by Ali Vali
“Not yet.” Mitch looked Emray in the eye but couldn’t help lowering his gaze to the gun next to the hill of white powder. “Freddie stood outside as the body bags came out, but no one brought out the duffels. The money wasn’t in the house, and with the trouble there we don’t know if Maria told the guys we sent in where it was.”
“We sent in?” Emray could’ve been staring at him, but with the sunglasses he couldn’t tell. “You sent them, Mitch, and my patience’s running out. Do I need to explain again how important it is for us to find that cash? Did the gravity of our situation not sink in the first time I told you all this shit?”
“No, I’m still working on it, and I won’t let you down.” The smell of burnt coffee made his stomach hurt, but he made no move to leave. Nothing about this place had changed, ever, from the first time he came here, like Emray himself. The guy gave him the willies, but the size of his bank account and what it had gotten him forgave a multitude of sins. “We need to talk about Nunzio.”
“What’s to talk about? I sent you to finish something and you fucked it up. That’s like your new way of doing business.” Emray pulled away from the table suddenly and punched the top of the counter behind him, as if not wanting to lose a speck of the drugs. “How the hell am I supposed to pay the suppliers? What’s going to keep the pack of killers those assholes are going to send from putting a bullet in our skulls?”
“You told me to try to improve our deals when I could and keep you out of the day-to-day stuff.” Emray kept the place cold, not wanting to let the air stagnate, he said, but sweat was pooling in the crack of Mitch’s ass, and he wanted to stick his finger in the hill of coke and shove it up his nose. If he was going to take a bullet to the head, he wanted to take the trip to hell flying on his own steam. “He wasn’t going to make the deal without face time.”
“Forget about that and find my cash. I should’ve gone and talked to Maria myself. I might not have gotten my money back, but I would’ve had the satisfaction of killing that fucking cunt myself.”
“How about I tell him he’s getting a discount if he forgets meeting you, and once we get his cash we squeeze him for whatever you need?” Mitch tried to change the subject before he became a stress reliever for Emray’s anger, now that Maria was dead.
“I don’t give a fuck how you get it, moron. Fucking get it.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, but his asshole puckered. He didn’t know a good way out of this situation. “I’ll call you tonight.”
Mitch didn’t turn his back on Emray as he left. They weren’t partners and he didn’t trust Emray not to shoot him. Freddie was sitting on the hood of the car waiting for him, and the temperature difference was so great the humidity made his sinuses flare.
“Where to?”
“Let’s start at the hotel and Nunzio again. You okay with only collecting half of what I promised you?” His head was clearer after leaving the dark hellhole Emray called home. “If you are, drop me off and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Tell me why first.” Freddie rubbed the scar on his face and Mitch had to look away. The way Freddie fooled with it made him think he might wear the pink, puffy skin away.
“Emray’s moving shit for the Delarosa family and he’s skimming. That shit’s okay when you’re making money, but Maria took a ton of it and fucking died. If Emray don’t find that stash before them Colombians come looking, a world of hurt ain’t going to begin to explain what’s going to happen to him.”
“The Delarosa family? That’s some people you don’t fuck with.”
“No shit.” He glanced behind them out of paranoid habit, but nothing stood out as a problem. “Of the money Maria took, only five hundred large belonged to Emray, and he hasn’t said it, but I’m sure Hector Delarosa wants his three mil or his coke back.”
“Only we don’t have either.”
“There’s no we. Emray trusted Maria and the bitch fucked him, only Emray’s not the kind to go down alone.”
“So what?”
“We talk Nunzio into investing and cut our ties once we do.”
Freddie parked a few blocks from the Hilton and put his hand on his bicep. “You screwing Emray over? He finds out and we both dead.”
“Don’t worry about having to go back to the corner, or Emray chasing you down. We’ll work our own deals after this and leave his ass to find somebody else to do the shit work for him. If you don’t think I can handle it, run back to Emray and wait for him to cut you in. Only you better pray he don’t cut you up.”
Freddie went back to stroking his scar. The new souvenir to his profile had come courtesy of Emray after he was late picking up a shipment. Emray had cut so deep his knife had traversed Freddie’s cheek and cut his tongue as well.
“I follow you, Mitch.”
“Good to know.” They got out and reached the front of the hotel in time to see Nunzio and Tracy pull away. Maybe she hadn’t been shitting him about having other meetings. “Let’s see where they’re headed.” He needed to know if Nunzio had found another supplier. If he did, he was taking his stash and his little brother somewhere quiet until the Colombians finished dealing with Emray. He didn’t want any part of that.
*
“You said we could talk,” Aubrey said when Wiley opened the door to her home office and simply stared at her. Wiley’s expression made her think Wiley believed she’d disappear if she took her eyes off her. “Do you have time now?”
“Sure, come in.” Wiley waved her in and led her to the two leather chairs next to a wall of windows. “This might sound trite, but I want you to know how sorry I am for the way I handled things. What I did hurt you, and I showed you very little consideration.”
