King of Evanston

by Campbell

  “I’m on it,” Daron said. “I’ll have Luca pay him a visit.”

  Eyes on the painting on the wall across the room, Shaz asked, “Do I want to know who that is?”

  “It’s better that you don’t.”

  As they chuckled, Shaz remembered his final request. “Those earrings that you developed for our womenfolk?”

  “Yes?” Daron stayed silent until Shaz continued, “You don’t give an inch, do you?”

  “Generally? No. State your case or hold your peace.”

  “Those specialized earrings that you developed for us … I’m going to need two pairs.”

  “Not one?”

  “Like I said, two. One is for a little girl. Coming off yesterday’s incident, I’m taking no chances that anybody will try and grab this baby girl again.”

  After ending the call, Shaz pulled up the email Daron had sent via the secure network he’d created for the managing directors and Kings of The Castle. He scanned the reports on Bennett and Porter before suspicion took root in his mind. Something had been puzzling him about the man who followed him from the gym. Now that the alderman’s business had come to him in the form of Milholland, Shaz knew exactly what had bothered him about the entire situation. Connections. Seen and unseen.

  A grin crossed his face, as he thought about Daron. With the amount of information Shaz kept demanding, he’d start wondering about him. That’s if he didn’t already know or suspect that somehow, everything tied back to The Castle.

  His phone rang, and his amusement faded.

  The security he’d put on Camilla was calling.

  CHAPTER 12

  Shaz sat outside Miss Mabel’s place, wondering if he’d made a mistake leaving his office. There was nothing unusual about Camilla coming to the restaurant, but Daniel had proven himself to be alert in the couple days since he’d been with Camilla, reporting in at least once every twenty-four hours. Along with another man, they cycled through twelve-hour shifts. Up to this moment, everything had been quiet.

  Daniel stood in front of a plate glass window on the sidewalk, his attention focused inside the restaurant. Inconspicuous, except for his height, he stood a few inches taller than Shaz, who was 6’3. As Shaz approached, Daniel pulled the door open and entered the restaurant.

  Shaz quickened his steps, hoping good sense would prevail long enough for him to prevent Camilla from doing anything impulsive. Daniel trailed her there after she blew out of the house. He was in two minds about to whether to follow her since she left the baby behind. The fact that another adult was in the house made the decision for Daniel.

  A slew of purposeful steps took Shaz to the far end of the restaurant. Miss Mabel’s Jamaican Joint hummed with Marley music and the wall behind the counter carried the colors of the Jamaican flag. The mahoe furniture, shaded lighting and muted chatter gave the place a warm atmosphere. After assessing the unfolding situation with Camilla, he backtracked to the counter. Miss Mabel opened the door from the kitchen and approached the cashier. The second she caught Shaz in her line of sight, she chuckled. “You come to pick up some dinner? We have Stewed Peas today, wit’ pig’s tail.”

  “Sounds good.” He stepped in closer and spoke at a lower pitch. “D’you know Camilla is here?”

  She frowned and scanned the restaurant’s small eating area. “No, I talked to her about ten minutes ago. She’s supposed to be at home.”

  “Well, she isn’t.” He leaned on the counter. “She’s here.”

  Miss Mabel squawked, “What? Why?”

  Shaz stepped to one side as a young woman in the cashier’s line jostled him. “If you want to stop setting her off, please don’t tell her stuff that will have her storming into your place of business.”

  Eyes round, Miss Mabel hauled her apron over her head and pulled off the hair net.

  “Don’t panic.” Shaz stepped away from the counter. “Let me handle this.”

  Miss Mabel nodded, but shoved the items in her hand under the counter and approached the half door in the curved wooden surface.

  Everything was normal where the customers were served, but in the secluded seating area to the left, the atmosphere was tense. The diners sitting to that side had stopped eating and were focused on the back of the alcove. Shaz couldn’t see clearly around Daniel and the waiter who stood in his path. When Shaz touched Daniel’s arm, he stepped out of the way.

  Camilla stood with her back to them. Her voice was lowered and her arms folded, Camilla’s rigid stance told Shaz she was intent on whatever she’d come to do.

  Bennett sat facing Shaz and the features of the man Camilla was speaking with were hidden from him. He shifted sideways and his profile came into view. His skin was a deep mahogany and he wore a diamond stud. The bottom half of his face was covered by a beard. When he got to his feet, and Camilla took a step back, Shaz moved to stand behind her.

  The realization hit Shaz then. The man she was arguing with was the father of her child. Ayanna was Camilla’s child except for the almond-shaped eyes and wavy hair he now knew she inherited from her father.

  “What you gonna do?” Camilla asked, as if she wasn’t at least six inches shorter than the man she was challenging.

  “Anything to get you out of my face and to stop embarrassing me,” he snapped.

  Camilla took a half step toward him. “You should have thought of that before—”

  In a low, but commanding voice, Shaz said her name.

