Wow! I shook my head, trying to clear the images coming from his mind. Seeing everything as he remembered it gave me one of the biggest headaches I’d ever had. I didn’t know if it was because of the story itself or because of my empathy for what Ramos had gone through. Even my chest hurt. I could probably put up my shields to lessen the pain, but then I wouldn’t know what Ramos was thinking, and right now, that was more important.
“So, you haven’t been back to Orlando since then?” I asked, trying to recover my wits.
“Yeah,” Ramos said. He was thinking that he’d like to know where Javier was buried, so he could put some flowers on his grave. Then he was going to kill Carson and everyone in his organization.
“Ramos, you can’t,” I said, alarmed. “Fitch won’t let you go this time.”
“Who says he’ll catch me?” he growled.
“There’s got to be a better way to take Carson down. Sometimes killing someone is the easy way out…at least for them. I mean…wouldn’t ruining him be better? Hey, I know…you could get someone else to kill him, maybe with the information on the thumb-drive. You could figure something out what would ruin him, or give someone else a reason to want him dead. That could work, right?”
Ramos drew his brows together and pursed his lips. He was thinking that what I said made sense, and could work as long as Carson still died in the end, although he hated the idea that it wouldn’t be him pulling the trigger.
A plan began to take shape in his mind. Carson had his hand in a lot of things. Besides running drugs, a big chunk of his business was done through bookmaking and gambling. Carson’s poker skills were legendary He was best known for his high-stakes poker games held in private locations throughout the city., and he proved it by winning lots of money and wagers that compelled people to do his bidding. That might just be the best way to get to him and beat him at his own game. He narrowed his eyes, glancing at me with interest.
“How well do you play poker?”
Chapter 7
“Poker?” I gasped. “I don’t know anything about poker.”
“Hmmm…” Ramos was thinking that it wouldn’t take long to teach me.
“Wait…you’re not thinking that I’m going to play poker with Carson are you?”
Ramos’ mouth curved into a big smile. “What kind of a question is that? Especially coming from you?” He started to chuckle, then his whole body shook with unveiled mirth. “That’s really funny.”
I glared at him, crossing my arms and drawing my brows together. “Not to me.”
Ramos stemmed his laughter and got under control, turning serious with a shake of his head. “I know it’s a lot to ask, and you don’t have to help me. It’s probably dangerous, and I know you want to get home. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Just…” I closed my eyes in consternation. I knew Ramos was going to attempt to take out Carson whether I helped him or not, but he might survive the encounter if I helped. “Tell me what you need, and let me decide.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “I should probably talk to Manetto first anyway. I know Warren hacked into Carson’s computer, but I don’t know exactly what kind of information he got from him.”
Ramos started the car, checking the time. “Let’s go somewhere else.” He’d been there long enough, and now that he’d shared his story, he didn’t care if he ever saw this place again.
We drove down the street and took a few turns toward a lake Ramos was remembering nearby. Since I had no idea where we were, it didn’t really matter to me where we went. If I was going to help Ramos, that meant I wasn’t going home to Chris. What was I going to tell him? How was he going to take it? I knew one thing for sure. He was not going to like it.
With a sigh, I glanced out the window and noticed several huge Banyan trees lining the road. They were on the side of the lane bordering a small lake, and Spanish moss hung from them, dipping serenely into the water. It was a beautiful sight, and it swept me away from my worries for a moment.
Ramos pulled into a small parking area and stopped the car. “I always loved this place,” he said. “There’s a trail right over there with a bench that looks out over the water. Do you want to sit there for a minute while I call Manetto?”
“Sure,” I agreed. It felt good to get out of the car and stretch my legs. Coming beside the bench, I wasn’t quite ready to sit down, so I followed the trail around the lake. Ramos got out too, but stayed close to the bench while he talked on the phone. I caught snatches of his one-sided conversation but didn’t want to stay and eavesdrop.
Part of me hoped Uncle Joey would tell Ramos to forget about Carson and bring me home, but I couldn’t count on it. Uncle Joey had Warren hacking into Carson’s computer files for some nefarious reason. For all I knew, he’d probably be grateful if Ramos took him out.
I sighed, walking further down the trail. It was beautiful here, even if it was a little swampy. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the humidity, but the plants and trees were pretty, especially with the blossoms on them. To my right, the water near the bank surged in widening ripples, and I glanced out to see what caused it. Just a few feet away, something moved, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Another ripple sent my heart racing, and I yelped. Was that an alligator? A jolt of panic sent me racing back down the trail. I didn’t stop until I found Ramos and hid behind him, soft gurgling noises coming from my throat.
“What’s wrong?” Ramos tried to look at me, but I stayed behind him. Every time he moved, I did too.
“An alligator!” I squeaked. “Up that way!”
Ramos shook his head and spoke into the phone. “I’ll call you right back.” He disconnected and glanced over his shoulder at me. “You’re fine Shelby. There’s no alligator.” His tone sounded a bit condescending and put me on the defense.
“Maybe not now, but there was.” I straightened, peering around Ramos at the trail. “Why do they have trails if there are alligators here? They should post it on a sign or something.”
