Cole McGinnis 05 - Down and Dirty (20 page)

There wasn’t a question who she was talking to, and Cole patted at his jeans, shaking his head. “No, I left them in the house.”

“No, I left them in the house, what?” Claudia’s nostrils flared, and she tilted her head back. “Right now there’d best be a ma’am or a momma at the end of everything you say from this point out. Do you hear me?”

As quick as that, Ichi saw his brother fold in and settle into himself. Claudia took another step forward, her flats barely making any noise on the porch planks. Bobby shuffled back and forth on his feet, his hands shoved deep into his jeans. No one seemed able to make eye contact. Even Jae looked guilty and contrite when Claudia raked a glance over him.

She stood still among them, a Gorgon arriving to decide which of them she wanted in her garden—and she owned a murmuring of acid-shitting pigeons with diarrhea.

“Yes, ma’am,” Cole muttered, looking down at his feet. “Um, no, I left them in the house, Momma.”

A curious Scarlet and one of Claudia’s teenaged granddaughters trailed after her, but the woman clearly didn’t need any reinforcements. With her broad shoulders set back, she sailed up the porch and cut through their argument with a force strong enough to back up her steely glare.

“Sissy, you go get Nana’s keys from her purse and bring them here. When you’re done with that, you go tell those women to get their asses off the sidewalk and go get some food. Bring that damned dog too. Poor thing’s going to get sunburn on that lily white belly it’s got. It can sleep in the shade.” Nodding to Scarlet, a small, soft smile cracked her hard reserve. “Scarlet honey, can you keep everyone out back over there while I get these boys’ shit straightened out? Unless you’re wanting a piece of their asses to chew on, because Lord knows, there’s enough of it to go around.”

“No, I am fine,” Scarlet murmured sweetly, but her eyes narrowed when she glanced at Cole. “I’ll take what you’ve left if I need to.”

If Claudia’s harsh tone wasn’t enough, Cole’s face paled to a pasty white as Scarlet turned around and headed down the sidewalk to the backyard.

“Not going to be much ass to kick when I get done with you all,” Claudia muttered. Sissy came back at a full run, bolting up the stairs to hand her grandmother a set of keys. “Thank you, honey. Now go talk to those fools across the street and then get something to eat. Jae, you go on with her. None of this is on you.”

“
Nuna
—” Jae began to protest.

“This isn’t a discussion, Jae-Min. You get your ass out back, and you go make nice with the people who came here to eat and have a good time. And sucking up to me by calling me
nuna
isn’t going to do you one bit of good. One of you needs to go back there and play host, and from the looks of things, you’re just getting dragged into this mess by your fool boyfriend. So get.” She stomped across the porch, opened the screen door, then fit a key into the office’s front door. Unlocking it with a twist, she growled at Cole. “
You
go undo that alarm. Ichiro and Bobby, you two head in and find a chair to plant yourselves in. We’re going to have this out right now.”

Ichi stood there, stunned and senseless, as his brother nodded once, then headed into the section of the Craftsman house he’d turned into an office for his detective business. Bobby began to follow but stopped in front of Ichi.

Holding his hand out, Bobby gave Ichi a warm smile. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s go get our asses chewed out.”

“Robert Dawson, are you mocking me?”

“No, ma’am.” He shook his head, but his smile grew when Ichi entwined their fingers together.

“Well, that just sounded nasty,” Claudia harrumphed. Standing nearly as tall as Bobby’s shoulder, she was a stone-faced sentinel as she held open the door. “Get in. And all of you, sit down and you listen. Because we’re not going to be doing this again. Or so help me God, you shall feel my wrath and wish the Lord had given you locusts and floods instead.”

A
S
ASS
-
CHEWINGS
went, Bobby had to admit it was a spectacular one.

There was very little talking on their parts. Claudia cut through their arguments with a sharpened word or a look, her offhanded comments a shiv to the hot-air balloons they used to lift their anger. She jabbed, prodded, and with a few harsh reminders of their mortality, reduced their fight to a few choice points.

Most of which, Bobby had to agree on. Especially when she began to question his sanity. And Cole’s. But mostly his.

“Ichiro, you tell me one thing before I go any further. Do you love him?” Claudia crooked a finger up, stopping them from bursting in. “Don’t give me any crap about not knowing or not telling him that yet. You tell me whether or not this thing between the two of you is serious.”

