Desired Too (26 page)

DRAKE

Hugo had come through for me and had Stinky, which, by the way, I remembered calling kid or boy or something to that effect instead, call me the next morning about ten minutes to seven, just as the sun was coming up. I told him to meet me by the hanger we owned on Delaware Street in the city on the pier in an hour. I didn’t care where he was, if he was late, there would be a problem. He remembered me and understood what would happen if he kept me waiting, so he was on time. I watched him hop out of a black Chevy Silverado just as calm as he wanted to be. I got out of my car, walked up to him, and re-introduced myself by introducing
him
to the pavement.

I dragged his incoherent and limp body into one of the hangers we used for some of our shipments and smacked his face a little to wake him up. He sprawled away from me quickly and looked up at me.

“Where’s your fucking piece?” I barked.

The boy just looked at me. I shook my head and saw whoever was watching this boy was doing him a huge disservice.

“Kid, if you don’t answer me, we’re going to have a problem.”

“It’s in the truck,” he finally told me.

“Yeah, and how in the hell do you think that’s going to protect you?” I moved closer to him. “Never ever leave your gun in the fucking car. You always keep it with you no matter what.”

“I normally do, but I thought-”

I shook my head, asked, “You thought what? That you wouldn’t need it because you were meeting me? What if you pulled up and I had some heat on me? What if someone was attacking this warehouse right this very minute? I would expect you to have my back and how in the hell would you do that with your fucking gun in the truck?”

Again, no answer.

“Get up,” I ordered.

The kid finally got up and got his bearings under control.

“Who’s watching over you? Who’s teaching you the ropes?” I asked.

“Tiko.”

“Why isn’t Darrell or Hugo working with you?”

“Since you left, Angel needs all the bodies he can get to have his back. Darrell and Hugo are close to him at all times along with Tiko, Stretch, and Adriano close by. I usually get my instructions from Tiko,” the boy voiced.

“Yeah, so when Darrell asked you specifically to gather the information for Ms. Waters, what did you do?”

The slight hesitation and sudden fear in his eyes told me that I wasn’t going to like anything he said.

“Well, I did what he asked. I looked heavily into Ms. Waters, as well as researched everyone she knew in San Francisco,” Stinky answered.

“Uh-huh, and what did you come up with?”

“She was clean. She had excellent credit. Her criminal background was clean. She had a few parking tickets, but that’s about it. I have the proof. I could show it to you.”

“Uh-huh, and what about her ex-boyfriend?” I asked.

“Her ex, sir?”

I could see small amounts of moisture forming right above his top lip.

Finally, Stinky shifted from one foot to the next before he told me, “He was clean too.” My frown deepened and Stinky added quickly, “I mean, he had some infractions earlier in life, but other than that, he was cool.”

“I see. And that’s it?”

He nodded.

I added, “So, you’re sticking to what you’ve told me then?”

He didn’t reply.

I sighed deeply. “You fucked up, you know that, right? Let me tell you how bad you fucked up. You see, I know for a fact that neither Raquel nor that stupid fucker she dated is clean. Do you have any idea what I did for the family?” He nodded, and I continued, “Yeah, so you know I can find out a lot of information that your tiny little brain couldn’t possibly fathom. With that being said, are you still going to stick with your story that Ms. Waters is clean?”

He didn’t reply.

I moved to him. “She has some heat on her. Did you know that?”

He shook his head. Finally, he was finally telling the truth.

“Yeah, you would have found out that tidbit information if you had actually did what you were supposed to. You failed my cousin. Do you realize what is going to happen to you if something was to happen to Ms. Waters and my cousin found out that the shit you told him was a lie?” I let that thought hang there for him to think about as I walked towards him again. This time, he walked backward hesitantly.

“You have fucked up so royally that I really should put a bullet in your brain. Better yet…”

I pulled out my gun, cocked it, and removed the safety. Stinky’s eyes grew big with fear as I pointed it at him and pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet was deafening in the space. I watched as the little shit laid in front of me, still. I waited quietly. After the silence had settled, I kicked at the boy’s leg.

“Get up!” I barked.

Stinky rose slowly then met my eyes. “Do you realize you should be dead right now?”

“Ye-yes, sir,” he stammered.

“What’s your real name? I hate fucking Stinky.”