Ramos pointed to the trail sign that said to watch for gators. “They don’t usually attack people. And as long as you don’t feed them, it’s okay.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” I said sarcastically. I dropped my arms from Ramos’ waist and took a deep breath. “Do you mind if I wait here for you to finish?”
“No, that’s fine. I’m basically through anyway.”
“What did he say?”
“He said to go ahead, especially if you’re here to help me.” Ramos glanced out at the lake, unsure of my response. “If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.”
“No, I’ll stay,” I said. He’d put his neck on the line for me. I couldn’t do any less for him.
“Good.” Ramos breathed a sigh of relief. “We were just putting a plan together. I think it’s going to work. Manetto’s going to send Nick Barardini to help us out. He’s the computer expert. He’ll be here tonight. I just need to call Manetto back and settle things up.”
“Sure, go ahead,” I said. Ramos got back on the phone, and I sat on the bench to wait. Between getting startled by an alligator and hearing Ramos’ story, I was starting to feel like an emotional wreck. Not only that, but I had to call Chris and tell him I wasn’t coming home just yet. Of course, now that Nick was coming I wouldn’t be alone with Ramos, so that should make Chris feel better, right? Plus, Chris had always wanted me to learn how to play poker, and now I would. That made two things to be positive about. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Ramos got off the phone and sat beside me on the bench. He was feeling good that things were working out for him, but a little sorry for me since I had to tell my husband I wasn’t coming home tonight. He bet Chris wouldn’t like it, but maybe it was time he learned to trust me a little more. Ramos didn’t know anyone who was as good a person as me, and he would watch out for me. Chris should cut me some slack. Maybe he should talk to him…
“You know I can hear you.” I interrupted his thoughts. “
Don’t worry about Chris. I can work it out. He won’t be too upset when he understands how important this is to you.”
“Wait,” Ramos said. “You can’t tell him about what happened to me. You have to keep this to yourself.”
“But…”
“No,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to know besides you. Manetto doesn’t even know.”
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“Only that I just found out Carson killed someone close to me. That was a good enough reason for Manetto, and that’s all anyone needs to know.” He was thinking that he didn’t want anyone’s pity or judgment, and he didn’t have to explain his reasons. It was his life, and any mistakes he’d made were his own. “Will you do that for me?”
I sighed. “Yes. I will.” This was another secret I had to keep. I still hadn’t decided what to tell Ramos about his brother. I wanted him to know the truth, but Fitch had a point. Ramos was in a dangerous business that could put Javier at risk. Still, I felt in my heart that he needed to know. I just had to pick the right time and hope he wouldn’t be too upset with me that I’d kept it from him.
“Thanks,” Ramos said, startling me out of my thoughts. He’d never thanked me for anything before.
“Wow.” I smiled. “It feels good to be helping you for a change. Especially since you’ve saved my neck so many times.”
“This should make us even.”
“Ha! Hardly, but it will help.”
Ramos nodded toward the lake. “We have a few minutes. Do you want to see if there really is an alligator down there?”
“Maybe. But only if you go first.”
“All right, let’s go.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I meant that I’ll stay right here, and you can go look for him by yourself. If it’s safe then I’ll come.”
“You are such a chicken,” he said, standing up.
“Wait!” I stopped him. “Before you go, give me the car keys, just in case you don’t come back.” I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face.
He narrowed his eyes. “No way. You’ll just have to wait here and hope for the best.”
“All right,” I groused. “I’ll come.”
I made sure to stay about three feet behind Ramos. We came close to the spot and I slowed my steps. Something rustled in the bushes. Ramos yelled and lurched back, scrambling away from the water. I screamed and nearly wet my pants. Ramos strutted toward me, barely concealing a self-satisfied smirk.
“What?” I said. “You bum!” Yikes. Had I just called Ramos a bad name?
His shoulders shook with laughter, and I relaxed. My lips twisted in a frown, but before I could say anything, a loud splash sounded behind him. We froze as an alligator poked its head around the bush, and started toward us with amazing speed. I yelped, grabbing Ramos’ arm, and we both sprinted for the car.
“Did you know it was there all along?” I asked, catching my breath, and opening the car door.
“Sure,” he said.
“Yeah, right.” He was lying, but what the heck? It was kind of funny. As I put on my seatbelt I smiled, remembering Ramos’ face. “You should have seen the look on your face. I didn’t know your eyes opened that big.” I was still chuckling when I glanced at him. The grim line of his lips tightened before turning up in a self-deprecating smile.
“Just don’t tell anyone.” He glanced at me, thinking that it would ruin his reputation if it got out that he’d been sca…no…startled by anything, even if it was an alligator.
“Another secret? Geez Ramos, you’re taking all the fun out of life. But okay, if you insist.” Had Ramos almost said scared? Oh wait…he’d only thought that, so I probably better not say anything.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said, innocently. “So where are we going now?”
“Manetto had Jackie book a vacation rental house for us. I thought we’d go find it and get settled, maybe buy some food and stock up the refrigerator. Nick will be getting in tonight, and we can start making plans.”
“Oh.” Reality came crashing back in, and my stomach clenched. “How long do you think this is going to take?”
