Chapter Seven

Cherie

The past week had been complete and total hell. Baz’s appearance hung a dark cloud over whatever was happening between me and Roddick. We didn’t stop seeing each other because Roddick was right, it wasn’t fair for Baz to expect me to choose. But it also highlighted the fact that this wasn’t a forever relationship. I might have wanted it to be, but I’m not a masochist. I had to leave Brently if I ever wanted a shot at a real life away from CAOS.

But I planned to enjoy this thing with Roddick for as long as it lasted. I loved him, of that I was certain, but in the immortal words of Patty Smyth, sometimes love just ain’t enough. It would hurt like hell to leave, but it was always gonna hurt. At least now I knew what it felt like to be with Roddick. To lie with a man who cared about me, because though he didnt love me, I knew he cared about me. A lot.

My shift was nearly over, so I made a quick stop to Bonnie’s room. The woman had just recovered from an infection and would be discharged in the next few days. The problem was she had nowhere to go. Yet. “You’re healing, Bonnie. That’s very good.” She cast me a half-hearted smile and squeezed my hand.

“Gracias, Cherie. You are very kind.”

“Don’t let the others hear you say that,” I joked. “They’ll expect me to be nice to everyone. Is there someone you’d like to call, Bonnie, you can use my phone?”

“I cannot go back to my husband and children after what they have done to me. No thank you, Señorita.”

I squeezed her hand and gave her a quick smile before leaving her room. Ten minutes later I strode through the front doors and into the thick night air. I hardly remembered what sunlight felt like since I’d been working second and third shifts for so long. I groaned when I spotted a familiar figure leaning against my car wearing a shit eating grin. “What do you want, Baz?”

His smile vanished. “I came to apologize.”

“Then let’s hear it.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have acted the way I did, but dammit, Cher…Roddick, really?”

“I don’t need to justify my actions to you, Baz, the same way you don’t have to justify all the women you sleep with.”

“But Roddick?”

I nodded and shoved him aside so I could put my bag down. “Who else? Would it be better if it were one of the prospects?” The dark look that crossed his face told me he didn’t think it would. “I’ve been in love with Roddick since I was a kid, but you wouldn’t know that because you weren’t here.” I held up a hand to stop his attempts to justify his actions. It wasn’t necessary. “I’m in love with him, but he doesn’t know because he doesn’t need to, Baz. I meant it when I said I’m leaving Brently, and since he will never leave, it’s a moot point.”

“Where will you go?”

“Wherever I want. That’s the point.”

“He’s using you,” he bit out.

Those words hurt, and I really wished I could hurt him the same way. “Glad you think so highly of me, Baz. Guess I should’ve let the boys of CAOS run a train on me a long time ago, huh?”

“Dammit, Cherie!”

“No, Baz, you don’t have the right! You and your fuckin’ goons cost me every damn date I was ever asked on my whole life! And now that I’ve chosen a man, even a temporary one, that’s not good enough either. Well, that’s too damn bad!” I yanked the car door open and growled when he tried to stop me.

“Cherie, please.”

“Back off, Baz.” I turned the key in the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot without looking back. I loved my brother, I really did, but right now all I wanted was to be somewhere far away from him and everyone else I knew. Since that wasn’t an option, I decided to close myself up in my house and indulge in the booze on top of my fridge.

After one Jack and cola, I got an idea and signed up for several nationwide nursing agencies. I might not know where I was going, but maybe I needed an adventure for a year or so until I decided. Yeah, that sounded like a good way to choose my next home.

After that, I spent the night knocking back drinks and preparing myself to say goodbye to the town I’d been born in, raised in, and abandoned in so many years ago. Now, I could also remember it as the place where I fell in love.

***

Roddick

Everything had been set up for my Sunday morning meeting with Lazarus, but still, I had a bad feeling about it. He’d sent a late night text message changing the location, and I let Brockton and Mick know before turning back to Cherie and falling into a dreamless sleep. Now though, waiting by the back door of a Mexican supermarket that had long since gone out of business, I had a feeling nothing was right about any of this. I was just glad Mick and a few guys were nearby. Listening.

