Forced Out (24 page)

"That's a good idea," Jack agreed. "I'll call them tomorrow."

"Or," MJ continued, "you could just go on the Internet. I'll bet there's a site somewhere with old Yankee box scores on it. At least back to the sixties. People are nuts about that stuff." MJ grinned. "But you probably don't know how to use the Internet."

"I know how to use it," Jack growled, punching the gas pedal when the light turned green.

MJ snickered again. "Do you even have Internet connection at your house?"

"I got it. I been using the Net for years. I went on the Tarpons' site the other night."

"Sure you did." MJ glanced out the window. "It doesn't matter anyway. Even if you have it, you won't be able to find anything. You'll end up needing me." He rubbed his palms together. "Which means more money for me, more money for me."

"You'd actually charge me to go online and look for a website?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Absolutely. It's all about getting paid, man. Which reminds me," MJ said loudly. "You owe me six hundred bucks."

"
Six hundred
?"

"Yeah. Our deal was four hundred a week. This is the second week, and I've only gotten two hundred. You owe me six hundred dollars."

Jack had been waiting for this. He was actually surprised MJ had waited this long to bring it up. "Well, I--"

"Don't try to wiggle out of it, either," MJ warned. "My momma's pissed at me for doing this batboy thing. She doesn't believe it pays four hundred a week, like I told her. If I don't see some green soon, I'll be out. I swear."

"Yeah, well, if I don't get some information on the Kid soon, I won't care if you're out. I want something on him, and I want it fast." Jack pointed at MJ. "Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind that you're using me. It's a pretty good gig, you know. You're a batboy for Christ's sake. You're having a great time,
and
I'm paying you. I don't like getting used. I won't be used."

"You think
I'm
using
you
?"

MJ was pissed, Jack could tell. Really pissed all of a sudden. He could tell right away the emotion was sincere, but he'd needed to say what he said. It had been a while, and MJ hadn't come up with anything. "Hey, I don't know you that well."

"If you think I'm using you, then...then..." MJ clenched his teeth. "Then don't bring me out here anymore."

Jack heard the tone in the young man's voice change. It wasn't anger anymore, it was disappointment, almost sadness. Like he'd suddenly realized a good friend had been disloyal. "Listen, I'm just saying--"

"I'm serious. I quit. The hell with it. Find somebody else to do this." This was a sixteen-year-old boy he was dealing with. He had to remember that. But sometimes it was hard because MJ seemed so much older, so mature. "I'm sorry. Okay?

Really." Jack hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'."

"Come on," Jack pushed gently. "What is it?"

"
Nothin
', I said."

Then it dawned on him. What was really going on. "Did you give your mother the other two hundred dollars for the first week out of your own pocket? Did you front me?" From what Jack could tell, MJ's family probably couldn't last long if MJ's income dried up. They probably had even less in savings than he and Cheryl. "Did you?"

"It doesn't matter."

Jack caught MJ running a finger across his cheek under one eye. "From money you saved up, right? From tips you made at the store? You covered me, didn't you? You gave your mom the two hundred I gave you, then two hundred of your own? Didn't you?"

"I told you," MJ said defiantly, "it doesn't matter."

"Come on," Jack demanded.
"Damn it, come on!"
MJ glanced down. "Yeah," he admitted quietly, "I did. I had to tell her what was going on; I couldn't lie to her. She started yelling at me when I told her the truth. Told me I couldn't do it because you'd welsh on me. Told me I had to get another job." MJ shook his head. "But I said you were a good guy, a real good guy. Said you'd never stiff me." He took a deep breath. "When you didn't pay up, I gave her the other two hundred out of my own pocket. I couldn't admit I'd been wrong. Plus she needs the money. She needs it real bad.
We
need it real bad."

