Page 36 of Unloaded
“Rachel,” Marley says softly. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I do wish you had trusted us with your secret, though. We could have helped you.”
“I know,” I whisper, too overcome to speak clearly. “In my defense, I never planned to stay long enough for it to be an issue, but you welcomed us in and made us feel safe…” Tears well up in my eyes, and I blink rapidly to keep them at bay.
“Let’s all have a seat,” Rosco says while wrapping an arm around my waist. Marley looks down at the intimate gesture but doesn’t comment. “We need to get everyone up to speed and know what we’re up against.”
He pulls me into his side, and he urges me forward. Marley returns to her seat on the end of the sofa next to Shelby, and Luke is parked in his chair next to her. Rosco gently guides me to a large recliner. My brothers drop onto the loveseat across from us.
Before I can take a seat, Rosco scoops me off my feet. A yelp of surprise leaves me when my feet leave the floor. He sits down in the recliner, positioning me on his lap. I wiggle trying to get up.
“Settle angel,” Rosco murmurs in my ear, tightening his hold on me. “Remember what I told you at the park?” I’m not sure anyone else heard him, but my face heats from the intimate position we’re in with everyone watching. It gets hotter when I feel his hard length under me.
My eyes close, and I take some deep breaths as I prepare to disclose all our family secrets to our closest friends. Suddenly Enos and Kelvin burst through the front door. Kelvin is toting a large case in each hand with another messenger bag thrown over a shoulder.
“Matthew, Jason, and Dalton are on watch,” Enos announces. He steps into the dining area and returns with a couple of chairs. He places them across from the sofa. We are basically sitting in a square with the sofa and dining chairs making up opposite sides, while the love seat with my brotherson it and the recliner Rosco and I are in make up the other two sides with the mahogany coffee table in the middle.
“Bring us up to speed, Kelvin,” Luke demands, taking control of the room. I release some of the tension in my body, knowing I get at least a short reprieve before I have to talk about my stepfather. Kelvin pulls the coffee table toward him. He has set his cases on the floor, and he begins to pull laptops, file folders, and other equipment out of them. He opens the laptops, turning them on before placing them on the coffee table in front of him.
“It seems the people who hired us for the luncheon today aren’t who they seem on the surface,” Kelvin begins, typing quickly on one of the laptops. “Lawrence Winthrop is from Chicago. There, he was a low-level member of the Italian mafia, but in recent years, after coming to Virginia Beach, he’s made a name for himself.
“He is ruthless in dealing with anyone who crosses him, which isn’t out of character for someone in the mob, but Larry here has a reputation for being overly creative in his methods of punishment.” Kelvin glances over at my brothers. “I won’t get into details, but let’s just say it’s a whole new level of evil,” Kelvin informs the room.
“How did a low-level mobster move from one city to another and move up the ranks at the same time?” Bo asks. I’m wondering the same thing.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Kelvin answers, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him. After a couple minutes, he says, “Rachel, I think you should see this.”
Kelvin’s tone gives me an ominous feeling. He spins the laptop around. On the screen is a grainy photograph of my stepfather and Lawrence Winthrop. Despite the poor quality, their resemblance is uncanny. The men are standing side by side in basketball uniforms.
“That’s my stepfather and Mr. Winthrop,” I tell him. “Though they are so much younger in this picture.” Kelvin nods and flips his laptop back around to type more.
“Lawrence Winthrop is your stepfather’s estranged brother,” Kelvin says.How in the hell did I manage to end up at the home of my stepfather’s brother hundreds of miles and six years later?I have the worst luck; that’s how!
This is all too much. Looking around the room, I observe Marley is now in Luke’s lap. She is often sitting in his lap. One day, she’d joked he needed to get a side car for his wheelchair. He hadn’t agreed. He’d said he wanted her in his lap where he could hold her. It was the sweetest damn thing I’d ever heard. A pang of jealousy had gone through me, then and now.
I want a love like that someday. My eyes drift to Rosco’s profile. Rosco and I aren’t in a relationship, much less in love but sitting in his lap brings me a measure of comfort. Something I’m in desperate need of right now. It’s not the time to be overthinking things and ruin the time we have together. I’m going to enjoy this for as long as I can.
16
ROSCO
“It seems they had a falling out over territory in Chicago,” Kelvin continues after his revelation. “After their father was murdered, Reginald Vena, your stepfather?”—Kelvin looks at Rachel for confirmation, and she nods—“established himself as the successor even though their father hadn’t named a replacement should he expire.
“Rumors are Reginald either killed his father or had it arranged. Lawrence disappeared shortly after the funeral. For a time, it was believed he’d been murdered, too, even though there was no body.
“Miraculously he popped back up about a year before he moved here. It seems Reginald and Lawrence had reached an agreement. Lawrence would marry Gladys Winthrop, move here, and change his name, disassociating himself from the Vena name. In exchange, Reginald gave him funding and assisted in the set-up of Lawrence’s operations here, in Virginia Beach.
“It’s a scratch one another’s back kind of arrangement. Vena provides Lawrence with money and assistance staying off the radar of authorities. Lawrence, in exchange, launders money, provides muscle when needed, and runs weapons and drugs forVena. They seem to be getting along well, now, but those type of relationships are often tenuous.”
“Their relationship is strong,” Rachel interjects, with a bitter tone. “Lawrence wasted no time in calling Reginald to come down when his wife recognized me and hired us for their event.”
“You saw him at the event?” Bo queries. She shakes her head. Bo frowns. “Then how do you know that he’s here?” Rachel’s body tenses; her shoulders droop, and her arms wrap around her waist.
“I heard him,” she answers. “I’ll never forget his voice. Iknowit was him.”
“Then why did they let you leave? Why not snatch you while you were there?” A shudder runs through her. I can feel her fear. Anger rises up in me. Why does it sound like Bo is interrogating Rachel when she’s the one who’s in danger? I tighten my hold on her, pulling her against my chest.
“Rachel isn’t on trial here, Bo.” A growl rumbles out of my chest as I glare at my brother. Bo’s hands fly up in capitulation.
“I’m sorry, Rachel,” Bo concedes. “I didn’t mean it to sound like I’m accusing you of anything. I’m just trying to understand what happened.” Rachel nods, but I can still feel her tension and fear. It’s making me nearly feral. The need to soothe her and keep her safe is crushing. Especially knowing I could fail like I did with the 1Lt.
