Dangerous Heat (Aegis Group, #8)

by Sidney Bristol

  “Ouch.”

  “Right?” Coco chuckled. Oh, the times she’d gotten popped with one of those things. “She came back inside and told us he was never going to hurt us again. I think he stayed gone two or three nights. Mom kept a pot boiling almost constantly. Looking back, I know she was waiting for him. He showed up, and she threw that very pot of boiling water on him and told him to never come back again. Then when he tried to get up, a neighbor came running out with some hot oil and Mom threw that on him, too.”

  Paxton gaped at her. “Are you fucking me?”

  “Nope.” Coco shook her head. “It was kind of a thing that happened. Everyone knew when you got a pot of boiling water, things were bad at home. The oil was, well, it was the end. But we were too poor for oil. I think our neighbors were waiting and watching, too.”

  “That must be tough on your little brother.”

  “I wouldn’t know.” Coco grimaced. “When they got divorced, he wanted the baby. Mom couldn’t fight him, so he took the kid and to my knowledge, they hate us.”

  “That sucks.”

  “It does. That brief period also makes me grateful for how quiet and boring our lives were. We might have been poor most of the time, but Mom kept us safe. I’m sorry you didn’t have that.”

  Paxton’s head bobbed, and he glanced away. He really didn’t want to talk about it. She wished he would trust her, open up to her more. Maybe in time he’d share it with her? But how much did they really have?

  If she stayed here, they were limited to a week.

  If she took the scholarship...

  “Mrs. Pedersen thinks Cane’s the real reason I’m hesitating about the scholarship.”

  “Yeah?” Paxton turned back toward her.

  Coco’s heart ached for him. Whatever had happened to him, whatever he’d seen, it was bad.

  How had she been blind to this?

  He focused on everyone else, but never himself.

  She wanted to crawl onto his lap and shake him. Except she couldn’t make him open up to her and share every corner of his life with her. Just because she’d decided to open the doors and pull him in didn’t mean he had to do the same thing. After all, she’d given him no reason to invest more in her. And the kind of trust he needed wasn’t easily given.

  Coco wanted that trust.

  “Why do you call her Mrs. Pedersen when everyone else calls her Mrs. P?” Paxton asked.

  “Oh, uh, I don’t really know.” She frowned. “They were always Matthew and Mrs. Pedersen to me.”

  “And she thinks this scholarship and your brother means what?”

  “Right. Sorry.” She chuckled to hide her embarrassment, but the sound died a quick death. “I guess, outside of the money issue, what other reason do I have to be upset with Cane?”

  “Even if you take the scholarship, you don’t have to forgive him. What he did was wrong. You don’t have to allow bad people in your life just because they’re family.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed and twisted to face him fully. “But Cane’s not bad. Stubborn, yes. And he gets blinders when he thinks his way is the best or only route. That’s what happened back then. I was wishy washy. He knew what he wanted to do. To him, his plan had the most merit, the chance for greater impact, so it made sense. It was logical, even if it wasn’t right. And, if we’re being honest, he’s done a lot of good.”

  No matter how hard she held onto the resentment toward her brother, deep down, she was proud of him. Sure, when she was angry, she still held the theft against him, but more than anything else, he was a nebulous figure she’d blamed every bad thing on because it was convenient.

  “I tell myself I’m fine without my brother, but... With Matthew gone and Mom remarried, Cane’s the only family I really have left. I mean, both Mom and Dad make time for me if I come around, but they’ve moved on Cane and I, we’re the same.”

  “Stubborn. Blinders. Determined.” Paxton ticked the three off on his fingers and grinned. “That doesn’t sound like anyone I know.”

  “Shut up.” She smacked his shoulder.

  “What do you want to do about all this?” His warm hand stroked her thigh. It was comforting having him there, listening to her.

  This was the trap she fell into every time. He was such a great listener she forgot to listen to him. Tomorrow she’d change that, and maybe over time she’d hear more things from him in bits and pieces.

