Smart Baztard (Baztards MC Book 1) Page 6

  That Gabby he knew how to handle. The Gabby who moaned under his touch, the Gabby who made an offering of herself, the Gabby whose lips parted in invitation; that Gabby…

  Fuck, that Gabby he wanted desperately. He wanted to take the offering of her lips and touch her in ways that would make her scream in pleasure. Instead, he slammed and locked the front door to his parents' house. He had to get back to D.C. and soon. Otherwise…

  No, he couldn't complete that thought.

  He strode through the darkened living room. He hadn't bothered turning on any lights. No one used this room any longer. Eagle had left home at eighteen, but hadn't gone far. Both he and Prince loved their parents, but their mom and dad had raised two independent, self-sufficient men who wanted their own space, and to live by their own rules.

  Prince heard clanging down the hall. He knew his mom was likely working late at the courthouse, like most nights of his youth. His mother was the most ambitious, determined woman he'd ever met. He was proud to take after her. But unlike at the Hernandez's house, there was rarely dinner on the table in the evening. The Obademis only ate together on holidays. The dining room was a pristine, untouched picture torn out of a catalogue.

  The clanging and banging down the hallway continued as Prince made his way into the kitchen. He flipped the light switch on to spotless fixtures and appliances. He knew that the pots and pans in the cabinets were all without grime or residue. The microwave, on the other hand, had seen better days.

  Prince pulled the freezer open, took out a frozen dinner, and placed the carton on the turntable of the microwave. He set the timer and then headed towards the clanging, knowing his father probably hadn't eaten yet.

  Walking down the hall, he looked to the wall of family portraits. There was the wedding portrait of his parents, both clad in their traditional Nigerian garb. His mother, Oluyemi, was second generation Nigerian, while his father, Abeni, came straight from the homeland as a mechanical engineering student. His father later became a citizen when he scored a job working on military planes.

  Tonight, Ben Obademi tinkered on an old school engine in his workroom. From the looks of it, it was a steam engine, maybe for an old boat? All the Obademi men loved to tinker with anything that housed rods, and pistons, and gaskets. Prince, his dad, and his younger brother would spend hours taking things apart, putting them back together, and then taking them apart again to figure out a more efficient process.

  Prince picked up a screwdriver and got to work alongside his father. The two men worked quietly, unscrewing parts and setting them aside. The mental and physical work of taking apart the engine settled Prince down. But with his mind relaxed, the memories took up shop.

  Though his friends knew this wasn't the place to come for a good home cooked meal, they knew it was the place to come to discuss and fix anything mechanical. His friends, Chief and Sully, were fixtures in this room as much as Eagle and the boys of the Watchers Crew. They'd all sit and listen to Ben, who they affectionately nicknamed ObiWan, talk about the intimate workings of an engine. Then the boys would go out and apply his teachings to their cars and motorcycles.

  And always, peeking around the corner, would be Gabby. Hawk would tell her to play with her dolls. Eagle would pull at her pigtails. Chief would teach her bad words. And Sully would sneak her treats. Inevitably, Gabby would end up in Prince's lap when she was little, or at his feet when she was a bit bigger, or leaning against the side of his chair when she was nearly grown.

  As the boys' conversation naturally turned raucous and left the G-rating, Prince would carry her, or walk her, or tug her out of the room and back to her yard. Then he'd wind up staying with her for a quarter, half, or full hour laughing at her antics, explain to her some process for the tenth time, or they'd simply sit quietly and look up at the sky. Tonight, at dinner, was the first time he'd felt that sense of calm of his youth in a long time.

  "How's the case going, son?"

  Prince shrugged, as he put pressure on a bolt that wouldn't budge. "I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. There's enough evidence to prove criminal intent. But not enough to prove that the motive was hate-filled."

  His father nodded as he set aside another piece of the engine. "Why did the other man say he ran into Crow?"

