14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Sometimes I read a text and think “what a psycho”… then I press send.
Berlin opened her eyes at an insistent buzzing…and realized her phone was going off. Blinking, she struggled to grab it off the nightstand and realized that Chance was gone. The other bed was still rumpled though and his bag was in the corner, so he wasn’t truly gone.
And she hated how much that mattered.
Still blinking through her exhaustion, she glanced at the caller ID but froze when the bathroom door swung open.
Steam billowed out as Chance stepped into the room. Shirtless.
Now she blinked for a different reason entirely as she stared at the muscles and striations of his abs, then his biceps and oh, he was saying something.
“Hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No, my phone…” She realized that it wasn’t buzzing anymore and sat up.
“I forgot to bring a shirt in with me.” He gave a self-conscious grin and hurried to his bag.
And she stared like a total perv because come on, she was only human. “You’re good.” She stared at his backside, which was sadly covered in jeans. Then, also sadly, he tugged a shirt over the bare expanse of his back. At least she could drool over his forearms.
She inwardly groaned. Get it together! she ordered herself. She never got stupid over men. Ever. In her experience, they weren’t worth it. But Chance…he was different. In her absolute wildest fantasies, they might have a chance to be a couple. Or at least give it a shot. But he had his own life, was only here to find his brother. And she was helping him do that. Getting involved physically would just muddy everything up.
“Who was calling?” He started making his bed, because of course he did.
She’d noticed that at the rental, how neat and tidy his room had been. Almost as if no one had been staying there at all. She figured it was a military or former military thing because everyone she worked with was like that too.
“Oh, right. Camila…ah, Detective Flores.” And Berlin definitely needed to call her back.
He did a sort of stretch-yawn thing that lifted his shirt, showing off a few inches of his tight abdomen again, and whew, okay, she could get very stupid for this man. “Can’t believe it’s only one. I thought I’d sleep all day. I’m going to go make us some coffee and give you some privacy to make your call.”
Berlin managed a nod and maybe a couple of words, but she wasn’t sure. Once Chance and all his testosterone were out of the room, she could breathe again. Mostly.
She called Camila, who didn’t answer. But then she received a text a second later.
Can you meet for a late lunch? Wrapping up a case, want to talk. Bring Adalyn if she’s free. I can be ready in an hour.
She texted back a thumbs-up, then dropped the name of a restaurant they both liked with a question mark.
And got another thumbs-up in return. Perfect .
She took a quick, cold shower, mostly to wake herself up. Then she dressed and made her way downstairs, with the intention of texting Adalyn on her way to meet up with Camila.
But Adalyn was already in the kitchen, with Rowan and Chance. At least they didn’t look all murdery like they had hours before.
“Coffee’s on,” Chance murmured, and she savored his little smile as she headed to the pot.
Then buried it deep and ignored the pointed look Adalyn gave her. She would not acknowledge that look or any others. Nope .
“Where’s everyone else?” Berlin asked as she poured herself a mug.
“Tiago is with Fleur, not sure what Bradford is doing, and we wanted to talk about the Acton brothers. I saw the shared file, read over your notes.”
Ugh . She’d been hoping to hold off until she was done with her coffee. She’d decided to treat finding Chance’s brother like a real job and even though she’d been annoyed with her friends last night, she wanted their help. So she’d created a file and shared it with all of them so they could read over everything and she wouldn’t have to rehash quite so much. “Camila wants to meet up soon with both of us. Want to talk about it with her?”
“I don’t want to involve the cops in this,” Chance murmured.
“We won’t,” Adalyn said before Berlin could. “If anything, we’ll get her take on them, but it won’t be anything we haven’t already learned.”
Berlin nodded in agreement. “Camila is great, but…we don’t share everything with her.” No way. They lived their lives in the gray area, and while Camila would bend the rules when it suited her, she liked to walk the straight and narrow for the most part.
Chance breathed out a small sigh, nodded.
“So. Acton brothers. Becerra Cartel,” Rowan said, his voice neutral, but his expression was grim. “Your brother is involved with them?”
“Maybe.” Chance’s jaw clenched tight. “I know what Johnny said, and I don’t think he was lying. But I also don’t know if he’s right. Enzo wouldn’t get involved with drugs.” There was a certainty in his voice.
“But…he would steal shit?” Rowan asked.
Chance nodded, though it clearly pained him to. “Yes, he would. And has. My brother is really smart, and also really dumb at the same time. He gets bored quickly with things, has no direction…and has absolutely jacked cars before. He was moving stolen vehicles for the Uptown Street Kings. But he wouldn’t knowingly transport drugs, despite what Johnny thinks.”
“Even to cover Brody Williams’s debt?”
