Love in La Terraza (18 page)

Please don’t tell him it was Daddy.

She’d said it over and over again, even after Henry promised her he wouldn’t.

He’d never realized exactly how much water a human being could hold until that night. He was surprised the poor girl hadn’t required hospitalization for dehydration.

It was clear she was ashamed and even clearer exactly how much she treasured Cain’s friendship, considering how terrified she was by the thought of losing it.

Henry didn’t believe for one second Cain would ever blame Emily for anything her father had done. Cain had certainly never hidden his disdain for the man, but he wasn’t the type who’d cut ties with someone he loved over something they had no control over. And Cain loved Emily—Henry hadn’t understood why until that evening, but while he still found her to be a slightly frivolous individual, he did respect her on an entirely new level.

“We’ve got movement, people,” Grantham said, propped up with one arm, leaning atop the computer desk as he watched Snead on the monitors.

“Where did he get those keys?” Cain asked, seeing Ned tossing them into the air with one hand and holding a crowbar in the other.

“Probably broke into your apartment, swiped your set and made himself a copy,” Warner commented.

“What’s he looking for?” the lady officer asked.

Grantham took a sip from his cup. “Not sure? Maybe the best spot to do the most damage?”

“Aw
man
!” Cain said, chewing on his fingernail, likely worried about the repair bill. “Do we really have to let him dama…”

Cain trailed off as the entire room went dead quiet, watching Ned Snead go ape-shit crazy, swinging the crowbar into a lead sewer pipe over and over again.

“Je-
sus
!” Henry said.

“That dude is psycho,” the lady cop said, her eyes wide as saucers as they watched Snead go to town.

“Think that’s enough?” Grantham asked Warner.

“If it’s not, I’m not sure what the hell would be,” Warner said, nudging his head toward the door. “Let’s go get the little freak.”

Henry grabbed Cain and pulled him out of the way as Warner got on his walkie-talkie and issued a call to action, announcing they were going in. They supposedly had cops already on each of the two entrances to the cellar. The one woman stayed put, monitoring the feeds as Grantham and Warner disappeared.

Cain cringed, hypnotized by Ned who was still whacking away on the pipes. Cain groaned, able to see the pipe start to leak.

Ned stopped swinging suddenly, dropping the crowbar in a panic as cops came rushing toward him. Henry and Cain couldn’t hear anything but could tell there was a lot of yelling as Snead fell to his knees and placed his hands behind his head.

“It’s okay, baby,” Henry whispered, hugging Cain who was muttering. “They got him. It’s all over now.”

“Thank goodness, the bank finally came through with a loan,” Cain said. “We’re gonna need it to fix all that damage.”

“Insurance should cover this, Cain. That’s not what anyone would consider normal wear and tear.”

Henry was more than a little suspicious over the fact several of the banks Cain had gone to for loans had begun calling over the past few days, stating they were suddenly able to put together some new terms for him. He was certain Haven had something to do with it, had probably done everything he could to ensure Cain couldn’t get a loan before Emily had threatened to go to the police, not that they’d ever be able to prove it.

Asshole had all the local banks in his pocket, no doubt.

As they watched the cops dragging Snead out of the cellar, Henry smiled, feeling Cain latching onto him a little tighter, an act that was quickly becoming one of Henry’s favorites. He kissed him on the forehead, keeping it G as Emily would say, considering there was a lady cop in the room.

“Come on,” Henry said, pulling Cain toward the door. “Let’s go give the bastard our best evil glare as they perp walk his ass to a squad car.”

Cain chuckled, patting Henry on the chest. “That does sound semi-satisfying.”

“Stick with me, kid,” Henry said. “I do aim to satisfy.”

“Is it bad to wish someone might shiv the fucker in prison?” Cain asked, looking truly disturbed by his newly discovered dark side.

“Well, it’s certainly not good, baby,” Henry said, trying his best not to laugh. “But understandable, if nothing else.”

Chapter Nine

Grinning like a complete idiot as he came through the door of Sully’s tavern, Cain suffered déjà vue-y flashbacks to only a few months before, when he’d held what seemed like the weight of the world on his shoulders and believed all was lost. Now, he was walking in the hero, having just signed a new short-term loan providing him enough money to make all of the necessary improvements to La Terraza.

Luckily, he now had a handsome architect on permanent retainer to oversee every step of the renovations. Cain was aware it was something he could’ve handled himself, but there was a lot he didn’t know, and having Henry around would prevent him from getting taken by any unscrupulous repairmen. Plus, the man was currently between paychecks so it was a project that could keep him occupied while he went searching for work.

Cain began laughing the instant the entire table of friends, family and beloved tenants erupted into applause upon seeing him. His face went beet red, of that he harbored zero doubts. They were all yelping and making a general nuisance of themselves, and he loved them for it.

Nic got to him first, grabbing him up in a hug just before Stu wrapped his big beefy arms around the both of them. One by one, they each took a turn, the Scalia brothers and Ruth, Eddie and Matt, Cain’s parents and aunt—of course, Emily and her fiancé, Greg were nowhere to be found.

“She swore she’d be here,” Henry said, seeing the look on Cain’s face.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Cain said, taking advantage of the opportunity to give Henry a quick peck.

“I’m not much of a hugger,” Detective Grantham said, awkwardly offering a hand for Cain to shake.

Cain shook his head at the man and hugged him anyway, though he made it a quick, in-and-out, in an attempt to lessen the torture.

“You finally all moved in, Mitch?” Matt asked as everyone took a seat around the three tables they’d pushed together in the center of the bar.

“I am, thanks. It’s official,” Mitch said with a smile that almost seemed painful, as if he weren’t used to socializing with others…or used to smiling, for that matter.

“Welcome to your new home,” Ruth offered, raising a glass of wine as a toast.

