by Marie Harte
Evan groaned. “It’s like I’m dealing with Cash but in bigger numbers.”
No one said anything. So far so good.
“Miriam’s annoyed with us, is that what you’re saying?” He turned to Reid. “Have you talked to her? I’d think you’d want to play nice with the other businesses in the building.”
Behind Evan’s back, Jordan motioned for Reid to play along. He coughed to hide the smile she saw peeking through. “Uh, I, yeah. I’ve talked to her a few times. She’s a nice woman, but you know how Cash is. And, Rob, didn’t I talk to you about that?”
Rob shrugged. “Finley did it first.”
“And that makes it all right,” Jordan said in a huff. “Evan, look, you’re not like the guys. You’re good-looking.”
“Hey!”
“I’m hot!”
“Sophisticated,” she continued, “and you know how to talk to people. I think if you charmed Miriam, she’d stop threatening to file a complaint with the landlord.”
Evan swiveled to glare at Reid. “You never told me you had problems with the other tenants. This is why you wanted me to fill the HR role, isn’t it? Not just for our people but to deal with the other businesses in the building. Because you hate PR, don’t you?”
“Of course not.”
“Isn’t it your job to smooth things over, Reid? You should handle this.”
“Ah, yeah, it is. Jordan, why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
She sighed. “I did, Reid. Remember two days ago? I mentioned it, but you were on hold on the phone or something.” Sooo many lies.
“Oh, right. Now I remember.” He clapped Evan on the back, an invisible “kick me” sign the rest of them could see.
She and the others did their best to hide their grins.
“Look, man, we’re so busy lately some things got pushed aside. Can you talk to her for me? Like Jordan said, you’re good with people. I bet Miriam will take to you, and maybe you can convince her we’re not that bad. I’ll talk to Cash about leaving her alone. And that goes for the rest of you.”
“Got it, boss.” Lafayette saluted.
“That salute sucked.” Reid rolled his eyes. “It’s so hard working with non-Marines, Evan. But you eventually get used to it.”
That started the trash talk about Navy squids, Army pukes, Air Force dweebs, and knuckle-dragging Marines. Jordan was laughing and having a blast. The beer flowed. Nachos and wings joined the table. The guys told hilarious war stories and even wittier moving stories, culminating in Funny Rob’s encounter with a crazy man who wanted him to move a houseful of mannequins he’d swear were alive.
“I’m not kidding. I think one of them waved at me. Ask Finley.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Finley shuddered. “I was too busy trying to figure out what to do with all the dummy body parts. And a few of those supposed mannequins looked like sex dolls. Seriously, that dude was weird.”
“Totally weird,” Rob agreed.
“Speaking of weird,” Lafayette muttered as Smith ambled to the table. “Well, well, Smith. Who thought you’d join the fun?”
Jordan didn’t know why Smith acted so hot and cold with the team. She’d worked with him more often than the others, and Smith pulled more than his fair share. He’d teased her a few times, but he’d never been anything but professional or quiet when working. She liked being around him, though she’d never admit that to Cash. Oddly enough—or maybe not so oddly, since Smith and Cash looked enough alike to be brothers—she felt safe with Smith.
“Hey, Smith. Pull up a chair.” She kicked out the one next to her, and he sat down with his beer.
“Smith.” Reid nodded at him.
Smith nodded back and raised a brow at Evan. “Slumming?”
Evan shot him a bright grin. “I am now.”
The guys guffawed. Even Smith cracked a smile at that. Then he gave another subtle glance. “You guys are missing some familiar faces. Where are the twins?”
“Right here. I’m not that dark I blend into the walls, am I?” Lafayette asked with a raised brow. “Although Simon says I’m gorgeous, so smooth and dark like chocolate, he wants nothing more than to lick me up.”
Funny Rob choked on his beer.
Jordan grinned. “You know, Simon has a point. You’re beautiful, and you know it.”
“I do.” No small amount of bashfulness on that killer grin.
