Colorado 03 Lady Luck (49 page)

She blinked.

Then she asked, “You’ve never told anyone
you love them?”

He shook his head and answered, “Loved one
person in my life, Tuku, he died without me sayin’ those words to
him and, to this day, even though he was not a man prone to that
kind of shit, I wished I’d said it and I wished he’d died knowin’
what he gave me and all he meant to me.”

She nodded, her face understanding in a way
that made the wound he had from what they went through, a wound
still raw, a gaping wound torn open in the left side of his chest,
pulsate because he knew from her look she’d learned that lesson the
day before.

He didn’t do that to her but what he did
forced Julius’s hand so he had that to make up for too.

“I can give you that, Ty,” she whispered,
her hands pressing into his chest.

“Thanks, baby,” he whispered back then still
spoke soft but firm when he ordered, “Now, I took that shadow out
of your life but this mornin’, I see it’s over you. Get rid of it.
This is you and me, people live through this shit and if they
manage to do it together, it makes them stronger. Power through,
mama, and get to that other side with me.”

She stared into his eyes and kept whispering
when she said, “How did you know?”

He dipped his face even closer, gliding
his hand from her neck up into her hair and his arm around her got
tight. “
My
Lexie beams
bright and she can do that shit even in her sleep. The Lexie
shuffling around this kitchen is doin’ it under a
cloud.”

She held his eyes. Then she pressed closer.
Then her lips tipped up at the ends.

Then she said, “Okay, honey, I’ll turn on
the light.”

He felt his lips tip up at the ends too
before he replied, “Okay.”

She got up on her toes and kissed his
throat. He closed his eyes when he felt her lips and the brush of
her soft hair on his jaw. Then he opened them when she dropped back
to her feet.

When he had her gaze again, he reminded her,
“We got busy and you didn’t get your take last night. Lotta shit
goin’ down and I’m skippin’ my workout tonight to come straight
home and take you to the Dodge dealership outside Gnaw Bone before
we gotta be home to get ready to take Julius and Anana to The
Rooster.”

He brows drew together. “The Dodge –?”

“Gettin’ you another Charger.”

Light dawned then right on its heels denial
started. “Ty –”

He shook his head and his fingers in her
hair fisted and tugged gently. “Gettin’ you another Charger.”

“But… I don’t… you can’t…” she paused then
finished, “the money.”

“The angle Tate’s workin’ doesn’t cost a
fuckload of cash to grease the palms of scumbags who won’t do
something for nothing. You need a car that I can trust, the Snake
would do in the summer, a Charger’s better for the winter. You
loved that car. What I did meant you lost it. I got the cash,
you’re gettin’ another one.” He paused then finished,
“Tonight.”

“But –”

He cut her off. “And, this weekend, fuck me,
we’re goin’ shoppin’ for a coffee table.”

She blinked. Then tried again, “But –”

“And I gotta send more money to Ella to get
your shit back.”

“My shit is at Dominic and Daniel’s. They
have an old ranch house with a barn so they could store it for me.
They were waiting for me to settle somewhere so they could send it
to me.”

Well, thank fuck. One problem that wouldn’t
cost a fucking fortune or take weeks.

“Good. I’ll talk to the boys, get your shit
home.”

She grinned. Then she told him, “We don’t
need a coffee table.”

“You said last night we do,” he reminded
her.

She pressed closer. “Ty, honey,” she said
softly, “I get what you’re trying to do but it’s going to be
okay,
I’m
going to be
okay. You don’t have to give me my every heart’s desire to prove to
me you love me.”

“
Mama, every other time I wanna turn on the
fuckin’ TV, gotta first locate the remotes and this usually
involves diggin’ them outta the cushions. That shit’s a pain in the
ass. Last week, got up and kicked over a nearly full beer I put on
the floor. That shit’s
also
a
pain in the ass. We need a fuckin’ coffee table.”

She giggled, he heard it, saw it, felt it
and liked it.

Then she said, “All right, baby, we’ll buy a
coffee table.” Pause then, “And a rug.”

Pushing it.

Whatever.

“And a rug,” he agreed.

She smiled at him.

He brought them back to the matter at hand.
“So, what I was sayin’, we gotta get you your ride, we gotta take
Julius and Anana out so we can pay them back for causin’ you fear,
heartbreak and the need to make a mad dash across the United States
in order to watch me die but you also gotta be briefed. I don’t
know what you got planned today but I want you in town, at the
garage, twelve thirty, we’ll go to lunch at the diner and I’ll fill
you in.”