Cain took a swig from Henry’s beer while he ordered another round for the table from the waitress.

“Thank you, Mrs. Robinson,” Mitch said.

“Let me take this opportunity to let you all know there will be several minor inconveniences in the coming months as repairs get under way,” Cain said, grinning sheepishly.

That elicited a round of pained groans from the entire table as Cain rolled his eyes.

Henry tossed his arm around the back of Cain’s chair. “Don’t you listen to any of it, babe.”

“We’re so proud of you,” Mamma Jean said, beaming.

“Sure as shit never thought you’d pull through it, kid,” his dad said plainly which garnered some snickering as well as a smack upside the back of the head by his mother then his aunt. “What? Don’t act like it was just me.”

Cain sighed. “Charlie was a big help with all the loan stuff, so please tell him I said thank you. Too bad he couldn’t make it tonight.”

“He’s on another date with that uppity little bastard I can’t stand,” Aunt Tracy said, looking longingly at Henry. “Why he can’t find a nice young man like your Henry.”

Cain turned to Henry and whispered, “Finally found something I do better than my cousin.”

Mitch chuckled under his breath, having overheard it.

Henry winked. “I’ve no doubt you do a great many things better.”

It was a statement full of leery implications, and Cain was suddenly ready go home and work on making a list.

“Exactly how long before all the construction gets under way?” Eddie asked, looking mildly stressed.

Cain understood. Any changes, especially the kind that came with construction crews leaving shit all over the place, were more of a hazard for him. Cain always made sure nothing was moved or altered throughout the courtyard as it was dangerous for Eddie who required continuity throughout any living and public areas.

“You know I’ll take care of you, Eddie,” Cain said, smiling when Eddie did, having put him at ease.

“You do have me, as well,” Matt reminded him.

“Yes, of course,” Eddie took a sip from his wine glass. “But you’re not always around, lover.”

“I’ll be on hand, as well, guys,” Henry said with a sigh. “Not like I have a job to run off to anymore.”

“I was actually hoping to speak with you about that, Henry,” a voice said from behind them.

Cain turned when Henry started to get up out of his seat.

“Larry, what brings you here?” Henry asked, shaking the man’s hand.

“Your assistant, Anna, told me I could find you here,” Larry Hamilton said. The older man’s smile was warm yet tinged with trepidation. “Hopefully, I can add to what is obviously some sort of celebration.”

“We’re celebrating the fact that I didn’t lose La Terraza,” Cain said, not bothering to hide his snide tone from the other half of Hamilton-Bach.

Henry folded his arms, staring at Hamilton as if attempting to figure out what the man was up to.

“Yes, I believe you are owed an apology, Mr. Elliott,” Larry began. “You may or may not choose to believe me when I say that I had no idea Franklin had stooped to such underhanded measures in an attempt to obtain your property. That’s not to say I didn’t know we were trying to acquire it, but to my knowledge, you were being offered a fair price and we were making an honest bid.”

Henry nodded, though his face was still filled with doubt. “I must say, I was shocked by Franklin’s behavior, but honestly, Larry, that you could’ve been party to it was damn near difficult to swallow.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, son,” Hamilton said. “Let me continue by stating that Franklin is no longer associated with Ham-Bach. As a matter of fact, it’s very soon going to be just Ham—that is, unless I might be able to persuade you into something more along the lines of Hamilton-Abrams?”

Cain turned to Mamma Jean who’d just gasped as if the man had just handed Henry a check for a million dollars. She shrugged off his glare.

Henry glanced down at Cain.

“Don’t look at me,” Cain said. “I’ll support you in whatever you do. It’s your career, pal.”

“Look here, you don’t need to say anything now,” Larry said. “Just think it over for a few days, and if you’re at all interested, we can meet for dinner and discuss it further.”

“I can do that much, Larry,” Henry said, moving out of the way when the waitress came back with a tray filled with miscellaneous beers and cocktails. “I appreciate you coming down here personally.”

“The Peterman Group wasn’t happy to hear you’d gone, and neither was I, for that matter.” Larry looked around the table before settling on Cain once again. “I am sincerely sorry for any distress caused to you on behalf of the company, Mr. Elliott. I am deeply ashamed to have discovered any of it was going on.”

Cain smiled, finding it difficult to doubt his sincerity. “Thank you for saying so, sir.”

“I won’t intrude any longer on your evening,” Hamilton said, shaking Henry’s hand once more. “I look forward to hearing from you, Henry. I hope I get the opportunity to prove you hadn’t completely misplaced your trust in the company when you relocated here.”

“Thank you again, Larry,” Henry said. “Hope you and the misses have a great weekend.”

Hamilton nodded then waved at the table before turning to leave.

Henry was chewing on his lip when he sat back down, and Cain could tell he was a million miles away. He’d mentioned on multiple occasions how much he’d liked Hamilton and how betrayed he felt by Ham-Bach’s crooked business dealings. Cain had never wanted anything to be truer than he did the words that had just come out of Larry Hamilton’s mouth. If for Henry’s peace of mind if nothing else, Cain thought, taking him by the hand before turning to the rest of the table and announcing that everyone was invited to the terrace of La Terraza for a dinner party under the stars the next night hosted by him.

As the table erupted in conversation once more, Cain heard Emily’s voice from behind him and turned.

“I hope that invite includes me?” she asked, her hands on Cain’s shoulder as she looked down as he leaned back in his chair, looking up at her.

“You know it does,” Cain said, happy she’d shown up. He understood she was busy, with a life of her own, but he missed her.

“It better, though I do have my own key, so it’s not like you can keep me out,” Emily added.

Henry sat up, having heard that. “We’ll be needing that key back as you can’t be trusted to use it responsibly.”