Page 15 of Lawbreaker

“Nice to meet you,” Odalie replied, and perched on the edge of an easy chair. “I’m Odalie. I came with my sister-in-law. She works for Mr. Garza.”

“She means Tony,” Connie chuckled, her dark eyes twinkling as she informed the other two women, who laughed. “Nobody calls him Mr. Garza.”

“Yes, but you’re in a whole other category. You’re his friends. I’m a pest.”

Eyebrows rose.

Odalie colored. “I mean, I get included in stuff because my sister-in-law works for him.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t like me.”

“Why?” Connie asked, aghast.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Odalie said.

Connie was looking at the other woman, who was really gorgeous, with a startled expression. “But you’re beautiful! And Tony says you have the voice of an angel when you sing.”

Odalie blushed further. “He does?” she asked, pitifully elated from that one grain of praise she’d never heard from him.

The women were exchanging knowing looks, but they gave nothing away. “Yeah,” Connie added. “He says you want to sing at the Met. That true?”

Odalie nodded. “I’ve worked at it my whole life,” she said. “I’m scared to death to audition, though.”

“Tony loves opera,” the other woman told her. “Our great-great-grandfather sang opera in the old country, in Italy. He was famous. In those days, opera stars were treated like sports stars are today in this country.”

“No wonder he loves opera” was the warm reply from Odalie.

“Did any of your people sing opera?” Connie asked.

“Not opera, no. But my mother was a recording artist before she married my dad,” Odalie said. “She writes songs. The singing group Desperado recorded two of them, and both won Grammys.”

Connie’s lower jaw fell. “Your mother is Heather Everett?”

“Yes!”

“What a small world!” Connie exclaimed and hugged her warmly. “Desperado is my favorite rock group. One of those songs is ‘Moon Sailing.’ I loved it so much that I wrote your mom a fan letter. She even answered it!”

Odalie hugged her back, laughing. “Mom answers every letter she gets. She’s flattered by them.”

“Some talent,” Connie said, the other two nodding.

“She pampers Big Ben when we go down to the ranch,” Odalie said. “She cooks lasagna just for him.”

“He’s a big softy,” the older woman said.

“Yes, he is,” Odalie replied. “He’s really good at his job, too.”

The women stared at her for a minute.

Odalie frowned. “He’s good at taking care of Mr. Garza,” she added.

“Oh!” Connie slapped her forehead. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“Are you related to Mr. Garza?” Odalie asked.

“First cousin,” Connie said. “Mama’s mother and his mother were sisters, like me and Julie.”

“What the hell are you doing hiding in here?” Tony thundered from the doorway.

Odalie jumped because she hadn’t heard him coming. The other three women just laughed.