"I know, but I trust that you can connect the dots enough to know why without my saying anything," I said. I was alone in the study, Luisa having gone to bed a bit earlier saying she was feeling a bit tired, and I was able to lock the door to the study and talk. "If I'm wrong, I'm going to need a lot of discretion on this."
"We're family, and not just in the business sense," Daniel said reassuringly. "Besides, with what I've found, I think your instincts were right. Petey checked out fine. His major flaw is that he's greedy and dumb, but he's not all that trustworthy. He's also got a severe lack of social skills. On the other hand, he's also the sort of guy you can trust to look out for himself, and he knows not to screw around on the Bertolis."
I nodded, confirming what I'd learned earlier in the night. Petey had already called my contact and was supposedly picking up my 'supplements' that evening. "I notice you didn't mention Jake."
Daniel nodded. "Remember, he and I were friends too. Not as close as you and he were, but close enough that I'd sometimes take him out on the town. Your father asked me to let him shadow me for a few nights, get the layout of Seattle again before getting socked into that job with the pizza company he's doing now. So what I found . . . it disturbs me."
"Tell me the bad news," I groaned, sitting back. "Just spit it out."
Daniel looked to the side, and I figured he was reading from another screen, or maybe a printout. "Jake did his basic training at Fort Benning, where afterward, he did Airborne school before being sent to Korea. He was an eleven bravo infantryman, and in November, he got his discharge."
"I know all that," I said, "but you wouldn't have that look on your face if that was all there was to it."
"You're right, but I wanted to cover the framework first. You mentioned in your last talk with me that the group that had claimed responsibility for the bombing was called Gaea Defense Force, and that the guy who'd tried to run Luisa Mendosa off the road was named Leonard Frakes, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Does Jake have a connection to the GDF?"
Daniel looked it over, and shrugged. "I can't prove it, but there's enough there that I would be very worried if our positions were reversed. Jake Marconi was assigned to the Second Infantry Division, which is headquartered at Camp Red Cloud, Korea. Both Leonard and Jake were known to frequent a group known as the 'Western Princesses,' a group of Korean hookers who tend to only work the servicemen. One of the most outspoken of the Princesses was a Korean woman named Sul Ham Kook, who left the hooker life to become active with the environmental movement. I wouldn’t be surprised if she'd introduced the two."
I thought about it. "Jake falling for a hooker though? I just don't see that.”
Daniel nodded. "I never would have thought you'd have come back from Alabama, except for family reunions and stuff, but you did. And I never, ever would have thought you’d the type to be taking the lead on what you're doing right now. No offense, Tomasso."
"None taken, Daniel. You're right, of course. Is there anything else you can give me to help?"
Daniel shook his head. "Not with the amount of time I've got. I'd need more time to get more information for you—to track down people who actually are at or were at Camp Red Cloud at the same time."
I shook my head. "No, you've got your own work to deal with. How's work on the legitimate side of the world?"
Daniel laughed and shrugged. "Even harder than I'd expected, but I'm doing okay. Looking forward to getting back and getting married. Tomasso, if you want the backup, I can help. You might need it."
I shook my head. "No, I need to handle this ASAP. If the relationship between the Bertolis and Mendosas is to come to completion, I can't let this just hang in the breeze."
Daniel nodded again. "Okay. Just a word of advice?"
"Sure."
"Jake's better trained than you are. He's a former soldier, and he knows how to handle himself. You're on a busted ankle, too. If you plan on taking him down, you’d better do it fast and quick, or else have help.”
I sighed and nodded. "I know. But there's nobody I can turn to for help. I'm going to have to do this myself, and then talk with my father and Pietro about it later."
Daniel sighed, then held up a finger. "Don't forget the girl. She's trained too, even though she doesn't look it."
I could feel the twist to my lips as I pondered Daniel's words, then shrugged. "I'd prefer not to involve her, and not just because she's a woman. This is family business, Daniel. She's not a Bertoli."
