Page 55 of Lawbreaker

“Okay!” Odalie replied, laughing.

They did, in fact, and Angel spoke Japanese, something that fascinated Odalie, who loved languages but drew the line at trying to learn most of them.

“I was stationed in Okinawa,” Angel told her as they worked their way through a platter of freshly made sushi. “I loved the people, and the language.”

“I’ll bet you stood out,” Odalie teased, noting his height.

“I did.”

“My brother John drew crowds everywhere we went on our last trip to Osaka,” Odalie noted. “He’s even taller than you, and he never goes anywhere without the boots and the Stetson.”

“Wow,” Angel chuckled.

“Don’t you have another brother?” Connie asked.

She nodded. “Tanner. He had some real trouble not so long ago. Tony helped us get him out of it.”

“Out of some of it,” Angel murmured. “Not all. The guy causing the trouble is still looking for ways to make more.”

“Rudy will settle that, when he’s let loose,” Connie said.

“Rudy, who was at the party on Long Island?” Odalie asked. “He was at the ballet with me last week.”

“Rudy, at a ballet?” Angel asked, with eyes like saucers.

Odalie frowned. “Doesn’t he like ballet?”

“No. He hates all that stuff. If he was there, Tony sent him.”

Connie was giving her brother a glare that would have stopped traffic.

“Rudy works for Tony,” Connie said. “But he does like some classy stuff. Just occasionally.”

“I wondered,” Odalie said, missing the expressions on her companions’ faces. “I mean, it was like the expression my brothers wear if we drag them to a fashion show,” she added on a chuckle.

“Exactly,” Connie said. She swallowed a sip of hot tea. “Wasn’t Tony there, too?”

Odalie blinked. “No. Well, I mean, I didn’t see him.”

“He likes ballet, and he’s crazy about opera,” Connie said. “Me, I like hard rock and heavy metal.”

Odalie laughed. “Me, too,” she confessed.

“And that would be because your mom writes songs for Desperado,” Connie teased.

“Say what?” Angel asked.

“Her mom composes,” Connie told him. “She won Grammys for two of her songs that Desperado recorded.”

“That’s my favorite band!” Angel remarked. “And your mom composes for them? Wow!”

Odalie grinned. “Mom used to be a recording artist, too, but then she married my dad and gave it up.”

“That’s some background,” Angel mused. “Cowboys and heavy metal.”

“I told you she was unique,” Connie teased. She finished her tea. “We’re coming back up next weekend for the musical on Broadway,” she said and named it. “We’ve got tickets. Want to go with us?”

Odalie hesitated.

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