But then he thought about Jake. And the whole plan went up in smoke.
He watched Gerud pick up a file folder and read over some things, then hand it to Belinda with a smile.
If he only knew.
He’d have to watch those two. If Belinda didn’t understand Burt was her father, he could see the two of them getting involved, and that would be a huge mess. He didn’t want to divulge anything, though, until he had to. And he didn’t trust Gerud with the truth. Not yet. He knew Gerud was working on some kind of a plan because he’d shown an interest in real estate again and had actually been working later than normal. Something was up.
Burt knew whatever it was, he couldn’t trust that plan, either. It wasn’t something that would be good for Green & Green or for himself personally.
He decided to put Gerud to the test.
Coming out of his office, he approach Gerud. “I wonder if we could speak in private, son.” That last word stuck like a thorn in his tongue.
“Sure, Dad,” Gerud returned. Was Gerud mocking him?
After taking his seat behind the desk he examined Gerud’s face for some sign he knew the secret Bob Fellows had revealed. Burt decided he did not.
“Has your mom taken any recent trips to LA that you know of?”
“Wouldn’t you know about it? I mean, I don’t live there. You do.”
“In a manner of speaking. You understand we’ve not been getting along lately.”
“I can see that, yes. I get you’re under a lot of stress. Is there anything I can do to help you out? All you have to do is ask.”
Burt allowed his evil chuckle to sneak out. “You can fuckin’ get me out of that shopping center deal.”
“Why don’t you try to sell it? There has to be someone who might want it.”
“That piece of shit is only good for one thing: money laundering. I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but I wish it would just burn down. Be the best thing that could happen.”
Gerud didn’t take the joke.
“I was joking, Gerud.”
His son shook his head. “I think people do it all the time. If I can find someone—”
“Oh, cut the crap, Gerud. I wasn’t insinuating we’d have a fire!”
One of the salesmen in the office turned and looked through the glass window at the two of them. Burt lowered his voice.
“So I want to talk about your mom taking any recent trips by herself.”
“Beats me. I’m not aware of anything about that. She’s got her hands full with the girls. And with Aaron and Samantha. She’s babysitting all the time. I don’t think she has time to go anywhere.”
“What about before these kids were born—what, about ten or more years ago? You ever hear her talk about, oh, I don’t know, having a boyfriend in her past?”
Gerud’s eyebrows quickly drew together in a nasty frown.
“Mom? You suspect something about Mom?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“That would surprise me. You mean she would do to you what you’ve been doing to her all these years?”
Burt figured he deserved that. If Gerud knew about his real father, he certainly was being a hell of a good actor.
“It’s different for men than women,” he lied. “Take Jake, for example.”
Gerud looked down at his hands in his lap. “Chip off the old block.” Then he added, “You know I think Jake and Ginger are screwing again.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I think so. Nobody’s talking, but I think that’s happened.”
“So why did you go get Monica involved?”
Gerud glanced up quickly, appearing surprised. “Excuse me?”
“Monica came to see me today. Don’t go getting yourself caught up in Jake’s affairs. And don’t go sending Jake’s ladies to come see me, understand? One might think you were trying to cut a nice slice of meat for yourself, Gerud. Leave the ladies alone. Go find some of your own to play with.”
Gerud stood up. “You prick!”
This time, several heads turned in the office.
“Always protecting Jake, watching out for him. Always defending him, covering up for him. Jake the perfect son. You always have and you always will.”
“Fuck you, Gerud. You’re fired!”
Gerud’s face transformed into a huge mean sneer. “You can’t fire me. This business is part of my inheritance. You owe me—”
“I should make you pay for your lack of doing due diligence on the Hawaii deal that’s strangling me and—” he lowered his voice again, this time to a whisper, “practically putting me out of business. Now get out and don’t come back. And if you talk any more about your inheritance, I’ll sue your ass and take your leased Volkswagen, too.”
Gerud ran to his desk, stuffed papers into a cardboard box left over from the last agent who quit, stopped by the reception desk, and picked up a file that he’d turned in, and left, slamming the door behind him.
“One down. One to go,” Burt mumbled to himself.
Chapter 15
Jake drove to the apartment he shared with Corey and Ryan and decided he’d give them the news he was moving back in with Ginger and the girls. They deserved to know. Both the bachelors were gearing up, bringing enough firepower to arm a small country. Each man had his own black duty bag. Jake’s had wheels on it and a handle that slid out of one end for ease in carrying heavy loads.
He brought his H&K, his Glock and a sparse amount of ammo, since Uncle Sam would provide him that. His helmet and night vision gear also fit into the bag. He stashed a couple pairs of socks and boxers, two fresh t-shirts, and one uniform which he’d wear on the trip the next morning. His vest had extra pockets he’d had customized so he could have access to his explosive charges, flash bombs, grenades and his KA-BAR. His small shave kit also had a tube of antiseptic, a vial of alcohol and his toothbrush, as well as tape, bandages, baby wipes and super glue.