“I meant Hector and Cash,” Smith said in his trademark sardonic voice. “Half the time I expect to see one of them buried up the other’s ass. And, hey, why aren’t they here kissing your ass, Jordan? Trouble in paradise?”
It bothered her that Smith had the same green eyes as Cash. Same color, same shape. And he had the same bad attitude, unfortunately. “You know, it was a real party before you arrived. What’s wrong? Did girlfriend number four hundred and twelve dump your ass?” A glance around the table showed the mood was considerably cooler.
Reid shook his head. “Do you ever just relax and let go, Smith? I mean, it’s Friday. Chill, man.”
“Hard to do that with that stick up his ass,” Finley muttered.
Stan and Rob choked on laughter.
“Say that a little louder, squid.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “We went over our insults like twenty minutes ago. Squid isn’t even that original. Where were you then?”
Smith didn’t seem to want to let go of his bad mood. “So you and Cash aren’t fuck buddies anymore? I mean, I get it. Who would want to be with a guy that stupid? I doubt he knows what to do in bed. With a woman, I mean.”
Lafayette leaned forward. “You got a problem with gays, Smith?”
“Nah. But a guy like Cash would freak the fuck out if you even mentioned he might be gay. And that’s who you’re sticking up for? A homophobic prick with nothing more than swagger going for him.”
“Smith, I think you need to leave.” Reid started to say more, but Jordan beat him to it.
“What exactly is your problem with Cash?” she wanted to know. “He’s a hell of a great guy. He helps everyone. He’s nice, deep down.”
“Way deep down,” Finley said.
“Shut it, Finley. And he always has your back. Even yours, taking crappy shifts so you could have that time off you needed. And you treat him like dirt. Cash is a stand-up guy.”
“And he’s hot, don’t forget that,” Lafayette added with a wink, taking the tension from the group.
Funny Rob cracked up. “Totally hot.”
Smith studied her, then smirked. “I knew you were sleeping with him.” He sat back and crossed his arms over that broad chest, looking smug. “What’s wrong? Too embarrassed to admit it?”
She felt herself blushing and couldn’t look at Reid, who knew. Oh hell. Why not admit it? It’s not like she was doing anything wrong.
“So what if I am?” Lots of rumbling from the table, and money changed hands. “What are you guys doing?”
“Sorry,” Lafayette apologized. “I thought it would be sooner.”
“Told you.” Finley waved at Stan. “Pay up.”
“Shit.” Stan forked over a few bills.
Smith frowned. “How can you stand him? He’s a prick.”
“And you’re not?” she shot back.
“Hey, I’ll give you a better ride than he will. Wanna go?” He reached to take her by the hand, and she’d had enough. In one motion, Jordan stood and grabbed him. Twisting his wrist, she had him out of the chair and down on one knee, his arm locked at his wrist. “You done insulting me and Cash yet? Or are you still craving more negative attention?”
Around them, the bar quieted.
To her consternation, Smith started laughing. “You win, Little Army.”
“Oh, fuck you.” She tossed his hand away and straightened to a standing ovation from the table. “And fuck
you too.” But she couldn’t help grinning at them. “You morons.”
Smith didn’t apologize for insulting Cash, but he did settle down. He didn’t say much for the rest of the night, but no one asked him to leave. Reid studied him often, an odd expression on his face. He murmured something to Evan, who looked over at Smith, his eyes narrowed.
Then the pair stood. “More work to do early tomorrow. See you guys later. Oh, and the tab’s on us.” Reid smiled then flipped Smith off, shocking everyone. Reid rarely used bad language or did anything crude. “Don’t be an ass if you can help it, Smith.”
Smith tipped a beer his way. “But I can’t help it.” He paused, his gaze on Reid. “It’s in the genes.”
They stared at each other in silence before Finley whistled and whispered, “Draw your weapons on the count of ten…”
Smith snorted. “Asshole.”
The whole party broke up soon after. As Jordan turned to get in her car, Smith stopped her.
“What do you want now?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at her with a hooded gaze. “Sorry if I was out of line.”
“If?”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, okay?” he snarled and stomped away.
She answered to the wind, “Apology accepted.”
