Page 59 of Cartel Viper
“Pablo, I’ll obey whatever Javi tells me to do. He knows that because I already promised.” I mouthDaddyat the end.
No sound comes from Javi when he responds withgood girl. I can’t stop my smile. His approval means more to me than Drew’s ever did. It means more than any past boyfriend’s.
“I’m certain you told Javier things he didn’t tellTío. I’m also certain there’s more you haven’t shared. You weren’t secretive as a kid, but you only shared what you wanted people to know. If you trust my cousin the way you say you do, you need to tell him absolutely everything. He’ll know what he can keep between you and what he needs to tell us to keep you safe. The more you try to shield him or us, the harder you’ll make it to protect you. Know that nothing will make him give up on you. Not after nearly twenty years.”
I cup the end of Javi’s jaw, my fingers at his nape, and my thumb brushing over his cheekbone.
“I will, Pablo. I’m where I belong because I’m with the person I trust most.”
“Javier?”
“Yeah.” He sounds less than enthused to speak to Pablo.
“I doubt I’ll survive this conversation once you’re both back. Madeline used to doodle Madeline Diaz in her Chem notebook in the back. She thought I never saw it. Knowing Drew, I’m certain there are a few reasons Madeline never married him. Some of it was because her heart belonged partly to you, not entirely to him. Watch out for my little sister, and do whatever you must because she’ll hold on as tightly to you as you do to her.”
It’s my turn to have a bright-red face. I’m fairer than Javi, so I’m certain I practically glow magenta. I had no idea Pablo ever saw that. He tutored me in Chemistry, but I thought I kept those doodles hidden. I’d love nothing more than to sink into the floor.
“I will, Pablo. We gotta go. My brothers’ll be here soon.”
“You know I’m a call or text away.”
“Thank you.” Javi and I respond at the same time.
Javi hangs up and tucks his phone back into his pocket as I climb off his lap. When his brothers arrive, I don’t want them walking in while I have no shorts on. He follows me over to where I left my clothes and the now congealed noodles. They hardly look appetizing.
“Maddy?”
I look over my shoulder as I consider whether there’s any way to rescue our late lunch. Javi reaches past me and moves the bowl aside and eases me around to look at him. Heat radiates from my cheeks all over again. Having my back to him gave me a chance to gather my composure a little, but that evaporated.
“I didn’t know you shared my feelings back then. I never imagined you could. I don’t think you’ve been pining for me this entire time. I know it was puppy love back then, so I don’t think I had anything to do with why you didn’t marry Drew.”
“It was puppy love, and I feel differently about you now. My feelings are ones of an adult. But those lingering questions of what it might have been like to be with you and the last shreds of hope that I could be with someone like you… They never went away. I don’t know where we are with how we feel now, but I know where I want to get to.”
“Same. I won’t profess love right this minute, but I know I’m already falling in love with you. We’re both different from when we were kids, but not so much that we fundamentally changed. I want to be in a relationship with you that’s unlike anything I’ve had in the past. I don’t know how to be a boyfriend, but I hope you’ll let me try.”
“And I’m worried I don’t know how to be in a healthy relationship anymore. You’re the only one I want to try with. Please be patient if I get skittish. I know what Pablo said is true, and I will tell you everything. I just don’t think I can do it all at once.”
“I get that. But is there anything I don’t know that is dangerous enough to not only get you hurt but also get my brothers killed?”
Where the fuck do I even begin?
Chapter Seventeen
Javier
Maddy’s gaze doesn’t waver, but I know she’d rather talk about anything besides her past with Drew. She’s promised to tell me more, but she’s not ready to do it now. However, procrastinating may not be a luxury she has for much longer. If what she knows can endanger my brothers, then I’ll be unrelenting. I won’t intentionally be cruel, but I won’t let her past end my brothers’ futures.
“Javi, I don’t know what you know about the O’Sheehans’ businesses. I assume it’s far more than I can guess. They have dealings with the O’Rourkes when they must, but they’re usually happy to avoid Dillan’s attention. With all that’s happened in Boston and Trenton over the past few years, Drew’s family has flown under the radar most of the time. They answer when Dillan or any of the other O’Rourkes call, but they don’t pick up the phone first. However, they do business with the Tremblays.”
The Tremblays are Montreal’s leading mob family. Talk about a complicated cultural ancestry. A French-speaking Irish mob family. Tremblay is a fairly common last name in Quebec, but there’s nothing common about the man who runs thatfamily. He happens to be Sean O’Rourke’s grandfather-in-law now. His daughter had a regrettable one-night liaison with the former head of the Boston mob nearly thirty years ago. His granddaughter is a highly intelligent and remarkable woman, but it’s bound the Tremblays to the Boston O’Malleys ever since. It means the O’Rourkes now have indestructible ties to both cities that go beyond business.
That’s been a royal pain in my family’s derriere ever since.
“How much of that business does Sean know about?”
“Not as much as he probably should.”
“Maddy, what does that mean? I need you to just tell me. I don’t want to badger you, but you can’t be evasive anymore. Not with my brothers’ lives at risk.”
