Loving a Bad Boy (35 page)

“
Your people?”

“
Your people,” he said in
a stern tone.

Rather than argue or apologize, she remained
silent as they pulled into a large metal garage near the front of
the house. Following his lead, she exited the car and joined him at
the foot of the stairs. It seemed he squared his shoulders, but she
couldn’t be sure. The idea unsettled her for a moment, but she
squelched it and walked next to his smiling countenance as he went
inside.

The cool interior was a balanced mix of
vibrant pictures and muted color walls. The furniture appeared
solid and comfortable. There was something restful, soothing about
the living area that calmed Pam. The sound of someone heading
toward them arrested her attention. Smile firmly in place, she
expected to meet her grandmother, or an elderly patriarch. The
young short, round woman with a broad smile was neither. Pam placed
her somewhere in her early thirties, late twenties, too young to be
an older relation. The deferential manner in which the woman met
her father surprised her. Confused as to where they were and who
was this woman, Pam braced herself for whatever dark secret she was
about to hear.

“
I wan’cha to meet my
daughter. Pam.” He waved in her direction. Pam took that as a cue
to ask questions.

“
I’m sorry, I didn’t get
your name.” She smiled at the woman whose smile never
faltered.

“
I’m Leeann. It’s nice to
meet you. I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay.”

Surprised that the woman seemed to know
about her, while she knew nothing, spurred Pam to ask more
questions. “It’s been interesting. What part of the island is
this?”

“
We’re standing in the
hall, can I get something to drink?” her father asked just as
Leeann opened her mouth to answer Pam.

Leeann’s hands flew to her mouth, as her
eyes widened. “I’m sorry. What’d you like to drink?” She asked Pam
over her shoulder as she moved quickly in the opposite direction.
Her father moved to follow. Pam placed her hand on his arm,
effectively stopping him.

“
Who is she and where are
we?” She hissed. The thought that this was Boot’s home crossed her
mind, and his cutting Leeann off did nothing to allay her
fears.

“
Patience.” He winked, and
then followed our hostess.

Stunned by the wink, it took her a moment to
realize he’d become more relaxed since he'd walked in the door.
He’d been smiling since they got out the car, and that was out of
character for the taciturn man she’d come to know.

Tara had said something about all the women
wanting him. Had he brought her to his girlfriend’s place? Had he
finally decided to remarry after all these years? Was that what
this was all about? Stunned, she remained rooted to the spot in a
wasted effort to deal with her conflicting emotions. Did she really
begrudge him finding love again? Yes. No. She was confused. As far
as she was concerned, she just wanted closure on what happened to
her mother, and now her father was bringing another woman into his
life.

“
Pam. Pamela Lenora
Burrows!” Her father’s voice boomed across the room. Dazed at what
all this might mean to her, she looked in his direction, not really
seeing him. “Come on, grab a cold drink.”

Unable to utter a coherent sentence, she
followed him down the hall. They reached the dining room just as
Leeann bustled out. “I’ll be right back, gotta set things up. Make
yourself comfortable.” Since she was looking at Pam when she spoke,
the feeling of dread increased.

“
You’ve been here a lot,
huh?” She peered over at her dad, who sat at the table gulping
whatever was in his glass.

He swallowed down the contents and replaced
the glass on the table. “Yeah.”

That’s it?
She screamed silently. He’d asked her for
patience, but she was about to pull her hair out over the suspense.
What was the big deal? He’d introduce his fiancé, perhaps explain
she was pregnant, and that there were a couple more kids stashed
away around the island. Internally, she shrugged it off. Convinced
she could handle that, she walked over to the table near her father
to be in a position to lend support.

“
Zach?” The soft voice
whispered behind her. Her father's face crumpled like a piece of
paper in a fist. If she hadn’t been watching him, she wouldn’t
believe it. He rose in slow motion, like a sleeper awaking from a
long dream, and moved toward the entryway. His breath hitched. Pam
wondered what was going on.

Turning, she watched Leeann walk forward
while holding the arms of a gray-haired, emaciated looking woman
who moved sluggishly in their direction. Every once in a while the
frail woman’s arms would fly up and around her waist as she
twisted. Leeann would murmur something to her. It was obvious from
the woman’s wobbly gait that this trek was a chore.

Frowning, Pam wondered if the woman was
another one of her father’s relatives. Seeing Leeann comfort the
woman had Pam changing her initial impression of the woman. Perhaps
it wouldn’t be so bad if he remarried someone to help him as he got
older.

Her father reached toward the women,
startling Pam when he took the hands of the smaller woman and
hugged her. The woman’s body jerked and twisted in his arms.
Stunned, Pam watched as he stroked the thin, gray braids on the
small head and made soothing sounds. Who was this person? His
mother? Aunt?

“
Pam is here,” her daddy
whispered with a caress in his voice.

That stopped every thought swimming in her
head.

“
She… here. Pam..e..la…
here? Where?” The words were so garbled that Pam had difficulty
understanding them. If she hadn’t spent years working with
geriatric patients who'd had a multitude of health challenges, she
was certain she wouldn’t have understood. The little lady acted as
though she knew her, while Pam was clueless to this woman’s
identity.

