Loving a Bad Boy (21 page)

Roberto dropped into his chair after
releasing a long sigh. “I know. But we thought it better to keep
him out of it for now. There is another matter we are dealing with
him on, and it is very touchy.”

Julio rolled the response over in his mind
and came to one conclusion. “Francisco makes the 'we?'”

Robert’s eyes flickered.

His fingers tightened on the weapon. “I
asked you a question. You and Francisco decided to keep Ghost’s
files from me?”

“
No…no, you don’t
understand.” He threw up his hands, and mopped his forehead with a
handkerchief he had pulled from his coat pocket. “There are
no
files on him. He is
an old contact, one I inherited when I took over munitions from
Francisco. Even I have never met him.” He leaned back and closed
his eyes. “I have spoken to him twice in ten years, but he has
never spoken to me. He does operate like a ghost. A ghost with a
lot of power and clout. I am told no one works the waters between
South America and the States without his approval. We tried to find
him once but no one…not one person on any of the islands would talk
to us. He commands their loyalty and respect.”

Loyalty and respect was not something money
bought. Julio replaced his gun in the holster as he continued to
listen intently. Roberto probably didn’t recognize the undercurrent
of respect in his voice and posture as he relayed his interaction
with Ghost. No matter what his cousin said, he admired this
invisible man.

“
How does he know when to
show up? How does he get paid? Where is the money trail?” Julio
paused as the answer came to him. “He’s not in any books is
he?”

Roberto shook his head. “No. We deal with
him differently. There must’ve been some agreement between him and
Francisco before I got involved. Because I was given strict
instructions how to handle his account. And I have never veered
from those. When he didn’t show up, I was surprised. That never
happened before. Francisco said he would look into it. I have not
heard anything yet.”

Julio re-examined everything he’d heard.
This Ghost commanded an enterprise of locals who did his bidding in
the Bahamas. Smart. Easier to become a ghost when you could fade in
and out of the population. But was that just one or many
operations, the man oversaw? Did he run Jamaica as well? Plus the
man, he wasn’t sure why he assumed it was a male, had never botched
an operation before? Why now? Perhaps Ghost was having internal
problems, or someone in the Cartel had given out the wrong
information. One thing for certain, there had been a major
disconnect.

After pacing in silence for a few minutes,
he looked closely at Roberto. The man sat stiffly in his chair,
eyes closed.

Julio glanced at the wall clock. “It’s after
four. I’m going to try and contact Francisco, get his take on how
to proceed. Nothing happens until after you and I get back
together, understand?”

“
Nothing?” Roberto mocked
beneath his breath, but Julio heard.

“
No shipments, no plans
for shipments, no dreaming of shipments. Nothing. Nada. Is that
better?” He ignored Roberto’s scowl of disgust. The older man
didn’t reply, he simply turned away in his chair, offering Julio
his profile.

Since there was no more to be done today, he
strode to the door, opened it, and walked out.

“
Oh, excuse me,” Maria
said, side-stepping him neatly while wrapping her arms around her
waist.

“
No problem,” he said as
he stopped to allow her to pass. For a moment she looked as though
she was unsure of her direction before strolling off down the
hall.

She stopped and turned toward him. “By the
way, I enjoyed dinner with your mother when she was in town. She is
so nice. I hope she’ll be visiting us again soon, maybe with your
father as well,” Maria said, her eyes glowing with warmth.

Julio hesitated in his searched for Carlos,
fully intending to give him the same warning he’d given Roberto.
But saw no signs of him. “Thanks, she had a blast and I’m sure
she’ll be back soon. I don’t know if Gerald will come with her,
he’s doing a lot of out of town work right now. But she did have a
great time at dinner, and I wanted to thank you for that. She and
Roberto go way back.”

She nodded, a large smile on her face. “I
could tell by all the jokes they were telling each other. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen him so…”

“
Human?” Julio
joked.

She laughed and it was a nice robust sound
that surprised him. “I was thinking happy. He seemed happy that
night. And for that, I thank you.”

