ugly memories.
Erasing
them would have been first on his to do list but, since that wasn’t possible,
he atoned when and where he could. Drugs ripped apart families and destroyed
lives firsthand—so when his country had asked him to step up and take
part in a war on drugs, he’d been all in. He couldn’t walk away from that fight because he knew firsthand what
happened when that product left the site in Colombia, or Mexico or Humboldt,
California. A match might take care of the immediate problem, but the growers
always rebuilt elsewhere and the pipeline was still in place. So Uncle Sam had
taught him how to go in and take care of the problem.
Permanently.
There was no reason to
share ugly memories with Jack, especially when knowing just a few of the
details were dangerous enough to get a guy killed. Needing a distraction, he
examined the list pinned to the board. Despite being one of the team owners, he
didn’t get into the daily ops stuff. That was Jack’s bailiwick and his brother
was a logistics wizard, which meant this week’s jump list was a surprise.
He
scanned it twice just to be certain. Jack hadn’t paired him with Gia. That was
definitely a mistake.
When Jack tried to slip by him, he body
checked him against the wall.
“You’ve got a typo on your list.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t think
so.”
“I jump with Gia.”
“Not this week.” Jack twisted,
almost breaking free, so Rio stuck out a foot and tripped him.
Hitting the floor hard, Jack hooked
an arm around Rio’s throat. Rio rolled, pinning Jack beneath him. Checkmate.
“Every week,” he said.
“Rio—” The warning in Jack’s
voice was clear.
“Do you have a problem with my
jumping with Gia? She saved my life. She’s damned good at her job.”
“She is.” Jack rolled, breaking
free, his left foot clipping the back of Rio’s knees.
“So I want to jump with her.”
“That’s not what you want ,” Jack said. Rio considered the
implications of punching his brother. Friendly wrestling on the floor of the
hangar was one thing. Bruises were another. For one, they’d have to explain
bruises to Nonna and then there would definitely be hell to pay.
Rio settled for a few minutes of
hand-to-hand, wrestling with Jack until long minutes later they broke apart
panting.
“I’ve still got it,” Jack said with
satisfaction, letting his head thump against the floor.
“Go again?” Rio wasn’t entirely
sure he could lift his head, but he wouldn’t give Jack the satisfaction of
admitting that.
“Sure.” Jack flopped an arm weakly
to the side. “Christ. You killed me. And I need my energy.”
“For Lily.”
Jack grinned. “Absolutely. You have
any idea how much planning goes into a wedding?”
He had absolutely zero desire to
know. “You asked her,” he pointed out. “Weddings are a definite side effect of
engagement rings.”
“She’s worth it.” Jack sighed
happily. “If she wants the whole big white dress and church thing, she gets
it.”
The new rules in Jack’s universe
were simple. What Lily wanted, Lily got. In exchange, Jack got Lily. From the
besotted look on Jack’s face, his brother thought he’d got the best of the
bargain. As long as Lily made Jack happy, Rio would welcome her into their family.
Or try, he admitted. It had been him and his brothers and Nonna for so long
that letting some else in close seemed strange.
Okay. Worse than strange.
Completely wrong.
But he’d figure out how to do it
before the July wedding or how to fake it, because Jack and Lily were now a
package deal and he wasn’t losing his brother.
“She’s
going to want kids,” he said.
The
thoughtful look on Jack’s face should have warned him, but his brother’s next
words floored him. “I’m not opposed.” Jack grinned. “Making kids is good too.
The family’s getting bigger, Rio.”
Best of luck with that. Rio
couldn’t imagine having a kid of his own.
Erasing
them would have been first on his to do list but, since that wasn’t possible,
he atoned when and where he could. Drugs ripped apart families and destroyed
lives firsthand—so when his country had asked him to step up and take
part in a war on drugs, he’d been all in. He couldn’t walk away from that fight because he knew firsthand what
happened when that product left the site in Colombia, or Mexico or Humboldt,
California. A match might take care of the immediate problem, but the growers
always rebuilt elsewhere and the pipeline was still in place. So Uncle Sam had
taught him how to go in and take care of the problem.
Permanently.
There was no reason to
share ugly memories with Jack, especially when knowing just a few of the
details were dangerous enough to get a guy killed. Needing a distraction, he
examined the list pinned to the board. Despite being one of the team owners, he
didn’t get into the daily ops stuff. That was Jack’s bailiwick and his brother
was a logistics wizard, which meant this week’s jump list was a surprise.
He
scanned it twice just to be certain. Jack hadn’t paired him with Gia. That was
definitely a mistake.
When Jack tried to slip by him, he body
checked him against the wall.
“You’ve got a typo on your list.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t think
so.”
“I jump with Gia.”
“Not this week.” Jack twisted,
almost breaking free, so Rio stuck out a foot and tripped him.
Hitting the floor hard, Jack hooked
an arm around Rio’s throat. Rio rolled, pinning Jack beneath him. Checkmate.
“Every week,” he said.
“Rio—” The warning in Jack’s
voice was clear.
“Do you have a problem with my
jumping with Gia? She saved my life. She’s damned good at her job.”
“She is.” Jack rolled, breaking
free, his left foot clipping the back of Rio’s knees.
“So I want to jump with her.”
“That’s not what you want ,” Jack said. Rio considered the
implications of punching his brother. Friendly wrestling on the floor of the
hangar was one thing. Bruises were another. For one, they’d have to explain
bruises to Nonna and then there would definitely be hell to pay.
Rio settled for a few minutes of
hand-to-hand, wrestling with Jack until long minutes later they broke apart
panting.
“I’ve still got it,” Jack said with
satisfaction, letting his head thump against the floor.
“Go again?” Rio wasn’t entirely
sure he could lift his head, but he wouldn’t give Jack the satisfaction of
admitting that.
“Sure.” Jack flopped an arm weakly
to the side. “Christ. You killed me. And I need my energy.”
“For Lily.”
Jack grinned. “Absolutely. You have
any idea how much planning goes into a wedding?”
He had absolutely zero desire to
know. “You asked her,” he pointed out. “Weddings are a definite side effect of
engagement rings.”
“She’s worth it.” Jack sighed
happily. “If she wants the whole big white dress and church thing, she gets
it.”
The new rules in Jack’s universe
were simple. What Lily wanted, Lily got. In exchange, Jack got Lily. From the
besotted look on Jack’s face, his brother thought he’d got the best of the
bargain. As long as Lily made Jack happy, Rio would welcome her into their family.
Or try, he admitted. It had been him and his brothers and Nonna for so long
that letting some else in close seemed strange.
Okay. Worse than strange.
Completely wrong.
But he’d figure out how to do it
before the July wedding or how to fake it, because Jack and Lily were now a
package deal and he wasn’t losing his brother.
“She’s
going to want kids,” he said.
The
thoughtful look on Jack’s face should have warned him, but his brother’s next
words floored him. “I’m not opposed.” Jack grinned. “Making kids is good too.
The family’s getting bigger, Rio.”
Best of luck with that. Rio
couldn’t imagine having a kid of his own.
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