Yep.
I had favorites.
When you studied an organization as hard as I studied the Costas, it was impossible not to be partial to some of them.
While Nico was the overprotective big brother of the group, Leo was just as protective but with more of a go-with-the-flow personality. Like all his brothers, he was tall and dark-haired. His eyes were dark, too. But he was a little more bulky, thanks to a gym addiction, and he had these amazing dimples that looked like slashes down his cheeks if he smiled big. Which I could usually get him to do.
He was also the bagman I’d been dealing with for almost a year.
As soon as he flew in, his gaze slid to the gun on the counter, to Christopher, then back to me.
“Gave him a friendly greeting, I see,” he said, his smile quirking up.
“You know me, the welcoming committee,” I said, getting a chuckle out of him.
“Fucking subway ran late. Then I had to help some chick carry her stroller up the stairs because her shithead husband was too distracted by his phone to do it. Sorry to feed you to the wolves like this, man.” He clamped a hand on Christopher’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. I was getting… a history lesson, I guess. Why the fuck did you let Renzo marry your sister?”
“Oh, shit. You’re really out of the loop. They love each other. Not saying it wasn’t a whole thing back then, but they’re happy, building a family, all the shit.”
“So, who is this?” I asked, flicking a hand at Christopher.
“A cousin. Second cousin or something. I dunno. The family tree is confusing as fuck.”
It wasn’t.
I had a chart.
With pictures.
Quick facts.
Coffee orders.
I took my hobbies seriously.
But to an outsider, it would probably look like a cop’s whiteboard in the bullpen… or a serial killer’s stalker board in their basement.
“And I don’t know him because…”
“I was called to my hometown. Had a bunch of family shit going on.”
“Years-long shit?”
“Yes.” There was something almost a little haunted in his face when he said it, making me decide not to press. I did want to know his story, but I wasn’t in the business of pressing my finger into barely healed wounds.
“So, are you the bagman from here on out?”
“You can say it, sweetheart,” Leo said, giving me that dimpled smile, “you’re gonna miss me.”
“I’m just worried that if you don’t show up every week, I’m never going to get you to take me to the range again.”
“Nah, I’ll remember, kid,” he said. “Or Chris can take you. He’s probably a better shot than me.”
“I probably need the practice just as much as she does,” Christopher admitted.
“It’ll all come back,” Leondro assured him. “Anyway, Alara is our biggest pain-in-the-ass client.”
