Motown Showdown (13 page)

I knew which way this call would go but wanted to believe he’d pick the right side. “The way I see it is, you got two choices,” he says answering his phone. “Either you stand down and give me Gadget. Or die with Gadget making me a very rich psychopath.”

“Tempting,” I say biting my lip. “But here’s the thing, I will not stand down. By taking this job, you no longer work for me or have my protection. You’re on my kill list Whisky, make your final prayers count or do us both a favor and overdose.”

Laughing at me turns into
tsking
me. “You don’t get it,” he says slowly. “This ain’t your game anymore, little girl. Pilgrim wants one agency running things, and it ain’t yours. Now that I think about it watch your handler’s back too. Ain’t he all you got left?”

“When I come for you,” I tell him standing up. “You’re going to feel it, but you won’t be able to get a lock because I’m invisible. So when I tell you that slitting you from sac to the sternum is going to be fun for me, it’s because I’ll be doing it while Rachel watches.”

“You fucking---”

“You touch what belongs to me; I
destroy
what belongs to you. I taught you what you know but, best believe I didn’t teach you everything I know. You chose the wrong side, bitch; I’m coming for you.”

Then throwing the phone down, I struggle to catch my breath. Running to the sink I put my wrists under the cold water hoping it would calm me. It didn’t. Cleaning my hands and calling Bobo, I keep it simple. “Whisky is a go I need his location yesterday.”

As he types on his side, I continue to take shallow breaths. “He’s in California at Rachel’s place; I’ll keep an eye on flights and send you what I have.”

“He threatened you,” I warn him. “I won’t let it happen, but you need to prepare.”

“You know better than to worry about me,” he says while typing.

“You’re all I’ve got,” I choke out.

“And I ain’t going down by the likes of Whisky,” he says firmly. Then he hangs up, and I’m left with frustration and dead air.

“Fuck,” I whisper to the sink.

“Get rid of it before he comes back,” Rome says from behind me.

“I know,” I mumble.

“You love him,” he says.

“Yep.”

“Kill for him too, huh?”

“Every chance I get.”

“This guy any good?” he asks coming to stand next to me.

“He’s good,” I say meeting his crystal blue eyes. Seriously, this man’s eyes. “But, I’m better.”

“Well, I think I just got to know you,” he says deadpanning, and in that moment it was exactly what I needed. Laughing, I take a seat at the table and nod toward him.

“Enough about me, tell me about you.”

He did.

The football star brought down by a false rape charge. Ten years of his life…
gone
. Poof, stolen from him in a blink. Not just him, but Kandace too, the woman who loved him since college. Trying to rebuild his life with her and all the while he knows he can’t even fucking move because he’d have to disclose he was on the sex offender’s list.

“Did you ever want to kill her?” I ask casually.

“Yes.”

“Would you have done it?”

“No.”

“Why not?” I ask
needing
to know the answer.

“It’s not who I am,” he says simply. And it was true, it wasn’t who he was and that’s what made Roman, Roman. “I have to trust karma or the universe, to do what I can’t. Kandace wants me to go back to court and fight but for what? It won’t bring those years back. Fuck, nothing’s bringing those years back.”

He was right, and he was wrong. No, he couldn’t get those years back but the whore responsible could pay.

“When this is over, I want you to meet my dads,” I tell her first thing this morning.

“Okay.”

“That’s it? Okay?”

“I’ve been watching them too,” she says softly. “I feel like I’ve known them forever. Plus, they made you. I already love them, Gage.”

My sister is a lot of things, but subtle isn’t one of them.

She set me up. Driving back from the bomb she forced me to drop on our dads I can’t shake myself of the shock. They weren’t freaked out either. I fessed up, they looked at each other, then at me and asked if they looked stupid. Followed by the lecture that parents know their kids, blah blah blah.

I couldn’t be pissed at Kandace for it, but I would be giving her shit for years to come. Heading over to Eastern Market to grab some food, I was anxious to get back to Camo. Anxiety was not something I battled until we started sharing space. She can feel incredibly close then miles away depending on her mood. I understood she was going stir crazy in that house; I was too, but her health and safety came first.

“They would love her, you know,” she says grabbing her reusable bags for shopping.

“She would blend right in. Get it? Camo, blend?”

“I know,” because I was thinking the exact same thing.

“Soon.”

Browsing the aisles, Kandace chooses her produce like she does everything else, with focus, oh and slowly. “It’s lettuce,” I grunt. “Grab some and let’s go.”

Letting out a laugh she doesn’t pick up the lettuce but turns to stare me down. “You want to get back to Camo, I can understand that but she needed a minute, big brother, and so did you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re crowding her.”

“Did she say that to you?”

“No,” she says laughing at me. “She did not and she probably doesn’t even notice yet, but that’s what you’re doing. That woman loves you, Gage, and I don’t want her hurt when this is over.” Blinking at her, I honest to God was lost.

“Hurt?” I ask.

“When you leave her behind,” she says sadly.

“Did I say I was doing that?” I ask wondering where this came from. “Where’d that come from?”

“Because she’s perfect for you, challenges you, and doesn’t take your shit. But mostly, it’s because it’s what you do. You’re easy to love, you just never love back.”

“It’s different with Camo,” I assure her. “She gets me, knows what’s on the line.”

“I hope so,” she says finally grabbing the lettuce. “Because, I already love her.”