Bobby met Ichi’s wavering gaze. It was silly for them—three grown men—to be called up on the carpet like children, but in some small way, it gave Bobby a sense of relief. Clearing his throat, he spoke up before Ichi could.

“I’m serious,” he interjected. “About Ichiro. I’ll say it first. I don’t give a shit if anyone knows it. We’ve got a good thing going, and I want to… see where it leads. I don’t think Cole—”

“We’re not talking about Cole right now.” Claudia shoved his argument aside with a wave of her hand. “I’m asking about how things are between the two of you. Ichi, you feel the same?”

“Yeah, I do.” His lover fidgeted in his chair, bumping his knee against Bobby’s. “It’s been… good. Nice.”

“Nice?” Bobby gasped teasingly. “Shit, I’ve got to work on my game—”

“It’s not a goddamned game, Bobby,” Cole grumbled. “That’s my baby brother.”

“Brother yes, baby no,” Ichiro corrected. “Why are you being like Mike here? Maybe I thought you’d be happy for me. For Bobby—”

“Ichiro, now’s when you go help Jae.” Claudia jerked her head toward the door. Ichi raised his eyebrows and stole a look at Bobby. Catching him, Claudia sniffed. “Don’t go looking to him for permission. I tell you to do something, you get to doing it. You’re not needed here.”

“Um, Cole’s—” His argument came quick and was shot down even quicker.

“I know who Cole is to you, and I know who Bobby is to you, neither of which have anything to do with what’s going on between them. You’re just a bone these two dogs are chewing over, and we’re going to put a stop to it.” Claudia glared at Cole when he looked up from the chair he’d claimed in the rush to get inside. Standing in front of them, she blocked the way out as effectively as a Sherman tank, barely turning to let Ichiro out. “Ichi, go on. I’m going to be right behind you. These two can go work out their problems without you, and then the brothers can deal with their own things at their own time.”

He appreciated Ichiro’s willingness to go to the mat for him. Even as outclassed as the little boy from Tokyo was to the Dupree clan matriarch, he was game—as if Godzilla tearing apart his city gave Ichi any street cred when going up against Claudia in a full rant.

Still, another nod from Bobby and Ichiro was out the door like he’d been shot out of a cannon. When the screen door banged against its frame, Claudia turned back to them and put her hands on her hips, glaring down her nose.

“I’m going to tell it to you straight, Robert Dawson.” Her voice was low, crooning to a sweetness Bobby didn’t trust. “I don’t have a lot of faith you’re not going to hurt that boy. Yes, he’s a man, but he’s looking to you for love, and other than Cole here, you’ve not got a lot going on in that heart of yours.”

“I don’t need that spelled out to me, ma’am.” He tacked it on quickly, keenly aware of Claudia’s wicked backhand and how his head was very tenuously attached to his neck. “It really is between me and Ichiro. Cole’s just—”

“No, this is between you and Cole,” Claudia pronounced, slapping Cole’s shoulder when he turned in his chair. “There’s a lot going on here. There’s a lot at stake between you. If it goes badly with you and Ichi, where does that put Cole? Suppose he has to choose between you?”

“I wouldn’t—”

“And you think Cole isn’t maybe jealous of you and Ichi?” She cocked her head when Cole jerked to attention. “Don’t tell me you aren’t. I know you. I know how that little green monster burns inside of you. Hell, you used to be jealous of that damned cat.”

“The cat hated me. And I’m allergic to it,” Cole pointed out. “I’m
not
jealous of Bobby and Ichiro.”

“Maybe not on the surface, but it’s there. He’s your best friend, and son, let me tell you the truth, you might know a lot of people, but very few of them are your friends—not like this man here. And it scares you that you could lose him. I’m here to tell you both to stop being stupid and talk to each other. Now I’m going to go outside, and when you come out—both of you better be smiling and hugging, or I’m going to decide who Ichi’s going to be left with. Understand?”

“Yeah,” Cole muttered.

“I’ll let that one go because I love you. Just like the two of you love each other.” Claudia patted Cole on the head. “Now I’m going to go and get something to eat. You both come join us when you’re done. I’ll save you some pie.”

“I’
M
NOT
jealous.” Cole was the first one to break the heavy silence, cracking it apart to sear and bubble on the hot anger they had lingering between them. It spat, then faded, dulled by the cold, hard truths Claudia laid out before them. Grimacing, he continued, “Okay, not really, but yeah, I thought about how things would be if you guys broke up first—instead of how great it was the two of you might have something together.”

