by Marie Harte
“But this Juan kid, he’s not actually a gang member.”
“I don’t think so. But, hell, I thought he was just always talking a big game. I didn’t know he really knew Lasko or had drugs and stuff. It’s just… None of it seems real.”
“Man, you’re in a shit sandwich for sure.” The cops in the city were cracking down on drugs and gangs, hard, lately. “What’s the plan?”
“Plan? There is no plan.” Rafi sat up, clenching a tissue. “Maybe if I run away, they’ll leave Jordan alone.”
“And maybe they won’t.” Cash wanted to do the right thing. “So we could call the cops.” As much as he wanted to get the law involved, he didn’t want Jordan’s brother dragged down with Juan’s group, and he had no doubt Juan would be shitty enough to try to drag Rafi under the bus with him.
“No cops. No.”
“Because that will get you a target on your back. No cops.” Cash didn’t want Rafi having to fear Toto. “You never met Lasko or Toto? Just Juan and his flunkies?”
“Yeah. A bunch of rich kids pretending to be tough. That’s all I thought they were.”
“And maybe that’s all they really are.” Though Juan had to be getting drugs from someone. “Go get me your baggie.”
Rafi sighed and left, returning with the bag in question. Cash studied it. “I’m no expert, but I think this is heroin.”
“Yeah.” Rafi paced, hugging his arms to his chest. “Heroin. Jesus, I have a bag of H in my house.” Rafi paused. “Your house.”
“Hey, it’s a rental. Doesn’t count.” Cash stared at the baggie, wondering what the hell to do. “I should tell Jordan,” he thought out loud.
“Are you crazy?” Rafi stared at him. “My sister will march to Juan’s house and think she can make him do the right thing. But she can’t. Juan’s parents are rich. Like, serious moneybags. They don’t care what he does. And Juan gets away with everything. I think the only reason he was even at summer school was to deal drugs.”
“Makes sense.” And, yeah, Cash could see Jordan on her soapbox, the ex-Army MP taking a stand on doing the right thing and putting away a drug dealer with ties to WSW for good.
Cash would rather leave that shit to the police. Let them deal with gangs and drugs. Only Rafi and this mess with the potential to hurt Jordan concerned him.
“Okay, this is what you’re doing to do. When I tell you to, you’re going to call Juan. You’ll tell him you want to see him at his club. That you can’t deal drugs for him, but you’re happy to hand them back in person.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You can, and you will.” Cash stood, towering over Rafi. “Because I’m gonna go have a chat with your friend.”
“They might have guns.” Rafi looked worried.
“Did you see any?” But Cash would be prepared.
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“This bar. You know for sure it’s a WSW hangout?”
“Well, no. But that’s what Juan said.”
“Where is it? What’s the bar’s name?”
Rafi told him, and Cash wrote it down. He had a friend he could call, a buddy he’d worked with on the first security job he’d found upon returning to the States. Though Cash hadn’t lasted at the job, he’d made some contacts.
“Now, as for the rest of it, you’re going to tell Jordan about school and about this shit-for-brains teacher. You let her handle that. Because what that guy said is wrong.”
“But it’s not.” Rafi teared up again. “Man, you don’t get it. My brain is just wrong. I can’t do math or fractions or multiplying. None of it! It took me forever just to understand how to deal with money because the dollars and cents part gets confusing. I’m fifteen, and I still can’t tell time unless it’s digital! Adding and subtracting, word problems, it’s all a mess.”
Cash frowned. “What do your parents say?”
“I can’t tell them. I don’t want them thinking I’m a moron. I deal. But now I can’t hide it anymore. It’s so hard to do anything at school, and I hate it.”
“Okay, settle down.” The kid was getting all riled up. “First things first. You trust your sister with the school nonsense. This teacher should not be around kids. If I have to go in there, I might hurt him.”
Rafi blinked.
“I’ll handle Juan. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. But you have to promise me you won’t run away and you won’t lie to Jordan. Not anymore.”
“I-I won’t.” Rafi looked at him with a spark of hope. “But if she knows about Juan, I won’t be able to stop her from going to the cops. She’s big on no drugs.”
“I know. Maybe you can keep that part about Juan out of it. Just stick with the school crap. I’ll handle Juan. He won’t be a problem to you anymore. I swear.”
“Okay.”
“Promise. Because if Jordan finds out about Juan, you’ll be getting me in trouble too.”
“I swear.” He held out a pinkie, and Cash stared at it. “Shake. Pinkie promise, man. You never break that.”
Cash shook his head. “Yeah, okay. Pinkie promise. Now watch TV or something while I make a few calls. Don’t do anything, no calling Juan or leaving the house, until I tell you.”
“I’ll stay. I promise.”
“Good. I’ll order us a couple of pizzas in the meantime.” Cash went into his bedroom and shut the door. After ordering food, he scrolled through his phone and found the number he wanted.
Ritter picked up on the second ring. “What?”
“Yo, Ritter. It’s Cash Griffith.”
“Cash. How are you, man?” Ritter was a decent guy. Tall and built like a tank, he’d been a heavyweight fighter in his younger days and had segued into security work. Like Cash, he had a low tolerance for assholes.
