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“You need to hear this too, Louie. You were threatened,” I told him.
“Fine. But keep Sara out of it.” He lifted his gaze, a certain level of pain in his eyes. They’d been through rocky times in their marriage, even if they appeared as if nothing could ever interfere with their true love. He’d shut down being a part of the business aspect of our family after she’d walked out with the kids two years before. That had been the last time we’d asked him to provide medical attention to a soldier who’d taken a hit.
Even still, he hadn’t been the same since.
“Sara is the least of our worries. I had a visit from the Feds today,” Pops said.
“As ordered by Thomas Cartier?” I asked.
“No, at least from what I can tell. The representatives from the local office were still trying to make a connection to the weapons.”
“Long gone. I had that taken care of right away,” I told him.
“I thought the family was going legit,” Louie snapped a little too forcefully.
“Mostly, brother. It takes time. It would have taken less time had you stayed within the family.”
“Enough,” Pops said. “I handled them. And I made a few phone calls. They won’t be bothering us again.”
Even in retirement, my father was a powerhouse.
I nodded, glancing over Pops’ shoulder before speaking. “Good. Now, the interesting news. Travis Ramsey had an older son.”
“Are we talking about the new administrator of the DEA?” Francois asked.
“Yes. Kyle Ramsey was a cop who died in the warehouse fire we had years ago, the one that consumed a million dollars’ worth of firepower.”
“Yeah, I remember the cop dying,” Pops said. “The police tried to pin his death on us.”
“They did,” I said. “But the young man entered the property on his own and without a warrant, although it was in the works if I remember correctly. He was a rookie, trying to make his dad proud. Barely nineteen years old. Stupid kid.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Louie asked, keeping his voice low.
“Because from what Maddox has been able to ascertain, it could be the motive for the recent threats, which is something I need to have checked. I also have reason to believe it’s entirely possible Ramsey was responsible for Sophia’s death in an act of revenge. He blamed me. Remember?” I’d spent hours searching through the information I’d collected years before, the conclusion easy to ascertain. Oddly enough, I felt nothing like what I would have anticipated feeling. Maybe time had healed some of the wounds.
“That’s true. Ramsey was insistent, calling in as many favors as possible. Thank God, we were more powerful.” Pops shook his head.
“Fuck,” Francois hissed. “I’d forgotten all about that.”
“So had I.” Maybe being consumed with rage had done that to me.
My father exhaled. “Travis wasn’t in charge of the DEA then. I am curious who he paid off to snag the position out of the blue.”
“No, but he had control of the southern district, including New Orleans. And if I had to answer your question, I’d say he had powerful friends in the right places.”
“Meaning Thomas. They met in New Orleans,” Francois said in passing.
“Yeah. That’s also when they became friends.” I glanced at my father then to Francois. The name would forever remain a bitter one with my family, especially for my father. When Thomas had started drifting away from our friendship, Travis had obviously stepped in.
Our father shifted his attention to Raven for a few seconds, obviously uncertain what to say. We’d made a pact never to talk about the man at a single family event, but this was different.
This was the beginning of the unsettling end, one that was far too long in coming.
“Given the uncertainty of what we’re facing, Francois, we need to head to Texas tomorrow,” I said in passing, taking another sip of my drink. Hearing laughter coming from the women on the other side of the room allowed me to continue relaxing to a point. But only to a point. I couldn’t get over the feeling of being watched. There were soldiers positioned in several clandestine locations surrounding the restaurant. I almost wanted someone to make a move on the family inside the hotel, even if that wouldn’t be good for business or for the full house of guests.
“Isn’t Ramsey now in DC?” he asked.
“Not currently. In fact, he was recently spotted by one of our soldiers with a buddy of his. Come to find it out, another close associate who turned friend.” I lifted my glass, glancing from one of my brothers to the other, then back to Raven. She seemed to sense I was looking at her, darting a look in my direction. The feelings I had were growing stronger every hour. That made me nervous as hell.
