Loving a Bad Boy (5 page)

“
It’s just a minor
setback,” Carlos snapped, his blue eyes darkening, almost appearing
black. “There was no need to involve the board on this matter, or
to bring in someone with no experience to offer
counsel.”

Julio pulled his gun from its holster and
pointed it at Carlos. Tex pointed his at Roberto. “I don’t have to
offer counsel. I can offer resolution. You fucked up. A half
million is lost. I’m authorized to act as judge and the fucking
jury in this matter.”

“
Wait…wait,” Roberto
pleaded.

“
For?” Julio said in a
bored tone. As Francisco’s personal representative, it was within
his power to remove them permanently from the operation. He hadn’t
made up his mind yet, but there was no way he would put up with
ignorance or disrespect.

Red-faced, Roberto turned and glared at his
son. “Do not speak again unless I require it.” He spoke each word
with a decided snap.

Jaw tight, Carlos reddened beneath the
rebuke, but refrained from saying anything more.

Julio placed his gun on his knee. Francisco
wanted him to handle this situation with tact and not brute force;
somehow he didn’t think that was going to work with Carlos mouthing
off. “I thought there were people who owed us favors on the ATF.
What happened?” Julio asked, both to break the awkward silence and
to find out what happened to the mole.

Roberto sighed. “Those who are sympathetic
to us have been transferred to other parts of the country,
imprisoned, or quit. We are working to recruit others, but what can
I say?” He shrugged. “These things take time.”

Julio nodded, another part of the problem
becoming clear. “In the meantime, you have lost product, which
translates into an embarrassment when contracts remain unfulfilled,
in addition to the financial loss. You must know that is
unacceptable.” The price of failure was usually paid in blood.
Losing a half-million dollars, valuable government contacts and a
travel route would normally have Roberto’s entire family
underground by now. There was definite power in the family name.
However, there was a limit on grace. One thing Roberto was correct
on, time was of the essence. The man was living on borrowed time
whether he realized it or not.

Julio agreed with Carlos. There wasn’t a
whole lot he could do until they got the basics under control.
First and foremost, the Feds had to be neutralized, and Roberto had
dropped the ball on that score. Then, they needed to shore up
transportation so they could rebuild confidence with their
clients.

There was a lot to be done. According to
Francisco, this was his operation. But had Roberto been informed?
Probably not. Frowning, he gazed at his cousin. “How exactly do you
expect my assistance to help change this situation?”

Roberto leaned forward in his chair. His
eyes took on a fanatical gleam as he latched onto Julio’s. Like an
evangelist, Roberto laid out his plan for their salvation. “First,
I need you to look at the transport routes. They need changing or
strengthened. I care not which, as long as the merchandise can get
through. Secondly, take a good look at the paperwork. I believe
something is off, but I am not ready to call in an audit. It would
not look good. But…” He tapped his thin, hooked nose on the side.
“I can sense something, it is not right. Comprende?”

Julio nodded, and glanced
at Carlos, whose face was a nice shade of red. Something was
bothering the younger man. Something other than his father telling
him to shut up had him on edge. It would be a horrible cliché to
discover Carlos was stealing from his father.
No way would this job be that easy
.

For now, he’d leave Carlos out of the
equation and focus on the task. “Do you have the books ready for my
review?” Best to leave his cousin thinking he was still in charge.
If he needed to flex his authority, he would, but for now, there
was no reason to piss the older man off.

Roberto nodded. Deep grooves creased his
face as he rose. “Si. I have them here on the computer.” He stood
and walked to his desk. A few moments later, the computer was up
and running. “Would you care to see them now?”

Julio glanced at Tex. “Give me a few minutes
to get some things settled with my man and then I’ll take a look.
Tomorrow, I’ll need the personnel files of those working the
routes.”

Roberto frowned. “You mean you want the
route information?”

Julio stared over at him, correctly
interpreting the dismay on the older man’s features. Things were
about to get sticky. “No. I want the personnel files of anyone
who's worked the transportation routes. I’m assuming the customary
background checks were made on everybody you hired.”

Roberto waved down his question as though it
was a pesky fly. “Si, yes. I have done this. Why do you wish to
know the names and information of all the staff?” A thread of
distrust surfaced in his voice.

Julio didn’t blame him. In fact, he wouldn’t
hand over that type of confidential information to anyone he didn’t
know as well as he knew himself. Good contacts were the lifeblood
of any business. But if Roberto wanted his help to live longer,
he’d have to share the information. No way was he about to operate
in the dark.

“
The only way to match the
accounts is by knowing all the players. You have a sense something
is wrong, right?”

“
Si.”

“
I don’t. So I start from
scratch. I look at everything and everybody. That’s the only way I
can figure out what’s happening. The information can be on a secure
computer, but I will need access to everyone who has anything to do
with the operation.”

“
Even me?” Carlos asked in
a testy voice. For a moment, Julio wondered if Roberto would
reprimand his son for speaking without his permission, but wasn’t
surprised when the older man remained silent.

Especially
you
. “Yes,” Julio said, without sparing
the other man a glance. Instead, he looked at his Blackberry as
though the text Francisco had sent earlier would magically
reappear. The old man knew something was amiss. Roberto wasn’t the
only Cardenas with a second sense.

With some hesitation, Roberto agreed to
provide the files in a couple days. “Please come see the accounts,”
he said, while gesturing to the monitor on his desk.

