Rico (The Rock Creek Six Book 3)

by Lori Handeland

  “Just one minute!” the Widow Ward shouted, but Oatley was gone.

  Rico’s father looked pleased with himself, which meant trouble for someone else.

  “What are you up to?” Rico asked.

  “You shall see. We will dine at seven in the St. Louis Hotel. Do not be late, Rico. Come along, Anna.”

  Without so much as a hug, a pat, or spitting in Rico’s eye, the man walked away. The more minutes that passed, the more Rico saw how little anything had changed.

  Anna kissed him on the cheek. “Come, please? I’ve missed you so.”

  “I’ll come.” He glanced after his father. “For you, chica.”

  She smiled and hurried out the door.

  “How come you called her chica?” Carrie demanded. “I’m your chica.”

  “Of course you are.” He picked her up. He had forgotten he’d always used the nickname for his sister. With Anna dead in his mind, he’d begun to use the name for Carrie. “She is my little sister.”

  “Humph.” Carrie wrinkled her nose. “She didn’t look little to me.”

  “She is all grown up.”

  With court adjourned, the crowd dissolved. Rico found himself surrounded by his friends. He looked for Lily.

  “Russell took her upstairs,” Reese said. Rico started to hand him Carrie, intent on following, but Reese held up his hand. “Just who is your father, anyway?”

  Johnny took Carrie out of Rico’s arms and led her to the piano, where they practiced an easy song Johnny had taught her.

  “Adriano Salvatore.”

  “He knows the governor of Louisiana?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “How?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve been away.”

  “What does your father do in San Antone?”

  “Cattle.”

  “If I don’t miss my guess, a whole lot of cattle?”

  “Si.”

  “Are you rich, Rico?”

  “Not me.”

  “At least we know who was lookin’ for him,” Jed put in.

  “You came all the way here for me?”

  “Not just you,” Sullivan said. “I hate to see an innocent woman hang.”

  “Besides, we didn’t have anything else to do,” Cash said.

  “And New Orleans has the best saloons in the South.” Nate wandered in the direction of the bar and Jed followed.

  “We may have to do something about this judge and the widow witch,” Cash said. “Got any ideas?”

  “You don’t even like Lily,” Rico pointed out.

  “Hell, I don’t like you. But there’s right and there’s wrong and this stinks.”

  For once, Cash was right. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know yet. But for once let me handle my life.”

  “Suit yourself.” Cash joined the others for a drink.

  Reese and Sullivan exchanged glances. Sullivan slapped Rico on the shoulder, which was as good as an entire conversation for him, and followed Cash.

  Reese spoke low so only Rico could hear him. “We’ll do whatever you want. Whatever you need.”

  “I know.”

  “We took a vow to one another. If one calls, the others answer.”

  “Do you think I have forgotten?”

  “You don’t have to do this by yourself.”

  “This time I do.” Rico looked at the staircase that led up to the second floor and Lily. “I love her. She is everything that is right and good to me. Carrie and the boy are like my own. I would give my life so they would be happy always.”

  Reese stared at him as if he’d just said his hair was purple and his pants were on fire. “Maybe you’ll be all right, after all. Love is what matters. Family. That’s worth fighting, and dying, for. But we’re your family too, Kid.”

  “My name is Rico, Capitan.”

  “All right. Then quit callin’ me captain.”

  Rico shrugged, and they shook on it.

  “Can I give you one last piece of advice?”

  “I doubt I can stop you.”

  “Do whatever you have to do for them. No matter what it is, no matter what anyone might think or say, do what’s best for your family.”

  “That is exactly what I had planned.” Rico started toward the stairs.

  “And Rico?”

  Rico glanced back.

  “We’ll always be here if you need us.”

  Rico didn’t bother to answer something he’d known as the truth for years.

  Upstairs, Russell sat outside the door. At the sight of Rico, he stood. He looked uneasy, not the cocky, full-of-himself detective they’d traveled to New Orleans with.

  “I didn’t know Mrs. Ward had this planned. I thought she meant to turn Miss Lillian over to the sheriff. I should have known with all her money she’d buy a judge and pay for a conviction.”

  Rico didn’t think Russell was lying. He seemed an honest man, albeit a bit young and overly sure of himself. Rico could sympathize with that.

  “You did your job,” Rico said. “You believed Lily was a murderess.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Of course not. What I am curious about is me. How could you be hired by both my father and Mrs. Ward, then conveniently discover both Lily and myself in Rock Creek? That is much too good to be true.”

  “Your father hired the agency to find you over ten years ago. But they lost track of you in the war.”

  “How did you know of me?”

  “Open case. We keep a record of folks we don’t find. Just like we keep a rogue’s gallery of outlaws on the loose. Every detective, regardless of the case he’s on, can overlap into another if someone turns up.”

  “Lucky me,” Rico murmured. “May I see Lily now?”

  “Uh.” Russell frowned. “Well, no one said she had to be alone, only that she had to stay here.” He unlocked the door.