Jack cursed under his breath. Now she'd be pushing MJ for the next four hundred, and he probably couldn't come close to covering it this week. He felt his palms sweating on the steering wheel as he pulled the Citation to a stop at the next red light. People, he thought. They never stopped surprising you. MJ had covered him and never said a word. Christ, now he
had
to get him the money. "What were you saving up for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Those two hundred bucks you covered me with. You must have been saving up for something if you had it lying around. Most kids your age spend money as soon as they get it unless they're saving for something. What were you saving for?" MJ put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. "Christmas," he answered softly. "We didn't have Christmas this year. No presents, no nothing. I don't want that to ever happen to my brothers and sisters again. And especially not to my momma."

* * *

"You're so beautiful." Bobby kissed Ginny as they lay on his bed. Ginny was the woman from the gym he'd wanted Cheryl to spend a day with going to the hair salon, nail place, and boutiques. They'd happened to run into each other forty minutes ago at a bar a few blocks from the apartment building. Ginny's husband was away on business for the next few days, and Bobby had jumped on the opportunity. There was no way he was going to introduce her to Cheryl now. Of course, now that he was moving to Atlanta, who cared?

Better that Cheryl not meet anyone else he knew at this point. "I love your dark hair, I really do."

Ginny laughed sarcastically. "Bobby, you wouldn't care if I was brunette, a blonde, or a redhead right now. Hell, you wouldn't care if my hair was green. All you care about is that my husband's away, I'm bored out of my mind, and I'm in your bed naked. Don't lay all that sweet stuff on me. It insults me." She raised one eyebrow. "You're getting what you want, I'm getting what I want. Now let's do it."

The rumor at the gym was that Ginny got around, she didn't give a damn about her husband anymore, and when she hopped in the sack, she was wild. As Bobby moved his hands up her belly to her full breasts, she let out a little shriek.

"What? What is it?"

"Jesus," she said, with a hiss, wide-eyed. "What was that?"

"What was--" Bobby stopped at the sound of a loud knock on the apartment door.

"Get off me," she said, pushing him to one side and scooting over. "What are we going to do? Christ, what if that's my husband? What if he's having me followed?" She put her hands to her face. "Damn it, I knew this was going to happen." Bobby grabbed her arm, pulled her off the bed, made her gather her clothes up off the floor, then guided her toward the living room. "Get in the closet," he ordered, yanking open the hall door and hurrying her into the tight space beside a stack of luggage. "Go on. Go on!" He shut the door behind her, then his eyes flashed across the darkened living room as the knocking came again, louder this time. "Dear Lord," he whispered, glad that Ginny didn't wear a lot of perfume, "please get me out of this." He hurried back to the bedroom, slipped on a pair of boxers, then retraced his steps past the hall closet toward the apartment front door. He hesitated with his hand inches from the knob when the knocking came again. He had a pistol in the drawer of his bedroom nightstand. If Ginny's husband was on the other side of the door, maybe he ought to get it.

"Who is it?" he asked loudly.

"Me, you dope."

Cheryl! Holy Christ!

"I've got a surprise for you," she called. "Something you're going to really like."

"Shit," he whispered, eyes flashing around. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

"Open up, baby," she called impatiently, "come on. I don't want to stand out here for long. You'll see why."

He had no choice if he wanted to keep having his fun, if he wanted to keep pushing her. He had to let her in. He crossed his fingers and opened the door. Here went nothing. She stood before him wearing a raincoat and high heels. As he watched in amazement, she let the long coat slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor of the landing outside his door, revealing her naked body beneath. Then she stepped into the apartment, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him deeply.

"You can do whatever you want to me tonight," she whispered when their lips parted.

"Anything."

He scooped her up in his big arms, carried her to the bedroom, laid her on the mattress, and kissed her passionately. "I love you. You're incredible."

"Well," she said softly, "it took me awhile to get my nerve up, but I'm glad I did."

"Me, too."

"It's crazy, but I told myself I had to--"

"Wait here one second, will you?" he interrupted, rising up off the bed. "I'll be right back."

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Where are you going?" He smiled. "Don't move, sweetheart. Stay right there. I just need to throw out the trash."

