Chapter Seven
Dalton and Zed were outside, Starbucks coffee cups in their hands, standing next to his bike. They both had knowing smirks on their faces. What the fuck? They’d never met before and they looked like they were in cahoots.
“I didn’t know you’d be here so early from Virginia,” he said to Zed. “How’d you know where to come?”
“I texted Dalton when I landed. I figured you’d be busy.” He motioned to the other man who was leaning over his bike and touching the chrome. He always did that, knowing that Hunter didn’t like people touching his motorcycle.
“He was right. You sure were in the house a long time. How long does it take to tell Aliana and Mrs. Jankovic that you were going to visit Mrs. Novak?” Dalton gave him a sly smile.
Hunter scowled, and both men laughed. “Seriously, you both need to get lives. As for Aliana, I just want to finally get some closure.” Their laughter continued.
“Believe what you need to believe. Hell, I haven’t even seen her, and I know better than that, she has you tied up in knots,” Dalton said.
“You Black Dawn guys are slow,” Zed asked Dalton. “I had the good sense to pull her up online, I got a look at her. I can see what has our boy worked up. Add in their past history…?” Zed let his voice trail off.
Hunter raked his hand through his hair. “Shut it. Here comes Mrs. Price. I really don’t need this shit from you two in front of her.” He turned and smiled at the woman as she crossed the quiet residential street.
“Hello, Hunter, I was hoping these two men were your friends. I brought prune Danish. It’s good for your digestion.” She had a department store shopping bag that she handed to Hunter. He held it open for her. She took out paper plates and handed them to Dalton. She handed the forks to Zed, then handed him an oversized Tupperware container. Then she looked coyly at Hunter.
“I have two thermoses in here. One with the coffee I know you like, and another with milk. My husband likes milk with his Danish. There are plastic cups inside too.”
“You’re doing too much Mrs. Price,” Hunter protested. “Mrs. Jankovic just made me breakfast.”
“What did she fix?”
“Waffles.”
“With her homemade jam?”
“Yes.”
“Well, this is my homemade prune Danish recipe, you’ll have to tell me which you like better.”
“If I answer that question, Mrs. Price, then I won’t keep getting food from both of you, and I’m not a stupid man.”
“You’re right, you are a smart man.” She had a nice laugh. “That’s something my Bernie would say. Return the thermoses and Tupperware when you’re done, and I’ll fill them back up later.” She gave a wave and left.
“This is the cushiest assignment I’ve ever been on,” Dalton said.
“You got waffles?” Zed asked. “With homemade jam?”
Hunter grinned and nodded.
“How do we get in on that? Not that I don’t appreciate prunes,” Dalton said. He was pouring coffee into his empty Starbuck’s cup. Hunter waited to see his expression as he took a sip.
“Shit! You could have warned me. Give me that milk.”
Hunter laughed. “Serves you right for gossiping like a little old lady.”
“Well, that’s now officially over with. What’s on the agenda for today?”
“A guy named Mateo, who hangs with the Los Demonios gang, has attacked Aliana. He cut her. It required stitches. It happened a week ago. She hasn’t told the cops everything.”
“Dammit. We need to take that fucker down. Why isn’t she talking cops?” Zed demanded. “Go back in there and tell her she needs to cooperate with the police.”
“Hey, throttle back.” Hunter remembered what Zed had said about his last assignment. “He threatened her mom. I’m going over and checking her status at the nursing home she’s in over in Glendale. I’ll do that a little later today. Alia wants to go with me, but we’ll see how she’s feeling after her nap.”
“So what else is on tap?” Dalton asked, trying to smooth things out.
“Checking in with her friend, Lottie, and see if there is anything to the fact that she has expelled four gangbangers this semester. That’s the excuse she’s given the police for the bomb. This Mateo is the guy who came after her, but how else could she have caught his eye, but at the school?”
“Makes sense. So, what time are we questioning Lottie?” Zed asked. Damn, Zed was all in.
“I haven’t called her yet.”
“Get to it,” Zed commanded him. If his friend didn’t mellow, he was going to have to get him drunk, laid, or just beat the shit out of him.
“Who says you’re going to be going with Hunter?” Dalton asked.
“I’ve just spent far too long in a cramped plane. I’m pulling rank, Sullivan. You’re babysitting, while I go out with Diaz.”
“Okay, maybe I can talk Mrs. Jankovic into giving me some waffles,” Dalton smiled.
Hunter glowered at Dalton.
“Hey, I’d eat them here on the street, so I could watch what was going on. I could sit on your bike,” Dalton said.
“I’m going to take your ’vette out for a spin as soon as we get home, and I’m going to eat powdered sugared jelly donuts in it while I’m driving,” Hunter replied.
“Hey, no need to get violent,” Dalton said, holding up his hands.
“Quit it you two. Hunter, call Lottie. We need to get a move on.”
“I guess this isn’t your op anymore,” Dalton grinned.
“He’s an old man, he can’t help but think he’s in charge,” Hunter concurred.
“I’m not so old I can’t take the two of you,” Zed growled.
