Chapter 5 #2
I didn’t think Mika cared much for football, but he loved to feed us, and no one was complaining. There was a table along the wall covered in chips, dips, veggies, cookies, and of course, my favorite—Mika’s double chocolate brownies.
I grabbed a brownie and made my way over to the couch.
“Make room, assholes,” I said, motioning for Axel to slide over so I could sit between him and his brother Maddox.
When they first came to work for us, neither Axel nor Maddox were big football fans.
They had rather spent the day playing video games or riding their dirt bikes out at the camp, but eventually, we won them over.
They’d both selected teams based on which ones had the biggest rivalry in the NFL, of course, with each brother taking a different team because they wouldn’t have it any other way.
I could’ve sat on the left-hand side of the couch, but the day would be better if the Wonder Twins were separated.
I’d heard stories all my life about twins and how they did this mind-meld thing, but I never really believed it until we hired these two.
They hassled each other, picked on each other, and sometimes even went so far as to fight each other physically—but they were thick as thieves, often finished each other's sentences, and loved to cause trouble.
I bit into the brownie and let out a moan.
“So, where are Hawk and Mika anyway?” I asked. “It’s obvious he’s been down here.”
“Mika stopped by and dropped off the food, but then he headed back upstairs to fix Hawk something to eat. Apparently, he was up until the early hours this morning.”
“Must be nice,” I grumbled. “I was up all night, too, and I wanted to sleep in, but my brain had other ideas.”
“They said they’d be down in time to see the Bengals game.”
“Nobody wants to watch the freaking Bengals,” I grumbled.
“Apparently, Mika does,” Maddox said.
“Whatever. They’re playing the Saints today, so it ought to be a good game.”
Tucker plopped down in one of the armchairs and shook her head. “So… I heard what happened at the club last night. That’s pretty fucked up.”
“It is. And we honestly still have no idea what the deal is. Why him? What did they want with him? Was it a regular kidnapping or something else? Honestly, we don’t know much.”
Maddox shoved a large chip covered in guac in his mouth before saying something I couldn’t begin to understand. “Ew do espe tuff li va ew apun e bespa.”
I scowled at him and shook my head. “What?”
Axel reached behind me and popped his brother on the back of his head. “Mom raised you better than that, you animal.” He sighed. “He said you don’t expect stuff like that to happen in Vesper.”
“Stuff like that can happen anywhere. I would think you would’ve realized that by now,” Wolfe called over, because of course the man was listening to everything, he always was.
Maddox swallowed what was left of his bite and turned to look at Wolfe. “I know. Vesper just has that small-town feel, even though it's a decent size.”
“You’d be surprised,” Diego said. “Working as a PI taught me that small towns are hotbeds of secrets and unhealthy relationships. Give me a big city any day.”
“As a PI, I would think that would make your job easier.”
“Oh, it makes the job easier, but as far as a place to live, you couldn’t give me a house in a small town.” He shrugged. “Well, I mean, if you wanted to give me one, you could, but I would just sell it and buy something somewhere else.”
“Did you grow up in a small town?” I asked.
“Nah, I grew up in Austin. Vesper is the smallest place I’ve ever lived.”
“Well, we’re glad you’re here.”
He nodded. “Me, too. How about you? Where are you from?”
“A tiny town on the Texas-Louisiana border,” I said. “Trust me, you haven’t heard of it.”
Diego chuckled. “From the accent, I was guessing you were either from far east Texas or Louisiana.”
“Dis he-are? Non, bébé, you he-are da real tang when I bein’ half-drunk or half-nakied.
” I let the honey-dripped drawl of my upbringing come through.
It wasn’t exactly Cajun and not exactly Texan, but a special blend that resulted from my great-grandparents’ move from southern Louisiana to east Texas back in the day.
My grandmother had passed it down to me.
It had mostly faded after years away from home, but I could fall back into the lazy cadence in a heartbeat when it suited me.
He cleared his throat. “Ah, okay good to know… I guess.”
“If you two want to continue this date and play twenty questions or something, take it over there”—Maddox pointed to the table—“the game’s on.”
I rolled my eyes. Diego was certainly not my type at all, and I knew I wasn’t his.
We’d researched him thoroughly before bringing him on board, and that had included information about his personal life.
He had a thing for twinks, something I most certainly was not, and I had a thing for spunky, pretty boys who had trouble written all over them.
My mind flashed to Julius with his perfectly applied makeup, his smart mouth, and then, of course, to the situation at the club. I pulled out my phone, pulled up his contact, and sent him a text.
Me
Hey, Jules. Just checking in to see how you are doing today.
Not that how he was doing was my business, but I wanted it to be. After one unforgettable kiss, I found that I wanted a whole lot where Julius Petros was concerned.
It didn’t take long for him to reply.
Jules
I’m fine. Had brunch with some friends and now I’m headed home to rot. Any word on the guy who was kidnapped?
Me
We IDed him but nothing so far on his location. But Officer Russo is a good cop. He’s working on it, and we’re helping as much as we can.
Jules
I just hope they find him.
Me
Me too.