* * *

Jack had inputted everything he could think of into the search engine: "major league baseball box scores," "Yankee box scores," "Mickey Mantle box scores," and a few more. But nothing was coming up. He wanted to throw the damn screen against the wall because MJ was turning out to be right--he didn't have any idea what he was doing. He almost pounded the table instead, but caught himself at the last second. He didn't want to wake Rosario. Cheryl hadn't followed through on her threat to move the computer into the living room yet, and the baby was asleep on the floor in her makeshift bed just a few feet away, surrounded by pillows. He was the only one home, and he didn't want to be up all night with the little girl.

As reluctant as he'd been to let Cheryl go to Bobby's this late, he'd relented. He'd seen that desperate look in her eyes and felt terrible. The least he could do was give her a night off.

He let out a long sigh, thinking about Cheryl going over there this late. The bastard better not do anything to her. He might be old, but he could still take care of Bobby Griffin. Maybe he was no match for the young man physically, but that wouldn't matter if he took his gun.

He stood up just enough to peer over the pillows, just to make sure Rosario was still asleep, and instantly wished he hadn't. She was staring back at him with those big brown eyes. He ducked down, hoping she hadn't seen him, but she started cooing right away. A sure sign she wanted to be picked up.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. Rosario could be up for hours now, and she'd start screaming if he left her in here alone. "All right, all right." It wasn't like he was making any progress on the computer anyway. "Here we go," he murmured, reaching down and picking her up.

As he did, she broke into a huge smile and reached for his face with her tiny fingers.

"Dada!" she said loudly. "Dada!"

Jack gazed at the little girl, that old uncontrollable emotion bearing down on him. Like it had the night Cheryl called him out for faking a heart attack at the stadium. When he'd been scared out of his mind she might really leave him.

He pressed the baby gently to his chest. Maybe it was stupid, but he didn't want Rosario to see him cry.

26

T
REVISO LAY NEXT to Karen as she slept, admiring her beauty as he stroked her dark hair. Admiring himself for being able to marry a woman as beautiful as she. Finally he clasped her delicate chin with his fingers and shook it, rousing her. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around groggily. "Hi, honey," she mumbled.

"What is it?"

He let his fingers fall from her chin, making sure he
really
wanted to say this because you could never be a 100 percent sure you could trust anyone--even your wife. "You awake?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"
Yes
, Tony."

"Okay, okay. Look, you remember when you told me how that guy made a pass at you in the car when I was collecting the VIG from him that day? How he said he wanted to meet up with you later while I was in the bodega?"

Karen rose up on her elbow. "Of course I remember. Why?" For a few moments Treviso relived the absolute hatred he'd felt for that man when she'd told him the story. The almost uncontrollable jealousy. And the intense pleasure he'd taken exacting his revenge. "I loved you for that. I mean, I love you for a lot of reasons, but I was happy you told me what happened. It made me feel good. It made me feel like I could always trust you."

She smiled at him sweetly. "I'm glad it made you feel good. You know you can always trust me." She stroked his cheek, waiting for more. "Is that why you woke me up, Tony?

To tell me that?"

He took her chin in his fingers again and looked her straight in the eyes. "Can I
really
always trust you?"

"Of course. Why would you even ask me--"

"You know what I did to that guy, don't you?" he interrupted, his tone turning forceful.

"You know how it ended up for him?"

"I, I--"

"You heard Paulie when he came over here that time, didn't you?" He and Paulie were close, but it wasn't like Paulie came to the apartment that much. Usually they met out.

"You heard what Paulie said about that guy, about what happened to him. How his wife got his head in the mail?" They were in the other room when Paulie was talking about it, but it was a small apartment, and you could hear everything. Even if you were in another room and you weren't trying to listen.

Karen's eyes widened. Still, she said nothing.

"I love you so much, Karen, and I'd never blame you if a man came on to you. You're beautiful, and men are tempted real easy by women who are nowhere near as goodlooking as you," Treviso added. "It's our nature." He shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. I could never forgive a guy who actually tried to make a move on you. They can look, but they can't ask." He let out a low breath. This was harder than he'd anticipated.