He stuck a few zip ties into the larger bag, as well as some long Velcro straps and an extra scope. His boots were at the Team building, along with a second helmet and a shotgun.
The three of them rode together in Jake’s truck.
“Where’d you go last night, bro?”
“I was over at Ginger’s,” he said over the back seat.
Ryan whistled. “Good for you, my man.”
“Does Monica know? Because she came over earlier and asked where you were,” said Cory.
“I’ll call her, but, no, you two are the first to be told anything about it. Figured you’d want to get someone to share the place with, since I’ll be moving out when we return from deployment.”
“You work fast, Jake,” said Cory.
“I’d say it was more like I finally woke up and realized I should have never left. Ginger’s the one. She’s always been the one.”
The two Team guys didn’t say a word, and Jake knew they were each in their private fantasy about getting back with their exes.
“I’m going to be responsible and shit. I mean, these are my kids, and I’m going to protect them, take care of them.”
“Well, we wish you well with all that, Jake. We really do,” Ryan replied.
They were briefed on the mission ahead of them. The group was going to pose as a sport fishing club down in Baja. That would enable them to have ice chests and lockers full of fishing equipment, but meant they could carry weapons without detection as well.
At dawn, the Team was loaded up onto the big military transport planes for the two-hour flight to Puerto Cortes on the Isla Santa Margarita, Baja California coast. The Mexican naval base there was only a landing pad for the SEALs. There they boarded a trio of commercial fishing vessels that catered to the tourist trade. The boats unloaded them at Nuevo Vista where three twelve-passenger vans were waiting for them so they could drive to the Baja Nuevo resort, their destination.
Jake texted Ginger.
Arrived. Been exactly twenty-four hours and already I miss you.
She returned the text.
Be safe. Love you. Miss you, too.
They were set up in several cabins and one long house near the water’s edge, surrounded by white sandy beach and blue water of the bay. They left one van locked at their lodging, containing the bulk of their equipment, and piled into the remaining two, headed into town.
The place was full of tourists, mostly young couples, but several groups were American fishermen lured down to do some world-class sport fishing. The SEALs were able to blend in easily. They found a small local restaurant without a floorshow or fancy trimmings and settled in for some beers and incredibly good food, so they could watch the local population and the tourists mingling in the early evening air. The chance to just be together as a group, socially, was a good way to begin their mission.
“Anybody forget anything?” asked Kyle.
“My woman,” said Tay.
They all laughed. Nothing discussed was out of character.
“Tomorrow we begin. Low key for now. T.J. and Fredo, you ready?”
“Fuckin’ A,” said Fredo. T.J. gave the thumbs up.
“Okay to wander off, but I prefer quads, okay?” Kyle whispered.
Jake hung with Alex and Lucas. They checked out several bars and looked into store windows. A couple of places with corrugated metal doors were open, selling beers, water and sundries from tiny holes in the wall. Several children holding iguanas came up begging for money and requesting they take a picture with the creatures. The men were always careful about being photographed and just gave coin and candies they’d brought with them for that very purpose. It worked well in the Middle East. Mexico was just the same. Poor children of the world all acted the same, thought Jake.
“Hey, congrats on the news. Marcy’s pregnant?” he asked Lucas.
“Yup. Just found out. We’re pretty stoked.”
“Lucas here was hoping you could give him pointers about raising three kids, Jake.” Alex and Sydney were expecting their first any day.
Jake chuckled. “Thank God they have wonderful mothers that don’t fight over me, or at least, not yet.” He hesitated to bring up his news, but decided if he didn’t, they’d hear it from Cory and Ryan, and he wasn’t sure what story that would be.
“I’m getting back together with Ginger.”
“That’s awesome!”
They heard a snap of firecrackers, and all of them jumped. It was unsafe to carry a weapon on these streets, but all of them instinctively reached for their sidearm, which was not there. Jake’s was usually tied to his thigh or hidden behind his waist in his belt holster.
They noticed another group from the Team walking out of a bar to check out the noise as well.
“Just firecrackers and kids, a lethal mixture,” mumbled Alex. He checked his cell phone and then darkened the screen and stowed it in a front pocket.
Jake grabbed his shoulder. “Hang in there, bro. I’m hoping we’ll be home in time. But hell, you’re only two hours away plus. Maybe Kyle will let you go home.”
Alex thanked him. “It is what it is. This stuff doesn’t wait on no babies. I was given a slot, I go.”
Lucas shushed them, hearing an argument from one of the bars they’d just passed. Two men fell out into the street rolling in the dusty unpaved road. They gave a wide berth as a couple of military-looking security guards descended upon the two of them and threw them in the back of a van and took off.
“Now, you don’t see that every day do you?” Jake said as he watched the van disappear down the roadway in the moonlight.
“Private police force. Paramilitary dudes,” whispered Lucas.
“No badges. Unmarked trucks. We gotta let Kyle know,” said Alex.
“Already got it,” whispered Kyle behind them. “And watch your language. You don’t sound like a bunch of fishing buddies.”