The way Wiley’s gaze caressed her made her overwhelmingly sad. She looked like she hadn’t come to terms with their history and had survived the hellishness of it alone. “If you need me to forgive you, I did a long time ago. I knew you didn’t leave to simply hurt me. You had to have had a reason even if you never shared it with me.”
“I knew better than to feed you a pile of crap feel-good lines.”
Aubrey laughed at Wiley’s straightforward approach. When they’d started dating she’d loved Wiley but had been under the impression that Wiley didn’t possess a romantic thought. That notion died the first time Wiley handed her a doodle, as she called them. The sketch of her made her consider herself beautiful for the first time.
“You aren’t capable of that, but it’s time for the truth.”
“What are you hoping for here, aside from not getting killed?” Wiley leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “The reasons I left haven’t changed.” She told the story of the Ewart family and the ensuing investigation. “That team made a few more trips back and has effectively neutralized all but two members. They’re highly motivated, and I don’t think that’ll change now that I’m retired. Whoever the leak is, we’ve never found him.”
It sucked to be right. Wiley had thrown herself on a grenade to save her. She’d sacrificed everything to keep her safe. “Do you think you can sit and listen? I have a lot to say.”
“Take your time.”
“I forgave you, but I’m still pissed. What gave you the right to decide what chances I’m willing to take? I understood what you were doing. I always accepted everything about your job, but not you walking out on me.”
“Do you think it was easy?” Wiley’s misery was so clear in her voice. “You’re an incredible woman and I knew you wouldn’t go through life alone. I’m being selfish, considering what I did, but the thought of someone else touching you, loving you…it made me wish whoever was hunting me down would finally find me and end it.” Wiley covered her face with her hands and Aubrey came close to taking her into her arms, but they had to finish. “That you were alive and free to live your life however you wanted kept me going, so I wouldn’t change anything if I got a do-over.”
“Oh, Wiley.” The cliff Wiley had left her hanging from was still jagged from regret
, and the easiest and fastest way to release them both from their mistakes was to let go. From the sound of it, what she wanted was perhaps too high a climb, but if she had to, she’d start from the bottom to get back what she needed most. “I want you to understand something. Why you decided what you did doesn’t change the fallout from it. I’ve been waiting for you to change your mind and come back to me, and I’m not—I can’t change that in my heart.”
“What about Maria?”
Wiley’s question made Aubrey think of something her father had told her about himself and Wiley. They were good at their jobs because they could shut down every emotion under extreme situations. Most people’s brains short-circuited in reaction to panic, making it nearly impossible to escape dangerous positions. Wiley, he’d said, was a master since she seldom showed fear. She never flinched, not until she’d asked about Maria, and Aubrey thought it was a major victory.
“I’m not avoiding the question, okay,” she said, taking a chance by placing her hand on Wiley’s bicep. “And I’m not blaming you.”
“You have the right to say whatever you like, including, ‘Go to hell, Wiley.’”
“That might still be an option, so don’t tempt me yet.” She laughed, and Wiley swamped her momentarily when she smiled. “I’m sure you’ll never believe me, but my call yesterday had nothing to do with Maria and her problems.”
“I’m not leaving you to the wolves, Aubrey. Until this is over I will protect you.”
“Wiley, shut up, okay. I said I wasn’t lying. When you walked out on me you broke something inside that was key to my happiness. It finally occurred to me weeks later that you had to have had some reason. I knew with certainty that you’ve never quit anything in your life, and you loved me. Breaking your promises was probably as hard for you to do as it was for me to hear you do it.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Then believe that Maria didn’t replace you and what you mean to me. I didn’t have you here to share the life we’d planned, so I went ahead without you. I filled the gigantic holes you left with a baby, the child we’d always talked about, until I got you back. Maria came after Tanith, but she fell a mountain short of substituting for you.”
“I spent a lot of time daydreaming about you,” Wiley said, her eyes now on the view. “What job you had, what lucky bastard you shared your life with, and all the other little things that make up a person’s life. That’s as close as I could get. Those fantasies were all I allowed myself.”
“I’m still not finished, but don’t think I’m accepting that going forward, Major.”
“Think of Tanith before you say anything else. She shouldn’t have to live constantly looking over her shoulder.” Wiley’s expression was now clear, calm, and almost detached. Wiley had fully repaired whatever cracks she’d managed. If she didn’t hurry, the Black Dragon would pull the trigger and their future would be dead.
“Tanith is all I think about, Wiley. Raising her alone while still licking my wounds has been like running down a steep hill. Eventually I’m going to lose my footing and the momentum will land me either on my ass or on my head.”
“You’re not being rational.”
“Rational,” she screamed, “to hell with rational. Why do you think I picked the name? It’s time to step up, soldier. You’ve shirked your duty to her and me long enough.”
“If you need money—”
“Do not insult me. I’m not here for a handout, I’m here for what’s mine—you. I’m tired of being alone.”
“You haven’t been alone.”
The sound of the slap and the sting in her fingers made her regret doing it the second she connected with Wiley’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“No harm done. I deserve it.”
“Have you been celibate since we saw each other last?”
Wiley hesitated but answered truthfully. “No.”
“Did it feel the same?”
