Page 22 of Mimosa (Murphy's Pub #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

For the next ten days, Mims had very little time to spend with Sonny, as he and Abs were officially named the party planners.

They were having a benefit night for the family who’d lost their home to fire. It was the best, easiest and fastest way to get them the money with no questions asked.

It was nearly impossible for anyone to count heads and count the number of drinks ordered, food, and the like. It was the best money laundering scheme Murphy could think of to get the money to the real estate broker the fastest.

The pub would be strewn with pictures of the family, the house before and after, and at the door, flyers would be given as to detail what the night was for.

Abs and Mims had their first opportunity too to make the bartenders wear matching outfits, something they’d both coveted for years.

Not identical outfits, mind you, but matching. The same colors and style fit to each of the men individually. The others groaned over it, but they’d agreed.

When Mims wasn’t planning the benefit, he was in the secret room with Sonny, either fucking around or working on finding more on the judge.

Judge Martin Calhoon, the sitting judge in charge of cases of police brutality and corruption, was dirtier than all the cops in the BBC put together, he found.

“There’s a bank account in the Caymen’s that he uses. It’s sent from his computer, but I can’t hack in to get the account number.”

“But can you prove it?” Sonny asked.

“No. But the feds might be able to. Unfortunately, they have better equipment than I do, and they won’t get sent to jail for life if they hack into a bank.”

“Right,” Sonny said, chewing his lip. “Have Cosmo call Taran about it.”

“He’ll be here tonight. I’ll bring him down and show him what we have.”

As they all practiced that night in the basement for the benefit, Taran was in the secret room with Sonny. They were searching out more evidence on the judge, but as Sonny had pointed out to them, it was hard to find enough dirt on a judge to convict. They’d done their time in courtrooms for years before residing over cases and knew the tricks better than anyone.

It made perfect sense, too, that it was a judge that was helping the cartel.

On the night of the benefit, the men all got together in the common area of the second floor, their black and yellow outfits fitting in perfectly, somehow, with the green, purple and orange décor.

Cosmo’s yellow shirt was mesh, Hippy’s button up, and Haze wore a yellow vest over his bare chest.

Goldie wore his normal muscle shirt, only it was a creamy yellow, like the others wore, and Abs wore a black tank with yellow stripes over pants that had the same stripes. Mims was decked out in his yellow satin button up and tight black slacks, much like the other wore as well.

They went out with the patrons cheering, but everyone hushed quickly when Murphy was helped up on the bar with the mic in his hand.

“Welcome everyone to this party that is benefiting the Rodriguez family!”

More cheers and applause came and Hippy leaned on Mims. “He looks good up there.”

“Always. That’s our Paps.”

“Listen, everyone, give generously, drink responsibly and have a good time. In the back we have a band playing for you guys, and up front, we have the amazing bartenders that have put together some great new tricks for you all! Let’s hear it for Abs!”

Abs climbed onto the bar and blew a kiss to the crowd.

“Gold Rush!”

Goldie stood beside Mims and flexed his big arms, sending men and women alike into swoons.

“Hypnotic!”

Hippy got on stage and did a couple of fast spins before Haze handed him three bottles and he did a quick juggle.

“Cosmo!”

Cosmo got up and lifted his mesh shirt, letting his perfect abs roll.

That made a ton of people catcall, and even more whistle.

“Last and not nearly least, our Mimosa!”

Mims got on the bar and turned around to twerk and there was laughter, applause and whistles from the crowd.

He smiled and blew kisses, and then…they got to work.

Busier than usual, Mims barely had time to breathe. He made the signature drinks for the party and opened what felt like a million bottles of beer.

They did routines and had fun, though, and the Rodriguez parents came at just after ten to join the party. The mother, Anna, hugged Murphy about a hundred times, coming away from the hugs crying. The father, Sammy, was seen shedding a tear or two, but turning around to a wall whenever he did.

When he had a chance right before midnight, Mims ran down to check on Sonny, who was watching the festivities on the computer screen.

“I brought you a drink and a piece of pizza.”

“Thanks. You guys are doing a great thing.”

“It’s mutually beneficial,” he said, unwilling to let Sonny think they were simply heroes. “Plus, well, you are going to benefit.”

“How’s that?”

“Murphy spoke to the Rodriguezs, and they agreed, so Murphy, with my help, well, we’ve been looking for houses with either a mother-in-law house in back or an apartment over the garage, you know, something small and hidden.”

“What? Mims, no!”

“They don’t mind at all. We’re doing them a solid, so they are just giving it back.”

Sonny would feel like shit, Mims knew, but it was the best place to hide him. “Mims…”

“It’s like five blocks away, the house we found. They love it, but Murphy is haggling with the owners. The less money he spends on the house, the more we can put into the furniture and all that. We want to give the four kids the best. They’ve had it rough after the fire. They all had to be separated until Murphy rented them the two connecting rooms at a motel, and still, four kids sharing a room? It wasn’t fun for any of them.”

“Great, for them, but I don’t need all that.”

“You’re not getting all that. You’re getting furniture, food and stuff. A private encrypted phone line too. So, you can keep in touch with me, when I’m not over there, and with your task force.”

Sonny stared at the floor. “You’ll have to keep up the ruse that you and Hippy are together.”

“So?”

“So, if you come see me a lot, and you’re being watched…”

“I’m visiting the family. You can’t see the little house behind the big one. We’ve thought of all that, Sonny.”

Sonny looked at the screen and said, “You better get back.”

Mims turned the chair and made Sonny look him in the eye. “It’s all going to be okay.”

“Why is it I believe it when you say it, even though it goes against everything I know to be true?”

“Because you trust me.” He kissed Sonny quickly, then got back to the bar and enjoyed the couple of the dance numbers they did, as Hippy twirled him into Goldie’s arms and he was lifted onto the bar where he poured liquor into the waiting mouths of a line of patrons.

He felt Sonny’s eyes on him the entire night, and it turned him on something crazy. He couldn’t wait to get back to him, but before he could, Murphy stopped him right before he got to the stairs. “Wait a minute or two before you head down. Taran snuck in before closing and is down getting up to speed.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Go count your tips with the others. They’re starting to miss you.”

Mims felt terrible. He had spent every spare minute with Sonny. “Okay. That would be good for me, too.”

At the table in the pub, they counted the tips and each of them contributed to the family fund for the house and furniture. Hippy said, “That oldest kid? He enjoys skateboarding, so get him like three really nice ones.”

Murphy scoffed. “Like I’d know a good one from a crappy one?”

Goldie offered, “I’ll go with you, Hip, to pick some out. My first real boyfriend was a skater. I still hear him waxing poetic about the brands and the pro skaters in my nightmares.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“We did great tonight. The neighborhood came together for one of their own, and that’s rare nowadays,” Murphy told them. “It was a great time and we did a great thing. Cosmo, again, you really accelerated us becoming better people.”

Goldie added, “And the cat. Man, he even comes in my room now.”

“Daiq is gonna miss the kids. I’m thinking, shit, maybe get him over there when they get back from traveling.”

Abs said, “They’d love it. But I don’t know. He might feel like you abandoned him. Take him to visit maybe.”

“Good idea,” Cosmo agreed.

When they were all heading up to sleep, Mims finally saw Taran heading up to be with Cosmo. He went to the basement and laughed silently when he saw Sonny fast asleep. Getting undressed, he tried to be as quiet as possible, then he got into bed, and Sonny woke a little. “Hey.”

“Hey. Go to sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Sonny nodded and immediately was back out. Mims kissed his cheek and snuggled in, content, happy, and warm…