Page 19 of Madam Temptress
“You find anything?” Magnolia asks as she settles into her seat.
“What the hell were you doing?” I turn around so I can see her face.
“Helping. And, clearly, everything worked out okay, so you need to take that attitude and stow it, Moby.”
From beside her, Trey can’t help but chuckle.
“Something funny?” I snap.
Unable to hold back his laughter, Trey chokes. “She calls you Moby, and I gotta know—is that short for Moby Dick? Because if it is, that isthe best fuckin’ nickname I’ve ever heard.”
Trey is laughing all out now. Tears roll down his face as he chuckles, and the mood of the entire car lifts when Magnolia joins in. It’s contagious, and soon Jules is trying to hold back a chortle.
Finally, I crack a smile. “What can I say? It may be a nickname, but there’s nothing short about it. I bring a lot to the table.”
Jules bursts into laughter.
It takes us a few blocks before we’re able to control ourselves, and to tell the truth, we needed the moment of levity.
When the mirth finally dies down. Magnolia asks again, “You get what we needed?”
“Yeah, mama. We found the ’Stang and emptied it out. Ricardo didn’t have a lot, but he had enough. Now we just gotta sort through it and see what connects him to the fucking asshole who broke into your place.”
And who might have slit Alberto Brandon’s wife’s throat. My brain fills in the part I don’t need to say, because I guarantee everyone else is thinking it too.
“Good. It’s time for this bastard to go down,” Magnolia says from behind me.
“And he will. Don’t worry about that. We’re gonna find him and take him out.”
Jules takes a winding and backtracking route to the house in the Marigny, just in case we have a tail, but I don’t see any signs of one.
“We should be good, man. Let’s get home and start digging.” I twist in my seat to look at Trey. “We got a cell phone. Hopefully that’ll be our jackpot.”
“Disposable?” He squints, and I know what he’s thinking. A burner won’t do us as much good.
I shake my head. “No. It looks like it’s a nice, new one.”
“I’m surprised Ortiz was smart enough to leave it in the car when he brought his fucking wallet to the job,” Jules says, disgust for the rookie mistake underlying his tone.
“His wallet didn’t do us any favors helping to figure out who the fuck he really was,” Trey says, pointing out the truth. “Clearly, he wasn’t worried about it being found. Maybe that means he was getting cocky with his anonymity. Could also mean his cell has answers his wallet didn’t.”
“Okay, okay,” Jules says, conceding the point. “As long as you find a name we can hunt down to put this son of a bitch to sleep, we’ll be all good.” He hits the button on the visor. The garage door opens, and then he parks inside.
I’m out of the SUV first, bag in hand, but I’m not racing into the kitchen to empty it out on the table. First things first. I yank open Mags’s door and pull her out and into my arms.
“When I heard your voice outside the car, my heart practically fucking stopped. I donotlike you taking risks, mama. Not one fucking bit.”
“All’s well that ends well,” she replies, pressing a kiss to my lips. “Besides, that’s about the best encounter I’ve ever had with a cop. You worried for nothing.”
I run my hand over her hair and press my mouth to her warm forehead. “Come on, woman. I’m taking you inside. As soon as we’ve sorted through this shit, I’m taking you to bed and showing you exactly how I fucking feel about you.”
Her smile could light up the pitch-black night. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Moby.”
Eleven
Magnolia
When we make our way inside, Jules is dumping the contents of the bags onto the kitchen table. Moses and I walk toward him, and I’m hoping like hell we find something from the damn car to tell us who is after me so we can put an end to the man.
