Cousins (Cousins #2) (2 page)

What is Elizabeth doing? Who is she talking to? Why hasn't she returned my texts or calls? Is she okay? Has that prick Ethan slick-talked himself in between her legs right now? Does Joseph have enough pull to be able to bail my ass out if I kill a motherfucker in the Bahamas?

I'm checking and cleaning the slide and barrel of my gun for the third time now, because it's one of my rituals, and also because I really want to figure out a seriously creative way to transport an unregistered gun across international waters and into Paradise Island.
 

I'm not fucking playing.
 

It's a good thing federal laws are in place to prevent me from actually acting on it. Of course no law will stop me from breaking Ethan's jaw. I am already pissed that Elizabeth left the country without even as much as a good-bye to me, but now that Jade told me that Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend could possibly be in the exact same place, I've moved into I want to kick someone's ass mode. I want to break some shit the fuck up.

I just have to be very careful about how I approach this. No one can know just how twisted up I am. I'm going to have to rein my crazy in, or it's going to look like I'm going ape-shit over my cousin, which I am, but that's besides the point.

"Earth to Roman." Jade speaks to me with the tone of a perturbed elementary school teacher as she taps me on the forehead. "I asked what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why are you still here, Jade?" For a minute I forgot she was even in my house.

“I literally just told you that your cousin who’s over a thousand miles away may be in some trouble. I've watched you zone out on me, play with your gun, and eat more yellow M&Ms than any one person should be allowed to over the last few minutes. What gives? You should be going all bad ass right about now. Calling in the troops. Making shit happen."

"All I said was research her ex for me. I never said that she was in any trouble."

Jade looks at me incredulously. I can’t even blame her. I sound like a complete liar.

“Are you freaking kidding me? You didn't have to say it. It's a given that if we're looking into someone that they may be a problem. And all I just said to you was that the Ethan kid may be in the Bahamas, and now you look like you want to kill somebody. I mean look at you. What don't I know? Why did you trash your apartment, and why are you acting like a complete nut-ball right now?"

"I didn't want–" I stop myself from saying the words.

"You didn't what?"

I grunt and shake my head no, so that Jade will shut the fuck up, but she isn't the type to take a hint. She's like a tiny little Chihuahua
that latches on and doesn't let go until she gets what she came for. Blood.

"I don't know."

"I've known you a long time, Roman, and I've never seen you like this. So agitated. So indecisive. You do realize that there's no room in your world for whatever this is that you’re going through? There are no days off for you.”

"I know that Jade." I say with tension in my voice. I'm ten seconds away from pinging a yellow M&M at her annoying little head. They're both about the same size.
 

"I'm not indecisive about shit, Jade. Elizabeth's a big girl. If she decides to hook back up with her ex in the Bahamas then that's her business. She'll call home if there's any trouble."

Jade gives me a lengthy sidelong glance.

"Is that what this is about? You're mad that she may be hooking back up with the ex?"

I turn my head and glare hard at Jade. I already know that she knows about my unhealthy attraction towards Elizabeth, because of how I was acting at the club, but saying that shit out loud is a whole other matter.
 

"Don't give me the stink eye boss man. I get it. I had a crush on one of my cousins when I was in high school and had no problem letting the whole entire family know about it either. I used to follow him all over the house during family dinners like a little puppy dog, but being attracted to your cousin is just like having the hots for your best friend's boyfriend. It's completely fine and totally normal as long as you don't act on it; and you haven't acted on it right?"

I don't answer Jade, because I know that she means that as a rhetorical question. One that she wouldn't like the honest answer to. She takes my silence and my blank face to mean that I haven't crossed any lines yet and continues on with her spiel.

"I don't see how you can just sit here playing with guns and scarfing down candy knowing that her douchebag ex may be knocking on her hotel room door right this minute. You asked me to look into him and I did. I know he has some drug issues, and Elizabeth doesn't seem the type to tolerate someone like that. So why aren't you doing anything about it? Imagine Joseph's reaction if something does happen to her, while you sit here paralyzed with some sort of misplaced guilt. What a fixer."

Okay now her sarcastic ass is fucking pushing it.

"Watch it, Jade." I growl.

"Do you want me to book your ticket to the island or not?"

Of course I do.
 

That little fucker is there.

I can feel it.

Once Jade said the words, I knew right then and there that it was true. And if he's there, he could only be there for Elizabeth. There's no fucking way it's a coincidence. I know sneaky, lying drug addicts. I grew up with and around a shit load of them, and he is definitely one. He just goes to fancier schools and dresses better.

I lock the magazine clip of my gun into the receiver for the final time, lay my piece down on the table with a quiet thump, and swallow my last yellow M&M. I'm the hell done with self-soothing. I work better with an edge to me any fucking way.

"Book me a one-way ticket to Nassau and a room at the Atlantis."

I practically roll my eyes at the smirk that spreads across Jade's face. She loves it when she wins.

"How do you know she's staying there?"

"Juliette mentioned it."

"So you want one of the penthouse suites?"

I usually get the best that my money can buy when I travel, but not this time.

"No. Find out what tower she's staying in and book me the best room they have on her floor. It has to be on the same floor."

"What about Joseph and the Kings?"

"It's none of their business."

"You are working cases right now Roman. You've got the clubs too. You're going to have to say something to them."

She's right as usual. That's why I have Jade around. She gives me shit, and drives me crazy, but she keeps me on point. She knows my business is everything to me. It's all I really have that matters.

"Joseph and Juliette know that she's in the Bahamas on business, so there's no point in telling them anything different. I'll have Cutter cover the clubs and Camden can work the DUI job. Just tell Cam and Cutter the truth. Tell them that Elizabeth may be in some trouble, and that I have to go out of town to handle it. Play it down though. No red alerts. No telling the old man that I went there. You feel me?"