“I’ll give you that.” Bobby rolled the chair back an inch, squeaking its wheels across the floor. “I’ll admit to kind of liking sneaking around behind your back with Ichi.” He cut Cole off before his friend could say anything. “Not that I’m ashamed of him. It was kind of fun. And well, you can be an asshole sometimes.”

“Shouldn’t have lied to me.”

“Didn’t lie. Just didn’t tell you everything,” Bobby clarified, but he caught the hurt look in Cole’s hazel eyes. “You want me to be honest with you?”

“Yeah.” Cole leaned his chair back until it struck his desk. Biting his lower lip, he looked too much like Ichiro for Bobby’s comfort. “For once, Bobby, tell me what the hell is really going on with you.”

“Your brother scares the living fuck out of me,” he admitted, gently tearing apart his soul so Cole could see inside. “He’s way out of my league and… kind of frighteningly smart. I’m just some ex-cop with a shit ton of baggage and so fucking fresh out of the closet I’ve got coat hanger marks on the back of my neck. What’s someone like Ichi doing with an old man like me?”

“Hey, you’re not that old,” Cole argued. “You can beat the shit out of me in the ring, remember? Guys half your age can’t do that.”

“But guys half your age aren’t fucking guys half their age either,” Bobby pointed out.

“No, ’cause that’s illegal.” Cole cocked his head at Bobby’s grin. “And kind of immoral.”

“I’ve pretty much tried to define immoral… without drifting into the illegal, mind you.” Rubbing his hands over his thighs, Bobby stared at his best friend. “I’m not saying I’m perfect—”

“Well good, ’cause that’s a shit-faced lie.”

“Shut up for a second here. I’m trying to be serious.” He nudged Cole with his foot. “Your brother’s gotten under my skin, and I can’t get him out. Hell, I don’t want to get him out. Dude, I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d react as shitty as Mike did. And you’ve got more cause than Hedgehog Head does. You’ve seen me at my worst—”

“I’ve also seen you at your best.” Cole rolled his chair over until their knees bumped. “Yeah, I’m pissed off because you should be telling me shit like this. Even if it was Ichi—okay, shit, I can’t believe it’s Ichi—but you should have given me that fucking chance.”

“Yeah, I should have.” It was hard to admit, and the words stuck in his throat, dry and scratchy, but he forced them out. “So, we good here? You willing to let me try it with your brother?”

“With Mike, yeah. Maddy deserves better, but he got her pregnant, so I’m guessing she wants to keep him.”

“You’re a dick, you know that?” He reached over to slap Cole on the arm.

“You should tell your kid. He should know. It’s not fair to him or Ichi.” Cole barely budged at the smack, and Bobby grimaced at the shock waves going up his elbow.

“You work out too much. Getting too beefy.”

Cole chuckled, and Bobby joined him.

“I’m serious. Me and Ichi, we’re not going away, Princess. You’re going to have to deal with it.”

“I can. Deal with it, I mean.” He shrugged, his broad shoulders lifting gracefully.

For the years since he’d first become friends with Cole, Bobby felt… scared. Frightened of losing a man he’d first come to think of as a casual friend, then his best—his only true—friend. There were men he knew to call for a cheap fuck or even to help him move on the promise of pizza and beer. There were guys he could share a pool table with or catch a game at the stadium, but Cole was the one who reached out to
him
, and he found the fear of losing that trust overwhelming.

He’d already seen that loss in Jamie’s eyes. Hell, even his uncle looked at him sideways sometimes, and the man’d raised him, but never once had Cole wavered. The fear of it choked him, and it brought up a sting of bile to his throat.

“I can’t lose you, man.” Bobby reached for Cole’s hands, then clamped them into a tight grip. His world went wet, smearing about the edges, and he blinked, trying to clear his view. “But I can’t lose him either. Not… now. Not if… fuck, I think I love him, Cole, and that scares the fucking shit out of me like you don’t know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Cole returned his grip, a fierce, quick tug on his fingers. “You’re not going to lose me, and if this… if you and Ichi go belly up, I’ll be here. But I’m hoping—really hoping for your sake—it doesn’t. Go belly up, I mean.”

“It sucks wanting someone so fucking bad you can taste it at the back of your soul.” He pulled one hand free and dug the heel of it into his eyes. “He’s so damned young.”