“Sorry to bother you,” I said.
“It comes with the job,” she said. “Bao is an asshole.”
I laughed. “Yeah, he is.”
I followed Rafa back out into the street. We leaned up against the car, looking around.
“So?” he asked.
“We need another hundred grand.”
“Fuck.”
“We can take it from the steak shop.”
“Steak is all tapped out, boss,” he said.
“Pets?”
“Done too.”
“How fucking thin are we right now?”
“We’re locked up in this deal, boss.”
“Fuck,” I said. “Arturo wants to use these guns in the war, too. I’d planned on fucking flipping them.”
“Maybe we can ask him to front this?”
“I’ll float that to Lucas. You find us some money somewhere else just in case.”
“Got it, boss.”
We climbed back into the car and headed back toward the compound.
“Never did trust that Bao guy,” Rafa said.
“Shut up, Rafa.”
“Yes, boss.”
Annoyed, I looked out the window and watched the city flash by. This girl had complicated everything, way more than I could have guessed.
Back in the compound, I strolled through the hallways toward my rooms. As I drew closer to Kaley’s door, I heard the baby crying loudly from inside.
Without thinking much about it, I knocked on the door.
“Hold on,” she called out. “Coming.”
She pulled it open, looking flushed. Her face instantly dropped when she saw me.
“Expecting someone else?” I asked.
“I hoped you were Sonya. What do you want?”
“Heard the kid crying. Thought I’d check on you.”
“He’s fussy today,” she said. Alex was in her arms, crying away. She was bouncing him, trying to get him to relax.
“Need a hand?”
She eyed me, suspicious. “Why?”
“I’m trying to be fucking nice.”
“Fine. Come on.”
I stepped inside and she shut the door.
“Here,” she said. She handed me Alexei, him crying and all. “I need to use the bathroom. Just hold him for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, no,” I said. “I was thinking a back massage, maybe get you off again. Not a crying baby.”
“Just a minute.” She was already walking away toward the bathroom.
“No. Hold on.”
But she was already gone.
I looked around the room, uncomfortable as fuck.
“There, there,” I said to Alexei, rocking him slightly. “There, there. It’s okay.”
He was screaming so loudly. I couldn’t believe that anybody could live with a baby that screamed like this. What was I supposed to do with him?
“It’s okay, little guy,” I said and began to walk. “It’s okay. Vince has you. I can throw you twenty feet in the air, I bet.”
As I moved and spoke, slowly the baby’s screams got quieter.
“Yeah? You think that’s funny? I could throw you like a football, I bet.”
And after a second, he stopped.
I laughed, looking down at him. He blinked back at me with these blue eyes, just like my own.
“You like when I talk to you?” I asked. “You like to hear my voice? Shit, maybe you are my son.”
He just blinked at me.
“What do you do, anyway? Aside from screaming, crying, pooping, and eating?”
Then he smiled at me.
I felt something weird in that moment. I had felt it before, but it was a little stronger, a little more intense this time. Alex smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Oh. That’s cute as fuck,” I said.
“Don’t curse at him.”
I turned and saw Kaley. “How long were you standing there?”
She was smiling at me. “Not long. He likes you.”
I looked back down at him, and he smiled up at me, squirming around.
“He moves a lot,” I said stupidly.
“Yeah. He’s a baby.”
She sat down on the couch, sighing.
“How long was he crying?”
“Too long,” she grumbled.
I kept walking around the room, bouncing him in my arms. He seemed to like it, so I just kept doing it.
I was playing with a fucking baby, not an hour after setting up a deal with a Chinese arms dealer.
What a weird fucking morning.
Kaley was watching me with this strange look on her face. I didn’t exactly understand it. It wasn’t anger, which was what I was used to. It was more like curiosity mixed with amusement.
“What?” I asked her.
“Nothing. You just look like a natural, holding him.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I said. “I had a moment of weakness.”
She smiled. “Yeah. Your baby can do that to you.”
I looked down at Alexei, and he laughed up at me again.
“Are you my baby?” I said softly.
And then my phone started buzzing.I walked quickly over to Kaley and handed him off, opening the phone.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“It’s me,” Rafa said. “I think I got a lead on some cash.”
“That was fast. How much?”
“About half of what we need. The Latinos are looking for some smack, and we happen to have a surplus.”
I nodded. “Set it up.”
“Will do.”
I hung the phone up. Kaley smiled at me.