The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  “Thank you, mijita.”

  I brought my gaze back to his face and acknowledged his gratitude with a nod, but that wasn’t why I was here. “You need to do all that you can to get well because your son loves you and you two have only begun mending a relationship that’s very important to him.”

  “How do you know this? Did he tell you?” he asked suspiciously.

  “No.” I shook my head. “He wouldn’t. You and I both know he wouldn’t.”

  “He’s stubborn, that one.” It was his turn to nod. His expression softening as he studied me. “You know him well.”

  “Yes,” I said simply.

  “Do you love him?”

  I went completely still. “Do you?” I offered back but didn’t wait for his answer. “Because he needs you to. He needs to know he has your approval. He needs to know you support him. That you will always be there for him no matter what.”

  “Is something going to happen to him, mijita?” His expression sharpening, he attempted to sit up straighter in the bed.

  “Who can say?” I gave him a vague reply though it was the very real and specific threat of Campanella that I feared. “Your son is…” My eyes filled. “Juaquin is a wonderful man. Strong and stoic, protective of those he cares for like you, but kind and thoughtful like your wife.” I rushed on. I had to get going. I couldn’t afford to miss my flight. I couldn’t afford to linger. Not when I was so tempted to stay where I had been made to feel so welcome. “I didn’t know Adrian.” There was a lag on his heart monitor before it resumed beating at a notably faster pace than before. “But I know the hole that his absence left behind in your lives. Don’t shut Juaquin out anymore. Please. Life is too uncertain. We don’t often get second chances to say or do the right thing by those we love. Your son offered you one of those the other day. You should take it.”

  • • •

  My stomach churned anxiously as I stared out the windows of the taxi at the gridlock of cars around it. No rhyme or reason for the slowdown. I had forgotten how much the freeways in Seattle were a gamble at any hour. The hospital stop had narrowed the margin for error. It was going to be close for me to make my flight.

  “War,” I began as soon as he picked up. “It’s Miriam.”

  “Hey Juliet, funny you should call. I was just telling Shaina about the time during our first tour when we all went to see your play.”

  Funny for him maybe. Not so much for me. More like mortifying. I had been so nervous about opening night and seeing Juaquin that I had only just barely made it to a nearby trashcan before I had hurled.

  “I’m with Shaina. I’ll put you on speaker.”

  “No, don’t. Please…I…”

  “Hi, Miriam,” she greeted cheerily. “I just wanted to tell you that War lost it just like that in London this summer.”

  “That was bad fish and chips, sweetness.”

  She snorted. “Keep telling yourself that, babe, if it makes you feel better. But the rest of us know it was the ninety thousand rabid Tempest fans in Wembley and the fact that your performance in front of them was being recorded.”

  He said something to her that I couldn’t make out.

  “Not here.” She let out a throaty giggle. “No, stop that. I wanna say something first. Miriam,” she called.

  “Yeah,” I replied dully, not feeling like reminiscing or hearing them messing around particularly. Not that I wasn’t supportive of Warren and Shaina and the unlikely love that they had found. It had given me hope that I might find something similar with Juaquin someday. It was just that I knew now that there was no chance of that ever happening.

  “I had such a nice time chatting with you in New Orleans about acting. I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you’re part of the Tempest family, so I feel kind of like we’re family, too. So, sister, don’t let all this media stuff get to you. Whatever you want to do, you do it. But maybe you could take your career in another direction if you wanted to. I told my agent about you. She wants to meet with you. I’m texting you her number.”

  “Thanks.” My eyes burned as I heard the bleep from her text. I had never even presumed to ask her for a favor like that. “That’s very thoughtful.”

  “I should have offered sooner. I just assumed you wanted to finish college first.”

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I noticed that the taxi was moving again. I needed to get this conversation moving along again, too.

  “Hey, I’m almost to the airport. Do you mind if I speak to War for a second privately?”

  “Sure.” The background noise on the call disappeared. I didn’t wait. I didn’t segue. War was a no filter, no bullshit kind of guy anyway so that’s how I gave it to him.

  “I’m calling about Juaquin. I know you’re worried about his solo stuff. You should be, but not for the reason you think. He’s totally a Tempest guy. But I’ve heard some of his stuff. It’s flipping phenomenal. He could take it, run with it all the way to the top and never look back. And you guys could lose him. But not if you set the tone with him for the rest of the group going forward.”

  “How’s that?”

  Some of the churn from my stomach settled. He was listening. Straight shooting had been the right approach. “Tell him that it’s cool what he’s doing. Tell him he has your support. Tell him in front of the others. Make him an example. Let everyone know that you believe that individual exploration isn’t a threat to the collective. Lots of bands do it. Smart ones even encourage it. More creativity at the individual level results in a deeper richer collaboration for the group as a whole. Understanding tightens the bonds of friendship, and it’s freedom not fear that makes creativity flourish.”

  • • •

  I barely made the early afternoon flight, and I was understandably on edge. Poised like a diver on a high cliff getting ready to take a death defying plunge. No deep water at the bottom, just one big predatory shark and a whole lot of jagged rocks.

  I leaned my head back and closed my eyes for a brief moment trying to settle myself.