Hunter looked at his friend and mentor and realized that despite his earlier laughter, he was wound tight. This did not bode well for Ms. Carlotta Rodriguez. He saw Dalton’s eyes make a quick move, and he gave a slight chin tilt. As always, they were on the same wavelength. Hunter pulled out his phone and called the number he had gotten from Mrs. J.
“Ms. Rodriguez, this is Hunter Diaz.”
“Hi. I see you’re punctual,” she said brightly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I thought you would want to question me about our friend. It would be best if we didn’t do it here at the school. Ever since the explosion, I can’t stop eating. I want good food, and I know just the place. There’s a taco truck on La Meda and Conway. Can we meet there?”
“We’ll be there in a half hour.”
“Make it twenty.” She hung up. He grinned. Now they had a reason not to take Zed’s rental car.
“We have a meet, it’s a taco truck on La Meda and Conway, she wants us there in twenty.”
“It’s thirty minutes, maybe more depending on traffic.”
“Not with the right rides. Where’s your sense of adventure?” Hunter asked.
Zed gave him a considering look. “What do you have in mind?”
“Since you’re older, I’ll give you a leg up. I’ll give you the bike. I’ll take Dalton’s piece of shit truck. The last one there buys.”
Zed’s eyes glittered at the challenge. He held out his hand for the keys, at the same time dumping the items Mrs. Price had given him back into the shopping bag. Hunter handed over his keys and gave Dalton the shopping bag. Zed got into the saddle and fired the motorcycle to life.
“She sounds good, Hunter,” he grinned. He put on the helmet and pulled away from the curb.
“Well, that should put the Chief in a better mood. You gonna let him win?” Dalton asked.
“Fuck no. Give me your keys.”
Dalton tossed them over, and Hunter took off at a run toward Dalton’s truck. Hell, he knew the streets better than Zed, he’d been here more recently, and this truck rocked.
***
Hunter would have won if he could have found a parking spot. When he got there, Zed was talking to Lottie, and it was clear he was admiring her. She was all that in her pinstripe suit and red heels. Hell, the boys must be lining up to get ‘counseling’. He took in the fact her plate was loaded. He bet she got a hell of a lot more than the normal serving and slow service, so they could keep her longer at the window.
“There he is. I see you lost,” she said. “I’m trying to talk your friend Zed into getting something to eat.”
Hunter noticed Zed seemed more relaxed, he couldn’t tell if it was Lottie or the bike ride.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Hunter asked.
“After we ask our questions. Ms. Rodriguez is on a tight schedule, right?”
She’d taken a bite of food as they meandered to one of the nearby benches, so she just nodded. She and Zed sat down. Hunter leaned against the armrest on the other side of her.
“We need to ask you a few questions,” Hunter said.
“Ask away,” she waved her fork and smiled.
“Alia said she expelled some gang members who might be holding a grudge. Do you think they would want to bomb her house?”
“All four of them showed up with guns. One Brainiac had his tucked in his waistband and shot himself in his ass. He was in study hall with his friends when it happened, and they tried to scatter. The homeroom teacher is the football coach, he stopped them.”
“All three of them?”
“Oh yeah, he got them all. He used to play pro ball for the Los Angeles Rams,” she grinned. “By the way, call me Lottie. We’re all on the same team.”
“So, teammate, who do you think had a hand in blowing up Aliana’s townhome?” Hunter asked baldly.
“Ernie asked me the same thing.”
“Who’s Ernie?” Zed asked.
“He’s the cop who found Aliana after she was attacked last week.”
“Kid, you’ve left a few things out of your report. I need to know all the players,” Zed said to Hunter.
Hunter managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Seriously, Zed needed to learn how to step into the buddy zone and stop trying to run things. Goddammit, he wasn’t on the Night Storm team, he was a member of Black Dawn. Aiden was his second-in-command, not Zed.
“What did you tell Ernie?” Hunter asked.
“He asked me about a boy named Mateo. He used to go to school here, dropped out his senior year. Aliana was a teacher back then, and she taught him when he was a sophomore. She told me about him.”
“Were you close back then?” Zed asked.
“No, I wasn’t working at the school back then. I showed up three years later.” Lottie took another delicate bite of her enchilada.
Hunter waited for her to finish swallowing to ask her his next question.
“If you weren’t working here, what made him stand out so much she would be telling you about him years later.”
“His younger sister used to attend school here, and her brother is currently a student. His sister Darla is a pet project of mine, and Nicolas is a pet project of Aliana’s.”
“Explain,” Zed commanded.
“I’m not under your command,” Lottie said gently.
“Look, we’re under a time crunch,” Zed said irritably.
“Good manners don’t take extra time,” Lottie said as she took a bite of rice.
Shit, the bike ride hadn’t mellowed Zed out.
“Lady, I’m just―”
“We’re just trying to help Aliana, and we’re on edge,” Hunter said, trying to smooth things over.
“No, you’re doing fine Hunter.” Lottie wiped her mouth. “Zed isn’t.” She gave Zed a thoughtful look. “What happened? If I had to guess, you just had to deal with some bad ju-ju.”
“Ju-ju?” Zed’s eyebrow shot up.