“
Me?” he asked
surprised.

She nodded. “I don’t think she would’ve had
as good a time if you weren’t there. You were, she did and so did
he.” She smiled and walked off.

Amused by her twisted reasoning, Julio
simply nodded, pulled out his keys and strode out the main entry
door toward his car parked out front.

Dealing with his mentor required his A-game.
Now wasn’t the time to even think about anything but business. As
he slid into the front seat, he released a breath of frustration.
Francisco, the wily old bastard, had handicapped him. Now the
year-long assignment made sense. It would’ve taken much longer to
find out about this Ghost person if Andre hadn’t been so
scared.

Perhaps this was a test to see how Julio
would go about getting information. He released a deep breath
wondering how long Francisco would keep testing him like this.
Julio knew his mentor despised the lessons Gerald taught him
growing up and did everything within his power to negate them.

What the old man didn’t realize was Julio
pulled what he needed from various sources to handle his business.
Sure, Gerald had been the first to teach him about being a man. But
along the way Julio had picked up tidbits from people he respected,
like Mike his first probation officer, Smoke, Ross, Tex, and even
Red from the construction company where he’d worked. Francisco was
so accustomed to having his way he objected to anything he wasn’t
directly responsible for. Well, it was time for the old man to come
clean and stop limiting him with this assignment.

He started the car and drove down the long
driveway, going over what he would say, and more importantly, how
he would say it to Francisco. If he handled this right, he could
move things along faster and get back to Michigan. It was just
plain wrong to have seventy plus degree temperatures in the fall.
He pressed the gas and sped onto the street. Anticipation thrummed
through him. He needed release.

With Tex ensconced in the condo, under
constant heavy guard, and Mrs. O with a competent caregiver, he and
Pam had come to an understanding. They understood they liked the
sex between them, and got together every night.

In vivid color, a rerun of Pam in the shower
last night slid onto his mental screen. His cock hardened as the
sounds of her arousal rose in pitch as he pinched her nipples and
played with her ass. Her honest response to his rough play had set
off a fire-storm in him.

He glanced at his watch. His cock twitched
in anticipation for tonight.

Chapter 13

It had been four days since Tex’s accident,
or rather since Julio had become intimate with Pam. She never made
it to Ft. Lauderdale and had spent her time overseeing Mrs. O’s
recovery. Today was her first day back to work. He figured he’d
catch up on some work on the ride home and wasn’t paying attention
to who was in the lobby when Pete let him and Hog out in front of
the building.

“
Julio. How you doing?”
The question was asked before a bout of coughing took hold of the
older woman. When he stopped, Hog continued to the
elevator.

“
I’m good, Mrs. O. How are
you? Where’s your caregiver?”

She waved off his question with her cane as
she stopped in front of him and looked up. He noted she wore a
different style jogging suit, but it was still gray. No the most
flattering color against her splotchy complexion.

Looking up at him, she spoke abruptly. “I
need to talk to you.”

“
Why?” he wasn’t Pam and
had no fond attachment to the woman.

She released a frustrated breath. “It’s
about Pam,” she whispered gaining his attention.

“
Pam? What about
her?”

“
That’s what I want to
talk with you about.” She waved him over to a group of chairs and
pointed at one. “Move this over near this one so we can have some
privacy.”

His brow arched at her imperial command.

“
I’m old. You know I meant
to say please. Come on, let’s get this done.”

He bit back a snappy response and moved the
chair. He waved at it. “There. Is that to your satisfaction?”

She frowned at him. “You’re a smartass.
Wonder what she sees in you. Must be something I can’t see.” She
stared at his feet and then his genital area as she took her
seat.

His face warmed at her last remark. “What do
you want?” he asked as he sat.

“
I have a few concerns I
want to talk to you about. You don’t like me and that’s okay. I’m
not that fond of you either, but I think this is important. I thank
you for your time.” The sobriety of her tone and serious look she
wore surprised him.

