Wild Aces (27 page)

“It was a rough night. I wasn’t sure you were ever going to wake up.”

I handed her the glass and crossed my arms over my face. “The sun, Vera.”

She drew the shades and made it dark.

“Thank you.”

“I hope you’re hungry. I cooked you another feast.”

“Another?”

The smell of whatever she had made smacked me in the nose.

“I cooked you two huge bowls of pasta when we got home.”

I sat up, still covering my eyes. “How long ago was that?” Once my feet were on the floor, I started to get my bearings. The black behind my eyelids swirled a little slower.

“Twelve hours ago.”

“I’m surprised I slept that long.” I slowly opened my eyes and squeezed the sides of my head, hoping the pressure would stop the pounding. “Shit.”

“Food will help. Trust me.”

I walked the few short steps to the kitchen and sat at the table, slurping down the coffee that was already there. “I drank way too much.”

“Yes, you did.” She handed me a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, and three pancakes. “Still use warm maple syrup?”

“Hell yes,” I said before she poured it all over the plate.

She had taught me to eat my breakfast that way—all of it covered in syrup, not just the pancakes.

“It’s a good thing you made me leave last night. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I’d stayed.”

She squeezed my hand as she sat down, a small plate of eggs in front of her that she’d covered in syrup. “I do…and it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

I took a bite of the pancakes. Man, that woman could cook.

“I know I didn’t give birth to you,” she said as I ate, “but I’ve always considered you my kid, and I’d like to think I know what’s best for you.”

I remembered her calling me her son last night. I liked the way it sounded.

“I’m just happy you listened to me ’cause you needed some good rest and some solid food in your stomach.”

I took a few more bites. “I owe Roman an apology.”

“He called earlier to check on you. So did Adrianna. We’re all worried about you, honey.”

That meant they’d all talked and shared whatever they knew. Roman was the only one who probably didn’t say much and just listened. But I’d learned over the years that when I told Vera or Adrianna something, the other two always found out. That was the way my circle worked—always having my back, always trying to figure out what was best for me.

“That pickup was ugly,” I said.

“I know. I cursed Adrianna up a storm for having you go there.”

“She didn’t have a choice. She had no one else to ask, and the seller wanted me because he wanted to negotiate.” I gritted my teeth as I remembered his ridiculous request. “A baby…can you fucking believe that? Kicking one in the back and treating it like shit and having the balls to ask for a new one.”

“It makes me sick.” She held the coffee mug close to her mouth. “Brea texted while you were sleeping, by the way.”

I looked at her, not at all shocked that she knew about Brea, too. “Oh, yeah?”

“When your phone started beeping, I took it out of your pocket and turned it on silent, so it wouldn’t wake you. Your battery was almost dead, so I plugged it in.” She pointed to the counter. “It’s over there, charging.”

“She texted…” I said it more for myself than for her.

“Your phone has been going off a lot.”

“I’m afraid to look at it.” I dug into the pancakes, having saved the sweetest part for last.

“Because of last night?”

“I told Ruddy to fuck off and said some pretty shitty things to Shay, from what I remember. I fucked up Roman’s bathroom. Brea wants space from me. Adrianna probably needs my help, and I haven’t reached out to her in almost a day. I don’t know what I said to you last night when we got back here, but I doubt it was pretty. Yeah, I can’t imagine any of the texts on my phone are going to be nice ones.”

She put down the mug and stared at me as she spoke, “You barely said a word when we got back here, besides telling me how hungry you were, and then you passed out as soon as you were done eating. Adrianna and Roman aren’t upset with you at all. Shay and Ruddy—who the hell cares about them anyway? They shouldn’t be working at Aced for much longer. And Brea…well, at least she texted you. I’d say that’s a good sign.”

“Maybe.”

I suddenly remembered the texts we’d exchanged at the club. She was going to visit Cody’s parents. I was sure she had texted to tell me how it went.

“You done?” I asked.

Her plate was empty, and so was mine, but I waited for her to nod before taking them into the kitchen.

“Go get ready for work. I’ll clean up,” I said.

Vera didn’t have a dishwasher or a washer and dryer. I’d tried to buy them for her in the past, but she refused every time. And whenever I tried to move her into a newer place that had all these things, she always turned me down. She didn’t have a husband or an ex-husband, didn’t have kids, so she could afford to spoil herself, especially with the money I gave her. But she wouldn’t do it. She said she didn’t need much, and I knew that was true. I’d slept on her couch until I was eighteen, and we lived off almost nothing. I’d gotten used to the nice things, and Vera didn’t need them.

I wiped off the counter, cleaned around the burners on the stove, and picked up my phone on my way out of the kitchen. Brea’s text was as short as all her others had been.

Brea: Done. Learned almost nothing.

There were texts from Roman and Adrianna and one from Shay that I didn’t open. I’d deal with her in person. I wasn’t about to get into a screaming match through texts.

“I’m stealing some toothpaste,” I said as I walked into the bathroom.

Vera was doing her makeup at the sink. “Go right ahead, honey. I might even have an extra toothbrush somewhere in the medicine cabinet.”

I checked; she was right.

I wet it, covered it in toothpaste, and moved into the doorway to give her more room.

“Where you headed to?” she asked.

“I’ll probably call Brea and see where that takes me.”

“Will you be by the club tonight?”

I rinsed my mouth out and threw the toothbrush away. “I don’t think so. I’ve got to spend some time at the compound.”

She kissed the air, so she wouldn’t get her red lipstick on me. “It was nice having you home.”