  She barely glanced behind her before turning her attention back to Porter, who was dressed in a long-sleeve shirt and jeans. “Let me tell you something, you worthless pile of—”

  “Camilla.” Shaz put more volume into his voice.

  This time, she turned. Only the slight widening of her eyes told Shaz he’d surprised her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ll give you one guess.” His gaze swung between her and Porter.

  Bennett walked around Camilla and stretched a hand toward Shaz.

  He debated whether to shake the man’s hand, but did what good manners dictated. “Alderman.”

  “It’s always good to see you, Bostwick.”

  Raising one hand in a gesture that encompassed the room. Shaz said, “It’s a surprise to see you here.”

  Bennett showed his teeth in a predatory grin. “I stay close to my constituents,” he said, in a booming voice, as if making sure the entire restaurant heard each word, but his intended audience had gone back to eating their meals.

  Shaz grunted and glanced at the table strewn with half empty glasses of beer and what he assumed was sour sop juice. “Seems an odd place to be canvassing for votes.”

  “Although I’m always on the job, there’s life outside of my official capacity.” Bennett’s gaze swung between Shaz and Camilla. “So, what brings you here?”

  “I’m a regular customer.” He waited a beat before adding. “And since Miss Mabel told me my client was here, I took the opportunity to have a word with her.”

  With a pointed look, Camilla asked Shaz what he was doing.

  He inclined his head toward her. “I need to talk with you. Now.”

  “I’m not finished here.” She turned back toward Porter.

  “Well, I’m done.” He tried moving past her, but Camilla shifted toward him. He brushed by, bumping shoulders with her.

  “Hey,” Shaz planted himself in Porter’s path. “That’s not how you treat a lady.”

  “I’m trying to avoid a confrontation.” He pointed at Bennett. “I came here to do business.”

  “Don’t you dare refer to my daughter as any kind of business,” Camilla hissed. “If you think I’m going to let you go through with this nonsense, you can guess again.”

  “You don’t know what we were talking about.” One side of the man’s mouth curled in disgust “So, I’d suggest you mind your business.”

  “I’d say the lady has reason to be concerned.”

  Porter turned cool eyes on Shaz. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

/>   Looking at Porter from head to heels, Shaz replied. “The man who’s about to become your biggest nightmare.”

  Eyes on Camilla, Porter faked a smile. “Who is this gentrified clown?”

  Shaz stood straight, shoving both hands into the pockets of his tailored pants. “You won’t be so full of crap when we get done with you. Remember that.”

  He stepped out of Bennett’s way. “If I were you, I’d be on my way, too.”

  The Alderman shifted and looked around them as if suddenly aware they were again the central focus in the room. “Derrick, we were almost finished so—”

  Porter held his ground, his face twisted in a frown. His mouth opened as if he was about to say something else, but Daniel edged in front of Shaz, who’d forgotten he was there.

  “Oh, so it’s like that, huh?” Porter eased past Daniel, while throwing a glare at Shaz. “Last I heard, this place was public and meant for all customers.”

  He stepped past Shaz and almost ran into Miss Mabel. “Nice to see you, Miss Mabel.”

  “Dat’s more dan I can say about you.” She rested both hands on her wide hips. “And dis place, as you called it, is not meant for all and sundry. I have standards. And by di way young man, when you start actin’ like my niece’s enemy, dat makes you my enemy.”

  She turned her eyes on Bennett, who was trying to get past the group. “If I were you, I’d be careful of the company you keep.”

  Neither man dared ask which of them she meant. As they rushed through the door, she muttered. “Should kick the two of you out on your

  …”

  A wave of chuckles rose from those seated close to the plate glass windows and drowned her words.

  Shaz hid a grin and dismissed Daniel with a tilt of the head. When his attention went to Camilla, Shaz assumed a serious expression. “Have you had dinner?”

  “Huh?”

  Her response told him that was the last thing she expected him to say. “I asked if you ate.”

  She shook her head. “We have food at home, so don’t worry about me.”

  “Wait for me,” he said, cupping her elbow. After paying for his food, thanking Miss Mabel, and reassuring her he’d take Camilla home, they left the restaurant.

  At the sidewalk, Shaz opened the SUV for Camilla to get in. While they locked the seatbelts, he thought about what to say to Camilla. He decided on a direct approach. “Did you think about what you were doing when you ran out of the house?”

  She stared through the windshield but said nothing.

  “I don’t get why you always choose to run headlong into danger.” He stared at her, but she still refused to look at him. “It’s like you have no sense of self preservation.”

  After she released a sigh, she said, “When it concerns Ayanna, I do whatever it takes to protect her.”

  “Tearing over here to confront these men isn’t necessary.” He sat sideways in the seat. “If you’d just let me do my job, things would go a lot smoother.”

