The door to the cafeteria opened, bringing in theinterrupting discordance of sound from the busy hallway beyond.
"Hey Uncle," Carlos said brightly,looking over Cade's head.
Maritzia turned away from Victor and looked pastCade. "Hi, Chief," she said respectfully, though despite thehonorific there was still the happy tone of a niece seeing her favorite uncle.
Peeling his eyes from Victor's who shot him onelast glare before turning to look intently at the chief, Cade turned in hischair and grinned mischievously.
"Hello, Dad."
The chief's normally stoic expression hardened ashe looked back at Cade.
Practically ever since he had left for themilitary, the reserved, even-tempered chief of police, and one of the four mainbrothers who owned the little white apartment building on Tremont, had beensecretly dating Cade's mother. When he first met him years ago, Cade hadresented the stern man with a passion. Over the years, Andres DeLeon would showup to his family's dinners and gatherings, always a silent and indomitablepresence. He had hated the man's permanently serious attitude that seemed toclash with his own forever jovial one. To Cade, the unsmiling man was a giantstick in the mud. But what made it even worse was his mom's completeinfatuation with the man.
In abject horror, he had watched the woman slowlysuccumb to the officer's nonexistent charms. After finding out it was hisapartment they were renting, an apartment his mother still rented to this day,Cade had been ready to just move away, even if it risked leaving the new familyand friends he had come to love. The man had been trying to replace his dad,that was what Cade had told himself at least. It was only as he got older andrealized that the grim-faced man was being highly considerate and careful tomake sure he didn’t do just that.
Andres never shied away from the topic of Cade'sdad when brought up, even going so far as to acknowledge and praise his dad'smilitary career. Later when Cade realized he too wanted to follow in hisfather's footsteps, Andres was the one who talked down his crying mother andeven drove him to the recruitment office, helping him ask the questions Cadewould need to know. Even now, he suspected the reason Andres still hadn't askedfor his mother's hand in marriage still had something to do with his respectfor his father's memory. Cade had tried telling the older man he didn't care,but the obtuse bastard wouldn't listen. So now he was forced to use slowindoctrinating tactics—like getting him used to the title of "dad."
Pulling out a neat little navy blue flipbook fromhis uniform's breast pocket, Andres pulled out a tiny silver pin from his otherpocket and began writing in the tiny notepad. "Memo, write Officer Mooreup for insubordination later."
Cade laughed and stood from his chair, forgettingabout Victor. "Aww, come on, Chief. How you gonna do me like that?"
Andres just gave him a severe look before turningto Maritzia, his eyes softening for his favorite niece. "I came here tosay hi to you all, and to tell you," he indicated to Maritzia, "thatyou have a phone call from an Antwon Thomas holding on the line."
"Oh, I have been waiting for his call,"Maritzia jumped up excitedly. "Thank you, Chief."
Excusing herself from the chief, she wavedgoodbye to Valerie and Carlos and gave a silent unreadable look to Victor thatCade didn't care to try and decipher.
"Well, I guess that's me, too," Cadesaid with a grin at the chief.
Wrapping Valerie in a big hug, he shared aknowing glance with Carlos that promised an entire conversation about thisevent later. Ignoring Victor, he waved goodbye once more to Valerie andfollowed the chief out of the cafeteria.
It was getting harder and harder to deal withVictor, Cade realized as he walked down the hall to the locker rooms. How thefuck had he done it up until now? Was it because he had Bethany to deal with?Was it coming to work and getting to wordlessly commiserate with his bestfriend each day, enjoying her company and forgetting about their relationships?He had no clue; all he knew was that Victor was tap-dancing on his last nerve.
Remembering the look on Maritzia's face at thebar months back when she discussed Victor, Cade couldn’t help but wonder justhow the hell she dealt with him as well.
Chapter4
Locking his jeep with a beep, Cade crossed thestreet half-heartedly jogging towards Maritzia's apartment building. The coldApril air whipped around and through his light sweater, making him grit histeeth. As usual, his jacket was in the backseat of his vehicle and he was fartoo lazy to go back and get it. Punching in the code to her building, Cade lethimself into the quiet lobby. A large wide space, the lobby was one of the bestfeatures about her apartment building. With black and white marble floors and acrystal chandelier, the lobby looked as if it belonged to one of thosehigh-dollar apartments on the Upper Eastside instead of nestled on a quietstreet in The Bronx.
Nodding to the watchful doorman, Cade pressed thegold button for the elevator, taking it up to the top floor. Getting off, hestepped out into the silent hallway and turned right, walking to the very endand turning a small corner to the last apartment.
Opening the unlocked door, he was greeted by awave of warm air and a clamor of talking and laughing within.
Throwing another one of his shitty parties,Victor sat on the large sectional with a dozen or more other guys crowdingMaritzia's living room to watch the NBA championship game. Most of the faceswere familiar, some guys from the station, a couple of Victor's cousins Cadehad met in passing, and Carlos, who lounged in a chair off to the side holdinga beer.
Nodding at a few greetings, Cade scanned thelarge room once more and frowned. Catching Victor's eyes in silent command, hegave the man a questioning look. "Hey, where's Ritz?" he asked, notbothering with a greeting.
Victor glanced back at the TV, Cade practicallywatching the man consider the option of ignoring him, but turned back to givehim an annoyed look. "She didn’t feel good, she's laying down in thebedroom."
A part of Cade debated just turning back aroundand walking down the hall to the bedroom, but his instincts told him if he justwalked into another man's bedroom, no matter how piss-ant the man, there may bea problem. Though, technically, this wasn't even the asshole's place, Cadethought, staring at the side of Victor's head. Luis and Carlos had bought thisplace for their sister and it was in Carlos's and Maritzia's name. In Cade'seyes, Victor was the goddamn guest. Looking to Carlos, Cade shared a silentlook with the man.
"She's fine," he said, raising hisvoice a little over the sudden eruption of glee as a team on the screen scoreda shot. "I don't think she wanted to put up with all this tonight,"Carlos waved a hand at the guys littered across his sister's living room.
Nodding, Cade turned around and walked into theopen kitchen, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Popping the top, he leanedback against the counter and observed the others. Having been to plenty ofgatherings at the DeLeon's, Cade felt he had enough authority to know thisparty was off. From Carlos's bored expression to his sister's absence, Cadeknew he wasn't the only one who felt the odd dynamic of the party and knew whoto blame. Taking a sip of his beer, Cade watched Victor interact with hisfriends. The man was unjustly pompous. There was a "king of the land"type aura around the equipment officer that made no sense since he wasn't theking of a goddamn thing in this place. It was as if there was always somethingthis man was trying to prove, but all Cade could see was that the man proved hecould not throw a decent party.
Thankfully, Cade didn't have to wait long forVictor to become inebriated and fully engrossed in the game. Catching Carlos'seye, he nodded to his friend and turned around, grabbing a few beers and aplate of food. Without notice, he slipped back down the short entryway hallwayand turned right down a smaller connecting hall that led to the guest bathroomand master bedroom.
Knocking once, he opened the door a crack andpeeked in. Sitting on the bed wearing pink and white lounge pants and amatching sweater, Maritzia looked up from her phone in her lap with a scowlbefore smiling as she realized it was him.