I leaned in and kissed her cheek. The scent of the club was permanently on her skin, even when she tried to shower it off.

“It was good to be home.”

She smiled. “I’ll see you soon.”

I grabbed my jacket on the way out and got into a taxi at the end of the block. I called Brea once I gave the driver my address.

“Hey,” I said. “Tell me how it went.”

“Trapper, I told you not to call me.”

“Yeah, and I listened.” I hadn’t called her for three days, which was more space than I’d planned on giving her. “I just want to know how things went.”

“My text told you.”

I couldn’t stand how cold she sounded. “Brea, you had to learn at least something while you were there. This is about my brother…not us.”

“Like I said, it wasn’t a whole lot.” Her tone finally started to lighten a little. “His parents told me they used an attorney to adopt Cody. He was two months old at the time, and they don’t know where he was before they adopted him. I’ve already given my hacker friend the attorney’s name, so he can look into her.”

I heard water in the background, and she sounded out of breath.

“They don’t know your mom’s name or any information about her. It’s a dead end really.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“My laundry. Why?”

I muted the phone and gave the driver Brea’s address, telling him to take me there instead. “Did you mention me to them?” I asked her after I unmuted it.

“No. I was scared to. I don’t know how they’d handle it, and I really don’t want to find out.”

“I’m sorry. I—”

She sighed. “Trapper, don’t start apologizing. I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. This isn’t easy, and I’m struggling so hard right now with everything that’s happened. Besides when I lost Cody, this has been the most stressful few days.”

“I don’t doubt it.” I looked out the window, seeing how close I was to her place. I wasn’t going to address what had happened until I saw her in person, but I needed to keep her talking. “Has the hacker been able to find out anything at all?”

“Not yet. He’s out of town.”

I handed the driver a few bills and walked up her front steps. Then I rang her doorbell. “When will he be back?”

“Hang on a sec. Someone’s at the door.”

A second passed before I heard her breathe again.

“Trapper, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk in person.”

“I told you I wanted space. I shouldn’t have even answered my phone.”

“And I gave you space, Brea. I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want, but if you just give me a chance and hear me out, I promise I can make this better for you.” I felt her eyes on me through the peephole even though she said nothing. “There’s a whole side of my life that you don’t know about. I don’t tell anyone about it. I want to tell you, and I want to show you. Let me show you, Brea.”

She slowly opened the door, and we each dropped the phone from our ears.

“You’ll hear me out?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I looked behind me; the taxi was gone. “You got a car?”

“No. Why? Should I?”

“Then we’ll have to cab it to my place to get my car, and then I’ll take you to the compound.”

“The compound?” she asked. “What the hell is that?”

I laid my hand over hers while she clung to the door. She didn’t pull away, but I saw her hesitation.

“It’s where you’re going to get all your answers.”

Her eyes told me she was still so torn. I got that. But she was going to have to trust me.

“I won’t hurt you, Brea. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you. You have to believe that.”

She looked at me real suspiciously, which gave me the feeling she might never fully trust me again. I hoped seeing the compound would help change her mind.

“Let me just get my jacket and purse,” she said finally. When she returned, she locked the door behind her and stood next to me.

“You ready?” I asked.

“I…have no idea. I think so.”

I asked myself the same question and came up with the same answer. We didn’t let outsiders into the compound. Not even buyers. They had their own room where that part of the business was conducted. Roman was the last outsider to go in, and he had caused such chaos that the imports who lived there had been shaken for days. I didn’t know what this was going to do to them, but I didn’t have a choice.

If I wanted Brea to know who I really was, then this was something she had to see.

Brea

Maybe I shouldn’t have opened my front door. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to hear him out. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten into his car, but as Trapper drove us out of the Back Bay, something told me I was doing the right thing. My need to see this compound was as strong as his need to show it to me. I didn’t ask him where it was or how long it was going to take to get there. He said that place would answer all my questions, and I believed him. I honestly didn’t know why. I just knew that I needed to learn what had really gone down at that apartment, who those women were and why they seemed to be working with him, and what they planned to do with that child. But how could it explain Trapper’s past, or what had made him so dark? How could it make me trust him again?

He turned on his signal and glanced at me. “What are you thinking about?”

“You.” I brushed my hands over the soft leather of the seat. When I realized how sweaty they were, I rubbed them against my jeans. This car was even nicer than Frankie’s, and hers did everything but drive itself.

“What about me?”

If I expected him to be honest with me, then I had to be honest with him. “I’m thinking about the hot sex we had at your place. The phone call you got right after. The one I got once you left. What I saw at that apartment…that little boy.”

He smiled. His teeth weren’t all straight or sparkly white, but there was nothing simple or average about his smile. “The sex really was fucking hot.”

He was avoiding all the darker topics I’d mentioned, the real reason we were even in this car.

“And what about everything else, Trapper?”

“It’ll make more sense when we get there.”

“All of it?”

“Most of it,” he said.

“I need to ask you something before we get there…but I’m afraid to know the answer.”

“Ask me anyway.”

I gripped the door handle. “That guy and that woman, the ones at the apartment, are they still alive?” I cringed as I waited for him to answer.

We came to a red light, and while he rolled to a stop, he looked at me. “You think I murdered them?”

“I don’t know.” Shit, that wasn’t what I wanted to say. If I had thought he had murdered them, would I have gotten into his car? “That sounded wrong…I mean, I truly don’t know what happened to them. And I want to know, but I kinda don’t want to know.”

“Listen, Brea, I’ve never killed anyone, and I don’t plan to. They’re alive. We just made sure they’d keep their mouths shut.”