  "Roman Voigt maintains it was a mistake. I haven't been able to get a hold of him. He's not under arrest so he doesn't have to cooperate."

  "But he's under investigation. Can't you get a warrant?"

  "All the evidence has been turned over. And I doubt that even if I were able to question Mr. Voigt that he would tell me that his actions were racially motivated."

  Prince hesitated to continue on and tell his dad that there was a potential wild card up his sleeve. He didn't know why he wanted to keep his spy mission with Gabby a secret. After a few moments of quiet, he came out with it.

  "Gabby's invited to the governor's mansion tomorrow night," said Prince. "Mr. Voigt's father is the Governor's Chief of Staff. I'm going as Gabby's plus one."

  "So you're going to go and bump into him? See If you can get him to talk?"

  It wasn't that open and closed. His father missed the issue of Gabby. Because his father didn't know that there was an issue with Gabby.

  "You know how Gabby's always… been a little clingy with me?"

  His father chuckled. "I believe her first words were 'I'm going to marry Prince.'"

  "Yeah," sighed Prince.

  His father laughed again. "That's a stubborn one there. I doubt she's changed her mind."

  "It was fine when she was a little girl, but she's a grown woman now."

  "Exactly," said his dad. "She's a grown woman now."

  Prince stopped torqueing the wrench and turned to his father. "But I'm ten years older than her."

  "Your mom is five years older than me," said his dad.

  Prince shook his head. "That's different."

  Ben leaned against the desk. "Because your mom is the older one, and she's a woman? That's sexist son."

  Prince threw up his hands. "It's Gabby."

  "I like Gabby. She's a good girl."

  Prince was starting to wonder about that. Gabby had always been a force of nature, but he had always been in the tailwind. Now her energy was directed at him.

  "What's the worst that could happen?" asked his dad.

  He could upset her father and lose his respect.

  He could upset her mother and be banned from the Hernandez kitchen.

  He could upset her brother and lose his longtime friend.

  He could upset his brother and cause a rift in his own family.

  Even worse, he could upset Gabby. He could leave her hurt and crying. That wouldn't do.

  At the same time, he didn't want to ignore her any more. He didn't want to run from her or her family or his family. He'd missed them all. He'd missed her most.

  Prince gave the bolt another tug with the wrench and it came free. He could manage this thing with Gabby. It would take a bit of work, but he would figure this out. He just needed to take it step by step.

  He'd take Gabby to the governor's mansion. They'd have some fun spying, though he doubted he'd get anything useful out of it. Then he'd sit her down and talk this thing between them out.

  Prince turned his wrench on another bolt. This one caught. It was tighter than the last one. But he knew that if he gave it some time, he'd work it out, too.

  Chapter Ten

  Gabby was in her happy place — her mother's closet. The racks were lined with ball gowns that Cinderella's fairy godmother's wand could never, with all the gourds in the field, conjure up. There were taffeta and crinoline and satin and silk garments. Cocktail dresses that socialites would clutch their pearls over or better yet, clutch the pearls hanging around their rival's neck and squeeze to get at. And then there were the shoes. Racks and racks of designer names to send a foot fetisher into an apoplectic shock.

  "Try this one, Gabs." Gabby's mother poked her dark head out of the closet.
"The color will bring out your eyes, and the shape will accent your hips."

  Valeria Hernandez was a great mother, but an even better girlfriend.

  As a mom, she baked cookies for school events and made costumes for Halloween. She attended each of her children's extra-curricular activities. Best of all, she always had an encouraging word or sage advice every time either Gabby or Hawk came to their mother with an unsolved problem.

  It was when Gabby was ten, when she was just beginning to learn the value of a good BFF, that she came to know that her mother would always be the best there ever was. When all of her friends were chasing after middle school boys, Gabby's sights remained across the street on the college student next door.

  Prince was finishing up his final year of pre-law. Even with his studies, he always made time for her when he came home for breaks. This particular break, he'd brought the She Devil home.

