Loving a Bad Boy (16 page)

Seething, he watched the hooded fool go
through everything in Tex’s bathroom. Julio’s imagination filled in
the blanks about the other thug in his personal bathroom.

“
Bitch,” he snarled, as
Tex’s condoms and lubes were stuffed in a bag. Moments later, the
two men met in the hall, spoke, and returned to the living room.
And that’s when the destruction began in earnest.

An hour later, Julio’s rage simmered. The
techs had arrived, and were in the living room and kitchen
gathering evidence. They had confirmed the absence of any other
technical devices.

Francisco had called, but
Julio hadn’t answered. In his mind’s eye he went over the
mannerisms of the two men, sifting through the hundreds of men he
had met in the past few years. The level of frustration and rage
the men displayed made this seem personal. They were searching for
something. What?
Something important
enough to risk their lives
.

Were they the ones who shot Tex? How had
they accessed this floor? Even more importantly, how had they
over-rode Tex’s complicated security to gain entrance? He had no
recollection of how long he sat studying the screen, searching his
mind for clues or answers.

A knock sounded on his bedroom door. Julio
didn’t answer.

“
Boss?” Recognizing
Miguel’s voice, Julio shut down the laptop and closed the brief
case.

“
Yeah?” he called out as
he set the case near his feet.

“
Can I come in?” There was
a touch of hesitancy in his voice, which was good. The man had been
with him for over a year and knew he’d be pissed.

“
Yes,” he answered with a
precise snap. Julio’s mind whirled with what he had seen on the
monitor. Something seemed familiar about the way one of the men
walked, but he couldn’t place it.

The door opened slowly, carefully. “They
need to work this room, it’s the last one.” Miguel moved off the
door, and opened it for the techs.

Julio stood, picked up the briefcase before
he walked to the door. He stopped and looked at the two technicians
who were working the room. “You will send me and Francisco a report
within 24 hours. Especially any information on the body from the
hall. I want to know everything about him.”

A stunned expression crossed the face of one
of the younger workers. The other one touched her arm and answered.
“Yes, Sir.”

He nodded and walked out the room. Cleaners
were busy restoring order to the place, within a few hours there
would be no reminders of what had happened, other than the security
tapes he had in his briefcase.

Julio headed toward Pete and Miguel’s
smaller unit down the hall. It hadn’t been violated. Miguel locked
the door behind him and walked off down the hall. While checking
the security, Julio called for a report on Tex. The phone rang
twice before it was answered.

“
Hello?” the breathless
quality, the higher pitch identified the speaker
immediately.

A wave of lust tightened in his loins.
Angered over his body’s response, he in turn snapped. “Where’s the
doc?”

There was a discernible pause. A bubble of
anticipation rose within him as he waited to hear her cutting
response. She didn’t disappoint.

“
Excuse me?” The sass of
her question slapped him through the phone.

He smiled.

“
I asked a question.
Where’s the doc? This is his phone, right?” He leaned back in the
leather chair and crossed his knee.

“
Yes, it’s his phone,
but
you
don’t get
to snap at me. Not when I’m operating on three hours of sleep. Not
when you’ve asked for a favor. Come to think of it, you don’t snap
at me evah!”

He bit back the laugh threatening to erupt.
Briefly, he considered baiting her further, but he really needed
her help. “I apologize. Now will you answer my question? I just
want a report on Tex.”

Her long sigh would have singed his ears had
they been face to face. “It should be obvious since I answered his
phone, that the doctor is busy right now. He’s stitching him up,
should be done in a few minutes. Call back then.” She hung up.

“
I guess she didn’t accept
my apology,” he murmured. Looking at the hidden cameras again, he
called out. “Miguel!”

Within seconds the man was in the living
area, gun in hand. After looking around, he replaced his weapon in
its side holster. “Sir?”

“
Which room is Pete’s? I’m
tired and need a short nap.” He stood and followed the man down the
hall. After opening the door, he turned and spoke. “Lock this place
up and get some rest. It’s been a long 24 hours.”

Miguel
nodded and walked off.

Chapter 10

Pam lay on the sofa, too
exhausted to fall asleep. Sunlight filtered through the blinds and
curtains, teasing her with its warmth. She pulled the checkered
cream and blue throw pillow over her face. Darkness ensued, but it
wasn’t the kind that beckoned rest. No, it was the manufactured
kind her body resented, to the point that everything she had done
in the past twenty-four hours danced in her mind in one continuous
loop. Every decision she had made, beginning with researching
family histories, staying up later than normal, to opening the door
for Tex, and finally assisting the doctor with his care, was second
guessed. Was it time to stop her search for mama? Should she have
let Tex in? Had she been wrong to help? What if he had bled to
death on her floor? How could she
no
t have helped? She would have done
the same for a stranger.

Really
?

Well, maybe not allowed him to stay, but she
would have helped stop the bleeding.

Arms extended, she lifted the pillow and
tilted her head toward the hallway. Drug induced, Tex slept in one
of her guest rooms.

“
Hell,” she said,
disgusted. At least one of them was getting some rest. For a
moment, she thought of the pills the doctor had left for
her.

“
Something to help you
sleep better,” the older Spaniard had said. Eyes tightly shut, she
dismissed the white pills he'd left behind in an envelope
and
the drama of the
past few hours.

Her phone rang.