He nodded. “Okay. What concerns you?” She’d
piqued his interest.

“
First, there are two
types of people who’re driven around with body guards. Entertainers
don’t count.”

“
Of course.”

“
Politicians or the mafia.
Are you a politician?”

Smiling, he shook his head and leaned back
in his chair thoroughly enjoying their conversation. “No.”

“
I didn’t think so, but I
had to be sure, you know. Next. You’re having sex with Pam.
Obviously she likes it because every morning she comes to see me
she’s smiling.” She tapped her chin and stared over his shoulder.
“I wonder why she didn’t like the colored boy from the elevator, he
had a nice smile. I was so sure they’d connect.”

“
What?” Julio
snapped.

“
The colored boy?” She
glanced at him frowning. “Tex I think he said his name was. Been a
month or so ago. But I thought…”

Julio’s jaw clenched but he said
nothing.

“
Anyway, I just wanted to
be sure you weren’t stringing her along. She’s colored
too.”

“
She’s black. Not
colored.”

“
If it bothers you that
she’s colored, why are you spending time with her? She could be
with that nice colored boy, Tex. I’m sure her color doesn’t bother
him.”

Julio leaned forward with his clasped hands
between his knees. “No games.” He stared at her. “You’re not crazy
and you insult my intelligence by pretending you’re too old to know
better. You’re not. Talk to me straight or I’m gone.”

She straightened. Her eyes sharpened as she
spoke. “Cartel or not, if you fuck her over it will be the last
thing you do.”

Pam had warned him that Mrs. O was an expert
on all things, at least in her own mind. He wondered what she knew
of the Cartel. He’d run a check on her when he got upstairs.

“
Your threat is noted but
you’ll have to stand in line behind a few other people to make it a
reality. Plus, I’m already fucking her.”

“
Yeah, that’s just her
body. Who doesn’t enjoy a good rump in the sack? I’m sure she’s
using you in the same way. But you haven’t touched her
heart.”

The thought of Pam using him as a booty call
didn’t sit right. But if that’s what it came down to, he’d handle
it. “What makes you think her heart’s not involved?”

A dry chuckled escaped through thin lips.
“You ever wonder why she has no friends her age, she doesn’t go
parties or clubs. Only works with people who are dying?”

He had wondered that, and nodded.

“
There’s no time to form
attachments. Emotionally she’s constipated, blocked. Doesn’t make
commitments easily. I’m a retired psychologist, I know the signs.
She feels things too deeply to let folks in, so she keeps them out.
”

Emotionally constipated?
Where does she get this stuff?
“She cares
about you,” he said remembering that time in the kitchen. Pam still
hadn’t told him what she wanted from him.

“
Yeah, I caught her at a
good time.” She chuckled. “When that girl opens her heart, it’s
forever.” She pointed a shaking bent arthritic finger at him.
“Don’t offer her something you can’t deliver. I mean
that.”

He smiled at her threat. He’d had worse.
“Humor me, Mrs. O. Do you think she’d fall for a guy like me?” The
moment he asked the question, he regretted it and stood. His job
didn’t allow a decent future with anyone. “Forget I asked.”

“
Can’t forget. You asked,”
she said to his back as he strode to the elevator to meet up with
Hog.

****

Pissed that he’d opened his mouth to the old
windbag, Julio stormed through the front door of his condo without
looking around.

“
Hey,” a familiar voice
said, bringing to him to a halt.

A smile started in his chest and manifested
on his face as he strode toward his stepdad. “When’d you get here?”
He asked in the midst of their embrace. The smell of sandalwood
teased his nostrils. The sincerity of the hug soothed him. It had
always been this way.

His dad leaned back without releasing the
grip on Julio’s arms. “Two hours ago. Your mom’s in New York,
she’ll be here tomorrow and then we’re heading to Colorado for a
couple of weeks to visit some friends, check on a few deals.” They
turned breaking the connection and headed for the kitchen.