  Accepting the scholarship meant the chance to finally realize her dreams and maybe get to be with Paxton. Why has she seriously thought this was a bad idea?

  Right.

  Stubborn blinders.

  “I think I want to sleep on it tonight. It’s a lot of change, you know?”

  “Yeah.”

  They sat there, staring at each other. She couldn’t read his stormy blue eyes, but they were growing more familiar to her with each passing day.

  It had taken him crashing through that ring of people, coming to her defense, to make her realize she wasn’t truly alone. With Paxton’s light, she’d been able to see past the blinders to a world she’d been living in rich with people who cared about her.

  A man who did that, who made her life better, he was the kind she didn’t want to let go of.

  18.

  Thursday. Mlilo Animal Reserve, South Africa.

  Paxton gave Coco’s hand one last squeeze before reaching for the tent flap and pulling it back. She let go of his hand and stepped past him, into the tent with its combined audience of Aegis Group and Mlilo’s anti-poaching team.

  He wasn’t sure how today was going to go. He’d lain in bed this morning mulling the problem over with no solutions.

  Now what?

  Zain stood in the corner with Shane and Daluxolo. Zain glanced toward Paxton, catching his eye and jerked his head. Paxton changed directions and strode across, joining the three men already in discussion.

  “What’s up?” Paxton asked.

  Zain’s gaze was serious, all business. “I just want to confirm that you didn’t see anything last night that proves Utata’s death?”

  Paxton hooked his thumbs in his pockets and glanced at Shane. “I thought you didn’t want to know about last night.”

  “Did you find any of the darts?” Zain asked.

  “No.” Paxton grimaced. “We looked. I brought Coco in and we didn’t see the horn. Then the fire started up and our focus was getting the live animals out. What’s going on?”

  “I think this Ebrahim guy was recruited by this other outfit led by a guy named Bekker. They’ve got someone funding them and protecting them. Word is that they are also under the protection of the Nodorf family.”

  “Who is that?” And why did Nodorf sound familiar?

  “The Nodorf family are one of those old families. They’ve got a mafia-like thing going on. They run more blue- and white-collar crime, but one of their biggest rackets is bleeding other gangs for money. They serve as a sort of middle man between these other gangs and government officials. The big corruption scandal last year? The Nodorfs were all over that, but because they’ve paid off the right people, their names were never officially connected. They’ve got their hands in a lot of different pies.”

  “Coco was pretty adamant we don’t want to tangle with them.”

  Daluxolo glanced at Zain then Shane. The other two men didn’t say a word.

  What was Paxton missing?

  “Want to clue me in on the secret?” he asked.

  Daluxolo shifted and glanced over Paxton’s shoulders, his lips screwing up into a grimace. Paxton followed the man’s gaze to where Coco stood with Lacey, their heads bent over something on a table.

  How did Coco figure into this?

  Paxton focused in on Daluxolo. “What is it?”

  “The Nodorf are dangerous. You don’t mess with them.” The tone of Daluxolo’s voice betrayed him.

  Paxton crossed his arms over his chest. “What aren’t you telling me and how is Coco involved?”

  Daluxolo’s shoul
ders slumped. “She dated one of them. The Nodorf, I mean.”

  Paxton didn’t like hearing about other men, especially a gangster, but he’d known Coco was no virgin. Neither was he.

  Daluxolo continued to stare at Paxton. “She dated a Nodorf. Not the old man or one of his sons, I think it’s the nephew. Luke.”

  A Nodorf.

  Realization dawned on Paxton, the full implication of what the other man said sinking in.

  She hadn’t just dated a gangster. She’d dated one of the heirs. Someone who mattered in the scheme of things. Fuck.

  Which meant she’d never just be a face to them.

  Paxton grit his teeth. He wanted to know everything, but not from Daluxolo. Paxton wanted to hear it from Coco herself.