  Lily stood at the window. The sight of her silhouette, stark against the bright sunlight, stopped Rico just inside the door. Her beauty hit him in the middle of his chest with the same force it had the very first time he’d seen her. But now he knew the beauty didn’t stop at her skin. Lily’s courage was as much a part of her as her unruly black hair—a loner with the instincts of a mother, a lover with the innocence of a virgin. He couldn’t get her out of his mind or his heart. He didn’t want to.

  The vow he’d once made with five men paled in comparison to the vow he made with himself now. He would do whatever he had to do to make sure no one ever hurt her again.

  * * *

  Lily watched as the last rays of summer sunshine banked over New Orleans. She had once loved this city as deeply as a person could love a place.

  New Orleans was fashion and art, music, laughter and life. Now all she could think of was a dusty little town in Nowhere, Texas. She wanted to be back in Rock Creek more than she’d ever wanted anything—more than fame, more than power or money, even control of her own life. She’d just been given a lesson in how little anyone had control of anything at all.

  “Go away,” she said.

  “Never.”

  Lily turned. Rico was so handsome, he made her eyes ache. Every time she saw him, she was struck again by the beauty of the man—a beauty that went deeper than skin. A strong man with a gentle touch, a boyish devotion to friends combined with the love of a father for any child who needed him. He had shown her how wonderful sex could be. He had changed her view of herself and her view of men—or at least of a few men.

  “You thought I was Russell?”

  “I knew it was you.”

  Confusion dropped over his face, erasing the smile she’d come to love. “Then why did you tell me to go away?”

  “This is going badly. The judge is going to convict me. I want you to take the children and the men and go home.”

  “Not hardly.”

  “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Because I love you.”

  There was that
word again. What did he want from her in exchange for his profession of love?

  “I want to marry you, Lilita. We will be happy, I swear. We will make a life and a family together.”

  Her laughter erupted, too loud and too high, embarrassingly near hysteria. Rico’s face revealed his alarm. He probably thought the stress of the courtroom drama had unhinged her mind when in reality her reaction was caused by one tiny word that could mean both so much and so little.

  At least she knew what he wanted for his love. Those things not in her power to give him—her life, her love, a family. Before he had her believing that miracles might come true, before he tore out her heart and crushed it to nothing beneath his boot, she had to get him to leave her behind. She had one secret left to share that would make him run away forever.

  “If you marry me, you’ll have no family.” She didn’t wait for his questions, plunging ahead with the truth. “I can’t have children.”

  His face went blank at her announcement. He would turn and walk out now. It would be for the best. Rico deserved so much better than what she could give him.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I have never been with child. I’m barren.”

  “We’ve got two children. A place to call home. What more do we need?”

  It was her turn to stare at him blankly.

  “I don’t care, Lily. I love you. No matter what. Why can’t you hear me? How many times do I have to say it?”

  “I’m going to hang.”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  Frustration pulsed at the base of her skull. The man never listened to anything he did not wish to hear. “Where have you been all day? Mrs. Ward has the judge in her pocket.”

  “Trust me. I’ll get you out of here.” He took a step closer. “Say you trust me, Lily.”

  The needy look in his eyes made her tell him the truth even though she should have kept her mouth shut. “I do.”

  He took another step, then another, crowding her until her back met the wall. “Tell me you love me.”

  There was nowhere left for her to run, so she used words to push him away. “I’m sure a thousand women have told you they loved you.”

  “None of them were you. Tell me.”

  “Do you understand how hard it is for me to say those words?”

  His long, dark, supple fingers brushed her face. “I have an idea, but tell me why, Lilita.”

  She pressed her cheek along his palm, took comfort from his touch, took strength from him. “Man after man told my mother. She always believed them; they always betrayed her. She gave them all of herself, and inch by inch they destroyed her. Man after man told me, too. Not one of them meant it.”

  “None of them were me. I will always love you. I will always be here for you.”

  “I’ve heard that before, too.”

  Anger sparked Rico’s eyes, but Lily wasn’t afraid. Not of him. Even when his mouth crushed hers, she knew he would never hurt her.

  Being here, in this town, in this place where she had been a mere object and not a woman, had beaten her down in the space of a day.

  She clung to him, the feelings that were theirs alone flowing between them, showing her that with him she could become the woman she’d always wanted to become because Rico already saw her that way.

  His mouth traced her jaw; his lips brushed her ear; his fingers cupped her hip. She wanted to crawl inside him and never leave. She wanted to be a part of him forever, because with him she felt whole for the first time in her life.

  “I will get you out of this. Believe me.”

  Miraculously, she did believe him. She trusted him. He would not let her die. She’d been foolish to think he would leave her behind.

  “I believe you.”

  “It is all right if you don’t say you love me. We will have a lifetime for you to get used to the idea. I will wait, however long it takes.”

  “I don’t deserve you.”

  “You deserve so much better. But selfish bastard that I am, I will not let you go. Unfortunately, I must now have dinner with my father.”