“Harry, a-after my father.”

“Well, Junior, the fact that you thought it wise to leave your gun in the truck tells me you still have a lot to learn. So, what you’re going to do next is convince me that I shouldn’t kill you. You will answer all of my questions to my satisfaction. You will not leave anything out. You have one shot to prove to me that you belong here. Do you understand that?”

He nodded again, vigorously this time. “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s go. But first what are you going to do?”

“Get my piece.”

“Yes, you will.”

For the next hour, I drilled Junior and didn’t like the answers he gave. In fact, the shit was more fucked up than I thought. Unfortunately, I had to deal with one thing at a time, though.

Which was why I was sitting at a table right across from Raquel. I wanted to speak to her alone. I needed to make sure that she stayed safe so that I could take care of the other craziness that was happening. I thought about just telling the fucker across from her to get lost, but I didn’t. Instead, I called Junior and told him to do whatever it took to distract him. He’d been with me all day as I followed Raquel around the city.

He told me he would handle it and about five minutes later, I heard the crash.

Everyone in the restaurant turned to the window, however only one reacted.

“Son of a bitch!” he yelled and stood up.

Raquel stood too, but he said to her, “Stay right here. I’ll handle it, damn.”

Raquel frowned, but she sat back down.

I waited for a beat, then rose from my table, threw some bills down and walked over to Raquel’s table. When she looked up at me, I had to take a few seconds to admire her beauty. She was a fucking knockout.

Then I slid into the seat across from her.

I can’t do this anymore.

Things had been rough the past two weeks. It felt like I was living a double life. I spent most of my days and nights with Angel. However, I started to feel guilty. I couldn’t tell him what was going on. It was important that I handled this on my own. It wasn’t fair for me to bring him into my past. By the same token, I couldn’t put his life in jeopardy either.

Instead, I did my best to figure out how to solve this my way. I tried to keep my distance during the day or keep Angel inside his apartment. Most times, I just appealed to his need to ravish my body.

Appealing to his need wasn’t hard at all because I couldn’t seem to get enough of that man. Goodness gracious, it seemed I’d jump his bones every chance I could. I attacked him the moment he got out of the shower or, hell, even when he was in the shower. I grabbed ahold of him when he was cooking us dinner or sitting next to me watching baseball. My favorite time to take him was when he was doing nothing but lounging on the couch, drink in hand, cigar in the other as Jazz or instrumental music wafted his ears, which was a hell of a turn on.

If I wasn’t attacking him, he was attacking me.

When he left the apartment to be a badass mob boss every day, I took that time to meet up with Ira. He was helping me try and figure out who was coming for me. He agreed with me and gave compelling argument on why I shouldn’t tell Angel.

“He will only make things worse.”

At the time, I thought he was right. I knew what Angel was potentially capable of, and Ira knew first hand. There was no telling what Angel would do if he knew what was going on, so I had gone along with Ira by keeping this from Angel.

Now, however, I realized that was a mistake. I needed to tell Angel. For one thing, I knew he would do whatever it took to make me safe. He would also do whatever it took to make me
feel
safe too. I was afraid half out of my mind and wanted the man that I was in love with to protect me.

I wanted to feel his protective arms around me keeping me safe. I wanted to feel his strength cover me. I needed it. I needed and desired to have him tell me that everything would be fine. Deep down, even though I wouldn’t admit it then, I wanted him to make it all go away. Whatever it took for him to make that happen I was all for it. I was just tired of being scared. I was tired of looking over my shoulders, wondering if this was going to be the moment…

Yeah, that’s what scared me the most; the unknown. It was the not knowing if I would live through the next second, the not knowing if I would see my family again, that was plaguing me. But most of all, the not knowing if I would ever see Angel again had me sick to my stomach.

I looked across at Ira. He ate the food on his plate as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He drove us to the Denny’s on Baltimore Pike, west of the city. It was getting harder and harder for me to meet him. He promised to make this go away, and I needed to let him do that ASAP. However, my patience and life was ticking away. He just wasn’t doing the job, and as each passing day went by, I became more and more afraid. It was time I did what I should’ve done a long time ago.

I waited a beat before I said to him, “I have to tell him.”

“Tell who, babe?” he replied without lifting his eyes from his plate.