Chapter 16
Burt waited as long as he could to go home. The confrontation with Adele was going to escalate, especially if she’d spoken to Gerud.
He’d stopped by the Club and had a drink with a couple of his buddies, and had a light bite to eat to soak up the alcohol. Bob Fellows came over to his table after two of his friends left him alone.
“Got the paperwork you asked me for. Can I drop it by the office first thing tomorrow?.”
Burt winced, took a sip of water, and crunched some ice. “Sure, I’ll look it over in the morning when I go back in. Thanks for not bringing it here.”
“I did.”
“Well, tomorrow is good enough for me.”
“You been home yet?”
“Nope. That’s my next stop, I think.” He looked around to see if anyone noticed him speaking with his attorney. “But I did talk to Gerud, and I fired him.”
“I think that was a wise decision. He give you any trouble?”
“Just left like a bat out of hell, dumped his considerable work,” Burt leaned over and whispered in Bob’s ear, “He only took one file. Put it in a cardboard box and that was it. I’m going to find out soon enough if he went crying to Mama, but I suspect he didn’t.”
“Well, you call me if you need anything. You have my cell.”
“I do, and those after hours calls are expensive, so don’t hold your breath, Bob.”
“So you told him, or does he already know?”
“No, I fired him because he’s incompetent and he was starting to insert himself where he doesn’t belong. Messing with Jake’s wives, getting them all thinking God knows what.”
“Kind of weak excuse for a firing. Gotta be careful there, Burt.”
“Well it was that and the fact that he gave me a lecture about keeping my pants zipped, and comparing himself, which he always did, with Jake. He’s gonna blow a cork when he finds out. I just figured it would be easier for me if he wasn’t around.”
“Jeez. You do have icewater in your veins. Remind me never to get on your wrong side.”
Burt looked at his attorney’s round baby-face, his soft hands and black horn-rimmed glasses and his expensive unwrinkled suit, and decided he wasn’t going to utter what was on the tip of his tongue. The man didn’t have the chops for the real down and dirty fight that was sometimes needed in business. Burt wasn’t afraid of those fights. He didn’t like to lose.
That old familiar line washed back over him, I never lost until I bought that fuckin’ shopping center. That thought led to the anger in his gut toward his son, and that led to the sharp pain again in his chest. He was going to make that doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning and get that checked out.
“Bob, you won’t ever have to worry about getting on my bad side because we’re on the same team, remember? And as long as I keep paying the bills, we always will be, right?”
Bob gave him a meek smile. Burt could see his attorney was beginning to figure out how much of a hole Burt had gotten himself into, and that there was some smoke. No fire yet, though.
“You got that right, Burt. But take it easy with Adele. Go easy on her. It might be the smart way to handle things. Don’t go do anything rash.”
“Good advice.”
He watched his advisor walk away, veering around an older couple dressed to the nines, just arriving for an elegant dinner by the pool. Burt didn’t want to watch someone else celebrate an anniversary or special occasion. He needed to get home. By now, the yapping puppy and the girls would be gone. That meant he only had to deal with Adele.
He was relieved to find Gerud’s car was not parked in the driveway. Lights were on in the house, so she hadn’t taken off on him. The front door was locked, so he used his key and shouted out to the house, but no one answered. He set his briefcase in the study, deposited his keys on the desk and started removing his tie as he walked into the kitchen. The pool lights were on and the sliding glass door was open. He could hear water from the pool being disturbed. He walked to the open doorway and peered out into the lush backyard.
Adele was swimming at eight o’clock at night, which was very unusual, since she never used the pool except
to bring the grandkids in the shallow end. And that was during the day only. Her towel was draped over the metal pool fence. She was doing laps.
He quickly made himself a drink and then walked outside, leaning over the railing.
She stopped when she got to the edge closest to her husband. Being married a long time, he knew she had wondered if he was coming home at all. He wasn’t going to ask her if she was okay, since it was obvious something had changed.
Now what.
She leaned onto the stone edging, her chin resting on the backsides of her hands. “I understand you had a visitor today.”
Her frostiness was gone. But Burt didn’t have a clue which visitor she meant.
“I met with a lot of people. Who do you mean?” He finished his drink and held the glass down by the side of his leg.
“Monica.”
Burt was relieved. That’s exactly what he was hoping would happen. This was the type of stuff Adele loved meddling in. “So she called you?”
“Of course. Said you practically threw her out.”
“So now you’ve got opinions on how I run my office? When people stop by I didn’t invite?”
“She’s your daughter-in-law.”
“Jake would quibble with you, but what does that have to do with it? I have to entertain the women he sleeps with now, is that what you’re saying?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Burt, lighten up. What is the matter with you?”
She got out of the pool and headed toward him. She’d kept her model figure, and her face was still less lined than most of her friends even without surgeries. It was what was going on with her soul that bothered and turned him off the most. But she still was an attractive woman.
Band of Bachelors: Jake Book 3 Page 9