“Maybe, but remember that she's got reason to be involved with this as well. In any case, Adriana and I will see you soon. Take care of yourself, Tomasso."
Chapter 14: Luisa
I woke up the next morning with an ache in my heart, one that I knew was because of not having Tomasso with me. My narrow twin bed was too small, and despite the warmth of the offered blankets and the fact that we were in high summer, I was cold on the inside as I got out of bed and dressed for the day.
As I brushed my teeth, I looked at the reflection of the woman who stared back at me. In so many ways, she was identical to me. Her hair was golden blonde, her skin the light hint of natural tan, and she still had the dark eyes and little button nose.
But I didn't know this woman. She looked happy, something that I didn't think I’d truly felt in years, even though the highlight of her day would be to help Tomasso in the gym, carrying plates to and from weight trees. She was dressed like an American, with a plain t-shirt and casual shorts on instead of a designer set of clothes. Her makeup was practically non-existent. There was little there that would compare to the composed, made up, tightly-controlled and fashionable woman who had stepped off the plane a few weeks before.
But most of all, she looked happy. I spit into the sink, swirling my mouth out and looking back at myself, and wondered. Was I truly happy? Me, the woman who’d sworn to herself that I would never let a man be the one to be in charge of me. Was I truly happy wanting to be a servant to a man, an American man at that?
"You don't want to be his servant, though," I whispered to myself, admitting the truth out loud, even if it was at a volume so low I could barely hear it. "You want to be his partner, his equal. You want him to serve you as much as you serve him. You want the impossible, and you want it from one person in particular."
I nodded and saw a hint of sadness in my eyes. I knew what I wanted was impossible. I wanted what I could never have, especially once my father found out. Guillermo Mendosa wasn’t one to give up on his ideas lightly, that was for sure. He hated Americans, and the only reason he wanted the business connection with the Bertolis was because he wanted the money. I'd come up here with the same intentions. Make the connections, get the money, and get out. Our family was doing well, but it was a small player in a country that had much larger sharks. The Bertolis were to be an advantageous alliance, nothing more.
And now here I was, wanting the impossible. I saw a tear fall from my eye, and I wiped it away, not letting the coldness that was still roiling in my stomach creep out. Instead, I practiced smiling in the mirror until I could convince myself that Tomasso wouldn't notice, and then I left my room, heading for his.
He was awake when I got there, already dressed in basketball shorts and a tank top that highlighted his muscular arms and chest. I'd never really been into the thickset muscular look in a man before, but it worked for Tomasso. It certainly got my pulse beating. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Luisa," he replied, adjusting the straps on his brace. I noticed the smell of my baby powder body spray in the air, and I smiled. It was one of the little things he did that showed me he did care about me, even if we never said it. He’d started to spray his brace ever since I made a comment that it stank. “How'd you sleep?"
"I slept fine," I replied, looking him over. "How was your ankle pain?"
"I woke up twice with twinges, but your techniques helped me go back to sleep quickly," he said, grabbing his crutches and getting to his feet. “Thanks again for that. List
en, after breakfast, would you take a bit of a walk with me?"
"Are you insane?" I asked, surprised. "Sorry. Just, the idea of you crutching for miles is painful to my armpits."
Tomasso chuckled and rubbed at his arms. "Yeah, those are getting a bit chafed. But I'm not talking going downtown or anything. Actually, that does sound nice. How about you and I get out of the house and you drive me over to Golden Gardens Park? It's on the ocean side—the water’s too cold to go swimming, but we can talk. Privately."
I caught his intention and plastered on a reasonably authentic smile. "That sounds great. After breakfast and your workout, though. Today, we're doing the isometric work for your leg as well as working your good leg too. If we have the time, of course."
"Of course we do," Tomasso replied. "But let's try to get out there by noon. I want to enjoy the warmth of the sun, if we can, and the beach gets a wicked breeze off the ocean later in the afternoon."
I took Tomasso to the dining room, where the chef had already laid out our breakfast for us. We sat down to lean cuts of steak, with eggs and even some pancakes. “Well, I guess I'm going to have to join you for your workout," I complained good-naturedly. "Is your chef trying to say something about me with the use of steak? I mean, since I did come here with that in mind and all."