  He swallowed down the knee jerk urge to rip this Luke limb from limb and focused on the problem at hand. “What are our options? How much manpower do the Nodorf have? What are we up against?”

  Shane shook his head. “Not sure we have a plan. The Nodorf really are mafia like. Old, white money founded them and it looks like they use the racial and tribal divides to their benefit when they make alliances. Which means everyone knows someone who owes the Nodorf a favor for something they’ve done. No one will turn over on them. No one snitches on them. They’ve been practically untouchable because even their rivals owe them.”

  “What you’re saying is, to take care of the problem means creating a lot more problems.” Paxton didn’t like this one bit. It was another solution that created a dozen more problems. There would be no quick fix to this. “We can’t go after them directly. That’s clear. What long-term options do we have?”

  Zain blew out a breath. “The real change needs to be laws. Enforcement. These people need jobs that pay better than working for a gang.”

  Daluxolo finally met Paxton’s gaze. “A lot of people hustle and turn to crime because they can’t earn a living anywhere else. For every person who has a job that pays them an honest salary, there’s at least two more who don’t get that opportunity. And of those two, at least one owes a Nodorf.”

  “Okay. Then we’re looking at the long-term game here.” He glanced at his boss. “Zain, what’s our commitment to Mlilo?”

  Zain crossed his arms over his chest. “The big boss has committed to this. He said his roots trace back to this part of Africa as best he can tell. He’s pretty motivated to do something.”

  Paxton only had a few run-ins with Admiral Crawford. It was Zain who’d hired Paxton on. Still, Crawford was the kind of man who left an impression on those he met. He was an imposing figure even in his latter years. Paxton knew the stories, that Crawford was one of the first black men to be promoted to the upper ranks within the Navy, that he’d been one hell of a leader. It was moments like these that Paxton was grateful he’d been recruited into this company with these people.

  “Long term. Okay.” He sorted through his early morning thoughts. “First, we want to know all we can about this poaching outfit. What did you say they were called again?”

  “The Bekker crew,” Daluxolo said.

  “Right. The Bekker crew. We find out who supplies them with guns, equipment, tech, and cut those out. I’m sure we can research it and throw a wrench in the works, make things harder for them.”

  “Reading my mind,” Zain said.

  “These other guys, the Nodorf?” Paxton studied Zain. “You have a plan for them?”

  “I might.” Zain didn’t offer more.

  Honestly, Paxton didn’t want to know what dirt Zain could dig up on the Nodorf family. They probably knew how to bury a body so it was never found, but if those bodies were digital? Zain would find them all.

  “What about...” Paxton licked his lips. “What about Cane De Jong?”

  There was a moment of silence as the others absorbed that name.

  Daluxolo spoke first. “His platform is corruption and crime, not conservation.”

  “But isn’t poaching a crime?” Paxton countered.

  “Cane’s never been interested in helping in the past.”

  “But what if...” He resisted the urge to glance at Coco. “What if Cane is motivated to care?”

  The guy had come to see Coco. He’d stepped in to fight on her behalf. Was he completely evil? Or was there a good guy under some bad decisions?

  “Why are you talking about my brother?” Coco’s voice made Paxton wince.

  He turned and saw Lacey and Coco just behind him. Shit.

  This was not an idea he wanted to throw at her with an audience.

  He nodded toward the tent flap. “Walk with me?”

  Coco stared at him a moment, her gaze wary, but she didn’t refuse his request. She started toward the tent entrance and he followed. They emerged out on what had been the lawn area behind the old resort. The pool was covered and much of the decorative greenery was cut back, allowing more traffic and the addition of a few more buildings to be built in the central area.

  Paxton strode alongside her for a few moments before daring to speak.

  “Zain thinks Ebrahim was recruited by the Bekker crew.”

  “I assumed as much last night. They’re protected. You can’t mess with them,” she said.