Chapter 18
While Jordan took a much-needed break at Ringo’s Bar with the guys, Cash stayed home, ready to have his talk with the kid.
He didn’t need to know Rafi to realize something bothered Jordan’s brother. If Cash so much as breathed too loud, the kid twitched. At first he’d wondered if Rafi was scared of him from that incident with the landlord the other night. But whenever Cash neared Reid’s room, where Rafi was sleeping, the boy fidgeted something fierce.
Time to quit all the secrets.
“Rafi, it’s over. I know what this is about.”
Rafi’s eyes grew huge. “Y-you do?”
I have no idea. Cash narrowed his gaze and recalled a few interrogation techniques he’d witnessed years ago. It was all about head games.
Silence could be a supremely effective tool.
Several seconds passed.
Rafi turned from worried to irritated. “You don’t know shit because there’s nothing to know.”
Cash remained quiet.
Rafi squirmed. “Quit looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re going to do to me what you did to Alvarez,” Rafi said, not with fear but with a hint of challenge.
Rafi reminded Cash a lot of Jordan. He smiled at the thought. Rafi cringed.
Fine. Time for some honest talk. “Rafi, why have you been pissing your pants since the minute your sister left?”
“Um, because I watched you beat up some guy twice my size?”
“Nope. You’ve been on edge since before the thing with the landlord. Look, your sister isn’t here now. It’s just you and me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
Stubborn son of a bitch. “You know, I was once like you.”
Rafi snorted. “I doubt it.”
“I was skinny and mouthed off all the time. But I wasn’t that smart, and I didn’t have people to help me out. Hell, I was living on my own at sixteen. Barely graduated high school. Nobody but the Marines would have me. Got into more fights than I can remember and still do.”
“Great. You’re big and bad, and my sister likes you. You’re awesome. Now can you leave me alone?” Rafi stood, to leave the house or go back into his room, Cash didn’t know.
He did know he’d gone through Reid’s room earlier today, and he’d noticed the kid tried to hide a backpack way back in Reid’s closet. Though Cash had wanted to look inside, he hadn’t because he didn’t want to violate the kid’s trust.
But maybe Cash could bluff his way past Rafi’s defenses. Before the teenager could walk away, he asked, “Is it about what’s in the bag?”
Bingo. Rafi froze and turned to face him, horrified. He whispered, “Did you look inside?”
Cash gave him a mean look. “What the hell do you think? Better yet, don’t tell me. Let’s wait for Jordan to get back and see what she thinks.”
The kid crumpled. He sank down into the couch and burst into tears. Heavy, heartfelt sobbing that tore Cash right up.
“Aw man. Don’t freak out.” Should he join Rafi on the couch? Give him a hug? A manly pat on the shoulder? Or would that stress him out even more? Instead, Cash remained seated in his chair and watched Rafi wipe his face.
Cash left to grab a box of tissues from the bathroom then tossed it to him. “Here.”
After Rafi blew his nose a few times, he settled into uneven sobs. “You can’t tell Jordan. Promise.”
“I don’t lie to your sister. She deserves better than that.”
“Yeah.” Rafi cried harder. “I just…I don’t know how it happened.”
“Start at the beginning.”
“I should just go, and this would all be over.”
“Look. I’m not letting you leave. I’m willing to keep this between us…if you give me a good enough reason to.” Cash wasn’t sure what he was dealing with, but it couldn’t be good if Rafi fell apart over it.
The hope on the kid’s face made Cash feel terrible for maybe lying. “I-I got kicked out of school.” Rafi waited for Cash to react.
Cash showed no expression. “Go on.”
“And I was hanging around th-this guy. Juan. He was in my class.”
“This the guy your sister doesn’t like?”
“Yeah.” Rafi sighed, blew his nose again, and continued. “He’s nice. Or at least, he was. But he’s into some bad stuff. I didn’t know. And then it was too late. I had to say I’d do it, or he’d hurt me and Jordan. He knows where I live.”
“He knows you’re here?”
