Page 23 of Pocketful of You

"Fit." Wailing loudly, I dropped my head in my hands. "Dear god, let me throw a fit."

"Then, by all means." He held up his hands. "Go right ahead."

I sniffled. "Thank you."

"No problem, cowboy."

"They killed him," I mumbled, trying to get my head around what I had learned tonight. "Because he figured it out."

"So much for loyalty," Lucky snorted, taking a drag of his smoke.

"Huh?"

"Loyalty," he explained with a shrug. "Means everything in their world. You ain't got loyalty, you ain't got nothing, cowboy." Taking another drag of his smoke, he butted it out in an ashtray, attention turning to something behind me.

"Bolillo," a man of Mexican descent with a thick accent acknowledged. "It's been awhile."

"G, " Lucky acknowledged, cool as a dang cucumber, completely unaffected by the shiny freakinggunnot nearly concealed enough inside the waistband of this guy's jeans. "It sure has."

Pulling out the stool next to mine, the man lowered himself down and holy hell, it took everything in me not to gag from his B.O.

Hello, did these people ever hear of a little twentieth century invention calleddeodorant?

Chuckling, thisGcreature set his gun on the table, right freaking in front of me, and grinned, revealing a set of yellow and gold teeth. "Tired of the family life yet? Looking for some adventure to sink your teeth into?" The big man slapped a beefy hand on the table. "Just say the word, comrade, and a cut with your name on it will be ready and waiting –"

"I'm not here for work, G," Lucky interrupted, offering the man a warm smile. "I’m in for intel."

G's bushy black brows shot up. "I see." His attention flicked to me. "Don't tell me he's another damn Carter –"

"This one's a friend of the family," Lucky interjected before I could answer. "Sister's side."

"Hmm." Stroking his grizzly beard, the paunchy giant considered this for a long moment. "What do you need?"

"Everything you have on the Catalinian mob and more," Lucky replied calmly. "I'm talking location, net worth, contacts, men on the ground –" Pausing, he swung his gaze back to me. "What year was your buddy born?"

"Who, Sketch?"

"You got any more friends that were stolen as babies?"

I threw my hands up in a panic. "Well shit, I don’t know, mister. I wasn’t aware I had a single one until less than an hour ago –"

Lucky rolled his eyes. "I want the name of every baby boy born between 1998 and 2003. It's a tight-knit community, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I'm looking for a kid. Jacob Toretto. I need every damn detail you have on this kid –"

"Whoa, whoa, Bolillo, you ask for too much." G shook his head. "I ain't got time for this shit. I have a business to run."

"You know how I roll, G," Lucky shot back, eyes locked on the man. "Do me a solid and I'll owe you one back."

"Hmm." Grizzly Adams was back to pondering. "I will get you what you need, and in return, you willhandlethree of my contracts."

"Get me what I need by the end of the week, and I'll make it an even dozen."

G grinned. "Oh,Bolillo, how I have missed your crazy ass."

"Meh." Lucky shrugged. "I could use the workout."

"Well then," the other man replied with a chuckle. "Consider us back in business, old friend."

11

---