Dropping my shoulders in defeat, I think on her concerns but easily dismiss them. Camo was different, I was different when I was with her because I was able to be myself while I was with her. “Does she like sweet potatoes?” she asks breaking my train of thought.

“I don’t know,” I tell her truthfully.

“Hang on,” she says grabbing her phone and putting it to her ear. “Baby, ask Camo if she likes sweet potatoes.” There was a pause and then she looked up at me and smiles, “She does, yay!” laughing I watch her buy extra and stuff them in her bag. Loading up with apples, I grab one taking a bite. Granny Smith, fucking tasty.

“Let me ask you something,” I start. “How’d you know he was it for you?”

“Think of Camo with another man, a man that loves her, like you love her. Only you can’t have her.”

“I can’t,” I grate out. “It’s too hard.”

“That’s how I know because we both feel that way,” she says simply. “That’s how she feels about you.”

“We play games together, on our phones I mean. We like to compete. We play trivia, chess, words with friends, fucking scrabble too. I play all of ‘em because it gives me a reason to talk to her.”

“That’s sweet,” she says dreamily.

“But now I’ve got her in person and it’s even better than I imagined. She’s only twenty-four,” I throw out. “Younger than you, hell all of us.”

“She looks younger than that until you catch her eyes, then she looks older, a lot older.”

“She does not,” I argue thinking she was fucking perfect.

“She does so,” she snaps. “Camo has the eyes of a leader who carries a lot of weight and worry. She hides it behind a smile and chipper demeanor, but those eyes are ancient, Gage.”

She was right, they were. I was just unable to explain it as well as she did. The eyes of an ancient that was Camo. Stowing her bags in the trunk, we climb into head back to the house. “Seventeen times she’s saved my life,” I murmur. “Thought it was nine.”

“Wow,” she says blowing out a breath. “She’s
good
.”

“There is none better,” I confirm. Then it occurs to me that Kandace was with the times, she’d be able to clue me in on the shit I tuned out of years ago. “Camo said she was a Swifter,” I mention. “Any idea what the fuck that is? Is it something I can buy for her?”

Throwing her head back and barking out a laugh she says, “I just love her,” before hitting a button on her stereo. Music filled the car, and I didn’t know if I wanted to cover my ears or jump out of a moving car. Kandace though, she was singing, dancing in her seat and using her phone as a mic.

Camo
likes
this?

On purpose?

Lowering the volume, Kandace looks over and says, “Taylor Swift is the shit, Gage.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, so I didn’t say anything one way or the other. Smiling to myself, it was nice to know she wasn’t perfect. She had shit taste in music.

“You don’t do favors. You start doing hits as favors; you’ve crossed a line.” ~Bobo

I was pissed off, and Rome knew I was pissed off. First, I was pissed because of Whisky’s dumb ass and was throwing around when to kill him then… I heard about the cunt (no really, it suits) Michelle Porter and what her jealous ass did to ruin ten fucking years of this guy’s life and to top it off, I worried for Bobo and Gage.

That piece of shit, Pilgrim, was going to deep throat the end of my rifle and gag while he did it.

Rome, sensing my hostility, tried to settle me down but in the rare instances I get like this, he found out quickly there was no getting through to me. Letting him know I needed a minute he went next door, allowing me the time not to cool but to plan.

Whisky and Pilgrim were on hold until one of them gave me an opening, so dialing Bobo I made it quick in case Rome came back. “I was busy,” he says in a surly voice.

“Porn can wait,” I remind him. For a senior citizen, he had the libido of a sixteen-year-old on roids. “Caucasian female, age 26-29 legal name Michelle Elizabeth Porter, Michigan resident, rich daddy named Michael Porter, find her for me. Residence, job, either works.”

“Business or personal?” he counters at my strange request.

“Both,” I answer then hang up the phone.

Ten minutes later he sends me what I needed. Sending him a link back to some serious girl on girl action, I store the info and change my clothes. Heading next door, I knock before entering to find Rome playing Call of Duty. Taking a seat next to him, he hands me a remote and asks, “You good?” to which I gave him the
duh
look.

“Let me ask you something,” I say setting my guy up with an MP7 and two grenades. “If you put Kandace in a room with Michelle what would happen?”

“She’d beat the fucking shit out of her,” he says smiling. “Did beat the shit out of her too, want to watch the tape?”

“I kill people for money,” I roll my eyes. “Of course, I do.”

Then we did and the second Kandace kicked the bitch into the wall I knew if I had a dick it would have been hard. Settling for a serious girl crush, I let out a whistle and high fived Rome. “That answers that,” I say sitting back with a smile.

“She loves me,” he says like it’s unbelievable. “She did that because I couldn’t. That bitch stole ten years from her too.”

Before I could speak, I heard two car doors slam and lean in fast. “I need you to keep Gage busy so I can have girl time with Kandace.”

“No problem,” he says easily. “When?”

“In 3, 2, 1…” I count as they walk in.

Jumping up, Rome approaches Gage and demands help in the basement with the water heater. It was a horrible cover, and I wanted to laugh, but Gage agreed, which gave me my opening. “I need to run by my place and get some things and since I’m sans car, Kandace, would you want to take me?”

“Heck yeah,” she says heading for the door.

“Wait,” says Gage stopping her. “Camo, I don’t think---”

“You just took her to your dads,” I remind him. “The same sister who is also a ninja and can take care of herself has me, the best hitter ever to watch her six. Our biggest threat is in Cali, and your ex-partner is not dumb enough to act too soon so, I’ll ask you to rephrase what you were about to say.”