asked.
“You sent me here to do a job.” Roberto gripped the phone. “I’m doing it.”
“If you were doing the job, you’d be casing the diner right now!”
“That’s where we’re going!” He waved at Luke to start the car.
“What the hell are you up to, Rivera?”
“I told you I was lucky. Well, I lied. I’m more than lucky. I’m a damn psychic. And right now I sense trouble. I’ve gotten this far following my instincts, and that’s what I’m doing now. Making sure we either walk away with your money or with the Boss’s powder. Or would you prefer we get arrested and lose everything?”
“If you screw this up, I’m personally going to slit your throat. And I’ll enjoy it, too.” Cruz’s tone told Roberto he meant it.
“And what if I’m right?” By damn, Roberto hoped Brad wasn’t shitting him.
The phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Austin buried his head in the pillow. Leah? He jackknifed out of the bed, snatched his jeans from the floor, and searched his pockets for his phone.
“Hello,” he said, afraid to take the time to check the number.
“What took you so long?” Tyler asked. Frowning, Austin eyed the clock. How long had he slept?
Only two hours.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I got news. But why don’t you call me back when you can be nice.”
“Sorry,” Austin bit out. It wasn’t Tyler’s fault Austin had stayed up all night fantasizing about a petite brunette with dimples. “What you got?”
“Tony called. He ran the serial number on the gun.”
“And?”
Tyler always needed prodding to get to the point. “It’s registered to a Brad Hulk.”
Hulk. The name fit the guy who’d broke into Leah’s place.
“The man has no priors. But he works construction… in Dallas.”
“With Roberto?” Austin ran a hand through his hair.
“Not sure. His company leases out equipment and labor to construction companies. There may be a connection.”
“But it’s obvious that Hulk isn’t just some two-bit burglar,” Austin said.
“Right, but we don’t have proof that this is tied to DeLuna yet.”
Austin growled. “Did Roberto ever confirm that the construction company he works with has direct ties to DeLuna?”
“All he’d said was a few guys who worked there had ties.”
“And knowing what we know now, do you believe Roberto?” Austin asked.
“I think that guy has more secrets than a hooker in D.C.”
“Did you ask him about Brad Hulk?”
“Roberto’s gone MIA. I’ve called him a dozen times.”
“Me, too,” Austin said. His mind chewed on the info and spat out questions. “Do you have descriptions on Hulk and Cruz?”
“Do I ever let you down?” Tyler asked.
“Just tell me!”
“Hulk is white, and matches his name.”
“Let me guess. Big, but bald, right?”
“You got it.”
“It still doesn’t make sense. If Hulk’s a badass working for DeLuna, he’d know not to use his own piece, and especially an unloaded one.”
“That’s part of the puzzle,” Tyler said.
“You get a description of Cruz?” Austin asked.
“Six feet, medium build, dark hair, and light olive skin. He could be the man you said one of the employees spotted dropping off the bloody package.”
“Shit.” It looked as if all Leah’s problems were tied to DeLuna. “So is Dallas sending someone here to show the vet intern a photo lineup?”
“Yeah, Rick’s doing it.”
Rick was Ellen—their receptionist’s—husband and Dallas’s brother’s partner. Austin trusted Rick. “When?”
“Not sure. You think she’d talk to Rick?”
Austin remembered the redhead practically hitting on him. “Yeah.”
“Dallas also sent Perry, the new guy he hired to keep an eye on Luis Reece. But the kid hasn’t been home in days.”
“You should’ve asked me,” Austin said. “He’s staying at his girlfriend’s place.”
“You have a name?”
“No,” Austin said.
“By the way,” Tyler said. “Have you gotten any unwanted phone calls?”
Austin’s grip on the phone tightened. He hadn’t thought about Candy Adams since last night, and he kind of liked it that way.
“No.” He pushed that from his mind and thought about DeLuna. If he was directly involved with Leah’s issues, his odds of Leah forgiving him for lying would increase. He liked that.
Then he realized it also upped the odds of Leah getting hurt. And the a*sholes knew exactly where she was, too. What if the guy delivering the package was Cruz and he returned to her office?
Austin considered telling Leah everything, but like Tyler had said, they didn’t have proof. He might not have enough evidence to convince Leah, but it was enough for him.
“Gotta go. Call me when you have anything!” Hanging up, he dressed, then lit out the door, praying some murdering, raping son of a bitch hadn’t already gotten to her.