  I had spoken to Juaquin’s father and War. Two major hurtles cleared. One big one remained.

  I pulled in a breath, opened my eyes and saw that the plane was pulling away from the gate. I dialed the number.

  It rang only once.

  “Black Cat Records. How may I direct your call?”

  “Hi Karen. It’s Miriam Jackson. Bryan Jackson’s sister. Listen, I don’t have much time. My plane’s getting ready to take off. I’ll be in the air for three hours. But there’s something bad that’s getting ready to happen. It’s extremely urgent. I need to speak to Mary Timmons.”

  “Please hold. Let me get her on the line.”

  A long pause. “Here she is now, Miss Jackson.”

  “Mary Timmons. How can I help you?”

  “Thank you for taking my call, Miss Timmons. It’s King, Juaquin Acenado. He’s in trouble.”

  “Oh, I assumed you were phoning about your brother. King seems to get himself into a lot of troubling circumstances these days. What has he done this time?”

  “It’s not really what he has done.”

  “I’m not a big fan of excuses, Miss Jackson. I’m more a believer in individuals taking responsibilities for their own choices.”

  “I’d prefer just Miriam.” I let out a breath. This wasn’t starting well, but I determined to have it end well. She had to be on his side. His father. War. The other guys in the group. His family. I wanted them all to be there for him when the shit hit the fan. “I understand what you’re saying.” In fact I was trying to do just that, maneuver to the best of my ability inside the tiny little corner I had been backed into by Campanella. “But I’m sure you’d agree that sometimes we do the wrong things for the right reasons.” I went on to explain how in this particular circumstance that was exactly what had happened. I told her what Campanella’s lawyer had said, and I asked her to defend Juaquin once again as she had with the possession charges. I didn’t get to hea
r her reply because the flight attendant came by and insisted that I put the phone on airplane mode for takeoff.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  King

  “Another.” I slid my empty glass toward Addy, the seemingly ageless owner of Footit’s. The Southside bar that bore her name had been Tempest’s favorite Southside hangout since the beginning of the band.

  “No more tequila, King,” she stated firmly. “Your eyes are unfocused, and you can barely stand.”

  “Then I’m just starting to get where I need to be.” Swaying, I leaned my weight further into the Formica countertop while the conversations of the other patrons in the bar droned in the background. “C’mon Addy. Have a heart. I just had mine ripped from my chest. Uno mas, por favor.”

  “Quit giving poor Addy a hard time,” Sager said, his sudden and unexpected appearance surprising the hell out of me.

  “What are you doing here?” I turned toward him, blinking my eyes like windshield wipers to regard him through the tequila fog. “No one invited you.”

  “I’ll have a beer,” he told Addy. Ignoring my rudeness, he slipped onto the stool next to me. He hitched a thumb toward me. “Mi hermano will have only water from now on.”

  “Fuck you.” I glared at him.

  “I think I’ll pass,” he returned then grinned. “I had a better option in my bed before I got the call that you needed a designated driver.”

  In my alcohol addled condition, it took me a moment for his quip to sink in.

  “I can drive.” I grumbled.

  “Um, no offense, mi hermano but no you can’t. Even if you had only one or two beers I wouldn’t let you. Did you forget your recent conviction? Do you really wanna go back before the judge? Give him another opportunity to throw your sorry ass in jail?”

  I shook my head. “Tonight of all nights, why you gotta come in here and ride my case, ese?”

  “Because I care about you, unlike that asshole Jorge who doesn’t give a shit and just enables you.” He shot me a look, then tipped back his beer. “What the hell you doing here anyway? I thought after your big night that you and Miriam would be sleeping in your new place picking out furniture and shit.”

  “She dumped me.” Pain sliced through me. “She’s probably already back in Vegas by now.” Maybe tied up. Probably being fucked dirty. I didn’t need to use my imagination. Searching her name brought up a shit ton of images. Most of the links went back to Carter Besille’s website. I realized none were recent photos and that a lot of the stories were just made up bullshit by people who wanted to capitalize on her notoriety. But not all of them. Not the most recent link to an interview with her boss. Vincenzo was Joe Campanella’s brother, for fuck’s sake. The same Joe Campanella our ex lead singer Justin Jones had big cajones to be testifying against when all the other witnesses called in the attempted murder trial had either declined to appear or fell off the face of the earth. No wonder Vincenzo had looked familiar. What the hell was Miriam thinking, going into the porn business, or any business for that matter, with an upper echelon Mafia family like the Campanellas?

  “Sorry, man. I didn’t know.”

  I nodded to acknowledge his sympathy while frowning at the chipped mug of ice water Addy had placed in front of me. I needed more Maestro Dobel. I would have chugged half the bottle if I could. I hated to admit it, but Sager was right. I was out of control. “What the fuck am I gonna do?” I ran a hand through my hair. “I close my eyes, and I see her and the future I had planned for us.” Her body. The way she had come undone with me. My cock stirred in my jeans. “I’m sure you’ve seen the internet shit. Her brother’s probably having a coronary.”

  “Yeah, no doubt. Besille’s a total bottom dweller.” He nodded commiseratively. “But her turning you down doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Why?”