It was clear that Chance wanted to say no. He paused for a long moment. “The Enzo I know wouldn’t have gotten involved with that. But…maybe he did.”
Berlin cleared her throat. “Listen, if we want to meet up with Camila…”
Adalyn nodded and stood. “We’ll be back,” she said to Rowan, clearly not inviting him either.
“I’ve got my phone on me,” Berlin murmured to Chance. She wondered if it was a good idea, leaving him with Rowan. But out of everyone on the crew, he was probably the friendliest.
Chance simply nodded, clearly not worried.
Once they were in Adalyn’s car, Adalyn spoke first. “Look, I trust you with my life. But I didn’t know anything about this Chance and…I looked into him. It wasn’t so much that I was checking up on you, but him. And he’s clearly distracting.”
“What’s that mean?” She knew they wouldn’t have long until they got to the restaurant, especially with Adalyn’s driving.
“Are you telling me his hotness isn’t distracting ?” Adalyn shot her a sideways glance at a stoplight. “Or that you didn’t sleep in the same room with him?”
Berlin blinked in surprise. “So what if he’s hot? I’m hot too, and I don’t distract myself.”
Adalyn snickered and pulled through the four-way stop. Mardi Gras was behind them, but there were still beads hanging in most of the trees they drove under. Though that was pretty much a guarantee year-round at this point.
“Does Rowan distract you?”
“Hell yeah he does, all the time,” Adalyn murmured. “The man is a giant, walking distraction.”
The tension in Berlin’s chest eased. “It felt like you were checking up on me in a way you wouldn’t with the guys. That’s what bothered me so much.”
Adalyn nodded slightly. “I was, but not how you think. The world is cruel to women and it’s a hell of lot more violent to us. So yeah, I worry about you in ways I don’t worry about the guys. And that’s not changing, because reality sucks. So I’m not sorry for checking up on you, but I’m sorry if I made you feel less than or less capable. Because I don’t see you like that. You’re one of the smartest, most terrifying people I know.”
The praise warmed her insides. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She lifted a shoulder. “It’s true. And I’m going to worry about you. So get used to it.”
Berlin’s throat tightened with unexpected emotion. And she recognized the irony of her being worried about her sisters all the time, and then getting annoyed when Adalyn was worried about her. It was…nice to have someone concerned about her. “Okay.”
Adalyn nodded once and the conversation was done as she pulled into a parking spot at the little hole-in-the-wall Indian place they loved. “So what’s the plan with Camila?”
Berlin shrugged. “I don’t know—she contacted me. I say we just find out everything we can and fish around about the Acton brothers. Maybe she knows something about them we haven’t found yet.”
On the same page, they headed inside and found Camila was already seated in a booth facing the door, a glass of water in front of her. She had on jeans and a simple black sweater, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, and simple gold hoops in her ears. Her badge wasn’t anywhere to be seen so Berlin assumed she was off the clock or keeping it tucked away for lunch.
Adalyn sat on the same side with Camila—no doubt because she wanted eyes on the door too—and Berlin sat on the opposite side. She trusted them both to have her back. “Have you been waiting long?”
“Nah, just got here. Thanks for meeting me. Oh, are you going to Magnolia’s tonight?”
Berlin looked at Adalyn, eyebrows raised.
“Oh right, they just got back from their honeymoon, wanted to have everyone over. You’re invited,” Adalyn said to Berlin. “I forgot to tell you.”
Berlin didn’t commit one way or another, because she wasn’t sure if that was an option tonight. Anything could happen with Chance at this point.
“Mari’s gonna be there,” Camila added.
“I’ll be there,” she said, because she adored the other woman. A corporate pilot who owned multiple small airports around the US, she had her shit together in a way Berlin only aspired to. When she wanted something, she went for it, and Berlin flat-out admired her ability to not give a shit what anyone thought.
“So, what’s the deal?” Adalyn asked.
“Can a girl order some food first?” Camila’s tone was dry, but she grinned. “And I’ve got good news.” She trailed off as their server approached, took their drink and appetizer order. Then she said, “Brody Williams is going away for a few years, but he cut a deal. He’s flipping on some other guys. And while it’s helping the Feds, I think he should have just done his time. They’ll find out he snitched and someone will go after him. But that’s not my problem.” She shrugged.
“Any news on Johnny Moore?” Berlin asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing yet.”
Yeah, Berlin hadn’t gotten a hit on the guy’s face in any of her software, or seen that he’d used his credit card anywhere. So maybe he was still walking home. Or maybe he’d gotten eaten by gators. She nearly snorted at the thought. As she was trying to think of a subtle way to ask about the Acton brothers and what Camila knew, Camila continued.