When Lazarus showed up with—holy fuck—Salvador Maldonado, Governor of the state of Chihuahua, I knew my instincts were right. The real fucking el jefe walked and looked every inch the slick politician he was in a black suit, cowboy boots and a fucking bolero tie. “Glad to finally meet you,” he said, wearing that slick Vaseline smile as he shook my hand.

“I wish I could say the same, but I didn’t even know you existed,” I told him and shook his hand.

Maldonado laughed and shook his head. “Lazarus is the perfect cartel leader, no? He has that crazy eyed thing perfected to scare the boys and keep them in line.” He tapped his head. “You know they fear him even though he is a homo, that’s a special kind of crazy.”

I stared at this crazy motherfucker, talking to me about Lazarus like he wasn’t even standing there. Meanwhile, my fucking head was spinning. I expected a Sheriff or maybe a mayor, not the goddamn governor. Lazarus was a puppet. An effective, maniacal puppet, but a puppet just the same. “Well, the man is good at his job.”

“And he’s soft on you. I’m here to make sure he’s not too soft,” he said pointedly.

I ignored him. “So are we doing this or will brunch be delivered soon?”

Maldonado laughed and handed me the drugs, leaving Lazarus to take the money as though him not touching it somehow exempted him from the transaction. Asshole. “You are a straight shooter, Roddick. Let’s keep it that way, and we will have no problems.”

“The same, Maldonado.” Surprise flashed in his eyes, but instead of commenting, he turned and left us with nothing more than the sound of his boots on the cracked pavement. Moments later I turned the other way and left, jumping on my bike and headed for Brently with Mick and Torch flanking me after one block. Baz and Cash stayed behind in a truck to see what they had on the tech side of things. We hauled ass over the border, not stopping until we rolled inside the clubhouse storage building on our bikes.

Twenty minutes later, Cash and Baz showed up, and from the look in his eyes, I knew Baz was fired up. “What the fuck is going on? That was the shadiest shit I’ve ever seen, so start talking. Now!”

He was in my face, but I didn’t let my irritation show. “Everything will become clear soon, Baz. You don’t know about it because you weren’t here,” I reminded him with a pointed expression. “Ask Mick. He won’t give you details, but he’ll tell you it’s all legit since your president’s word isn’t enough.”

Baz pushed me again, spitting fire. “If Cherie wasn’t in love with you, I would bash your fucking face in right now!” I stood my ground, shoulders squared, and straightened to my full height.

“Same goes,” I said quietly, lethally serious.

Torch stepped in between us wearing a creepy ass smile and rubbing his bald head. “You want to scrap Baz, I’m in!”

Baz stared and a moment later the tension fled the room thanks to Torch. “You crazy motherfucker,” he laughed, “I may be crazy, but not that damn crazy.” Torch let out a howl and wrapped an arm around Baz’s shoulders, and just like that, things were cool again. Mostly.

“Now, do you want to show us what you and Cash found or keep shooting daggers my way?”

Cash grinned and opened a heavy duty looking laptop. “Hell yeah, we got the suit and the whack job shaking hands, hugging and laughing. But the best part of all you have to see for yourself.”

We crowded around Baz and Cash, eyes glued to the computer screen as Lazarus and Maldonado shook hands. They spoke in rapid fire Spanish and then Lazarus handed him three stacks of the cash I’d placed in Lazarus’ hand. “Holy shit!” Mick was the first to break the deafening silence.

“Who’s that?” Torch asked.

“That is our cash in the bank,” I told him and asked for a copy of the footage. “Store this someplace safe and keep several copies.”

“You got it,” Cash said, fingers flying over the keyboard while Baz said something about cloud storage, whatever the hell that was.

A few hours later we all dispersed, heading home or into the clubhouse for a few hours with the pass-arounds. I made my way home where Cherie was hopefully waiting, and called Brockton on my way. “Stop by as soon as you can.”