“I’m going to be unpacking, cleaning the
house and finding out if Dominic replaced me,” she informed him
then smiled again. “So lunch with my husband fits right in.”

His arm gave her another squeeze and he
smiled back.

Then she asked, “
Did
Dominic replace me? He hadn’t when I talked to him
a couple of weeks ago but –”

“Mama, I’m not hip on the goings-on at the
local salon. Think, to be a Steel Magnolia, you gotta have a
pussy.”

After he said that, his wife burst out
laughing, so hard, she couldn’t hold her head up, she dropped it to
his chest, her hands clenched in fists in his tee and her shoulders
shook with it. And as he listened to and felt her humor, he
wondered why he didn’t give her more of it.

He had to make up for that too.

Then her head shot back and, still laughing,
she informed him, “I’m not sure there’s an official Steel
Magnolia’s rulebook but I think you’re right, that particular
requirement goes without saying.”

He grinned at her.

Then he changed the subject to another
important one he had to touch on before he went to work and as he
did it, his fist slid out of her hair and his arm moved down to
wrap around her shoulders.

“All right, Lex, you got a busy schedule but
take some time, call Bess and talk to her about drivin’ out here.
She wants to put Dallas in her past; we got an extra room while she
gives Colorado a try.”

The laughter fled her face but warmth
suffused it, her body, already pressed close, melted into his and
she whispered, “Ty.”

“But, she takes that room, she sleeps with
the fuckin’ door closed.”

The warmth stayed in her expression but her
eyes lit with more humor as she said quietly, “All right, honey,
I’ll make that clear.”

He grinned at his wife. Then he muttered,
“Gotta get to work, baby.”

She nodded. He dropped his forehead to touch
it to hers, dipped his chin so he could brush his mouth to hers
then he let her go, walked around her, nabbed his travel mug and
slid the backs of his fingers along her hip as he moved back by
her, saying, “Later, mama.”

He felt her eyes on him as he walked through
the kitchen to the stairs and heard her saying, “Later, honey.”

And having that back, all of it, from
waking up with his wife to fucking her in the shower to being with
her in the kitchen to feeling her eyes on him while he walked to
the stairs to hearing her soft, sweet, “Later…” he knew he missed
it when it was gone but it being back he knew he actually
missed
it.

But it was back and as he moved down the
stairs, he prayed to God that this time he kept his shit together
and took care of it.

* * * * *

Two and a half hours later, Ty was under the
hood of a car when his phone rang, he swung out, straightened,
nabbed a rag, used it to do a half-assed swipe to get the grease
off his hands, pulled his phone out of his back pocket and saw a
number he didn’t recognize but an area code he did.

Dallas.

He flipped it open and put it to his
ear.

“Yo.”

“Ty,” he heard a man say.

“Yeah?”

“Angel.”

Fuck him.

Peña.

“Peña,” he greeted.

“Just so you know, Duane Martinez came in
two days ago to make a belated report that he was assaulted by one
Tyrell Walker.”

Fuck.

“You’re shittin’ me,” Ty rumbled.

“No, a fuckin’ drug dealer pimp walks into
the fuckin’ Police Station lookin’ like the weasel he is but a
healthy one and he does it to report a fuckin’ assault.”

Then Ty heard a deep chuckle.

Ty was not amused.

Peña kept talking. “Seein’ as I got an
interest in Martinez and all his dirty deeds, he was flagged and
sent to me. So, he made this report to me. Now, make no mistake,
Ty, I take my work seriously but I gotta admit, he gave this
report, I lost my pen. Swear to God, don’t know where I put that
fucker.”

And at that, Ty was amused. Therefore he
dropped his head and grinned at his boots.

“Sucks, man,” he murmured into his
phone.

“
I know. Don’t worry, I found it since. I
also called up to Carnal and found out you were down with the
twenty-four hour flu so no way you could be violatin’ parole,
drivin’ your ass into the Lone Star State to deliver a message with
your fists. Got a statement from a Tatum Jackson confirming the
state of your health and Jackson would know because his wife
brought you chicken soup. Heard that did that trick and was glad to
hear it,
esé
.”

