Restless Waters by Jessica Speart

Author:Jessica Speart
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

I heard the sound of talking and laughter as I walked through the door. For once, Spam didn’t come running to the kitchen to greet me. Neither did Tag-along sashay in to rub against my legs and beg for food. Things were bad when even the damn cat couldn’t be bothered.

I headed into the living room, where Kevin and Santou were drinking a few beers and reminiscing about old times together. Funny how my radar instantly flew into action, hoping to pick up any juicy bits of gossip.

Half the time, I wondered if it would have been any easier if Kevin were a woman. At least then I’d have known what I was up against and how best to deal with it. As things were, I simply felt left out. What can I say? It sucked having to compete with a man for Santou’s attention.

“Hey, chere. You didn’t come home for dinner tonight,” Jake said with a smile.

I took that as a good sign. It could have been worse. He might not even have noticed that I hadn’t been here. As for Kevin, he was back to being his old self again.

“You look a little worse for wear. Hot date tonight?” he asked with a smirk, bringing the bottle of beer to his lips.

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I got together with your old girlfriend and she filled me in on all the dirt,” I countered, slipping back into our familiar roles. “Actually, I bumped into Vinnie Bertucci. Remember him?”

Both men instantly perked up.

“You’re kidding. Bertucci’s on Oahu?” Santou asked, with more interest than he’d shown in a while. “That can only mean one thing: trouble. Any idea what he’s up to?”

I hesitated, not all that eager to share information with them.

“Not really. Maybe he’s just here on vacation,” I replied.

“Sure. I hear the guy’s really big into whacking fish.” Kevin sneered. “Only instead of using a rod and reel, he’s partial to a nine-millimeter Uzi. If Vinnie the Vault is in town, then you can bet something’s going down.”

“Vinnie the Vault?” I dubiously inquired, never having heard the nickname before.

“Yeah, it’s because of his size,” Kevin retorted.

“I hope you don’t plan on spending any time with the guy,” Santou added. “Bertucci’s moved up the ladder since his days in New Orleans and, trust me, it’s not the kind of company you want to keep.”

“I don’t see why there should be a problem,” I responded. “It’s not as if he’s involved in the wildlife trade. Vinnie even said he’d never harm a living, breathing thing, as long as it wasn’t a human being.”

Santou looked at me in amusement, “Now that’s an interesting comment. And just what category do you suppose you fall under, chere?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Damn it. I hate when I don’t have a good comeback.

“Jake’s right,” Kevin said, unexpectedly turning serious. “The guy’s bad news. Nothing but trouble follows wherever he goes.”

Or maybe he follows trouble, I thought. In which case, we have the trait in common.

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