Loving a Bad Boy (14 page)

It galled him to rely on others. But in this
instance he had little choice, most of his connections were up
north. He relaxed his jaw, regulated his breathing, aimed for
control and rational thinking. Planning required a steady mind and
hand.

First off, Tex needed care and a place to
heal. Francisco was sending his personal physician, but where would
his friend be protected afterward?

He made another call. Once he hung up, his
rage simmered. Tex would need to leave town for a few weeks. It
pissed him off that he had to remain in Miami for a few more
days.

But Francisco had argued
he and Roberto were at a critical point in negotiating the new
transportation routes, which couldn’t be done without him.
Damn
. After making all
the arrangements he could, Julio sat on the wooden kitchen
chair.

Hell, they lived in this building. His boy
had been shot in their backyard. How had someone breached their
security? What had Tex been doing? He wracked his brain trying to
remember their last conversation. Tex had said something about
finding something, but had to check into a few other things.

Was it something he'd
discovered that drew him to someone’s attention? What the hell
happened and where? Questions. So many questions and no
answers.
Damn.
This was a problem that needed a solution, fast. A low throb
at the base of Julio’s neck threatened to catapult him over the
edge. Grinding his teeth, he reached in his pocket, pulled out the
small clear bottle, and took a pill to dull the pain. Time crawled
in silence while he contemplated his next move.

Vengeance tap-danced across his mind. With
each breath he took, the more he wanted to blow up somebody. Eyes
on Tex, he made a silent vow to locate the bastards who did this
and make them suffer before he ripped them apart.

Now, he needed to deal with Pam. Beating
back his pain and anger, he turned to find her leaning against the
wall, staring down at Tex. He cleared his throat. “Thanks for
taking quick action. I’m sure you saved his life.” He attempted to
infuse a kind tone in his voice, but the need for retribution stole
his good intentions.

Her head snapped up. That’s when he realized
she had been sleeping. With barely opened eyes, she shrugged. In a
sleepy tone, she said, “The bleeding's slowed, but he’s in need of
blood and professional medical care. I think we should call an
ambulance.”

He tensed. After only a few hours rest last
night, admittedly his nerves were jumpy. Fortunately, she did not
move to make the call. “I'ma make sure he gets the best. My doctor
is on his way to check him out. Then we’ll move him, okay?”

She nodded.

This time she
was
staring at Tex.
Obviously, she held his friend in the same high regard as Tex held
her. Offering money would cheapen things. He sighed. Owing people
never sat well with him, but in this instance it was the only thing
to do.

“
If you ever need my
services, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Her head shot up. “What?”

He pushed down his irritation at the need to
repeat himself. It was one of his biggest peeves. “I said lemme’
know if I can ever do anything for you.”

Her brows furrowed. “Why? And what do you
do?”

“
Security, I own a
security company. I’m offering ‘cause Tex can’t. We both appreciate
your kindness. He’s special to me,” he said without giving it much
thought. Explaining himself, when in his mind she should already
know at least something about him, rankled as much as repeating
himself.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.
“Oh…he’s your…I get it.” The frown returned to her face. “But he
was with Tara.” Her hand flew to her mouth as she stared at him.
She looked adorably confused.

“
Tara is your niece?” He
refused to delve into the ridiculous discussion of his sexuality.
Once he had her beneath him, she’d never make that mistake again.
Subduing a grin, he focused on her answer.

She nodded while holding her bottom lip
between her teeth.

“
I believe he likes her
very much.” He glanced at his watch. Miguel was running late.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone and punched in a
number. It was answered on the first ring.

“
Yes?”

Julio stepped back away for privacy. “Tex is
down. Some firepower got him in the side. Call me when you get
here. Don’t park downstairs, park down the street and then walk. We
need to check out upstairs.”

“
You okay?”