I rolled my eyes. “Ira, stop calling me by those pet names.”

He looked up at me, mouth full of pancakes and smiled. “I can’t help it. No matter what you’ll always be mine.”

“Uh, no, I won’t and no, I am not. Look, I appreciate all that you’re trying to do, but I’m done with all of this. I’m going to tell him what’s going on.”

Ira swallowed quickly. “Babe, I know you’re scared.”

I laughed that nervous laugh you do when your life starts crumbling around you. “Scared? Shit, Ira, I’m beyond scared. I’m petrified.” I brought my hands up from underneath the table. The quiver in them, in me, was getting worse. “I can’t stop shaking.”

Ira touched my arm, then went to pull my hand into his, and I moved it from the table.

“There is someone coming after me for something that I had no clue I was doing. I don’t know who it is or when it’s coming. None of your connections have come through, and I can’t…” I stopped short, feeling my eyes fill with sadness, with dread, with finality.

“Just give me time, Roxy,” he said quietly, but I shook my head.

“I can’t, don’t you understand? God, every second that goes by not knowing… I’m tired of lying. I’m tired of wondering. I don’t want to keep this from him anymore.”

Ira leaned closer to me and attempted to touch me again, but I wouldn’t let him.

I could see the frustration building in him, but for the life of me, I didn’t understand why. This was my life we were talking about, not his. They weren’t coming after him; they were coming after me.

“Raquel, I know you’re scared. I’m scared too, but we have to stick together. I promise you, I will get you out of this. Hey, you agreed that that involving Angel would be a bad idea. Bringing him into the mix could only worsen things for you. It could bring more heat down on you.”

“No, I don’t think so anymore. I really don’t.”

“You’re not thinking straight. Just-”

“No!” I protested, knowing my voice was raising, but I didn’t care. I felt one tear fall from my eyes then another.

I took a deep breath and said firmly, “You’re not listening. Ira. Shit has gotten unbearable, okay? Every second that passes, I wonder if
this
would be the moment that I take my last breath. I feel like that all the time-”

“Roxy-”

“…except when I’m with him.”

I kept my steady gaze on Ira, trying to let him know what I felt. I didn’t care if I hurt his feelings. This was about me, not him.

Ira took a few deep breaths, trying his best to get himself under control. I wiped my eyes showing complete determination underneath the naked panic coursing through my body. I wasn’t changing my mind.

He saw that I wasn’t budging. He just nodded and sighed deeply.

“I see there’s no changing your mind.” I didn’t reply, so he replied. “Okay, when are you-”

“As soon as I see him,” I insisted. “Hopefully before we go to dinner tonight,” I answered quickly.

“Okay, and what about the fears you expressed earlier? The ones where you thought Angel would be pissed that you kept this from him and that you feared you’d lose him.”

I shook my head. “I can’t think about that now. I don’t like looking over my shoulder. I can’t keep putting Angel at risk.”

Ira’s face turned down. “Oh, please, Raquel. Angel has heat on him all the time. Do you think he would actually do you the courtesy to tell you? Let me answer that for you just in case your head is stuck in the clouds; he wouldn’t tell you shit.”

“Yeah, you may be right, but you know what he’d do? He’d never leave me alone. He would have people attached to me like glue. And, hey, I’m not going to say that I would like it. I would actually fight him on it. However, deep down inside I’d know, without a shadow of doubt, he had my back. I would know that he wouldn’t let anything ever happen to me. I wouldn’t be afraid to breathe like I am now.”

Ira frowned. “Oh, so you think I don’t have your back?”

“No, I’m not saying that you don’t. Ira, I want to feel safe. This is about me and not you, right?”

He didn’t reply. He just kept his lips tight and watched me. We stared at each other for a few minutes before I could see the resolve in him settle. He sighed deeply defeated. “I get it, Roxy. Do what you must. Do what makes you feel the safest. Before you talk to him, let me make-” We both suddenly jumped out of our skin as we heard a metal on metal collision outside of the restaurant we were sitting in.

As I looked outside of the window, it took me a second to realize that someone actually ran into the car Ira was driving.

“Son of a bitch!” he yelled and stood quickly.

I stood too, searching in my purse for some money to pay for our food so that we could leave.

“Stay right here. I’ll handle it, damn,” Ira ordered.