Ty lifted his head and looked out of one of
the bays, still grinning. “It was a quick recovery.”

“Good news,” Peña muttered then went on.
“So, I’ve reported this to Mr. Martinez, asking him if he wants to
amend his statement. To say he was shocked as shit would be an
understatement. He had neglected to include the information that
there was a man with you that apparently you referred to as ‘Tate’
but he included this information when I spoke to him again. I asked
if Mr. Jackson’s wife was also in attendance during his recent
ass-kicking, considering she stands as both your and Mr. Jackson’s
alibi, but he said no. I then reminded him that it was an unlawful
act to make false statements to the police, that he had no evidence
of said ass-kicking as he, nor his esteemed colleagues who also got
their asses kicked, had any medical attention where there were
actually records made. And last, the only three witnesses were the
three who allegedly got their asses kicked and I explained, since
their three rap sheets could be used as a set of encyclopedias
detailing the wide array of crimes available to commit, not one of
them was a reliable witness and I further informed them that the
man they were accusing of being accessory to a crime was an ex-cop
and current highly-respected fugitive apprehension agent, something
else that I could tell shocked the shit outta him. I then reminded
Mr. Martinez that it is ‘hood lore that a Tyrell Walker wiped his
ass at poker some years back and Mr. Martinez was not exactly quiet
when he crowed about Mr. Walker being sent down for manslaughter
seein’ as he still owed him a whack. I suggested that perhaps he
was using the police force to extricate him from this debt and that
such an endeavor would be frowned upon. He saw the wisdom of
retracting his statement which was lucky for me because I had no
record of it and my Cap is not big on that shit.”

Jesus, Shift wasn’t only a piece of shit
motherfucker; he was also seriously fucking stupid.

And Ty was
still
grinning when he noted, “What you’re sayin’ is I owe
you.”

“
No,” Peña’s voice got low, “what I’m
sayin’ is, don’t know what shit brought Lexie back Dallas way, but
thank you for provin’ me not wrong you give a fuck about your wife.
Martinez spread wide he was recruitin’ Rodriguez’s pussy for his
stable and was already takin’ orders. You took care a’ that so I
didn’t have to. And also what I’m sayin’ is, the message you sent
was not received. He may leave Lexie alone but he is one pissed off
black man and that rage is directed at you. You got some
experience, I bet, watchin’ your back. Use it and stay
diligent.”

Ty’s grin died and he muttered, “Fuck, what
I do not need is another fuckin’ problem.”

“Well, now you’re makin’ me feel like Santa
Claus,” Peña replied and Ty turned and walked deeper into the
garage.

Then he asked, “You gonna share?”

“
Well, I wasn’t seein’ as I want your nose
clean with all that I’m doin’ though I may be in Dallas but my
karma must be in Carnal since I got a message for you this morning
from one of your neighbors. First, I’ll tell you that, when I was
up there, I walked into the Carnal Police Department and flashed my
badge. The officer on duty at the desk, not a very bright bulb,
took one look at it, opened the doors wide
and
gave me his code to the copy machine. Considering
those fuckwads have been gettin’ away with murder, literally, I
figured they all couldn’t be as dumb as the man they got guardin’
the door so I also figured I didn’t have much time. But I did use
my time at the copy machine wisely before someone cottoned onto my
activities and I was cordially and collegially ousted. I will not
share with you what I found. I will also not share with you what
some of Carnal’s citizens I spoke with in a variety of
establishments readily shared with me. What I
will
share with you is that, after spending some time
since leaving the beautiful state of Colorado acting on some of the
things I learned during my vacation, my activities have been noted.
And this morning, an Officer Frank Dolinski phoned me wanting to
have a cop to cop chat. Now, Officer Dolinski told me that he heard
word some time ago that you were being paroled and, seeing as he’s
either one smart motherfucker or clairvoyant, he knew your release
could mean good or bad things but, good or bad, he told me you got
a lotta friends in that ‘burg, all of ‘em been nursin’ not a small
amount of antagonism for over five years, so it was gonna
mean
something
.
Further, Officer Dolinski’s father was a cop as was his grandfather
and he actually likes his job, wanted to follow the family
tradition since he could remember and earned his badge to protect
and serve and not doin’ both to cover his own ass. So, he’s been
payin’ a lot of attention and when I say that I mean
a lot
and when I say a lot I mean for
a
fuckin’
long time.
”