“Not long,” Ramos hedged. “Once Nick gets here and we figure out what we can do with the information on the thumb-drive, I’ll have a better idea. Probably two or three days tops.” He was trying to be positive.
“Three more days, huh? I guess I’d better call Chris. I just wish I knew what to tell him.”
“Tell him that Manetto asked you to stay for a couple of days to take care of a small matter. No big deal.”
“Ha,” I said. “Chris is already upset with Uncle Joey. I’m afraid Chris might call him up and tell him off. That would be bad.”
“You really think he’d do that?” Ramos thought Chris was smarter than that.
“I know! Me too! But where I’m concerned, Chris doesn’t always think straight.”
“I get that,” Ramos said. If he were in Chris’ shoes, he probably would have taken Manetto out by now. “You just have to let him know that I’ll take care of you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I think that’s part of the problem.”
Ramos glanced at me, his brows arched. “He has a problem with me?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” I probably should have kept my mouth shut. “I’m his wife,” I tried to explain. “That means he feels responsible for me. Like he should take care of me.” I didn’t add, “not you,” but Ramos heard it all the same.
He nodded. “I get that.” He was thinking that he enjoyed being my protector and spending time with me. Maybe more than he should…
“I think I’ll just tell him that Detective Fitch put a lot of pressure on me to stay for a few days, so it’s his fault. I mean…that’s kind of true. If Fitch hadn’t told you about Carson, we wouldn’t be staying. Right?”
“Shelby…you can’t lie to your husband.” Ramos wouldn’t like it, so he knew Chris wouldn’t either.
I ducked my head, feeling ashamed. Ramos was right, but he also wouldn’t let me tell Chris his secret either. Not that I would when it came right down to it. But if I could tell him some of it…then it hit me, this wasn’t Ramos’ problem. I probably shouldn’t even be talking about it with him. This was between Chris and me.
“Listen.” I smiled apologetically. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Chris will be fine, and if he’s not, we’ll work it out. We always have. It’ll be okay.”
“Oh, okay. Good.” Ramos could see what I was doing, and he realized he needed to back off. He was getting too involved, too close. He swore he’d never do that again. He kept himself apart for a reason, and he needed to remember that. “I know you just heard all of that,” he said, surprising me with his candor. “You’re just the first person I’ve ever told about my past, and it’s brought out feelings I haven’t had for a long time. I do care about you, Shelby, but it will never go beyond that. I respect you and your family too much. What you have is special. I wouldn’t want to ruin it.”
“Thanks Ramos,” I said, touched that he’d talk to me about it.
He chuckled in a self-deprecating way. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. It’s like I’ve never opened up so much in my life, and now I can’t stop.”
I laughed with him. “It’s good for the soul. When you hold things in for so long, they have a way of becoming bigger than you ever dreamed, and sometimes not dealing with hard things can hold you back from really living. Now maybe you’ll find some peace.”
“No,” he shook his head, his voice going hard. “Not until Carson is taken care of. He’s the reason my brother is dead. He ruined my life, Shelby. Someone’s got to stop him.”
“There is that,” I agreed, half-heartedly. Maybe now was the right time to tell him Fitch’s secret. “What if your brother isn’t really dead?”
“What?” He glanced at me, his eyes wide with astonishment. “What are you saying?”
&
nbsp; My heart raced with trepidation. Maybe I should have told him before now. He seemed a bit unhinged. Would he be mad at me? “Um…well, you see, I’m not sure…I mean when we were at the bar…it all happened so quickly…”
Ramos swore under his breath, barely missing a car on the side of the road. He pulled to the curb and killed the engine, turning his body to loom over me. “What did you hear?”
I flinched back and took a deep breath. “That’s why Fitch was asking you all of those questions about what kind of life you were living now. He was trying to decide if it was safe to tell you about Javier. To tell you he’s alive. The reason Fitch didn’t was because he didn’t want Javier to be a target because of you again. Because of the kind of life you lived and what you did.”
Ramos froze for a moment, then slumped into his seat, his head falling back against the headrest, and his breath rasping in and out with shock. “He’s alive? All this time I thought he was dead.” He straightened, looking at me, his eyes full of vulnerability and hope that it was true. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes. I think that’s the real reason why Fitch felt so guilty.”
“Where is he? Where’s Javier? Is he here in the city? We need to find Fitch and make him talk.”
“No,” I said, panicking. “We can’t do that…at least not yet. Involving Javier in your life could be dangerous for him, unless you want to forget about Carson.”
Ramos’ gaze jerked from mine like I’d slapped him. He lowered his face, and for a moment, I thought maybe he’d consider it. “You’re right,” he conceded. “We can’t risk it.” He ran his fingers through his hair, something I’d never seen him do before, thinking about the consequences to Javier. He glanced at me, and my chest tightened the moment his eyes turned hard and cold. “Maybe when it’s over.”
“Yeah. That’s probably best,” I agreed. My heart filled with sadness, and I felt tears gather in my eyes. I blinked them away and cleared my throat. “We’d better get going. Are you okay to drive, or do you need me to take over?”