Page 61 of Royal Pain
Braxton couldn’t help but grin. “Our younger brother is in love.”
I held up my middle finger. I did value their help in this. With our resources, I knew we could turn over any rock to find the ugly vermin underneath. I would do this for her. Period.
“Alright. Let me take the drive and continue seeing what I can find. If she has names of people on here, we can then begin to formulate a plan on how to take them down.” Valerio took the drive from my hand.
“Every man has ugly secrets hiding in the darkest part of their closets. Especially those who truly believe they are above the law.” Braxton lifted his glass. “I agree with you. These fuckers need to be taken down.”
“That’s what is going to happen.”
And it was.
After they left, I took a few minutes to think through everything we’d talked about. We didn’t have a solid plan yet but we were getting there. I was exhausted but wanted to share an evening with Evangeline, if she was interested. Neither one of us had eaten and in truth, I doubted if either one of us wanted to go out.
I knew I wasn’t in the mood.
I headed up the stairs, hesitating before knocking on the door. She opened it seconds later and just seeing her brought a smile to my face. She’d changed into a lovely dress Emily had bought. I was grateful for the girl.
“What do you think?” Evangeline asked, almost sheepish in asking.
“I think you look beautiful. How’s the room?”
“What? Are you kidding me? This is a palace in comparison to my room in my house. It’s three small bedrooms, one I use as an office but it’s mine. You know?”
“I understand. So, I was thinking. You have to be hungry. I can’t cook much but…” I paused for a dramatic effect. “I can cook a mean hamburger. With cheese, of course. You game?”
“That sounds perfect. Maybe you have a cold beer?”
She never ceased to surprise me. “I think I can wrangle one up. You feel good enough to leave the room?”
“I might seem helpless given the stupid decisions I’ve made but I assure you, I can handle spending some normal time with a normal guy.”
“I’m normal?”
She laughed when I made a sour face. “More so than most dudes. Think of it that way.”
“Wow. Such a tremendous compliment. Come on, Miss Complimentary. Let’s go find a beer. At least I’ll show you the pool area.”
“I’d like that.”
She seemed exhausted and still so sad but at least her resolve was intact. As we walked down the stairs together, I mentioned when the house was built and that it used to be owned by a famous movie star.
She didn’t seem impressed.
I took her directly out the set of French doors in the living room, leading her to the outdoor kitchen. She stood just outside in the waning sunshine, looking up at the sky before glancing around the pool at the various tropical plants. “You’re a plant enthusiast.”
“I got that from my mother.”
“You mean mother of all three of you.”
“No, sadly Valerio and Braxton’s mother died of cancer. It took their father, my dad a long time to recover but he fell in love again. Honestly, it’s been a great experience for all of us. My mom treats them like her kids.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. Rare. I can’t imagine given the way I was brought up. You stay married to one person for life or you will be struck down by the devil. If the person dies, the thought is basically, tough.” She laughed as we headed out to the pool. “This is just incredible. There was this nice but stilted community pool where I grew up. It felt like guards were surrounding it at all times.”
“Do you have any idea how this cult-like community got started?” I led her to the tiki bar, crossing my fingers there were a few beers. I should have known. My amazing employees had stocked up and they’d been kind enough to cut a bag full of limes. I didn’t pay them enough.
The Coronas’ light bottles seemed to have her eyes lighting up. I enjoyed playing fake bartender, popping the tops and adding a lime to each. As I slid one across the bar, she grinned.
“Now, how did you know I preferred my beer in a bottle?”