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“Go away!” I hissed in Paul’s ear.
“Judgement call,” he hissed back, and I couldn’t believe he’d chosen that moment to intervene.
“Mr. Cruz,” I drew his attention from Paul back to me, “I will pass along the information as you requested and will let you know how it’s received.” I reached forward and offered my hand. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it, and as he did, he shot a glare at Paul.
“I can’t wait until we get to speak more about it, alone.”
“I agree.” I smiled warmly at him and gently squeezed his hand, feeling his response. I waited for him to let go, then he excused himself and walked away. Once he was out of earshot, I turned to Paul. “Are you crazy?”
“A little.” He scanned the room over my head. “Did you get anything?”
“I did and was about to get more when you came in and ruined my chance.”
Paul suddenly seemed to lock in on someone who made his jaw clench. “Just give me a moment. I see someone I need to speak with.”
“No, seriously, Paul, we need to talk.”
“I really want to hear what you know but, damn, it’ll have to wait a minute. The team’s listening. Tell them,” he ordered. “Sorry, but I need to deal with this.”
“Deal with what?” I grabbed his arm, but he shrugged me off. “Who do you know here?” I called after him, and he turned and smiled then raced off. I wondered who I missed on the guest list.
“Hey, guys?” I whispered. Then Sully caught my eye as he approached. His face was rigid, and I wondered what was up.
“We’re here, go ahead,” Cole answered, and I wanted to fill them in on everything, but I couldn’t because Sully was now in earshot.
“Stand by.” I walked toward Sully. “Sully.”
“Nicole,” he shot back in a cold voice. What’s happening?
“You need to finish what you told me. You can’t start a story and?—”
“I can’t, Nicole.”
“Why?”
“Because we have company.” He nodded over my shoulder, and I turned, expecting Paul was back, but instead I locked eyes with a pissed off Bruno.
“Sully,” my fear got the best of me, “order me a dirty martini, please.”
SIXTEEN
PAUL
The radio in my ear suddenly crackled loudly, and I fought not to react to it as I made my way across the room. That was strange. I picked up a plate and added a few pieces of fruit to it and carried it with me. I hated to leave Nicole so quickly, but I spotted a guy I’d once been close with when I was Eric. I lipread him say my friend Chili’s name in conversation with another man. I had to get close to them in a hurry. They seemed intense, and my Spidey sense tingled. When I heard them mention Chili again, my hackles went up and I got closer. I fished around the serving sets on a side table to find a fork as I tuned them in.
“Something is not right.” The man I knew was definitely on edge. “Chili has never worked this far south before.” He spoke English, as most of the guests were speaking Spanish, but they kept their voices low.
“Maybe he’s moving his operation down here?”
“No way,” he shook his head, “not since Noah died and he took over the tunnel. He wouldn’t risk losing that territory. Besides, Bruno would kill him.”
“Then what do you think he’s doing here?”
I kept my back to my old friend but was able to see his face through the top of the shiny serving tray cover. “I’m not sure, but he’s poking around in places he shouldn’t. The fact that he’s been seen has kicked up dust, and there is now a target on his back. The Canoses have put someone to watch his next run. If there is something going on they don’t like, they’ll take him.”
“That’s smart.”
Fuck, I needed to warn him.