“Hey.”
Bowie looked up at Javier. “Yeah?”
“It’s gonna be okay, angel. I got you. You know that, right?”
Bowie nodded. That was the problem. Javier would always protect Bowie to his detriment…but who had Javier?
They were in the middle of dinner when Javier’s phone rang. Nicky. His first instinct was to ignore it. He had his hand at the nape of Bowie’s neck, his fingers teasing the skin there, Bowie’s hand on his thigh. The night air was balmy, and the lights strung across the courtyard offered just enough light for everybody to enjoy their meal.
Bowie frowned at him when his phone vibrated on the table. He didn’t like him bringing it to family meals, but until Giordano was dispatched, Javier had little choice. Still, he hesitated to pick it up. Bowie had been extra clingy since the museum. Maybe Javier had, too. He wanted this over but not at the expense of Bowie’s health, mental or physical.
He had to answer. Nicky was the key to the answers they sought. While Javier was almost certain it was Giordano Senior targeting Bowie, he only felt that way because there truly was nobody else who would hold this type of grudge against him. Even if Javier was the actual aggressor. While the process of elimination was enough for Javier to take Giordano Senior off the chessboard, it would just be one more thing Bowie took on himself.
Bowie’s frown morphed into a glare as Javier excused himself from the table with an apology, raising his phone. “I have to take this.”
Javier wandered in from the courtyard, out of earshot of Bowie and the children. As soon as he hit the button to answer, Nicky said, “Hey. We got a problem.”
"What kind of problem?”And is it finally coming to Mexico?
“Giordano’s fallen off the map. Phone, credit cards, flight records. He’s off the grid. He could be on his way to you.”
“Good. Is that it?” Javier had people everywhere. If Giordano touched down anywhere in Mexico, he’d know it.
“No.”
Silence stretched between them like a wire pulled taut before Javier snapped, “Are you pausing for dramatic effect? What’s the problem?”
Javier felt a little bad when Nicky said, “I’m grabbing the report. Jeez. Somebody’s got their panties in a twist. You told me to call you, remember?”
“Yeah. I remember. But Bowie doesn’t like it when I answer the phone at dinner, and now, I’m going to get a lecture.”
Nicky chuckled. “Oh, I cannot wait to tell the others you’re afraid of your ballerina boyfriend.”
Javier scoffed. “Tell whoever you want. If you’ve never been on the other side of one of his disappointed looks, then you don’t understand my pain. Those big green eyes are lethal.” It wasn’t a lie. Javier hated disappointing Bowie. “What’s the other problem, Nicky?”
“We were able to pull a small amount of sweat DNA from the wrapping paper.”
Javier frowned. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Depends on your definition. The DNA sample was pretty degraded, but we were able to determine a few things. That the owner of the sample was O positive, that they are in no way biologically related to Giordano…and it’s a woman?”
“I mean, not for nothing, but that package didn’t look like any man I know wrapped it. He could have had an assistant do it. Or a professional if the box was already sealed shut. Shit, it was unlikely from the jump Giordano had ever touched that package, but I’d hoped he’d at least touched what was inside.”
Nicky sighed. “I mean, he might have, but there was nothing substantial found. I doubt anybody was skinning a person without gloves on.”
“Yeah,” Javier said, still deep in thought. “ I mean, it’s possible Giordano has an accomplice. Or Giordano Junior had a girlfriend or somebody looking for vengeance.”
“I mean, anything’s possible. Either way, you just need to watch your six. You left enough breadcrumbs for literally anybody to follow you to Mexico,” Nicky said.
That was the whole point. Truthfully, Javier didn’t care who followed the breadcrumbs. If they were after Bowie, they weren’t long for this world.
Bowie was well protected. There was nobody getting past histío’s armed guards or Hurley’s team. Javier just had to keep control of the situation until this was all over, and then he and Bowie would decide what came next for them. Together.
“How’s our alibi coming along?” Javier asked, changing the subject.
“For all intents and purposes, you two are vacationing in Cancun. Just keep sending me pics and I’ll keep photoshopping and falsifying tagging locations on Bowie’s social media. If shit goes down, it will take the police months, or even years, to disprove your alibi.”
“Yeah, I’m not too worried about the cops back in the States. They can’t pin Junior’s death on me or Bowie. They have no evidence. They’re spinning their wheels. I just need Giordano to make a move already. It’s starting to take a toll on Bowie,” Javier said, glancing over his shoulder towards the courtyard.”