Eyes wide, mouth agape, and heart racing,
Pam stood watching as the woman peered around her father’s
shoulders. For a second their eyes connected before the woman’s
body jerked. Her arms and torso twisted and flailed in a macabre
dance, severing their ties. Pam gasped in recognition of the
familiar locket the woman wore around her neck. Just this morning
she’d looked into an identical one.

Gut punched, her hands
flew to her mouth as her body shook in denial what her mind
screamed as truth. Her heart and world stuttered as her breath
hitched.
It couldn’t be
.

“
Mama?” she
whispered.

Chapter 23

“
Julio,” Roberto said,
sounding somewhat exasperated. “I said the contracts have been
signed and we are ready to prepare for the next
shipment.”

Julio stood at the large picture window,
searching the view for answers. Answers necessary to quell the
nervous tick in his gut. Something was off. All the dots were
connected, which made it harder to figure out what was wrong. Hands
behind his back, he glanced behind him. “Who’s running
security?”

“
I told you–”

“
Then tell me again,” he
snapped. Irritated with the state of affairs, he turned to face his
cousin. “Where’s Carlos?” He'd noticed the little man’s absence
upon his arrival, and honestly, he’d been relieved not to deal with
his pouting and arrogance. But it was strange for him to be absent
this long. Carlos was a big fish in his private pond and tried to
stay involved with every aspect of his father’s
operation.

Roberto reddened and shifted his gaze toward
the desk. “He is completing a task I assigned him.”

Interesting.
“A task?” Julio asked, with more relish than
necessary.

Roberto glanced at him. It was the look of a
trapped man in pain. “Yes.” The one word answered the question, but
also asked to drop the conversation.

Julio wasn’t having it. “What is he doing
more important than this?” He waved at the files on the desk.

Roberto’s nostrils narrowed as he glared at
him. “He is dealing with staff problems.”

It took Julio a minute to remember Carlos
and the man from accounting. “So you did know.”

Roberto shook his head, deflated. Slumping
in his seat he looked drawn and tired. “Not until after you looked
over the accounts. He came and told me.” He glared at Julio. “I
cannot explain my displeasure at his confession.”

Julio watched Roberto struggle to control
his emotions. “The money?”

“
It has been
replaced.”

As far as Julio was concerned, the return of
the money and the termination of the employee settled the matter.
He turned his mind to discovering what was bothering him about this
new deal.

“
Stupido!” Roberto’s palm
slapped the desk. “He risks so much. His wife will kill
him.”

Julio’s brow rose. Impressed by Roberto’s
display of righteous anger, he remained silent.

“
Why would a man take such
a risk to be with another man? He will lose everything if it is
discovered. Why take a chance to lose his home, his family.”
Roberto’s eyes implored him to explain or answer the
question.

He had no answer. “I don’t know.”

The older man sighed long and hard as he
covered his face with his palm. “Love? Stupido.” This time he said
the word with more contempt than before and Julio wondered which
word the scorn was meant for.

“
How is he handling the
problem?” Julio didn’t think Carlos had it in him to terminate his
lover. But if the situation wasn’t handled right, it could set up a
blackmail scenario in the future. Francisco would shit bricks if
that happened.

Roberto looked askance at him before
answering. “He is not strong enough to handle this correctly. I
have sent someone behind him to make sure it is taken care of. I
believe they are saying goodbye in a more intimate manner.”
Roberto’s entire face blazed red by the time he finished
speaking.

The obligatory last
fuck
.

Julio nodded and turned back to the window.
His mind strayed to Pam, as it had been doing quite often since his
return. For the past two days he hadn’t been able to reach her. Tex
hadn’t seen her since she'd left with her father a couple of days
ago. The bug they’d placed in her father’s car wasn’t working. That
was the same day she had left him a voicemail and then had called
Tex, saying she was alright, but would be spending the rest of the
week with her family. Now, whenever he tried to reach her, her
calls went straight to voicemail. Tex said she hadn’t taken any
bags with her for this impromptu visit. Chances were she'd left her
phone charger as well.

Damn. Neither he nor Tex had any idea what
had brought on this lengthy visit. It had better not be because of
Boots.

Leaving her had been hard. Much harder than
he'd anticipated. Knowing some asshole was trying to claim her with
her daddy’s blessings didn’t sit well with him. No matter how much
her old man wanted her to hook up with some local asshole, Julio
wasn’t having it. Thankfully, neither was Pam.

As soon as this shipment was under way, he
planned to head back to Cat Island. The next time he left, she
would damn sure be with him. Consequences be damned.

The wall clock chimed, reminding him of the
time. He picked up the files again and looked at the names and
biographical printouts of each person working the operation. This
time, one name stood out. After reading the printout again, he
smiled. “I’ll be damned,” he whispered. Slick. Smart. But not quite
smart enough.

“
You ready?” Roberto
asked. It was time for them to head out to brief the
team.

“
Yeah, I’ll meet you
there.”

“
I thought we were riding
together.” Roberto’s objection held an undercurrent of relief.
Julio noted it but didn’t respond. After all, they weren’t friends,
and probably never would be.

Instead, he picked up his jacket, threw it
over his arm, and headed for the door. “Change of plans,” he said
over his shoulder.

“
Something I need to
know?” Roberto asked just as Julio closed the door and moved
briskly down the hall. Time was short and he needed to set things
in place. Time to catch a thief.

Chapter 24