Asking For Trouble (7 page)

"Ya'll looked pretty cozy in front of that
shop...I thought maybe..." Chase ventured with an edge to his
tone.

Jazzie looked over at his profile and saw
that his jaw was clenched. He must've seen Beau kiss her outside of
the shop. "Well things definitely went downhill from there," she
said with a snort. "If I never see that man again, it'll be too
soon."

"Can't say I'm not happy to hear that,"
Chase said and grinned at her, a big wide sexy grin.

Jazzie sighed, because that damned fine
grin, on that damned handsome man, didn't do a
damned
thing
for her and it irritated her, because she wanted it to. Maybe if
she spent a little more time with Chase, and thought less about
Beau Bowman, it would happen, eventually. Beau Bowman had gotten
under her skin, even though it pained her to admit it, and it was
gonna be like extracting cactus needles to get him out.

She gave Chase directions to her house, then
sat back and watched the bright sun, slowly sinking below the
horizon behind the tall skyscraper buildings that comprised the
beautiful Dallas skyline. When they finally pulled up in front of
her parents home, and Chase shut off the truck, the front door flew
open and out poured the Ramos crew; Raffie, Chichi, Carlos, Joe,
her mother, and lagging behind was Jazzie's father with the
grandkids, and her sisters-in-law.

Her heart pinched, because Frankie wasn't
among them. Her family was tight-knit, they took care of each
other, and she knew everyone was grieving because Frankie was
missing. She had to be strong to help hold things together, even
though she wanted to drop to her knees and wail with them.

The house was lit up like a Christmas tree
and when she got out of the truck, she smelled enchiladas. Her
mother had probably been cooking all day, that's what she did when
she was worried. Before Jazzie could step onto the sidewalk, the
entire family surrounded her in a group hug, and they were all
wailing and talking ninety miles an hour. Emotion pushed up into
her throat too, but she swallowed it down, and grabbed her mother
in a tight hug.

"We'll find him mama...don't worry," she
said then kissed her cheek.

She saw Chase walk around the back of the
truck and he lifted her suitcase out and pulled the handle up. She
walked over to him, and took the handle, then leaned up and kissed
his cheek. "Thanks for everything, Chase," she said then stepped
back.

All of the talking stopped and she heard a
collective gasp, and knew she was in deep trouble. He smiled down
at her and put his hand on her cheek then said, "You're welcome,
darlin'. I'm glad I could help. I'll let you know what I find out
tomorrow...in the mean time, you have my number if you need
anything."

Carlos stepped up and nudged her shoulder,
and she knew Chase wasn't going to be able to make an exit without
introductions. That was the way of things with her big Latin
family. She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, and
mouthed, "I'm sorry..." to Chase then stepped back and turned to
face her family.

"Everyone, this is Chase Rhodes, a friend of
mine from Amarillo. He was at the wedding too, and we came back
together." Not entirely true, but not a lie either. "Chase gave me
a ride home, and he's heading back for Amarillo tonight."

Carlos stepped forward and shook Chase's
hand and introduced himself, then the rest of her brothers did the
same, followed by her father. Chase stepped over to her mother and
leaned down and kissed her cheek, then told her, "I see where your
daughter gets her beauty from...I almost mistook you for her
sister," he told her and Jazzie saw her mother's face flush and she
smiled, then patted his cheek.

"Jasmine, you should watch out for this one
and his silver tongue," her mother said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I know mama...he's a charmer for sure!"
Jazzie said then smiled at Chase.

"I have enchiladas, you come in and eat,"
her mother invited then grabbed Chase's arm to add, "Thank you for
bringing Jasmine home."

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Ramos...Jazzie is
a good friend," he told her seriously, then looked into Jasmine's
eyes with longing in his. "I'd love to stay for dinner and get to
know the family."

Jazzie smiled, but stifled a groan, because
she didn't want to lead Chase on. They were friends, but that was
all...for now anyway. He wasn't hitting on her though, and he had
given her a ride, it was only polite to ask him in for dinner.
"Yes, please come in and eat, Chase," she told him, then walked
over to slide her arm through his free one, and turn him toward the
house.

Chase's hand slipped off of her suitcase
handle and instead of letting him stop to pick it up, she told her
brother over her shoulder, "Carlos, get my suitcase, will you?" She
heard him grumble, and chuckled, then walked toward the house with
her mother and Chase.

After everyone settled at the table, and the
kids sat at a card table beside the big table, Jazzie helped her
mom bring platters and platters of food to the table, then filled
everyone's glasses with sweet tea. Jazzie sat next to Chase and
folded her hands in her lap, while her papa said the meal
prayer.

The table erupted in raucous talking once
the 'amen' was said and her brothers started passing around plates
and scooping out huge servings on their plates. Chase was included
in that rotation, and wasn't shy about filling his plate, or
talking loudly with her brothers. Her older brothers wives filled
the kid's plates and got them set up, then settled beside Raffie
and Chichi.

Jazzie really was hungry, because all she'd
had was a small sandwich in Los Angeles and a bag of peanuts on the
long plane trip, so she wasn't shy filling her plate either, or
cleaning it. When she was done, she sat back and groaned. "My
goodness, mama, that was delicious," she said.

Her mother shrugged and said, "You know how
I get when I'm worried..."

"Considering the amount of food you cooked,
you must be out of your mind with worry," she said before she
thought better of it.

Her mother's dark eyes filled with tears and
her hand shook on the spoon she was using to dish up the rich flan
she'd made for dessert. "I'm very worried," her mother told her in
a trembling voice.

Jazzie felt terrible for reminding her about
Frankie. She pushed back her chair and walked around the table to
pull her mother into a hug, then said, "Mama you've worked too hard
today, and worried too much, go upstairs and take a nice bath, I'll
finish serving dessert."