They’d bonded over beer and a loathing for their boss then quit that bank security job around the same time. Right before said bank had been cited for fraud, embezzlement, and a host of other problems Cash hadn’t needed to be around.
“I’m good. Working with my brother now.”
“Yeah, saw your ugly face on TV a few weeks ago. Nice moves.”
“Whatever. Helps get chicks though.”
Ritter laughed. “So what’s up?”
“I figured you were still doing security. That’s your thing, right?”
“Yeah. It suits me.”
“I’ll bet. Do you think you could help me dig up some info on a kid I think is pretending to have connections to WSW?”
Ritter whistled. “That shit’s hot right now. Federal and local law enforcement are all over that.”
“I know. But what I’m hearing from some teenage banger-wannabe isn’t fitting.” He explained the situation to Ritter.
“I’m actually at work now. Gimme twenty minutes, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks. I wanted to meet this kid and take care of the problem. Just need to know what I’m really dealing with.” Should he bring just his fists or some harder ammo? “I might need the name of a cop you trust too. Someone who could bust a guy for drugs and not take down any innocent parties with him.”
“I know a guy.”
“Thought you might. I’ll owe you, man.”
“Yeah, you will.”
“Talk to you soon.” Cash hung up and waited.
He went back to the living room and saw Rafi lounging on the sofa watching TV. The boy bolted up when he saw Cash.
“Relax. I’m waiting on a callback.”
Rafi stood. “I, ah, thanks. For helping.”
“Sure.”
The boy followed Cash into the kitchen. “Don’t suppose the pizza came yet.”
“Nope.”
Cash opened a cupboard and saw his stash of Oreos gone. He glanced over his shoulder.
Rafi flushed. “Sorry. I was
hungry, and all our food is at the apartment.”
“Not a problem. We’ll get more.”
Rafi watched him.
“Just say it, whatever’s on that teenage mind.”
As he’d hoped, Rafi smiled back. “Are you being nice to me because you’re doing my sister?”
“Nope.”
Rafi frowned. “Nope, you’re not just being nice to me, or nope, you’re not doing my sister?”
“Nosy little bastard, aren’t you?”
“It’s just, Jordan is the only one who’s stood by me through all this.”
“I know. She’s cool.”
“Yeah. So if you’re trying to use her or something, don’t. She’s the best person I know. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my sister and she stuck by me. She’s good. She always does what’s right, no matter what.”
“I know. Trust me, your sister tells me how great she is all the time at work.”
Rafi chuckled. “That’s her way of flirting.”
“Interesting technique.”
“She was always weird around guys. She’s not like Leanne. Our older sister looks like a living Barbie doll and acts all helpless. Not Jordan.”
“A Barbie doll?” Because Rafi and Jordan looked anything but nice, plastic, or pretty. The pair were more like dark-haired, good-looking, pain-in-the-ass bookends.
“Yeah. Leanne’s always been Mom and Dad’s favorite. We all know it. But Leanne’s also really nice a lot. So it’s hard to be mad at her.”
“Jordan doesn’t like Leanne’s fiancé.” As soon as he said it, he hoped he wasn’t talking out of turn, but Jordan seemed close to her brother.
“He’s an ass. But he’s rich and nice around our parents, so they love him. It’s so strange. My parents are usually pretty cool. I know they love me, but they are so warped about dealing with stuff they can’t understand. Like, everything has to be right in their world or they fall apart. Leanne was super smart and funny and got great grades. Never drank or did drugs. Always listened to Mom and Dad. So they gave her everything. Until me, Jordan was the family rebel.
“She told me she used to get in trouble a lot when she was in school. But she made it through and kicked butt in the Army. Now she’s back, and she’s helping me out when she could be making a real life for herself. I don’t want to hold her back. And I want her to go to college or be whatever she wants to be.”
Cash kept it casual while wanting to interrogate the kid. “She wants to go to college?”
Rafi nodded. “She has all these brochures she goes through at night when she thinks I’m sleeping. I think it’s the GI Bill or something. But it’s a way for her to go to college. Except she can’t with me in the way.” He sighed.
“Look. I don’t know your parents, but let me tell you what I think. They’re idiots.”
Rafi frowned.
“I call ’em like I see ’em. Your older sister might be super nice, but I don’t see her standing up for you. Life is all about dealing with conflict. I should know. I deal with it all damn day. And I know you don’t turn a blind eye and run when it gets tough. You don’t cut out the ugly when it’s staring you in the face. You deal with the bad and make it good.”
“That’s not what my family does.”
“That’s on them, not you. I bet if you told your sister about your problems, she’d find a way to help you.” He paused. “I had a buddy in the Marine Corps. Smart guy, smartass too.” Rafi grinned with him. “Joe was hell on wheels with a weapon. Expert marksman and could quote you specs on anything. Knew all about politics and who was outmaneuvering who all the time. But he’d spent years growing up thinking he was dumb. Because he couldn’t read. Turned out he had dyslexia, but no one figured it out until he almost lost it. As in, committed suicide.”