I frowned, ready to remind him this was exactly what I was trying to tell him. He’d left me multiple times to go make a phone call or use the restroom. You would think that after my speech, he would get the hint. As I watched him run out to go yell at some young kid, who really looked familiar, I was confirmed that Ira really didn’t get it.

I was about to signal for our server when a man replaced Ira in the booth across for me.

“Damn, that’s some kind of crazy,” replied one of the scariest, hottest, badasses I had ever seen.

“I’m sorry, but that seat’s taken,” I managed to squeak out while wondering if I got up and ran right now, how quickly he would catch me.

“Yup, it sure is,” he quipped tersely.

Is this how it’s going to end? Being killed by sarcasm?

Feeling a little bit more courage, I said to him, “Yeah, and if you value your life, you will remove your ass or-”

“Or else what? Your boyfriend will be upset?”

I snarled at his obvious obnoxiousness. “Yes, my boyfriend will be extremely upset. He has a bad temper.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you are definitely right about that, but I guess I’m a little confused on which boyfriend that would be; the little
idiota
that just got up or Leonetti?”

At the sound of Angel’s name, I tensed.

Who is this son of a bitch?

I started to ask him, but suddenly, looking into his deep dark and dangerous eyes, I decided making my exit would be safer. I recognized that look and every time I saw it, things never ended well for me.

“You want to sit here? Fine. I’m gone.” I quickly grabbed my stuff and slid out of the booth.

Just as I stood and turned, I heard him say, “Sit down, Raquel.”

I turned with paralyzing fear. “How do you-”

“Never mind how I know your name. That’s not what should concern you.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it isn’t. See, what you should be concerned about is what I plan to say to my cousin the moment I pull out my phone to dial his number. Shit, from the looks of you and the little
idiota,
I have a lot to say to Angel. But, again, that would depend on you.” He looked up at me, and I swear I couldn’t breathe. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes.

I instinctively looked out to the parking lot and saw Ira talking on the phone while looking at the damage to the car he was driving.

The kid that actually hit his car didn’t seem phased one bit. In fact, he had his arms folded in front of him, eyes staring directly through the glass at me.

“Don’t waste your concerns on Innis… Iraq… Whatever the fuck his name is. It’s clear he doesn’t give a shit about you. He cares more about that car outside.” He then glanced quickly outside just as I sat back down. “That does look bad. Hope he has insurance.”

When his eyes finally fell back on mine, I realized why that look he had earlier was so familiar. I instantly started looking around the restaurant expectantly. This man could only be one person, based solely on his need to have Angel’s back.

“He’s not here,” Lincoln said to me. He wore a black fedora with a black leather jacket, black tee and black jeans. His hands folded in front of him, giving me that look of having a complete lack of patience.

“You need to start talking and convince me that what you’re doing is for the betterment of my cousin, because if it’s not and you’ve put him in danger, shit will not end well for you.”

I grabbed my glass of water and took a few sips to wet my dry-as-the-desert mouth. I cleared my throat as best I could and finally admitted the truth to him and myself.

“I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”

Lincoln just sighed. “Why haven’t you told him?”

I shook my head. “Because I don’t have a clue what he would do.”

“What do you mean? I can tell you exactly what would happen. For one, you wouldn’t be out here exposed to anyone with a long-range rifle to pick you off.”

I didn’t have an answer for that, so I just nervously placed my shaking hands on the table, then put them, folded, in my lap.

“Look, Raquel, I understand your hesitation. Don’t look so surprised. It’s clear to me you know who I am, right?”

I nodded.

“It’s also safe to say that you have a pretty good idea what I did for the family, or you could use your context clues and figure it out.” I nodded again. “Okay, so, in order to make sure I did my job, I had to know everything about Angel and anyone that came across his path; that included you. So, I know all about you. I made it my business to know. I knew the moment that you decided you wanted to get into another line of work, and I knew the moment you got yourself into this shit that has followed you from Cali.”

I shook my head incredulously. “You can’t possibly…” I started, but the look in his eyes told me that he was telling me the truth. I changed tactics and asked, “So, if you know, then does…” I couldn’t even finish the question.

Lincoln didn’t need me to. However, he didn’t reply for a spell. He just looked at me, studied me with this appraising and judging look in his eyes.