“My nephew’s not very smart and seldom thinks, but don’t put me in the same league. I don’t want to offer you a job. I want to give you fair warning.” Rodolfo got to his feet and stepped close enough that Anthony could smell his cologne. “Go home and tend to your head and be grateful that’s all that happened.”
“I don’t work for you, Mr. Luis, so, with all due respect, I don’t have to take orders from you.” He heard the whoosh of air behind him just before the pain in his head drove him to his knees. When Anthony could open his eyes, Carlos stood over him, holding his own gun to his head.
“Supposedly you work for my nephew, but you and I both know who you really work for, so I want you gone. If you talk to Juan again…well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.” Rodolfo pressed his fingers to the oozing wound and looked at them before he painted Anthony’s cheek with the blood that coated them. “Like you said, though, you don’t work for me, but I want you to remember one thing.”
“What?”
“The next time I call you in for a talk, don’t beg for mercy or cry for salvation, because there won’t be any.”
Anthony was still on his knees, which made Rodolfo seem taller when he peered up at him. “If you believe I still work for the FBI, isn’t treating me like this stupid?”
“Do you think anyone in this room but you is going to admit this meeting took place? Go home and back to your job, Mr. Curtis, and you won’t have a thing to worry about. If you don’t, you won’t be of consequence to anyone for long.”
Rodolfo left the room, and Carlos picked Anthony up and handed him to Pedro. “Now you can take that cab, Agent Curtis.”
“What about my guns?”
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“That this won’t be the last time we talk.” Carlos suddenly grabbed Anthony’s crotch and squeezed so hard his eyes welled with tears. “When we have to talk again, I’m going to shoot this off first and send it to that pretty lady you work for.” He squeezed harder. “Then I’m going to put a bullet between your eyes with your FBI gun that I’m keeping to show my friends.” Carlos laughed before throwing him out.
Out in the hall Anthony leaned against the wall well away from the suite, trying to get his heart rate down. He needed to concoct a new plan before Juan returned the next night. No matter what it was, Carlos, Rodolfo, and Pedro were going down.
“And when that happens, you son of a bitch, don’t beg
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You ready to go, lass?” Cain yelled up the stairs while Hannah climbed to the fourth step and jumped into her arms. It was the third time she’d gone through the process of climbing and jumping, adding a step every time.
“If she tries that with me when you’re not home, I’m going to be pissed when I call you from the emergency room,” Emma said from the landing. She’d changed into a simple-cut dress and low heels.
“Hannah’s smart enough not to try that with you, Mama,” Hayden said as he passed her on the way down.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because when I was four I was smart enough to know we’d both be in trouble if I tried it. You’re our mom, but you’re kinda shrimpy,” he joked.
“Good to know, son.” She started down, keeping her eyes off Hannah, who was leaping from the sixth step now.
This time Cain caught Hannah and kept her in her arms. “Let’s go pick up Grandpa,” she said, having to use both hands to keep Hannah still. “Wait until you see what he got you for your birthday,” she told Hayden.
“He let you know what it was?”
“He called for hints, and I told him you missed your milking duties so much he smuggled a cow on board.”
“You’re so funny. You’re just jealous I know how and you don’t.”
“Your mom promised to take me in the barn for a private lesson when we go up for a visit—” Emma put her hand over Cain’s mouth and pointed to the door.
Cain drove them to the airport, with Lou, Merrick, and Mook following. Ross had planned the trip to sign a contract for Cain, and for Hayden’s birthday. The airport was busy as the influx of Sunday afternoon flights arrived, so it took Cain a while to find two parking spots close to each other.
They waited at the Delta section, and Hannah ran around them. Cain split her time watching her and Emma, who had her eyes plastered to the long concourse but had been constantly smoothing down her dress in a nervous- tic way.
“Are you okay?” she asked Emma.
“It’s weird, but I’m not. I’ve felt like such a disappointment to him for so long that sometimes I don’t know how to act around him.”
Cain put her arm around Emma’s waist and kissed her temple. “I’ve talked to your father quite often since we got back, and he certainly isn’t disappointed in you. Ross is proud of the life and family you’ve built, lass. With his separation from your mother, he feels freer to express himself, and he’s looking forward to spending more time with us. It’s time for him to get to know his grandchildren and his little girl. You two need to move past the shadow of what happened with your mother and stop wasting time dwelling on what could’ve been.”