“No,” Wiley said in a hoarse whisper.
“That’s how it was with Maria.” She stood and shook her head when Wiley started to do the same. “Tanith is yours, Wiley, so even if you don’t want me, it’s time for you to get to know her. She’s waited her whole life for you even if she doesn’t realize it yet. Don’t you dare disappoint her.”
Aubrey walked out knowing they hadn’t made an inch of progress. If Wiley held firm, she and Tanith would be in exile forever, and that scared her more than sitting in the attic waiting to die.
*
“How did you manage this?” Nunzio asked, his eyes fixed on the devastation visible from the interstate in New Orleans east. It looked like every building had sustained both major wind damage and flooding. “Even your sister tried but couldn’t get to him. That’s why we had to deal with that motherfucker Bracato.”
“We don’t have a meeting with Mr. Delarosa yet.” Tracy put her hand on his knee and squeezed. One morning in bed and she was already acting possessive, he thought. “According to everyone I talked to, he never takes meetings with anyone he hasn’t done business with before.”
“Then how the hell did he take over the cartel?”
“His paranoia came with success.”
Tracy moved her hand higher up his leg and he stopped her before it became a distraction. “Kim would’ve taught you business requires a clear head. If you’re serious about staying, then don’t act like a whore anywhere but the bedroom.”
“You talked to Kim like that?” Tracy asked, moving away from him.
“I didn’t need to.” For the first time since Tracy had come to him, the aggravation that stemmed from impatience made him want to hit something. He’d already lost so much, so how much more could life fuck with him? “And if you’re going to act like a spoiled brat I’ll leave you here and get you a ride back to the hotel.”
“Why are you acting like this? If you regretted giving in to me, then say so.”
“You’re already way ahead of anyone with no experience, so let’s be clear about a few things. I need someone to help me rebuild what was stolen from me. To do that you need to know when to concentrate on business and when to get my dick hard. If you don’t get it, this isn’t the time for whatever fantasy you have spinning in your head.”
Tracy hesitated, as if knowing there was only one correct response to the situation. He wouldn’t give ground or another chance if she fucked up. “We’re meeting with Miguel Gonzalez today, Mr. Delarosa’s business manager. From what I could find out, Gonzalez took what Hector made and expanded his fortune. The capital from both legitimate and drug money fueled Hector’s rise to true power. He trusts Gonzalez implicitly, so if we can convince Gonzalez we’re a good bet, he’ll get you the meeting with Delarosa.”
“What are they doing here, after this storm plowed through the Mississippi coast?” When they reached the bridge over the lake he closed his eyes. Tracy really was a fast learner, or something else entirely.
“Hector bought a house in New Orleans a few months before Katrina, planning to move his operations and his daughter here. Part of that plan, like Rodolfo Luis’s, was to use both New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to expand his operations. The storm was both a setback and a plus, so he divides his time between both places.”
“How’d you find out so much so fast?” She’d mentioned Hector’s paranoia, but that was how you stayed alive and free. No green little girl walked into his life and got the book on someone so high up like Hector without either government help or by spreading her legs. If either was true, then he would cut her budding career into little pieces and feed it to the crabs along with her cute ass.
“I spent some time with the midlevel dealers while I was waiting for you to get into town. Hector’s the guy everyone wants to work with, and they’ll use anyone or any means to get to him and his safe, endless supply.” She crossed her legs and kept her face turned away from him. “If they can’t jump on that train, Emray’s a good second bet.”
“But?” There had to be more, and it fascinated him h
ow much Tracy knew.
“Hardly anyone except Mitch has met this guy. If Mitch hadn’t earned his street creds, Emray would be sitting on a mountain of coke snorting it himself. With the amount of product he wants to move, not showing his face has cop written all over him.”
“Good work,” he said, and laughed. “You impress this Miguel guy like this and you might get a job offer.”
“Eventually you’ll figure out it’s in your best interest to keep me around, whore or not.”
He seldom tolerated lip from anyone but stayed quiet when Tracy tried to stretch her limits a bit. She’d caught him in a weak moment that morning, but he still wasn’t completely sure about her future with him. Outside the bedroom his gut told him not to go full in and share all his secrets.
Tracy was Kim’s sister, but she was still an unknown.
Chapter Eleven
Wiley watched the sunset from her rooftop patio, trying to ignore the heat. The talk with Aubrey had unsettled her, and with the Tarvers here, she didn’t have anywhere to release her pent-up feelings. The sketchbook next to her had taken some of the edge off, but her hands were too sweaty to improve the landscape she’d already finished.
She’d thought back again to the day she’d broken it off with Aubrey. No matter what she put in her mouth for weeks after, it tasted like sawdust, and she was cold all the time. She found a sense of herself only with her unit until she tired of the government’s urgency. Then she figured the days were an eternity with nothing to do but paint and think. Before the phone call, she’d been on the verge of trying to venture out to try to find someone to at least spend time with.
“Are you armed?” Peter asked from the door.
His humor broke her pity party and she waved him over. “When I told Carl I wanted out, they put me through two months of tests and observations.”