“So, we also got a weird call from the neighbor of the place you guys were at last night.” Camila kept her words vague enough. “She said she saw someone breaking into the place, but when a detective spoke to her, she was a little hesitant to sign her statement.”
Berlin snorted softly. “Yeah, because she was inside the house at the time.”
Camila’s dark eyes widened. “What?”
“Yep.” She quickly recapped everything, which made Camila shake her head.
“God, kids are dumb sometimes. And I know nineteen isn’t a kid exactly, but…”
Adalyn laughed. “It totally is.”
Camila cleared her throat, her expression shifting. “So this isn’t work related but…friend related. I need advice. I’m going to talk to Magnolia but I wanted your advice too, and she’s too close to the situation, I think. I found out that Emma’s mom died. She knows and says she’s fine, but I know that can’t be true.”
Berlin nodded quietly. Emma was a teenage girl Camila had taken in so she’d have some stability for her senior year of high school when her mom had bailed. Before that she’d been couch surfing with friends and lying about where her mom was. Since Emma was dating Lucas, Magnolia and Ezra’s son, Camila was right—Magnolia might be too close to any situation involving her.
“I’ve offered to get her therapy, which she says she’ll think about.” Camila let out a long breath. “I know she’s almost eighteen and I never saw myself in this kind of situation, but we’d talked about me officially adopting her once she was old enough to legally make the decision for herself. But now…”
“Now you’re worried that if you bring it up again, it’ll sound callous.”
“Yeah.” Camila nodded, then they were all quiet as their server delivered their plates. Once they were alone again, she continued. “I don’t even know what I’m asking. I’m just…struggling, I guess. And it doesn’t help that I barely see her because she’s involved in a new play. Or with Lucas.” Her tone was dry, but she smiled with pure parental affection.
“Just talk to her,” Berlin said. “Let her know that you haven’t changed your mind and you’ll always be there for her no matter what she decides to do.”
“You’re right. I know that. It’s just finding the words.” She sighed. “Ugh, jumping into this parenthood thing with an almost fully grown person was supposed to be easier.”
Now Berlin snickered. “I don’t think it’s ever easy.” She’d been the guardian of her three sisters when they’d all been teens and it had been…a lot. But she didn’t want to think about that now.
After they’d eaten and caught up on other things, Camila said, “So what else do you guys want to know?”
“What makes you think we have anything else to ask?” Adalyn asked.
“Because I know you both. And there has to be a reason you,” she said, looking at Berlin now, “were working with those two lowlifes. And Williams didn’t mention you, by the way.”
“Really?”
“He didn’t say a word about you or your partner, who I want to meet,” she added.
Berlin hadn’t given Camila much about Chance, not even his name. She’d just told the detective that he was her friend and she was helping him find his brother. “That’s interesting.”
“Yeah, he’s not mentioning him or you because he’s likely planning to get revenge later.”
“It’s not like he knows my real identity.”
“Does he know your friend? His real identity?”
“Yeah, he knows my friend.”
“Well that’s something to think about, then.”
Berlin had already thought of that, and Chance was aware that Williams might come after him later. “I know, thank you.”
“And you’re right, we’ve got some questions about the Acton brothers.”
Camila looked up from her tikka masala, blinked once. “You know who they are, right?”
“Yep.” Adalyn’s voice was neutral enough, but Berlin knew she hated this. To be fair, they’d tangled with way worse people than the Acton brothers. And she was going to find Chance’s brother, with or without their help.
“Okay…they’re violent psychopaths, to put it bluntly.” Camila kept her voice low as she glanced around, but the place was busy and no one was paying attention to them. “They’re on a federal watchlist and for a while it was suspected they had a small place here they used as a bolt-hole. Are you saying they’re in bed with the Uptown Street Kings?”
Berlin glanced at Adalyn, then looked back at Camila and nodded. “It sounds like it. I think the gang, or maybe Williams personally, owed them a debt.”
Camila made a face. “I can only imagine how costly that would be. They kill entire families if you cross them. The Feds have already taken Williams into their custody, but I’ll tell them to push that angle. Maybe they’ll get something useful.”
“Thanks,” Berlin said. It was all they could ask for. Because there wasn’t much of a connection between Williams—that Berlin could find anyway—and the Acton brothers. And she hated to admit it, but there wasn’t much she’d found on them at all so far.
She’d done her normal searches, but these guys were ghosts. They did dirty work for the Becerra cartel in the US mostly. They moved product from Arizona all the way to the East Coast. And they used different people or gangs not affiliated with them or the cartel to do it. Through debts, fear, or in exchange for cash. They liked to outsource, it seemed. Which was really smart.
But it sucked for Berlin because she and her crew were stuck at square one until they could locate the psychos.