  One afternoon with the She Devil and Gabby knew the woman had to go. Gabby had successfully scared off every one of Prince's girlfriends when he still lived at home. She'd managed this through a number of devious, childish, and, she could now admit, down-right mean tactics.

  The She Devil was a law student like Prince. She shared Prince's African heritage, complete with an accent where Gabby couldn't entirely understand her words. The She Devil took to repeating words to her slowly, laughing at her attempts to participate in the grown up conversations, and making Gabby feel stupid. The demoness did this all when Prince had his back turned, never in front of his face. She was clever, the evil witch. Gabby realized she'd met her match and, for the first time in her life, she backed off in retreat.

  When Gabby had gone home crying, her mother found her. Gabby told her mom that the boy she liked was now close to a girl that was mean to her. Sage advice at the ready, Valeria told her daughter that if this boy Gabby liked was worthy, then he'd notice that he'd gotten himself a toad on his arm, and he'd come after the real princess soon.

  So of course, Gabby went and put a toad in the She Devil's purse the next day.

  The toad jumped out of the handbag while the She Devil was making out with Prince at the pool. Like the witch she was, the She Devil flipped out, cursing up a storm, and blamed Gabby. Gabby burst into tears and, just like she'd planned, she was immediately pulled into Prince's arms.

  The She Devil didn't return for the next break.

  Valeria had watched the whole incident play out from the kitchen window. When Gabby came inside, she got a wink and a plate of cookies from her mother. Valeria told Gabby to give the boy she liked more time. She told her daughter that she had a lot more growing up to do before her prince would come to claim his princess.

  And so Gabby waited, and waited, and waited. Until the night of the pool party.

  The next morning after Prince had literally rocked her world, Valeria found her daughter crying at the pool. This time she'd told Gabby that it was Prince who needed a bit more growing up before he was ready to be claimed by his queen. Valeria told Gabby that she'd known Prince was the one for her daughter the first time he held Gabby in his arms and she'd stopped crying. She believed the two were fated, just as she had been fated to marry her own husband.

  Tonight, Gabby spun around in the dress her mother had put her in. It hugged her curves and lifted her breasts. It did indeed bring out her eyes with the bedazzled bodice.

  Valeria gave her daughter a wink. "You'll be irresistible to every man at that gala in this dress."

  It wasn't what she'd typically wear for a performance. Gabby had an assortment of black dresses and dress pants having been in orchestra all her life. But those dresses were mostly long and formless to allow for movement and a large cello between her thighs. She was trying to get something else between her thighs tonight.

  On the bed, Diniece tapped on her tablet. "You two do understand this man wants to stop construction on the bridge for immigrants who use it to get downtown, making their commute longer and more expensive. And he has plans to reinstate Stop-and-Frisk so anyone who looks too brown has to show their papers?"

  "That's why we're sending our best girl in," said Valeria. "Gabby will get close to the enemy, learn his weaknesses, and then strike when and where he least expects it."

  "With her cello?" asked Diniece.

  "There are more ways to fight a battle than with protesting and picket signs," said Gabby as she eyed herself in the mirror.

  "There are also more ways to get a man's attention than with trickery and covert missions," said Diniece.

  Both Gabby and Valeria snorted. Gabby's mother had known that Samuel Hernandez was going to be her husband back in grade school. Valeria had told her daughter how she'd flitted around her father, making friends with all his friends, but never paying him much attention. She'd followed him to college and continued the ruse. Once in the dorms, she gave him plenty of smiles and giggles and light touches. The first time Samuel asked her out Valeria refused, insisting she didn't want to ruin their friendship. The second time he asked her out, she said maybe. This continued until he'd fallen to his knees and begged her to spend the rest of her life with him.

  Relationships were just a series of moves, like pieces on a game board. Gabby had been plotting her next move to win over Prince for the last three years. Tonight she was going on the attack. She was going in for the kill. She had a tactical plan.