“
Yeah, move it. Be here in
ten.” Julio snarled, his patience already strained as he
disconnected the call. Next he sent Pete a text to come to the
fifth floor to clean the area and watch the door to Pam’s apartment
as security. There was blood in the hall, on the door and handle
and maybe in the stairwell. He hadn’t seen any in the elevator.
Since he didn’t want to argue or scare her, he kept that
information on the down low.

Nothing had gone as it should last night,
and there was still today to get through. He was operating on
fumes, but couldn’t stop until he secured Tex away for the next few
days.

Julio glanced at Tex and then at the woman
standing nearby.

“
There seems to be a
problem.” He paused as she turned slowly to face him. Skepticism
filled her face, even though she hadn’t spoken. It irritated him.
She was not as malleable as Tex thought.

“
Problem?”

The thread of disbelief in her voice rubbed
him the wrong way. “Yes,” he snapped.

She stared at him; a hint of anger filled
her eyes. Strange, her show of emotion pleased him. He tamped down
his frustration, and inhaled. Losing his temper would make him
careless. Besides, he needed her help. Digging deep, he pulled on
his strained reserves and spoke in what he hoped was an agreeable
voice. “I apologize for snapping at you. I appreciate you taking
care of Tex. But I think I’m gonna need to impose a little longer
on your kindness. I don’t want to take him back upstairs until I’m
sure it’s safe for him to be moved.”

A look of confusion filled her face as he
spoke. By the time he finished she looked resigned. He held his
breath waiting for her to speak.

“
How long?” she asked,
waving at Tex.

He kept his eyes on her. “Just a day or so,
until I can arrange transportation for him.”

“
Upstairs?”

“
I haven’t been up there
yet. I’m not sure what or where this happened.”

“
Is he involved in
something illegal?” She waved her hand and closed her eyes before
he could respond. “No, that’s not half as important as this
question.” She peered at him. “Will his being in my house
place
me
in any
type of danger?”

The question took him aback. There was no
simple answer. He had an idea who'd launched the attack against
him, but wasn’t absolutely sure. There were a few candidates in the
“get-rid-of-Julio” pool. In the end, he gave her the only answer
his conscious would allow.

“
I don’t know. Like I
said, I haven’t had a chance to find out what happened to him. I
called after a meeting, and then came right over.”

She arched her brow. “Tex got here after
three in the morning, you were at a meeting?” Her voice clearly
said she didn’t believe him. Unfortunately, he did not have the
luxury of explaining the meeting with the gun traders he’d been
involved in, so they were at an impasse.

“
Yes.” He bent down and
touched Tex’s brow. “Will he have a fever?”

“
Probably. You do have a
doctor coming to check him out, don’t you? Within the hour?
Otherwise, he can’t stay here. I honored his request for no
hospitals, but he needs professional care.”

He frowned. Did he misunderstand the reports
about her? “I thought you were a health professional?”

She sighed long and loud. “I’m a registered
nurse, not a surgeon. He needs to be checked for internal damage,
of which I’m sure there is some. And then he needs to get stitched
up. That’s not something I want to do. I merely stabilized him. He
still needs a professional, board certified, doctor’s help.”

Julio chose to ignore her
tone and body language which screamed – you imbecile. He
hadn’t
thought about a
surgeon. “Yes, that’ll be taken care of,” he lied. Francisco’s
physician was no surgeon, but he would check the wound and stitch
it up.

She nodded and walked off.

His thoughts raced as he looked at Tex’s
prostrate body. “What happened my friend? Who did this to you?” He
pulled out his cell and punched in two numbers. The line was
answered on the second ring.

“
What’s up champ?” Julio
smiled at Smoke’s greeting.

He and Smoke had been out on probation when
Julio was heading into a club and saw two men jump Smoke on the
street, and a third with a long lead pipe, was running to join the
fray. Moving quickly, Julio had intercepted the third dude with a
hard swift kick to his balls and a fist beneath his chin. The
fool’s scream had diverted the attention of the other two men who
were pounding Smoke. But that was all that was needed to change the
trajectory of the fight. Within seconds, Smoke had broken the arm
of one of the men and the leg of the other. Smoke had to pull Julio
off the other guy to keep him from killing his assailant.