Fumbling, she picked it
up, looked at the caller ID and groaned. It was
him
again. How’d Julio get her phone
number anyway? She replaced the phone on the nearby table and
rolled over.

At any other time she’d be happy to hear
from him. The man was fine. But right now, he was getting on her
last nerves. What’d he say his last name was? She tried to
remember, but it was as elusive as her sleep. At the last ring, she
released her breath and replaced her arm over her face.

“
Rude ass,” she murmured,
as a collage of pictures featuring his good-looking face returned
front and center in her mind. “Handsome is as handsome does,” she
reminded herself sternly. It wouldn’t do for her to only remember
how attractive he was. His explanations were evasive. The man had a
short fuse and it was obvious he planned to handle Tex’s situation
without involving the law. That was a red flag. One thing she was
certain of, he was genuinely concerned about Tex.

His bossiness aggravated
her
. But he had made sure she had
everything she needed to care for his friend. There must be a spark
of kindness somewhere in that fine body. She shivered as the chill
from his words of retribution rose before her.

The verbal battle proceeded in her mind.
“Enough,” she said aloud. “I’m not going to think about this right
now. I need to rest.” She whispered the last sentence as though
sharing a secret with a clueless friend.

Moments passed. She did everything within
her power to fall asleep, or at the very least, relax. She
couldn’t. Memories of the past twenty-four hours still raced
through her mind. She was too keyed up from all the events of last
night and early this morning. Finally, she gave up and stood.

Once standing, she stretched long and hard.
Several popping sounds punctuated the air. “Lord, I am so tired.”
Dragging her feet, she headed in the direction of the kitchen, but
changed her mind at the last minute. Instead, she continued down
the hall to check on her guest. As she reached the doorway, she
heard rough mumblings. A second later, the mumblings were
accompanied with a thrashing sound.

Alarmed that Tex might reopen his stitches;
Pam pushed open the door and headed for the bed. “Hey…hey,” she
said in a soothing tone that she used on her patients. “It’s okay.
Everything is gonna be okay.” Her hand rested on his arm for a
second before rubbing it gently in a slow circling pattern.

He stilled beneath her hand. She continued
whispering calming words to him. “Everything’s okay. Nothing’s
gonna bother you here. Rest. It’s time to let it all go and rest,
Tex.” When she said his name, he flinched. A second later, it was
as though a balloon full of air burst and he deflated.

His breathing slowed. He said a few
unintelligible words before allowing the drugs in his system to
work. Rest was the best medicine for him right now, and the doctor
had given him a strong cocktail to insure he did just that.

“
That’s a good boy, get
your rest.” She smiled, knowing he would have a strong comeback for
her “good boy,” comment if he were awake.

Her phone rang in the living room. Closing
her eyes, she counted to three. It continued to ring. She counted
to ten. It stopped. Just as she entered the hall, the ringing
started again. Only this time it was Tex’s phone. As she entered
the kitchen, she spied the ringing device on the countertop.
Without thinking, she snatched it up and answered. “Hello?”

There was a brief bout of silence. “I didn’t
think you were there. I expected the doctor or his assistant to
answer.” Pam ignored the questioning tone in his statement. It was
obvious she was still there, she had answered Tex’s phone.

“
How is Tex?” he asked,
his tone hard.

This man needed to learn manners. “The
doctor finished an hour and a half ago, gave him some pain meds.
He’s sleeping now.” She tried to sound pleasant, but it was too
much effort. Besides he wasn’t tripping over himself trying to be
Mr. Nice guy anyway. She’d give what she received.

“
Drugs? He gave him
drugs?” His incredulous tone pissed her off.

“
Yeah, he thought that
might be a good idea after he cut him open and then sewed him back
together,” she said drily, not even trying to hide her
sarcasm.

“
He cut him open? Why? I
thought the bullet went straight through.”

Since he sounded genuinely shocked and
concerned, she modulated her voice. “There was debris. He needed to
be sure everything was out. Considering the equipment he had to
work with, I think he did a good job. Perhaps if we had gone to the
hospital, had an x-ray or something like that….” She let the
sentence drift off. Everyone had vetoed her recommendation for
taking Tex to the hospital or someplace for x-rays. Miffed, she'd
finally stopped talking and left the room until the doctor had
asked her to assist him with the cleaning and stitches.

“
Yeah, I know you think he
shoulda gone to the hospital, but trust me on this one. My man
would prefer the drugs, even though he hates them like a mutha-, I
mean he hates them, but hates hospitals more.”

“
Umhmm,” she said, smiling
at his attempt to keep his profanity usage down. “We’ll see when he
wakes up.” She paused, looked at her watch and frowned. Tex would
be out most of the day. “When are you moving him?”

“
I need to check with the
doc. Why? Is there a problem?”

“
I’m thinking about
heading out of town in a couple days.” There was a continuing
education class she’d signed up for in Ft. Lauderdale, and she
planned to stay an extra day to chill. Plus, she planned to stop by
Mike’s office to pick up his final report.

“
I see. Mind if I ask
where you going?”

“
Yes.” It was none of his
business.

“
Okay. How soon do I need
to move him out?” His tone turned a little frosty, but she ignored
it.

“
He should be up some time
tomorrow. I figure the doctor would check on him to see if he was
well enough to move. Is he going back upstairs?”

“
No.”

Turnabout was fair play, even though she had
no liking for his one word answer. Tex was her friend, her
patient.