9. Cas
9
Cas
“ N o, I don’t regret it. I had a good time, and I made sure you did too,” I said, still a little smug over how much Rishi had enjoyed himself. “Thinking about Clay, though. He’s gonna have a lot of baggage, and it made me think that I do too. I mean, we only blew each other, we didn’t get engaged — for real, anyway — but—”
“But you wonder where this could be headed, or you wonder where I might want this to go?” Rishi asked carefully.
“I mean, you have a job in Colorado. I hope I have a job here, but God only knows when I’ll be able to go back to it.” I propped myself on my elbow to look at Rishi more fully, and he looked back steadily. “Is this just fun?” I asked.
Rishi sighed. “Let’s say yes, for now. Friends with benefits, as they say? I’m certainly open to more, but there are things that need to be settled before we can make a bigger commitment, I think.” He glanced at the phone still in his hand. “You need to tell your captain about the new intel.”
I chuckled. “Very smooth, there, very smooth. But yes, you’re right.” It was far too soon to worry about more than having fun, and what Rio had told us was more pressing.
“I’ll call my captain…” I said thoughtfully. “And you should probably call your colleague who does the intel gathering.”
“You’re right. I’ll update him while you are working on your side.” Rishi said. He slipped away and retrieved my phone from the coffee table where I left it earlier. He then picked up his discarded jeans and underwear and padded away again. I wondered what he was up to, but I didn’t have to wait long. He came back in a pair of jogging pants and a T-shirt. I was sad to see that glorious ink — and glorious chest — covered up, but at least I could focus on talking to my captain.
“Do you need anything before I call?” Rishi asked, and I shook my head. I was reasonably comfortable, and the blanket was over my lap, so I didn’t have to feel weird about making a work call naked.
“Do you want to stay here with me while you call?” I asked.
Rishi frowned. “Would you like me to, or would you prefer privacy for your phone call?”
“I figure everybody’s getting the same information; we might as well get it over with.”
Rishi nodded. “That is an excellent point,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, his body language painfully awkward and careful now.
I huffed out a breath and poked at him, then patted the pillow next to me. “Come back here,” I said, and he studied me for a minute before he propped himself against the headboard, and I shifted enough to lean against him. After another moment of hesitation, his hand landed on the top of my head, and he began to play with my hair. I gave a pleased hum, and I felt the tension leave him.
“Okay,” I said. “So Julio Fernandez has a search and retrieve order out on me. We knew that, sort of, but I guess confirmation is good.”
“Yes. In our favor, he doesn’t know where you are living now. What is not in our favor is how often you need to come and go. Perhaps I should trade in my rental for a different vehicle as a diversion tactic. I am sure they are aware of what I drive by now. It is fortunate that the lot here is gated, so it will be harder for anyone to find your car.” Rishi was on his phone, tapping rapidly. “We should limit visitors as well because I am certain that they will be working on discovering your associates and surveying their whereabouts in hopes of being led to your new location.”
I agreed with all of that. “I’m going to call my captain now,” I said after a minute of silence.
I had his private line, and after a couple of rings I heard the call connect. “Captain Donovan,” he said.
“Captain. Mr. Rao, my security, received a phone call today from Rio Torrez, do you remember him?”
“Yes, I do. He must have had some relevant information?”
“Yes. I don’t know if you heard about Rio’s cousin, Eddie? He’s a gang member but since he likes Rio, he told him what the word is in the gang.”
“I do remember hearing about him, yes. He had some valuable intelligence. What’s going on?”
“Eddie says that there’s a search and recover order out for me. I guess we assumed that was the case, but he had some more specific info. He said there are orders that I need to be brought directly to Julio to interrogate, and there are strict orders to not injure me in any way that would interfere with my telling him what he wants to know.”
Captain Donovan hummed, and I could picture him writing this all in the notebook that lived in his breast pocket. “Did he say that they might have any idea where you are now?”
“No, he didn’t. Mr. Rao and I were discussing ways to minimize their discovery of my location. They know that I’ve moved since the apartment was cleared out when they were there, but this building is gated. Mr. Rao is considering the idea of a new rental car to make it harder for them.”
“Not a bad idea.” He was quiet for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I’ve been in contact with Captain Stacy and another investigator, Agent Michele Herrera. We know that Fernandez is into some heavy things, and there are ongoing investigations into both the drugs and the exotic animal importation. Agent Herrera is with the Department of Homeland Security. She is investigating the wildlife crimes. Wildlife trafficking is the fourth-largest funding source for transnational criminal organizations, generating tens of billions of dollars. Homeland takes an intense interest. Fernandez doesn’t seem to be one of the bigger players in that area, but as you know from the spider he left for Saint, he’s obviously deeply involved.”
I shuddered. “I remember,” I said as Rishi looked at me curiously.