  “C’mon, man.” He swiveled on his stool to more fully face me. “She’s been into you since I can remember. And everyone else could see the way she was with you here. Why do you think our mother accepted her so readily? That woman is yours, ese. That being the case, why all of a sudden would she cut and run? What’s so great back in Vegas that she would turn down your offer of everything you both ever wanted, right here in Seattle?”

  “I never told her. Didn’t get a chance.” I hunched further into myself as emptiness yawned inside of the dead chambers of my heart.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “You do the math.” I gave him an incredulous look. “A hotel room. A big comfy bed. A woman as hot as she is. Lots of room to play.” I lifted and dropped a shoulder.

  “You telling me you guys did it all night?”

  “And into the morning,” I clarified.

  “And then she broke it off with you?” He narrowed his eyes. “Then her running back to Vegas makes even less sense.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t,” I decided, realizing that when he put it like that it did seem kind of strange. “But she said it was goodbye.”

  “If you’d had her only once, ok, maybe I’d buy that it was only a sympathy fuck. But not the hot monkey sex you’re describing.”

  “Yo, asshole.”

  I swiveled around in time to see a fist coming straight toward my face. Even drunk I had enough boxing training and Southside skills to dodge it.

  “I mean, what the fuck?” Bryan’s hand was now captured inside my fist. I tightened my grip to let him know I didn’t appreciate him taking a sucker punch at me.

  “I trusted you, King. I left my sister in your care. You said you’d see she’d stop stripping. So why’s she going back to Vegas and doing porn for Campanella Productions?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Not what I want to hear.”

  “Something isn’t right. I agree. Sager and I are trying to figure it out. If I let go of your fist, are you gonna help us out or do I need to pound some sense into you first?”

  “No. I’ll help.” He lifted his chin and ran a hand through his hair. He looked strung out. “I’ve been trying to call her. She’s not answering. I doubt she’d listen to me anyway. What’ve you got?”

  “A whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t add up.” Sager rubbed his jaw reflectively. “I didn’t even know about the porn until now.” He gave me a firm look. “I think you’re gonna have to start at the beginning. Don’t leave any shit out.” He sent Bryan the same no-nonsense look he had given me. “And do what you need to do to keep your cool. We’re all on the same team. She’s Tempest. That makes her family. We look after our own. We don’t throw bullshit punches at each other.”

  “Yeah, sorry.” Bryan’s expression turned wry. “I hear you. That’s basically what War told me, too.”

  “War’s the voice of reason?” I could hear the disbelief in Sager’s tone. Mi hermano and I exchanged a glance. Our lead singer had mellowed out a lot since he and Shaina had gotten together, but he wasn’t the wise one in the group. That was usually Sager’s role. War had even nicknamed him ‘Sage’ because of it. “This keeps getting weirder and weirder. What exactly did he say to you, and what the hell does anything Warren Jinkins say have to do with your sister?”

  “He said Miriam called him about King.” He pointed his head toward me.

  “Why the hell would she do that?” I sat up straighter, honing my focus.

  “She asked him to be more supportive of your solo stuff. Made some valid points. And since he was already headed to Seattle, he’s planning to call a group meeting with all of us and our women so we can talk about it when he gets here.”

  “Holy shit!” Sager exclaimed.

  “I know.” Bryan nodded. “Very atypical War.”

  “Your sister’s got some impressive skills,” Sager decided and cocked his head to the side. “But when did she call War? You make it sound like it happened today.”

  “It did. He called me right after she called him.”

  My stomach started to gnaw on the tequila and a knot of misgivings. Sager was onto something. Why would Miriam be t
rying to make things better for me within the group if things were over between us? She was always telling me that I was the protective one. But she had that bent in her personality every bit as much as I did. She had been about to quit her job with Campanella. She recognized the danger he represented. So why go into the porn business with him? Was he pressuring her? Had he threatened her? Or someone close to her? His own daughter perhaps? Or one of us? Ann? Her brother? Me?

  I stood up, suddenly not feeling the slightest bit drunk, but way the hell freaked out. Had my stupid, pathetic, kneed in the balls pride blinded me when it came to her? Had I missed seeing the truth? Truth that was a whole lot scarier than just her rejecting me?

  “What is it?” Sager put his hand on my arm.

  I swung my gaze to him and then to her brother. “What if it wasn’t her decision to work for Campanella?”

  “How the hell could he make her work for him?” Bryan asked. “Miriam never does anything she doesn’t want to do.”

  “Mr. Acenado.”

  “What?” I barked not appreciating the interruption and nearly knocking the guy’s ball cap off his head as I whirled around to face him.

  “You’re a difficult man to find. Thank God for overtime pay. This is for you.” He thrust an official looking document at me. “You’ve been served.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Miriam

  On the escalator down to baggage claim, I spotted him. Vincenzo Campanella was impossible to miss bracketed by two large men I’d never seen. I swayed and gripped the hand rail tighter. Garner was there too. He stood behind Mike, and my blood ran cold at the threat his position implied. It only got more certain as he unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a glint of metal. This was bad. Really bad.