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“Uh-huh. You were thinking about one of your house guests again.”
“Which one?” I teased.
“The one with the long legs and voluptuous figure.”
In a split second, I had my hand wrapped around his throat, shoving him forcefully into the brick wall.
My lieutenant threw up his hands, as shocked at my instinctive behavior as I was. Fuck. Why was it that his comment brought out a jealous side of me I hadn’t known existed? Even though I recognized my reaction was outlandish, I squeezed my fingers until he coughed. “Don’t you dare ever say anything about her again. Are we clear?”
All he could do was nod. I let him go, immediately planting my hands on my hips and pacing the deck. I’d never been so antsy in my life, riddled with anger and anxiety, the combination not good for keeping a clear head or making decent decisions.
He coughed again, finally laughing as if the entire situation was hysterical. “You okay, boss?”
“Grand. What did you say you found?”
“Rico is still in LA. He’s hanging out with some movie types. Kinda disgusting if you ask me.”
I thought about Diego’s offer and while it might come to tracking the gangland bastard down like the thug he was, I wasn’t ready to leave the city just yet. I had a bad feeling he was ensuring that I’d heard he was in Los Angeles so my guard would drop. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, and you’re not going to like it. Raphael’s body was identified. It was all over the news. It’s only a matter of time before Rico hears about his brother’s death.”
“He already knows, Andres. That’s why it’s vital we maintain watch on our merchandise. If anything happens out of the ordinary, I want to be told. I do mean anything. I don’t care if it’s nothing more than a vagrant stumbling too close to one of our warehouses. You got it?”
“Absolutely.” I heard him shuffling, which was a new behavior for the brutal man.
“What is it, Andres?” If he was looking for an apology, he’d come to the wrong man.
“Nothing, boss.”
“Spill it, Andres. You’ve never held your tongue before. Why start now?”
“Because you had your hand wrapped around my throat seconds ago.”
I tipped my head in his direction, laughing softly as he mimed being choked, pressing both his hands against his throat. “Yeah, I guess I did. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“You’re different. From what I read on the internet, a blow hard enough to cause a concussion and memory loss can alter someone’s personality.”
“Is that so?”
“Hell, yeah. The article went on to say in about thirty percent of the cases, the change is permanent.”
“You spend too much time on the internet, buddy. I’m fine.”
“I don’t know.” He scratched his head.
“Okay, I’ll bite. How have I changed?”
He furrowed his brow before answering. “You’re more reflective. You almost act as if you have something to live for.”
“And I didn’t before the shooting?” I touched my head. While the injury was healing, the ache behind my eyes had yet to go away.
He shrugged. “Not really. Don’t get me wrong, boss. You care about your family, but you don’t have anyone for you, someone special.”
“I don’t care about her, bud. I’m using her as a lure. I don’t know how many times I’m going to need to repeat myself and you know how I loathe doing that.”
“Maybe until you manage to believe it.” He backed away, throwing up his hands as if in surrender. “I just call it like I see it.”
Maybe he had a point, but it couldn’t matter. “Have you ever thought that maybe the changes are for the better?”