Afterward, he and Smoke had left in his car
and drove to his apartment before the police showed up. They never
talked about what started the fight. It wasn’t as important as how
it ended. Months later, they were both back in prison for parole
violations. Without discussing it, they watched one another’s back.
To mess with one, meant you had to take on the other. By then,
Smoke knew Julio could whoop ass along with the best of them. From
that day on, Smoke called him champ when they were alone.

“
Sorry to wake you, but
I’m sending a text to you in the next few minutes. I need these
things today.”

“
Yeah?” Julio heard a
rustling, a murmur, and then Smoke’s voice again. “You got it. You
okay?”

“
Yes. Things got a little
hot, that’s all.” He knew Smoke wanted to ask more questions, the
same as he knew his friend would not. Smoke still felt bad that
Julio had joined the organization to use their resources to save
Smoke’s company. No matter how many times Julio explained it was
okay, each time they talked, there was a thread of worry in Smoke’s
voice.

Julio started to ask about Red and Denise.
He hadn’t talked to the big man since he'd married the mother of
his two children. Red was Smoke’s partner, along with Ross. Ross’s
woman, Cherise, had been pregnant with a boy at Red’s wedding. He
wondered how Ross was holding up with the addition of his second
child.

Then there was Brenda and Roark, Red’s
younger brother, who’d gotten married months ago. He never asked
about them because of Tex. Brenda had been Tex’s first love, but
she had chosen to stay with Roark over a reformed Tex. The man had
been devastated, and had worked ridiculous hours to keep his mind
off the rejection. Julio had been impressed by Tex’s fortitude and
promoted him to the top spot in his organization. He’d never
regretted the decision, but he was aware of Tex’s pain.

In the end, he kept things light and asked
no questions about his friends. There would be time later to catch
up on the news at home.

“
Okay. Be careful and as
soon as I get the list, I’ll get on it.”

“
Gracias. Tell your woman
I send my regards.”

“
Will do.”

He disconnected the call as Pam returned to
the dining area.

“
Thank you again, Pam. How
can I repay your kindness?” He tried to cloak the anger in his
voice about the situation. Her brow rose as she moved forward. Even
tired, he was impressed by the economy of her movements.

“
Just get him the proper
help and we’ll call it even.”

Worn out, Pam looked at Julio from beneath
lowered lids, wondering when he’d leave so she could sleep. He'd
seemed tense and distracted ever since he got off his first phone
call. She wondered what happened. Her stomach growled.

“
Ooops.” Too tired to be
embarrassed, she pushed back from the table and went into the
kitchen. Within twenty minutes she had sausage, eggs, and toast
ready, along with a pot of coffee. Walking back into the dining
room, she noticed he was typing on his phone.

She held up a mug. “Coffee?”

He looked surprised to see her, and then
smiled. “Yeah, thanks.”

For a moment she stared at him. His eyes lit
with so much genuine warmth it startled her. Fine lines crinkled
the dark bags beneath his eyes, a testament of how tired he must
be. One of his front teeth protruded slightly over the other from
between firm lips. Two deep grooves bracketed his mouth. The
landscape of his face changed. It made him seem less scary, and
more handsome. Not that he needed anything else to make him more
appealing. Lord, what was she doing drooling over him like some
teeny-bopper? “How do you take it?”

“
Black is fine.” Their
eyes met. For a moment she had the ridiculous feeling his words had
a double meaning.

Face on fire, she handed him the cup.
“Careful, it’s hot.” She started back toward the kitchen before
stopping. “I’m sorry, I made some breakfast, would you like
some?”

He inhaled the fragrance from the cup. “Yes,
if it’s not too much trouble.”