Tomasso shook his head and sliced into his filet. "I doubt it. He’s probably trying to pack me full of protein, and for you, well, he most likely read somewhere that your area of Brazil eats a lot of beef. Don't stab him, please?"
I cut my steak and chewed, smiling. It may not have been Brazilian, but the chef knew what he was doing, and it was delicious. "For a chef this talented? I'd be mad to do that. Anyway, what is this Golden Gardens Park?"
"It's a place on the Pacific Ocean side, one of the bigger parks in town. I'd forgotten about it because I usually used a private beach when I was younger, and the water there is cold. You've gotta wear a wetsuit if you want to go in, so it’s mostly kayakers, canoers, stuff like that in the water. But the view's nice on a day like this, and most of the time, the sun is warm. I should have taken you there already.”
"That's all right. Should I take a hat or anything?"
Tomasso nodded and took a forkful of eggs and speared a bite of steak with it. "Sure. But let's work up a sweat first, okay?"
I smiled and gave him a lifted eyebrow. "Careful what you wish for. You may just get it."
* * *
After a good workout in which we made sure his legs would not atrophy and that his strength loss in his legs would be minimized, I finished off with a few yoga poses for him just for the tease. We changed out of our sweat-soaked workout clothes, and I drove us out to Golden Gardens Park. The seaside area was picturesque, although far from what I'd expected when Tomasso said beach. I still had in my mind something more akin to Brazilian beaches, which for the most part are the sorts of places where someone can go with a towel, an umbrella, and some sunglasses to lay out and relax for a long time.
The beach that we pulled up to was far too rocky, with the sand being more like fish tank gravel, which crunched and squealed under my feet as we made our way along the path that paralleled the water. "You're sure you're okay?"
"The rocks are pretty steady. I'm doing fine," Tomasso replied, jabbing his crutches into the path and hopping forward. "Besides, there's a bench up ahead. I think that'll be a good place for us to sit down, relax some, and talk about things that are best not discussed at the house."
"I thought that might be your reason for coming out here," I replied. "You have suspicions?"
"Enough that I need to make a plan of action," Tomasso said, reaching the bench. He pivoted around and sat down, much more adept with his crutches and brace than he had been just days before.
I sat down next to him, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my shoulders and face. The view over the water was far different than what I could see in Brazil, even with the summer heat allowing some of the people who were brave enough to walk the beach in swimwear. Still, it had its own form of rugged beauty. The Pacific Ocean outside Seattle had a wild, untamed beauty that was in its own way as breathtaking as the refined warmth of Brazil.
"I can see the appeal of this," I said, resting my leg on his uninjured thigh. He'd worked the leg hard, and I expected that when his ankle was strong enough to spend a little time outside his brace and he could exercise his injured leg again, he'd regain strength there quickly. "It's peaceful."
"It is," he agreed, taking my hand in his. “Maybe we can come back here some time and really enjoy it.”
I smiled and squeezed his fingers. "Remember, that's two dates you have to take me on now, the Cascades, and now here. Keep it up, and I won't be able to go back to Brazil. But seriously, I assume you found something out about Jake Marconi?"
Tomasso nodded and sighed. "I talked with a friend last night after you went to bed, and he told me that there may be a connection between Leonard Frakes and Jake. It seems like a stretch—a girl in Korea."
I looked around at the passers-by, all of whom looked like normal people enjoying a far more mundane existence than what I led, and tried to think of what to say. "Are you sure enough to do something about it? He’s your friend."
"Some things are more important than friendship," Tomasso said in a quiet, intense voice. "Like honor. And lo—”
"Don't," I said softly, cutting him off. "Not yet—you can’t possibly mean it anyway. Let's just . . . let's focus on keeping you healthy, and this issue with Jake Marconi, then we can go from there. What do you want to do?"