“No. I meant at the apartment.” Rafi looked like a little kid all tucked in on himself. He rocked as he spoke, and Cash felt bad for him. Fifteen years old and having to deal with his sister’s and his safety, with no one to confide in who might understand. Jordan, for all her love for Rafi, had been a cop. She lived in black and white. “Juan sells drugs at school.”
Hell. “What kind of drugs? For who?”
“I don’t know. The pills in my bag, some weed, sometimes heroin, I think. I saw rocks in his stash. And he’s selling them for WSW.”
“Shit.”
“I thought he was talking smack. I mean, he likes to brag a lot. I don’t care. I’m not into drugs or anything.” Rafi wiped his cheeks. “I don’t want to sell drugs.”
“No, you don’t.” A hell of a mess. “So you couldn’t tell Jordan about getting kicked out of school, and you couldn’t tell her about selling drugs.”
“Yeah.”
“Right. But back up. What happened at school that you got kicked out?”
Rafi looked down and seemed to grow smaller, were that possible. “I’m not smart. At all. I mean, yeah, I can do writing and stuff. I like to draw. And I like to read, but don’t tell anyone. Reading is for nerds.”
“Yeah.” Cash chuckled. “I’m kidding.”
Rafi relaxed a little. “I can’t do math. At all. It’s confusing all the time. And I hate being so dumb. I really tried. But this year my friends didn’t help. The tutor my parents paid for was a pervy old guy. I didn’t like him.”
Pervy? Angered at the idea of some teacher getting gropey with his students, Cash growled, “He mess with you?”
“Nah, but I didn’t like the way he looked at me sometimes.” Rafi paused. “Like he knew I was stupid and hated me.”
Cash knew all about feeling stupid. “Summer school didn’t work either.”
“No. Simpson is a dick. He was always making fun of the kids, me especially.” Rafi explained the Homer joke, and Cash couldn’t help laug
hing.
“Okay, that’s funny.”
“I thought so.” Rafi’s smile faded. “But last week, he was all over me. Like, on me in front of everyone. He told me I was a loser and stupid and should drop out. Like, that even the middle school kids were smarter than me.”
“Wait. A teacher told you that? In front of the class?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone recorded it and posted it all over the place. It was really embarrassing.”
“What an asshole.” Teachers should never berate a kid for trying. “You weren’t screwing off or anything? Didn’t provoke the guy? Not that that makes it right, what he said. I’m just trying to get the picture here.”
“No, I was actually trying to learn. I think he must have been having a bad day or something. But after he went off, I said something about him not giving it to Marge enough. You know, Marge, Homer?”
Cash covered his grin. “I get it.”
“Then he kicked me out, and I took off. Juan was outside in the stairway, and he hates Simpson. So when I told him what happened, he offered me a ride.” Rafi paused. “We, uh, went to a bar to hang out. It was cool.”
“And illegal, which makes it that much cooler.”
Rafi flushed. “Yeah. I had a beer, was talking trash with the guys. He’s got five or six friends he hangs with. Some go to our school, some go to a school near us. All are seniors, I think. Anyway, he just whips out this bag of heroin and hands it to his friend to sell. They’re all watching me while the guy takes it. Then Juan hands out more baggies. He starts bragging about how he’s friends with Paul Lasko, and everyone knows Lasko works for WSW and Toto.”
Cash knew those names. Unfortunately, West Side Wolves had been on the news nightly since a big drug bust a few weeks ago.
“Then Juan’s telling the guys I’m cool, no snitch. I’m with him. I kind of had to take the baggie. I mean, they were talking about some guy who’d bailed on them before and how Lasko took care of him. Like, took care of him.”
Cash nodded. “I get you. So now you’re out of school. If you don’t sell drugs, he’ll gut you. And he’ll hurt Jordan?”
Rafi nodded. “I tried to get out of it, later, when it was just Juan and me. But he said if I didn’t, I was a fool and a narc. And nobody turns on WSW. Then he said he knew about my pretty sister and it would be sad if something happened to her.” Rafi scowled, looking more angry than scared. “I mean, he threatened my sister.”
