Page 92 of Tango

“It’s none of ours, really.” He sighed as he looked up. “It was hers. But in the process of it all, he and the kids were caught in the crosshairs.”

We both nodded at Keith as he caught sight of us. He smiled at Liza and headed our way.

“Sorry to make you wait.” The corners of his mouth pointed upward as he joined us, and Cole gently bumped my arm.

“Baby steps,” he muttered. Cole was many things to many people, and right now he was healing a heart one smile at a time.

We chatted on our way toward the private airport that would take us to Idaho. Once we boarded the tan-colored jet and were in the air, I took a deep breath and thought how glad I was that the truth was out there. I could never have known just how much that decision would take from me. I shook my head clear and looked at Keith. He had his phone out and was flipping through some pictures Savi had sent of his kids. He smiled and held up a particularly cute one of Reagan sitting on her brother’s shoulders. I grinned my appreciation.

“Brandon sure is good with her.”

“He really is.” He smiled.

“The girl you were talking to seems nice.” I didn’t care how pushy that sounded, I was determined to fight my way back into my brothers’ lives even if it was obvious.

He nodded and turned his phone off. He slid it onto the table between us. “She is.” He paused as he thought. “She’s just a friend. It’s feels nice to laugh sometimes.”

“It’s just what you need, Keith. Don’t be afraid to let yourself enjoy life a little.”

“She’s a lot softer than I’m used to. It’s different, you know?”

“Different can be nice.” One thing about Keith, he was fiercely protective of those he loved, but also wore his heart on his sleeve. He’d quickly taken on the big brother role when Savannah first arrived, and from what I’d seen, Livi went to him for advice on lots of things.

“It is,” he agreed and moved back as the flight attendant placed our drinks in front of us. “I’m not ready for anything, though. I just like to talk to her. Feels good.” I noticed Cole was listening because his fingers went still on the keyboard of his laptop.

“Mm, it does.” I had to push Talya’s face from my head, and when I looked over, Keith’s eyes were on me.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“All the time you were gone. You ever have anyone?”

“I did.” I started to spin the glass around on the napkin. “She was gorgeous, sexy, wild at the right times, sweet at others. She was perfect.” I shrugged heavily.

“And?”

“And what?” Some of the pain seeped through the cracks of my memory. It wasn’t a sharp pain, more of a slow burn. “There was an expiration date on the relationship.” I could feel his eyes on me as he tried to read my body language. Normally, I’d hide it, but I was with family, and it felt good to show a little vulnerability.

“You were in love with her.”

“Yeah,” I let go of my glass and leaned back to take a deep breath, “but it gets complicated. She’s from a Cartel family. Not Castillo’s,” I clarified. “She’d never forgive me if she knew the truth.”

“I’m sorry, Paul.” He cleared his throat. “We look for love our whole lives, then when we find it, we hold on tight, terrified to lose it, and it gets snatched away anyway. Life seems kinda fucked up, doesn’t it?”

“Very.” I held my glass up, and he tapped it with his.

We stayed mostly quiet after that, only making small talk here and there. Cole’s fingers flew across his keyboard as he went back to work. He didn’t stop until we landed.

I took the steps two at a time down from the plane and climbed into the SUV with the others. A few miles down the road, we pulled into a sketchy garage. The walls were covered in graffiti.

“Shit. If we weren’t meeting friends,” Keith joked, “I’d be worried.”

“He’d never betray Mike,” Cole assured me as we made our way inside the bay. We passed a few guys who gave us a good once-over, but none of them made any attempt to stop us or speak to us.

Cole opened the door to what could only be described as a conference room and let me enter first. Grim Gates sat at the table, and his gaze flew to mine.

“It’s all good.” Trigger held up his hands as I swung a confused look toward him. “Sit, and I’ll explain everything.” My eyes widened when I spotted Vinni and his brother Niccola in the corner.

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