Jade nods with satisfaction. "I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. While I know that it's possible that Elizabeth may be sitting on a beach, catching a tan, and reading a novel, there's also the small chance that this Ethan guy is up to something. Once upon a time you helped me out of a messed up situation that nobody gave a shit about, and I just think that someone should have Elizabeth's back too."

"Understood."

"What about killer over there?"
 

Jade points over to the corner at Mr. Tibbs. Jade is not a dog person. Usually I have someone house sit him if I travel, but this is too last minute. Plus I like giving Jade shit sometimes.
 

It completes me.

"Raw chicken backs and turkey necks are portioned in Ziploc bags in the freezer. Feed him twice a day. No treats. He also gets three walks a day. And clean this place up and water my plant while you're at it. Juliette gave it to me.”

"I'm not touching any raw chicken backs or turkey necks! I swear that damn dog is going to starve.”
 

I walk away grinning like a Cheshire cat as I hear Jade's cries of protest behind me. It's a pleasure to piss her off as I head to my bedroom to pack, and go see about kicking some ass in order to bring my cousin home where she belongs.

CHAPTER TWO

ELIZABETH

All I hear are piercing squeals of joy.
 

Rolling laughter.

Playful shrieking.

These are all sounds that are probably delightful to a mother's ears, but are like nails across a chalkboard to my delicate, twenty-three year old ones. But that's okay, because if you told me last week that I'd be snacking on the freshest shrimp cocktail of my life while watching families of four sliding down a massive water slide into a crystal blue manmade lagoon, I would have never believed it.
 

The only place my family has ever vacationed is Disney World, and that was a big damn deal. My parents would save up all year, and we'd go with my mom's best friend Miss Janet and her two monsters (I mean kids) and end up lost, hot, and exhausted most days. No squealing. No shrieking. Minimal laughter. As my parents often complained, “Disney World was a week of work and not a true vacation.”

They were right; it probably was work for them, not to mention disappointing for me, because they'd never buy me a new Disney Princess dress as a souvenir. Just a pair of Minnie Mouse ears. And how many pairs of those does a girl need?
 

But this right here, this whole Bahamas thing is what I've always imagined vacations were supposed to be. Relaxing. Fun. Lush. Serene. Good food. Fruity drinks. Surrounded by beautiful people.
 

It probably helps that Mr. Lambert and his team have treated me extremely well, especially for someone only here to give them a fifteen minute pitch. They flew me non-stop for three hours in business class to Nassau, Bahamas, then I was picked up by a car service and taken to the hotel, where I was checked in immediately to the most beautiful room with an ocean view.

The only thing I'm not really happy about is that I'm literally two minutes away from Florida, but my cell phone service is spotty at best. It's almost like I'm in some sort of third world country with no cell phone towers, when it's obvious I'm not. While beautiful in places, the Bahamas is definitely not some untouched island. It's actually like one huge city with a few pretty beaches.
 

So if I wanted to, I could cross the street and order a six piece Chicken Mcnugget and fries; and in my opinion if there is a damn McDonald’s nearby then there certainly needs to be reliable cell phone service. When I get home I'm going to have to have a long talk with my phone carrier.
 

Luckily for me, I'm only here for a day or so, so being out of touch is not such a big deal. I've already called my Aunt Juliette and my mom from my room to let them know that I've arrived safely, and that I have an amazing view. Of course Juliette offered to upgrade my room to an Azure or Sapphire Suite, which I politely declined. My deluxe oceanfront view is fantastic already. Anything more would be overkill.
 

My two calls back home will be charged to my final bill, which I can cover at checkout with a credit card, but I need to cut myself off there. No more international calls. No more frivolous spending unless I nail this pitch and get a definite yes. I would have liked to talk to Sloan for a second though, because she is totally responsible for setting this meeting up, but I know that she'll understand if I just connect with her when I touch back down in Philly.
 

I also thought about sending Roman an email to let him know where I was going (actually I thought about it like fifty-five hundred times), but I'm pretty sure that Juliette and Joseph filled him in on my trip. And after I practically ran away from his apartment like I had been set on fire, I'm sure he's quite annoyed with me or even worse– pissed with me. Actually I'm a bit peeved with myself. There's no excuse for my behavior. I'm sending him some seriously mixed signals and driving myself bonkers in the process.
 

When I was over his penthouse the other day, I let Roman do things to me that I've only heard Sloan talk about or read in smutty books, and while I loved every minute of it, I was extremely embarrassed afterwards. I just can't wrap my head around it. Why I acted like I did. I never tried to stop him once or even tried to stop myself. What's wrong with me?

The minute I hear the bass in his voice, I immediately become wet like a faucet and proceed to pop my legs open for easy access. And the orgasms? Geez Louise. I thought I was going to pass out from the intense contractions and spasms my poor uterus and vagina had to weather. Okay maybe the use of the word poor is not exactly accurate. I think my lady parts liked every frackin' minute of it.

This attraction Roman and I have for each other is almost cruel though. As soon as he started telling me what he was going to do, my body responded in turn. The way my body almost sings when he strokes every part of me, it's like my body desperately needs him. In fact I do believe that my body is starting to crave more of his touch everyday. Hell, my body is missing him right the frack now. But of course the cruel part of all of this is why him? Why couldn't it be anybody else but Roman Masterson … my cousin?

If our families were to ever find out what's been going on between the two of us, I shudder to think of the harsh words that would inevitably pass between my father's lips to my aunt and her husband. He already despises Joseph for some ridiculous reason that I don't even being to understand; so this thing between Roman and I would just be the kindling he needs to start an all out forest fire. And that's the last thing I want. I don't want to be the cause of any sort of family civil war.