  “Oh, I nearly forgot.” She took his hand and held on tight. “Anna’s alive. I’m so happy for you.”

  “I am happy for her.” His sigh was sad, and his shoulders sagged.

  “Aren’t you happy to see her?”

  “I am. But my father is another story. He is difficult.”

  “I wish I could go with you.”

  He ran his knuckle along her cheek. “Me, too, querida. I could face anyone, or anything, with you at my side.”

  “Get me out of here and you’ll never have to be alone again.”

  “Does that mean you will marry me?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Think about this.” He kissed her until she could barely breathe or stand, then he strode to the door and knocked. As the door shut behind him, she touched her lips and whispered, “I love you, Rico.”

  The words didn’t sound frightening at all.

  * * *

  In the Creole section of New Orleans sat the stately St. Louis Hotel, one of the finest in the country. For years elaborate masked balls had been held there at Mardi Gras, making the St. Louis infamous as well as famous. Trust Adriano Salvatore to take a room there.

  Being a descendant of the criollo, the Spanish aristocracy who had immigrated to Mexico, Adriano had always been above the peasants—at least in his own mind. When he moved to Texas, his opinion of himself had not changed. As his ranch grew larger and larger, so had his ego.

  In New Orleans, Adriano would never deign to stay on the inferior side of Canal Street, where the crass Americans lounged, even though they had built a hotel there to rival the St. Louis and dubbed it the St. Charles. Being of Spanish blood, born in America, Adriano belonged in the First Municipality as much as any Frenchman.

  Rico entered the St. Louis at a quarter past seven. He had come to break bread with his father for Anna’s sake, but he couldn’t bring himself to arrive on time. Petty annoyances like that had always been his rebellion against the iron-fist of his father. Lifelong habits were hard to break despite having been out of the habit for over ten years.

  “Rico!” Anna jumped up as soon as he entered the dining room.

  Their father gave her a disapproving frown for her unladylike excitement. Anna sat but continued to beam at Rico as he crossed the room.

  They had already begun their first course. Rico wasn’t surprised. His father never waited for anyone.

  Rico had never thought of that before. He’d been accused of selfishness and rash behavior. He must have learned it somewhere.

  After taking the chair across from his father and closest to Anna, Rico kissed his sister. The pleasure of that act spread through him as warm as Lily’s smile. Love might be different for different people, but love was still love.

  “Whiskey,” he told the hovering waiter.

  The voicing of his son’s bourgeois taste caused Adriano to wince behind his glass of French wine. Anna clung to Rico’s hand as if she would never let him go.

  With a deliberate click, the elder Salvatore set his crystal goblet on the table. “I see little has changed. You are still an uncouth, low-class rake.”

  “I am glad you missed me, Father.”

  “Whatever else you have become, you are still my heir.”

  “I was never the son you wanted or needed. That hasn’t changed.”

  “We shall see. Let’s eat together like a family; then we will discuss business, as civilized people do.”

  Rico glanced at Anna, who shrugged, as uncertain as he what their father was up to now. Funny, even though they’d been parted for ten years, the two of them slipped back into the roles they’d always held—the two of them against the world, or at least against their father.

  In short order Rico’s meal was chosen and delivered in suitable style. He ordered a second whiskey. He didn’t plan on having any discussion with his father, business or otherwise, while
completely sober.

  “I hear you have been riding with five men of questionable character for the past several years.”

  “You hear a lot. If you know so much, why did it take you so long to find me? And why in hell did you want to?”

  His father threw a glance at Anna, who continued to eat her dinner as if nothing on this earth could cause her to stop. She’d no doubt shared enough meals with their father to ignore all scowls, frowns, and blustering disapproval. Rico wished he had that ability.

  “I’ve been looking for you ever since you left. Despite the sterling record of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, none of them managed to catch up to you until now. Staying in Rock Creek for the last several years changed all that.”

  “Foolish on my part.”

  “Since you are here, and so am I, I prefer to call your foolishness fate.”

  “Or bad luck,” Rico murmured.

  Typically, his father ignored what he didn’t want to hear. “Russell found out all that he could while he was in Rock Creek. Fine man, Russell.”

  “Hell of a guy.” Rico gave up on his steak and concentrated on his drink.

  “I was pleased to hear you’d done some good. Perhaps you could amount to something, after all.”

  Swirling his whiskey, Rico let his father ramble, hoping what the man wanted would slip out eventually. His father had come here with a letter from his amigo the governor and stopped a bought-and-paid-for-judge from sentencing Lily—until tomorrow, anyway. Rico smelled a deal in there somewhere. But he couldn’t figure out what his father might want from him. Since he’d been old enough to understand words, the man had told Rico he was nothing. Adriano Salvatore’s opinion didn’t seem to have changed.

  “Anna, it is time for you to retire.”

  “But, Papa—”

  “Now.”

  Anna stood and leaned over to kiss Rico.

  “You can stay, chica.”

  She touched the tip of his nose with the tip of her finger—the way she always used to. “You have been away too long if you think that is true.” She curtsied to their father and left.