“We’re trying to get Julio off your back, and off the street, as soon as possible, so we’re focusing most of our attention on the wildlife trafficking side of his operation. Animals are harder to hide. They make sounds and smells and require special handling. There may be injuries or even deaths that we can trace.”
Wildlife trafficking was far over my pay grade, but what Captain Donovan was saying made sense. “Okay, so what is the plan?” I didn’t really expect the Captain to tell me, as I wasn’t an active part of the investigation, but I guess my “on leave” status had some privileges.
Captain Donovan chuckled. “We have a new UC, with a very, very special background. Look at your texts.”
I frowned in confusion and checked my messages. There were several photos from Captain Donovan’s number, all of them showing a handsome black man holding an assortment of dangerous animals. In one, he was cuddling a lion with a head and mane that spanned his entire head and upper body; in another, a giant snake was wrapped around his forearm while he held its head in his large hand; and in the last, he smiled as a tarantula waved two furry little legs from the top of his shaved head. “Okay,” I said, closing the photos quickly, like the spider might get out of my phone. “He does animals, lots of animals.”
“Yes, he does animals,” Captain Donovan said. “He’s going in with a backstory — a real backstory — of having grown up working in a zoo. He’s fearless but not stupid, and he has experience. He’s going in with a good, mostly real backstory, and I have real hope that Julio will bite quickly.” He chuckled again.
“How did you find someone like that?” I asked.
“If I could tell you, I would. Suffice it to say that I talked to a few people who talked to a few people, and the stars aligned.”
I knew that’s all I would get out of him, and I really had no right to know any of this, so I was glad that he was sharing at all. I thanked him and ended the call, then pulled the pictures up again to show Rishi.
“You don’t like spiders?” Rishi asked, and I laughed and shook my head.
“I really, really do not,” I said emphatically. “Did you hear the spider story?”
Rishi frowned and shook his head, and I laughed. “It’s story time,” I said and leaned back to tell him the tale of the spider that had been left in an attempt on Saint’s life.
***
Rishi had a new rental car delivered, and the old one returned. “Do you want to see what I chose?” he asked me when the delivery driver left.
His demeanor piqued my curiosity immediately and I nodded, wheeling to the window he gestured to. I looked out and then back at Rishi. “A minivan ?”
Rishi’s dark olive skin made it a little hard to tell, but it looked like he was blushing. I tilted my head and smiled at him. “Did you get a van for me?”
Rishi looked away, opening his mouth and closing it again without saying anything.
I pushed myself up in front of him and took his hand, waiting til he looked at me, then pulled lightly. “Come down here,” I said, and he complied. “That was sweet.” I cupped his jaw in both of my hands and kissed him.
Rishi sank to his knees in front of me when I released him, kissing me back. “It made sense,” he said, as though he was trying to justify it, but his lips on me told more than his words.
The next day was an appointment day for me, and Rishi watched, obviously pleased, as I transferred easily into the front seat of the van. He tucked my chair in the back and we were off. I was impressed with the new car — it was glossy black in the midlevel package, both handsome and inconspicuous.
The clinic where I went to physical therapy once a week was busy, and I found a place in the corner where my chair wouldn’t block anyone. Rishi stood at my side, and I found myself sneaking glances up at him. He was scanning the room, keeping an eye on everyone who came or went, completely alert. He looked great in his normal daily uniform of jeans or chinos — today chinos — and a long-sleeved black T-shirt, sleeves pushed up to his elbows in concession to the California heat. Now that I knew exactly what was under that shirt, I lost myself for a few minutes remembering how beautiful he was, especially with his tattoos over his hard muscles, and fantasizing about tracing the art with my fingers and tongue.
“Cas? Cas, man, it’s good to see you!”
I registered the voice as Rishi moved to stand between me and the voice’s owner.
“Rishi, it’s okay,” I said, catching his hand, then grinned toward Antonio Morales. “Tony, it’s great to see you! How are you doing? And what are you doing here?”
Antonio held up his hands, which were in braces. “Been better, but I’m comin’ along. I didn’t expect to see you, though. Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, just at my weekly appointment, hoping they’ll clear me for crutches soon. Rishi, this is Tony.” I had told Rishi about Antonio’s phone call. I hadn’t heard anything from him since, and I had been worried about him.
Rishi nodded politely since, of course, Antonio was in no shape to shake hands or even fist-bump, which is what we would normally do. “Tony. I am Rishi Rao, Casimir’s security.”
“Good to meet you, man,” Antonio said. “Cas, Rishi, this is my girlfriend, Bree.”
A woman who had been hanging back a bit waved quickly, closing the distance between her and Antonio. She took his arm and he smiled at her before turning his attention back to us. “We gotta catch up, but it sounds like you’re up,” he said as a nurse called my name.
“Call me,” I said before I wheeled myself off for my appointment.