"I need to confront him," Tomasso said, conviction in his voice after pausing and considering what I'd just said. I could see he wanted to say more, but he understood my point of view and was willing to respect it. "But I need to do it in such a way that minimizes risk. And I can't confront him by myself. I'm not in the best shape for a confrontation, and before you ask, no, you can't be the one to take a shot either. This is Bertoli business."
"It is Mendosa business as well," I reminded him, "he may have been involved with trying to kill me, after all. That is just as important as your own family loyalty issues. I won’t sit back and be a wallflower in this."
Tomasso looked like he was going to argue the point, then he saw the expression on my face and relented. "You have a point. But Luisa, there's another reason I don't want you involved."
"I know," I said, taking his hand and giving his knuckles a kiss. "But that's not going to stop me, regardless of whether we give voice to those reasons or not. I told you before that I know how to handle myself."
Tomasso kissed my knuckles and turned his eyes back toward the sea. "I know you can. All right, well, someone once said respect was the most important thing. I guess I'll bow to the experts."
We sat back and watched the gulls circle and dive into the water out on the ocean. The sun was warm, and I was content. I had Tomasso sitting next to me and a feeling of well-being and peace in my heart. "Do we have to go back yet?"
He shook his head. "No. Nothing needs to be done until tonight,” I said, smiling.
* * *
We stayed there until after noon, when we got up and made our way back toward the parking lot. Finding a little stand that was selling soft-serve ice cream, I was able to let myself feel the fantasy again, even as we sat down with our drippy cones and discussed the details of what we had to do. The whole ordeal was cute, if that word could relate to two people casually discussing the setup and possible shooting of another man.
Our plan called for more than ice cream, though, so a little before three o'clock, Tomasso took out his phone and made his first call. "Pietro? Yeah, it's Tomasso. I have something I need your help with. Well, I'd take it to Dad, but with him out of town, this is something I should have you involved with. It has to do with a possible betrayal to the family. Can you meet me at the diner tonight, say at midnight? Thanks. No, it'll wait until then."
Tomasso hung up the phone and handed it to me. "He'll be there. Are
you sure that you want to be involved with this?"
I nodded, my smile fading as I opened the phone, intent on doing my part. "Of course. I appreciate your worry, but this concerns me just as much as you. Besides, I won't be doing this blind or unarmed."
He nodded and sat back while I hit the dial button. The phone buzzed in my ear while I waited for Jake to pick up. "Hello, Bertoli's Pizza, accounting. Marconi speaking."
"Hi, Jake? It's Luisa Mendosa." I made sure to use my happiest, most innocent-sounding voice. Tomasso and I didn't want him suspecting a thing. If that meant it sounded like I was flirting with him a bit at the same time, all the better.
"Luisa? Hey, it's nice to hear your voice. What's up?"
"Well, I was talking with my brother today on a video chat. Anyway, when I told him that someone in the Bertolis had been in the military, he just went gaga about it. It seems he’s a bit of a military geek, and while the Brazilian Army is cool to him, the Americans are much more so. Would you mind if I picked your brain?"
"Well, you know, I didn't exactly see any big action or anything," Jake said, still sounding flattered. "The closest I got to combat was yelling some insults at the North Koreans over a loudspeaker."
"That's all right. He's mostly a nut about the equipment and uniforms, things like that. I figure if I can get some authentic details from you about it all, I can fill in the gaps to make it . . . sexy?"
I could hear the gulp on Jake's side, and I had to admit I put an extra little bit of purr on my voice when I said it. Use the tools that the good Lord gave you, after all. "Uh, sure," he replied, his voice getting cocky. "I can think of some cool stuff that will get his attention.”
"Very good. Can we meet outside the mansion? I wasn't supposed to be talking to my brother, and don't want to get in trouble." I winked at Tomasso, who just rolled his eyes at the hokiness of my performance. Still, it was effective. I could hear it in the way Jake's breathing sped up, and he was practically nodding so hard that I could hear his head rattling over the phone line.
Dangerous Love: Bertoli Crime Family Box Set Page 31