  “I’ll agree with you there. We don’t have a short-term solution. What we have are long-term plans.”

  She glanced up at him, a wrinkle marring her brow. She’d let her curls go free again, held back by a headband. “What do you mean?”

  “Kill them slowly. With Zain’s resources, we’ll identify the arms dealers supplying them. We can work with governments, suppliers, shut them down. Make it harder for the Bekker guys to stay on top. Meanwhile, we’re going to dig up some dirt that will stick on the Nodorfs. If they’re fighting their own battle, they won’t have as much muscle to protect others. Something’s got to happen here, and that’s when Cane’s name came up.” He glanced at her, relieved by the disappearing wrinkle.

  “But conservation isn’t his platform. He’s never been interested—”

  “You said so yourself, his campaign is anti corruption and crime, right? Well, poaching is a crime.”

  “Not the kind of crime he’s focused on.”

  “Okay. But what if you asked him?” He slowed a bit.

  She stopped and turned to face him. “Me?”

  “There’s two ways to approach this. Both are up to you. Do you want to foster a relationship with your brother and possibly get results? Or do you want to focus on results?”

  “I’m listening.” Her frown said she wasn’t happy about it.

  “Cane’s made an effort. If you went to him with an open mind, if he saw what you’re doing, I bet he’d catch your passion. He’d at least be someone who would vote for the necessary changes.”

  “I assume that’s the nice approach.”

  “Yeah. If you want to be mercenary about it, tell him you’d go to his wedding if he worked on this for you. Rolled it into his platform or whatever.”

  Coco slid her hands into her back pockets and lowered her gaze to his chest. She was wearing shorts again with a loose, gray T-shirt that had seen better days.

  “Yesterday if you’d have asked me about this I’d have said no. There’s no point.” She bit her lip and lifted her gaze to his face. “Today... Maybe it’s worth a shot?”

  “Have you reconsidered the scholarship?” Paxton clapped a mental lid on the bubbling hope that she’d be headed his way soon. He didn’t want to taste disappointment.

  “I’m considering it still,” she said slowly. “Would you go with me? To talk to Cane? I might chicken out if I go alone.”

  “Yeah. Totally. Yeah, I’ll go with you.”

  Maybe it was selfish, but he wanted this for her. Because it meant that maybe there was a hit of a chance for them.

  FRIDAY. PRETORIA, SOUTH Africa.

  Luke slid into the back seat of his Mercedes, the leather cool against his skin.

  Uncle wanted results. He wanted to see some profits.

  Fin
e.

  Somehow Luke would have to turn a pretty profit and fix a vote all in the same few days. He could do this. One thing at a time.

  Money was the easiest option.

  It was time one of his investments began paying him back.

  Sometime last year a man by the name of Bekker had come to see him. Several of his crew had gotten arrested while trespassing on a rhino farm. Luke had only been able to help Bekker a little. The case against his men was airtight and there was too much evidence. Without the manpower Bekker was going to have to close up shop. And there was where Luke had seen the opportunity.

  He’d made Bekker a deal. Luke would negotiate an arrangement between an arms dealer to get Bekker the best equipment possible. In exchange Luke got a small percent of the profits.

  Bekker wasn’t close to paying Luke back what he owed, but he was about to pay Luke a lot more than what he’d been paying. With any luck this payout would be enough for his uncle to shut up for a while.

  The car began rolling toward his destination in Soweto.

  He pulled his phone out and checked the messages.

  None from Mia.

  He’d followed a few leads courtesy of her, but none had given him the in he needed. Somehow Cane was making headway on these new laws and Luke didn’t know where the vote stood. People were understandably mute around him seeing as he was what some like Cane considered part of the problem.

  He tapped her contact, frustrated now more than ever that this woman made him chase her. And not for any reason he could enjoy, either. He’d tasked her with what was turning out to be the impossible.

  The line rang several times.

  Was she ignoring him again?

  “Yes?” a woman answered, tone short.