“
In a minute.” Julio waved
Tex over. He waited until the taller man leaned down. “Pull up a
chair.” Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Carlos walked
over to the desk and began whispering in Spanish to his
father.

“
What’s up,
Boss?”

Julio’s brow rose at the serious tenor in
Tex’s voice. Had he missed something? He waited a minute to see if
Tex had anything to add. When he remained silent, Julio figured
they’d talk later. “Everything set?” He eyed the chair where Tex
had been sitting.

“
Yes.”

Julio gazed at Tex, surprised by the
abruptness of his answer. “You cool?”

Tex removed his glasses. His dark eyes
flicked to the desk and then back to Julio. “I will be.”

“
Good, because I need you
to make sure everything that was supposed to arrive for the condo
is here. I want security in place and things locked down before
nightfall.” He paused, noticing the small frown forming between
Tex’s brows. Something had Tex on edge. Rarely did the man allow
his feelings to show. “Let’s step outside,” Julio said as he stood,
and headed for the exit.

“
Julio?” Roberto called
out when they reached the door.

“
I need a few moments.
I’ll be back.” He strode out of the office and didn’t stop until
the two of them were standing outside on the front steps. Hands in
his pockets, he waited for Tex to reach the bottom step. “Talk to
me.”

Tex slid his glasses up onto his forehead.
“They are trouble. Either the older man is incompetent or he’s
playing a game. Personally, I think it’s a game and he’s setting
you up for his fuck-ups.”

He wasn’t surprised by Tex’s assessment. He
suspected Roberto knew he had one foot in the grave, despite his
family connections. “I agree. But I agreed to a year of
service.”

Tex released a stream of air before nodding.
“Okay, let’s hear what they have to say.” He and Julio walked a
distance from the car and discreetly placed ear buds in their ears.
Tex twisted some knobs on a device he had hidden in his pocket.

Within seconds they had sound.

Chapter 3

The door closed softly behind Julio.
Carlos’s fist slammed on the desk. “I don’t like this. He thinks he
is in charge,” he huffed near his father’s ear before backing away
a bit.

Roberto stepped back and looked at his son.
A wave of apprehension filled him. “He is in charge. In case you
don’t understand, he is Francisco’s right hand. Francisco worked
for his grandfather, Benito. From what I hear the old man is
grooming him to take over. The fact they sent a high ranking family
member is a courtesy and you’d better watch your mouth with
him.”

Carlos spun away. “I meant nothing.”

“
But he took offense.” He
waited a beat searching for the right words. “I have heard about
him. Do not allow his youthful appearance to fool you. He is no
street thug.”

“
He is younger than me,”
Carlos scoffed. “Besides he is new to the organization and knows
very little. Why would they send someone with no experience for a
job like this? He’s no threat.”

“
He must be skilled to do
the job, or Francisco would have sent someone else. Believe me,
losing a half million makes this a top priority. You say Julio is
no threat, but know this, he would kill you and not think about it
further, and that’s if you’re lucky.”

Carlos glanced at him over his shoulder, a
grin on his face. Roberto knew he didn’t believe him.

“
Okay, so he is a tough
guy. We’ve done nothing wrong, just bad luck…” Carlos
shrugged.

“
No. Don’t be dumb. This
last mistake was too much. The fact he is here may mean they plan
to kill us or something else. I’m telling you to watch your mouth,
do not aggravate him. I’ve heard he has taken men from prison to
carry out his vengeance.”

Carlos’s eyes widened.

Roberto exhaled hoping his son realized how
shaky the ground beneath them was.

“
That was a rumor. No one
would do that for a friend,” Carlos said with less certainty in his
voice.

Roberto chuckled humorlessly glad that his
son was aware of Julio’s reputation. “It was no rumor. He’s got his
grandfather, Benito’s balls. Not only did he have the fool removed
from prison, he did it so his friends could kill the bastard
themselves. From what I understand, there is a small pool of people
that receive his benevolence, and we are not in that pool. So keep
your damn mouth shut.”

“
If his pool of friends is
so small how come he’s helping you?”

“
Probably because his
mother and I are close.” He looked at his son. “That only brought
us time for a review. Blood won’t save us.”

“
I don’t like him,” Carlos
said in a petulant tone. “He wears expensive suits and a Rolex as
though that will impress somebody.”

“
Yet you noticed. He does
not bluster, yell or make idle threats. I am told Francisco listens
to him and for that reason alone, you should try to make friends
with him. No one will cross him if he decides to render
judgment.”

“
We’ll see,” Carlos said
in a quiet tone looking at his nails.

Weary of the conversation, Roberto waved his
comment away. “I think the feeling is mutual. Don’t let the fact
that he looks and acts like a corporate suit fool you. He is not an
enforcer, but he would have shot you earlier for the insult and
standing in the way of his job. And then his second would have
killed me.”

“
The black guy?” Carlos
looked toward the door.

“
Yeah, he’s sharp. Good
instincts. They’ve been working together for a while.” Roberto
paused, unsure how to broach the subject. “So, if there is anything
you need to clear up, you’d better do it before he starts working
on those files. If anything is there, he’ll find it.”

“
Excuse me,” Maria said
walking in holding a tray of fruit. “Dinner will be ready in three
hours, will Julio be joining us?” She placed the tray on the table
before turning toward them.

“
Yes, we’ll be working
late tonight,” Roberto said accepting the glass of bourbon she’d
poured for him.