  “Sometimes, nothing speaks louder than direct action,” she shot back.

  “And sometimes, I think reasoning with you is a waste of breath.”

  Camilla cut him with a bad look. “Are you saying I’m irrational?”

  Rubbing his forehead, Shaz chose his words with care. “No, what I’m saying is—”

  Her phone interrupted his answer. She pulled it out of the small bag she carried across her body and put it to her ear. “Yeah, Stacey.”

  As she listened, her eyes widened. “Is it anybody we know?”

  She grabbed Shaz’s arm. “Drive.”

  “What happened?” He put the SUV in gear and stepped on the gas.

  Camilla didn’t answer immediately, then she said to the caller, “Whatever you do, please don’t let Ayanna out of your sight.”

  As he engaged the SUV’s audio system, Shaz cast a glance at Camilla. She was still on the phone and sat forward as if that would make the Alfa Romeo go faster.

  Daniel answered his phone, and Shaz said, “Trouble at base. Hurry back.”

  “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

  Glancing sideways, Shaz asked, “So, are you going to tell me what’s happening at the house?”

  Camilla raked her teeth over her lips a couple of times as her eyes filled. Blinking hard, she said, “Stacey said there’s a couple of guys across the street. They came when I left and she thinks they’re watching the house.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Stacey’s wide eyes cased him from his locs to the Italian leather shoes covering his feet. Then her gaze shifted to Camilla, who rushed forward to take Ayanna from her arms. Other than the family resemblance around the eyes and mouth, they were different women. Stacey was short and plump like Miss Mabel, with cocoa skin and a headful of braids.

  The thick Latino muscleman from next door, who escorted her across the walkway that separated the houses, left a moment ago.

  After kissing Ayanna and hugging her close, Camilla introduced them.

  Ignoring the speculation in Stacey’s gaze, Shaz asked, “Did you get a good look at any of the men?”

  “I did better than that.” Smiling, Stacey whipped a phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “I got pictures.”

  With his brows raised, Shaz moved to the doorway and took the phone. “You had time to take photos?”

  “Don’t worry,” she said, “I just wanted them to know who they were messing with.”

  He could have said safety and the baby’s well-being should have been her first consideration, but didn’t.

  Stacey pointed toward the next property and grinned. “When Miguel came outside with that gun, they peeled off like the hounds of hell were on their tails.”

  When neither Shaz or Camilla laughed, her merriment died.

  Shaz reeled off his telephone number and asked her to send him the pictures. He’d shoot them at Daron and ask him to get some background on the men.

  When they sat in the living room, Stacey’s gaze homed in on him. “So, who are you to Cam?”

  “Her friend.”

  “My lawyer.”

  His eyes met Camilla’s over Ayanna’s head. Evidently, her privacy was mega-important. He’d go along with her wishes, but they needed to have a conversation. Their relationship had changed, but he didn’t want to enter a situation where they were both headed in different directions.

  “D’you know how long those guys were outside?” he asked.

  “They sat there for twenty minutes and they were looking directly at Momma’s house.” A sheepish expression took over her face. “When they pulled up, someone also passed by on a motorbike. I checked the time. That’s how I know.”

  “You’re more observant than most people.” He nodded, encouraging her to continue.

  “They wouldn’t take their eyes off the house, so I opened the front door.” She squinted in concentration. “When the driver stepped out of the car, I knew it was time to move.”

  Frowning, she asked Camilla. “I know Momma ain’t involved in nothin’, so I wanna know why they came to watch her house.”

  “You know I’m as straight as an arrow.” Shrugging, Camilla added, “Maybe it has something to do with Derrick.”

  Shaz had to give her props for her acting skills. The anxiety he’d felt coming off her the first time they met now shrouded Camilla. Looking at her, though, he couldn’t tell she was worried. He opened his mouth, but Stacey was speaking again.

  “I don’t know what you saw in that good-for-nothing loser. But if he had anything to do with this, Momma will sort him out. You know how she feels about him.”

  What they faced was no laughing matter, but Stacey’s speech was reminiscent of her mother and made Shaz smile. As Stacey got to her feet, she said, “Anyway, I gotta go. Talk to you later, Cam. If you need me, you know the number.”

  “Thanks, cuz.”

  The two women hugged, then Camilla followed Stacey to the door. When it closed behind her, Camilla leaned on the wood looking at
him while Ayanna babbled in her arms.

  “I try to keep a low profile,” Camilla said.

  Wearing a wry smile, Shaz rubbed his beard. “You don’t say.”

  He wasn’t into the social scene in Jamaica, nor did he follow world travel, but now and then, he checked out her blog, which had made her something of a minor celebrity with Caribbean people. As far as he knew, Camilla had visited as many places as she could where she didn’t need a visa. She kept her readers entertained with little-known information about the places her adventures took her. Of course, he also noticed the logos of prominent companies he assumed sponsored her blog.