Rising Hope by Edie James
13
The pizza had been eaten,all but one pitcher of root beer drained, and the traditional rounds of darts to see who got stuck with the tab had begun. Emmie and Rachel lost to Dante and Noah in the first round. Enzo’s twin was a fierce competitor in all things, but she had the worst aim he’d ever seen. No one got hit with a wild throw, so while she wouldn’t see it that way, the rest of the group counted her performance as a win.
Time for the main event: he and Daniel against Noah and Dante. Enzo stretched, shrugging his shoulders and making circles with his head to loosen up his neck. Exactly what he did every time he played.
Routines centered him. Predictability in an unpredictable world, maybe. His liking for order had grown stronger the older he got. Partly the job, he suspected, but he couldn’t deny that his mom’s shocking death played a part. He was grateful beyond words that he’d been raised to have a strong faith. The Lord, and his routines, got him through that dark, dark time.
Daniel leaned close. “I ordered two extra-large deluxes and three baskets of wings. We need the win tonight, my man.”
Enzo fingered his lucky dart. “Consider it done.” He needed a win tonight, too.
Dante crowded him away from the line, a handful of generic darts in hand. “Consider what done?”
Enzo had at least three inches, and thirty pounds, on his older bro, but Dante made intimidation look like an art form. Even this newer, happier Dante could scare small children with his scowl.
Daniel puffed up his chest. “This match, dude. We own you.”
Dante gestured at Noah. “These children think they’re taking us to the cleaners tonight.”
Noah snorted. “Really?” His gaze flickered over Enzo and Daniel. “You guys wanna make this a little more interesting?”
Enzo turned to his friend. “Not really,” he muttered, but Daniel was already working his mouth.
He draped an arm across Enzo’s shoulders. “You want a piece of this? For real? My man Enzo’s never been in better form. Get out your wallets, gentlemen.”
Viv laughed. Her long, blonde hair shimmered under the lights. “Are you going to play or just talk all night?”
“Yeah,” Emmie added. “All I’m hearing is a lot of hot air.”
Enzo shot her a look. “That’s funny, coming from a lawyer.”
She stuck out her tongue and laughed. With four brothers, she’d developed an excellent sense of humor, and thick skin.
Noah was a consistent player. He didn’t have Enzo’s skills, but he had a cool head and he played steady. No amount of teasing affected his game.
Dante couldn’t say the same. An indifferent player at the best of times, the second MacKenzie son used to have a hard time letting down his guard and enjoying the moment. But Rachel was already changing his style. He smiled more. Teased even. The fun kind of teasing, without the stinging barbs he used to throw.
Whether that helped him throw darts was another story. Game on.
Dante toed the line, flexing his shoulders. “Watch and learn, kids. Watch and learn.” He sighted quickly and let his first dart fly. Double twenty. A shockingly good throw for Brother Number Two.
He stepped back from the line, grinning hard. “I am on tonight.”
Noah clapped hard. The women made whooping sounds. Dante ate it up. His next two throws were pretty good, too. Good enough to draw a worried look from Daniel.
Enzo stepped up to the line. His heart swelled with gratitude for his friends and family. For his charmed life. He eyed the board, channelling that positive energy.
He raised his first dart, but before he could release it, Daniel whistled softly. “Bogey at ten o’clock.”
Dart in hand, Enzo turned. A woman filled the open doorway. Sarah.
No. Peaches. He reminded himself instantly. Peaches Duvall.
His pulse ticked up. What was she doing here?
He told himself to chill. Giuseppe’s was the best place in town. The woman had a right to order excellent pizza.
But the way she scanned the room made his stomach drop. Sure enough, their eyes met, and she headed in his direction.
Something was off. Out of breath, chest heaving, she looked like she’d just run a marathon. The sparkly, over-the-top outfit was pure Peaches, but when he looked harder, he could see she looked frazzled. Spooked even.
Daniel elbowed him in the ribs. “I recognize her. She just bought a place in the Terraces. I’ve heard interesting things.”
They both watched her snake through the crowd toward them.
Enzo couldn’t stop himself from asking. “What kind of things?”
“Nothing specific. Just that she’s into some heavy stuff.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Illegal stuff,” Dante added. “Like money laundering.”
“Probably drugs.” Noah said, his tone cold. Cop-like.
Enzo fisted his darts. This was a nightmare. Exactly what he figured would happen, despite Halliburton’s lame assurances. Their drug sting was blending into his real life.
“Is that a professional opinion?” Daniel asked Noah, his full attention on Sarah.
Noah waved that off. “Call it a professional hunch.”
“Guys, look at her,” Daniel urged. “She even looks dangerous.”
Sarah waved and called out. “Hey, Enzo.”
Viv and Emmie looked from her to him. Viv scowled. Emmie simply looked curious. The men looked stunned.
Daniel blinked at him. “You know her?”
Enzo didn’t know what to say. The last thing he wanted to do was acknowledge his relationship with a drug dealer. But it was too late. She stopped between the dart area and their table, smiling at each person in turn. “I’m Peaches. Pleased to meet you all.”
Enzo stowed his darts and finished the introductions, running through their names as fast as he could. What else could he do?
The beads edging the sleeves of her frilly blouse caught the light as she shook hands with everyone. Like on the buy, she was fully made-up. Lots of eye liner and colored shadow. Way more than a pizzeria called for. Not that he was any expert.
Still, when he looked from his sisters’ fresh faces to Sarah’s calculated appearance, he knew which he preferred. And then he realized how uncharitable his thoughts were. And unfair. The woman was playing a roll. Sarah Walker might have a whole different demeanor from Peaches Duvall.
She took the time to acknowledge everyone at the table, murmuring polite platitudes. Then she grabbed his arm. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. Excuse us.” He apologized to the group and led her out of earshot as fast as possible.
He didn’t stop until they were at the far corner of the place, squeezed between the self-serve soft drink station and the hallway leading to the restrooms.
He turned to face her. “What do you need?”
This mission wasn’t supposed to touch his personal life. His family.
She glanced back at the group. He almost thought her lips trembled, but the light wasn’t great. And she didn’t seem the type to be afraid.
“Sorry. It’s kind of an emergency,” she said.
Her shaky tone made him feel small. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. The woman faced who knew what kinds of danger and he came at her with an attitude. Not cool. Not Christian.
He smiled gently—sincerely—this time. “Check that. My bad. I’ve had a bad day. Let me start over.”
Whatever brought her into the restaurant had her spooked. Anything that scared a veteran operative like Sarah, should concern him, too.
He switched into first responder mode. “What’s going on? What do you need?”
Her color was high, her breathing slightly elevated. Red marks circled her neck. Other than that, she looked uninjured.
She swallowed hard and scraped a length of over-sprayed bangs off her forehead. “I had a little trouble at the house. Do you know anything about the Diablos?”
The motorcycle gang? He’d heard stories since he was a kid, but his only interactions were a few sightings of men in their colors from time to time as they roared down local streets, driving too fast. He shook his head.
“They paid me a visit, looking for my stash of B3yond. We’ve been expecting this, but not so soon. I didn’t have a chance to call for backup. Had to run.” Her chest rose as she sucked in another long breath. “I figured they wouldn’t bother anyone here. Too many witnesses.”
Okay. So yeah, this was exactly what he feared. The mission had leaked into his life. Not that he blamed her for taking shelter.
He’d do whatever it took to keep her, and his family, safe.