“I use the term with the kids a lot. It’s another word for shit. You just went through some bad shit, and the rest of us are paying for it. Have you talked to someone about it?”
“Are you a shrink?” He eyed her, consideringly.
“Yep. Got the piece of paper to prove it.”
“Fuck me. You talk to her Hunter.” Zed stole a chip off of Lottie’s plate, and she laughed.
“You were telling us about Mateo’s siblings?” Hunter prompted.
“We know Mateo is in Los Demonios. He recruited his younger brother Nicolas, but Nicolas is really gifted. His teachers brought him to Aliana’s attention. Chances are he can get a scholarship out of here if he continues on the path he’s on now.”
“That’s great,” Hunter smiled.
“But Mateo really wants him in the life. He puts a lot of pressure on him.” She scowled. “Mateo is a cancer in that family.”
“What makes you think that, is it because of Darla?”
“Two years ago, she got arrested and sent to juvie for attempting to stab a boy here at Bertrum. She’s a troubled girl. I can’t go into the whys and wherefores, but I’m not surprised Mateo’s name came up.”
“Can we talk to them?”
“Nicolas will be leaving school at three o’clock. I don’t know if Darla is still living with her mother and Nicolas. I hope she is, she needs as much help as she can get. She’s four months pregnant.”
“How old is she?”
“Seventeen.”
Both men winced.
“Have you made time to talk to Ernie?” Lottie asked.
“I’m surprised I didn’t get a ticket from him on the way over here. Last time we talked, he said he would be watching me,” Hunter said.
“Yeah,” Lottie laughed, “it sounded like y’all had a regular old dick swinging match.” Her grin was infectious. Hunter saw Zed’s lip curl upwards. “You should. He’s saying the bomb was real amateur hour.”
“Well, thank God, that saved Aliana’s life.” Hunter couldn’t imagine a world without Aliana Novak in it.
“No, you’re not hearing me. It was done so poorly, he says it was almost purposeful that she didn’t wind up dead. He thinks someone arranged it so that she lived.”
Zed sat up on the bench. “Now that’s interesting.”
“I’d say you and Ernie should kiss and make up,” Lottie said sweetly.
“He was on the list of people to call today,” Hunter smiled easily. He was, but Lottie and Aliana’s mother were higher up on the list.
“So, how come you know all of this, Carlotta?” Zed asked as he snagged another tortilla chip. This time he took some guacamole dip too.
“He and I have gone out a few times. He likes women with degrees on the wall,” she gave him a sideways smile.
“Oh, there’s a lot to like. I just don’t need anyone crawling around in my brain,” Zed said.
“Honey, if you don’t think any woman you date isn’t digging around in your deep dark places, you are out of your ever-loving mind.” Zed’s chip paused midway to his mouth. “Oops, I guess I hit too close to home.”
“Keep it up, keep it up, Chaquita,” he warned as he bit into the guac covered chip.
“I’m far from little,” she frowned.
“It depends who you’re comparing yourself to. Compared to me, you’re tiny,” Zed smiled easily. He turned to Hunter. “Do we have time to make it to Aliana’s mother’s facility before Nicolas gets out of school?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll give Ernie a call so he can be around to ticket you, it’ll make his day,” Lottie grinned.
Hunter reached over and helped himself to two chips and an even bigger helping of guacamole dip than Zed had taken.
“I’m going to be in town for a few days, seems to me I owe you a meal,” Zed said as he got up off the bench.
“I don’t play that way. I’m dating Ernie right now. But thanks for the offer. Totally made my day.” She gave them both a salute.
Aliana got an A+ in friends.
***
Hunter and Zed walked away, and Hunter called Mrs. Jankovic’s house to see if Aliana was awake yet. Aliana answered the phone and sounded much better.
“I definitely want to go to visit Mom. We’re in luck because this is Shorinda’s shift. She’s in the know.”
Hunter didn’t quite understand what that meant, but figured he’d be in the know soon enough. Despite Lottie’s threat, they still made stellar time getting back to Aliana. Zed won again, and Hunter rationalized it was because he was riding Hunter’s Indian Chief Springfield motorcycle.
Aliana was waiting outside with Dalton and waved happily when she saw Hunter. It gave his heart a curious jolt. She walked over to him.
“You wear your hair down all the time now. You never used to do that,” he said softly.
“I don’t now, either. But wearing it up right now gives me a headache. I think it’s a side-effect of the concussion.”
“What if I told you I like it down?”
She bit her lip and winced. Then she licked it, and he winced.
“I suppose for the time you’re here, I could wear it down. Except when I’m at school, of course.”
“Of course,” he agreed solemnly.
“We can take my car,” she suggested. She pointed to the little hybrid under her grandmother’s carport.
“I don’t think so. Zed’s cranky enough without asking him to fold into that. We’ll take his rental.”
“Oh, okay,” she smiled. It was then he realized she thought they were going to be riding in Dalton’s truck. He chuckled.
“You ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
“Of course not.”
“After you’re feeling better, we’re going to have to change that.”
“Quit your gabbing. We have to get this show on the road,” Zed said.
“You’re driving,” Hunter said.