  She knew all of Prince's strengths, but more importantly she knew his weaknesses. His main weakness was that he did not like injustice. He also hated to see her cry. He could be swayed with baked goods and home cooking. And, once presented with a problem or a puzzle, he felt compelled to solve it.

  Gabby had been born to privilege, so there wasn't much injustice in her life. She had no intention of crying tonight. It reminded him of her as a baby. And she'd already plied him with home cooking and baked goods, so that tactic was off the table.

  The weakness she would exploit tonight would be his need to problem solve. She needed to become the puzzle and let him try to solve her. But what problem could she present?

  She'd already let him rescue her by driving her home the other day, and he knew she was capable. She didn't want him looking at her like a helpless kid.

  She could play hard to get, but she'd done that earlier, too. He was smart. He knew she wanted him. He wouldn't buy into that a second time.

  She could get him to help with her late assignments. He'd never said no when she asked for his help with schoolwork. But she didn't want him to see that she still got disappointing grades. Her grades didn't bother her parents. She and Hawk had never been excellent students, not like the Obademi boys.

  Maybe game play was the problem. Maybe she should just tell him the truth; that she wanted to date him. That she wanted to play a different role in his life. It was a scary prospect. That let her know it was the grown-up thing to do.

  Gabby descended the stairs behind her mother, followed by her BFF. Prince had already arrived. He and her dad were talking in the living room.

  Prince looked delectable in a suit and tie. He smiled and embraced her mother as she came into the room. He waved to Diniece who he'd met when she and Gabby were in their freshman year of college. Then his eyes caught on her.

  He blinked slowly. His mouth parted. His lower lip trembled as he exhaled slowly. He swallowed. Then he cursed and turned away.

  Gabby turned to Diniece. "Stay in my room tonight. I think I'll need the pool house."

  Diniece looked between her best friend and the man in her crosshairs. Forget being mature about things. Oh yeah, the game was on.

  Chapter Eleven

  Prince had had a game plan. He was going to pick Gabby up, they'd have a talk in the car where he'd set them both back on the path of their old, easy friendship, then he'd get to do one of his favorite things in the world; listen to her play the cello.

  He had many of her recordings from when she was young. He had each and every recording he'd missed of her performances in college. When he was stress
ed, or working a difficult case, he'd push play and listen to her pull that bow on the strings of the instrument which was once bigger than her. The sounds she pulled from that instrument always set him at ease, helped him sort out problems he faced in his work, and settled him down for the night.

  Not tonight.

  When Gabby descended the stairs in a dress which made her curves even more pronounced than the curves of the instrument she played, Prince realized the game was won. He nearly toppled over as she came up to him, advancing like the queen that she was in an attack he'd never seen coming. He laid down his arms and prepared to surrender.

  "What's my mission tonight?" she asked from the passenger seat in the car.

  "To stay by my side." He blinked at the ferocity he heard in his own voice.

  Beside him, Gabby's breath caught as she turned to him. A spark lit her light eyes and desire flushed on her cheekbones.

  Prince gulped and shifted in his seat. "I don't want you to get in any trouble. If Roman Voigt is there, I'm going to have a conversation with him. That's all."

  "I can't be the bad cop?"

  "No."

  "Can I shine my cell phone light in his eyes while you grill him?"

  His mouth twitched, but he didn't give in to this little game. "You've been watching too many movies."

  "I actually haven't. But I would love to see that new cop movie that just came out."

  "Yeah, I've been looking forward to that one, too." He'd been so busy at work, he hadn't had time to even turn on the television, much less go to the movies. He also didn't see the trap that had just been laid.

  "I'll go with you," Gabby said. "Maybe an early movie and then dinner afterwards to discuss?"

  "You mean a date?"

  "Yes. A date. With me. You have to admit we've done pretty well with the picking up part, and the witty banter part. Last night we did the sit down and eat thing. And we can't forget the best part when we made out a few years ago. I bet if we put it all together in one night, it would be the date to end all dates."