“That sucks.”
“It does. But Joe fixed it and moved on. Now he’s got a wife and two ex-wives and is living it up in Hawaii.”
“Two ex-wives?”
“Well, he’s book smart but an idiot about women.”
“Oh.” Rafi cleared his throat. “So, ah, you think maybe I have dyslexia?”
“I don’t know. I think dyslexia is when you confuse your letters. But maybe there’s a kind of dyslexia about math. Hasn’t anyone ever had you tested or anything?”
“No. But I didn’t want anyone to know. I got through until now with my friends helping. I guess it was cheating, kind of.” He blushed. “I count on my fingers when no one is watching.”
“So what? That’s why we’re born with fingers and toes. So you can at least hit twenty.” Cash grinned. “I hated school, so I’m not the best person to talk about it being so amazing.” He grimaced. “I just wanted to graduate so I could join the Corps.”
“Me too.”
“You want to join the military?” Cash brightened.
“Well, I’ve thought about it. You get to go places and fire weapons and stuff. Jordan says I should join the Army.”
Cash winced. “Dude, just…no. The Army is mediocre at best.” Damn if Rafi didn’t raise one brow the same way Jordan did. “And, yeah, your sister is hot shit, but only because she was always hot shit. The Army didn’t make her great. She’s been great all on her own. Now, the Marine Corps helped shape me. I was a total assface before I joined. And no comments that I’m an assface now, got it?”
Rafi cleared his throat. “Right.”
“They really do turn the worst of us around.” Mostly. It wasn’t the Corps’s fault they’d had so little to work with. Feeling like the worst imposter, Cash kept talking up the service, sharing a few stories about pranking his buddies and making Rafi laugh.
Then the doorbell rang.
“Pizza!”
“Settle down, mini-Jordan. I’ll get the door.”
Cash grabbed the pizza, tipped the guy, then placed the boxes on the counter.
“Two pies?” Rafi took down plates.
“I’m not that hungry.” The phone rang. “Help yourself. I gotta get this.”
It was Ritter. And he told Cash everything Cash needed to know.
Chapter 19
Jordan and Cash had the following day off and spent their Saturday as a couple. Now that she’d let the proverbial cat out of the bag about them dating, Cash told her he wanted them doing couple-y things. So they held hands, walked in the park, and went shopping.
“I really hate grocery shopping,” Jordan growled.
Cash squeezed her hand and grinned. “I love it.”
“That’s because you do nothing but eat. You couldn’t have saved me a slice of pepperoni last night?”
He tossed four bags of chips into the cart. She had a feeling that would last through Monday. Maybe.
“Hey, you were eating wings and drinking beer without me. Fair’s fair.” He hugged her to his side and planted a kiss on her head. As if she was a three-year-old he’d decided to humor.
Just to yank his chain, she told him, “Smith was there.”
His smile thinned. “Oh?”
“Yes, oh. The bastard goaded me into telling everyone we’re dating. Then I put him in a wristlock and took him down.”
He stopped walking. “You did? Please tell me someone got that on film.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Damn it.”
A woman with her toddler walked by and frowned at him.
“Five bucks says that kid’s next word is damn,” Jordan murmured.
He groaned. “What are you, the language police?”
“Once a cop, always a cop.” She added some fruit to the cart, and he made a face. “Oh please. You like bananas. I saw a bunch in your kitchen.”
“I like banana-flavored pudding.”
“How can you be so fit when you eat so much crap?”
“Good genes, I guess,” he
said, with no small amount of sarcasm.
That he’d echoed what Smith had said struck her. They looked so much alike, almost more than Cash and Reid did. It was uncanny. But no. They’d know if they were related, wouldn’t they? She wanted to ask, but knowing how much Cash disliked Smith, she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Have you figured out what you’re doing with your mom’s house yet?”
“I think so.” He kept walking.
She followed him with the cart. She guided him past the caramels by the apples and handed him a bag of apples instead.
“Jordan, you’re sucking all the joy out of shopping.”
“Welcome to my world.”
He laughed and hugged her close as they walked, pushing the cart together, and she felt a happiness like no other. She wasn’t unaware of the many side glances they received. So many women eyeballing Jordan’s boyfriend. How could they not? When smiling, he outshone every man she’d ever dated, seen, or fantasized about.
“It’s kind of annoying how good-looking you are,” she said.
He nodded. “I know. My beauty is a curse.”
“I mean it.” She saw him try to shrug away the compliment. Cash did that a lot. He was the first to tell everyone how great he was. But if anyone agreed with him, he turned the praise into a joke or ignored it.
“You’re prettier than I am,” he pointed out.
“Well, yes. I’m a girl. I wouldn’t call you pretty.”
“Stick with magnificent. That works.”
Again with the humor. Before she could say something about his habit of twisting praise, he asked about dinner. She let him change the conversation, resolving to get back to it later.
“Yes, yes. Stop whining. I’ll cook you some steaks tonight.”
“Finally. I thought I’d have to get ugly and start begging.” He winked.
A tall, beautiful redhead brushed by him and gave him a second glance. One he ignored, fortunately for him.