"That does sound nice." Her mother sniffed,
then wiped her eyes with the corner of her apron.

Chase stood and walked around the table too
and leaned in to kiss Mrs. Ramos's cheek. "It's been a pleasure
meeting you, Mrs. Ramos...thank you for dinner, it was
wonderful."

"You're welcome, Chase...it was nice meeting
you too," she said with a soft smile, then patted his cheek and
finished, "Such a nice boy," before pinning Jazzie with her eyes,
silently transmitting her approval.

"Night mama--you go upstairs, I'll finish
up," Jazzie told her although exhaustion pressed down on her own
shoulders like a lead curtain.

Her papa got up too and took her mother's
arm then announced, "I think I'm going to bed too...Chase it's late
and if you'd like to stay the night, please feel free, you can have
Frankie's room," he said and his voice wobbled.

"Thank you for the offer sir, but I really
need to get back to Amarillo," Chase said then took a step back
from her mom.

"What do you do there, Chase?" Her dad
asked, and Jazzie knew the inquisition was about to begin.

"I'm vice president of Rhodes Exploration
and Drilling, sir. We're derrick and wildcat drillers...I work for
my father."

"That's a good thing...my son's work with me
too. Family businesses keep families together. Do you have any
brothers or sisters?"

"I'm the oldest, I have a younger brother,
Jared, who's married, and a younger sister, Lacey, who's in her
final year at A&M," Chase replied, then added with a grin,
"She's a handful..."

Her father slid his arm around Jazzie's
shoulders and squeezed, then said seriously, "So is Jasmine...we
worry about her traveling all over the country with that band...she
could have gone to Julliard, but no, she wants to be in a country
band."

"Papa, please!" Jazzie said with
frustration, because she still heard this from him, even thought it
had been nine years since she'd turned down that scholarship. She
knew she'd broken his heart, but she had to follow her own path,
and that was with Jess, playing country music. It had been the
right choice for her, even though they'd struggled, Jazzie didn't
regret her choice for one minute.

She glanced up at Chase's face and saw his
eyebrows were pinched together too, like he was surprised and
agreed with her father, but he didn't say anything. Her father and
mother went upstairs, and Jazzie huffed out a relieved breath, then
started removing plates from the table and taking them to the
kitchen. Chase and her sisters-in-law did the same, and before
long, the table was clear, and her older brothers were getting
ready to leave. The kids were sacked out in their arms, and her
sisters-in-law apologized for not helping with the rest of the
cleanup, but she shooed them off. Carlos and Joey were another
story.

"Carlos, you and Joe get your butts in gear,
you have kitchen duty. Rinse and put the dishes in the dishwasher,"
she commanded, and chuckled when their faces fell.

"Awww, sis..." they both groaned, but shoved
up from their places and walked to the kitchen.

She smiled at Chase and asked, "You didn't
get dessert, it's delicious, you want some?"

"No thanks, I really do need to get going.
I'll probably stop halfway and get a hotel, since it's so
late."

Jazzie's cell phone rang in her pocket, and
she pulled it out and looked at the display. It was an unknown
number again and she frowned. When Beau had called earlier, she
thought he was the one calling back unknown then, but she didn't
think so now, so she pushed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Jazzie, this is Frankie, I can't talk
long..." her brother said in an agitated voice.

"
Where are you!?!?
" Jazzie
yelled.

He huffed out a breath then said, "I can't
tell you, because I don't want them after you too."

"Frankie, let us help you, I'm hiring a
private detective..." she told him.

"No! And don't call the police
either...they'll kill me, sis," Frankie said frantically.

Adrenaline surged through Jazzie and she
gripped the phone tighter. "Who is
they
, Frankie...tell
me!"

"I can't sis...it has to do with Al-Gonon,
that's all I can say. I don't want you or the family involved,
these are some bad people. I need to sort things out, and stash
what I have on them somewhere first, so if they catch up with me, I
have leverage." She heard Frankie gasp, then he said, "Gotta go,
Jazz...I'll call again later, love you," before he
disconnected.

CHAPTER THREE

Although Jazzie was thrilled to know Frankie
was alive, she was so worried about him she felt like she was on
the verge of a panic attack. He told her not to call the police or
hire a detective, but the conversation with him told her he was in
big trouble. Her brother was naive, not worldly at all, and he was
being pursued by some really bad men. He was worried if she got the
police involved they'd kill him, Jazzie was worried whoever
they
were would kill him anyway.

He was a liability to them, even if the
evidence was stashed somewhere. She wondered who else knew where he
was stashing it, because if he were dead, and nobody else knew, it
wouldn't matter anyway. Frankie wasn't thinking straight.

God, she needed to talk to his roommate
Charlie. Maybe he knew more than Frankie was telling her. Jazzie
didn't realize she was pacing, until Chase asked gently, "Jazzie,
what did he say? That was your brother right?"

"Yeah, it was Frankie...he's in big trouble,
and he wouldn't tell me where he is," she told him with a waver in
her voice.

"Okay...so, let's call Logan right now, and
get him on it," Chase said and pulled out his phone.

"No!" she said and dashed over to him, and
pleaded, "Please don't--he said they'd kill him, if I called the
police or hired someone."

"Sweetheart, I don't want to scare you...but
if he's having to hide out from them, they're probably going to try
to kill him, regardless of whether you call the cops or not."

"He said he has evidence, and wanted to
stash it for leverage? Whatever the hell that means..." Jazzie told
him and started pacing again.

Chase groaned and she looked over at him,
and saw fear and concern in his blue eyes. "He really is in
trouble, sugar...Logan is discreet, I promise he'll be able to
help."

"I need to talk to his roommate, Charlie, I
think he might be able to give us information," she told Chase.