Page 13 of Resolution

I frowned and opened my mouth to say something nasty when Raven abruptly stood up. “I think we’re finished here.”

I closed my mouth and followed suit, turning my back on the guy, and following Raven to the closed door of Tomlinson’s office.

“Yes!” Tomlinson said loudly. “In any case, you’ve been a great help.”

As I started to turn and go back to punch the guy, Raven took my elbow. I stopped and glared at him. “Leave it,” he said, frowning.

I nodded and walked out the door with my beloved at my side. We didn’t stop walking until we were standing at the elevator. I turned to Raven. “Can you believe the nerve of that fucker?”

“I should have expected it. BBS is a bitter rival of GMS and they’re not known to play fair,” Raven said. “I should have known he wasn’t going to be of any help.”

“Except for the fact that by showing us that list, he answered the burning question about who Brian Leopard is,” I said as the elevator doors slid open. We stepped into the empty car, and I pushed the button for the subterranean parking garage. I took up a lean on the back railing and gazed at Raven’s reflection in the mirrored doors as they closed. He looked thoughtful as he stared at me.

“Well, it’s probably a good thing we found out about that before you were able to reach him. I wonder what he wants.”

I smirked. “Well, he either wants to hire us to find his missing diamond pin, or kill us because he’s somehow tied into this whole mess.”

His face conveyed his worry in the mirrored doors.

“What the fuck, Miguel? That’s all we need now.”

I reached out and put both hands on his shoulders, only to have to drop them as the elevator stopped halfway down to the garage. We both turned as two men in business suits stepped inside as soon as it stopped on the tenth floor. We remained quiet as it stopped three more times, picking up other people. Most of them got out in the lobby before we were finally able to step out in the garage with a few others.

When we got into the truck, Raven turned to me. “As I was about to say, I’m scared all over again.”

I reached across the console and took his hand, staring into his beautiful eyes. “Don’t worry. Yes, this case is turning out to be a fucking scary one, but we’ll figure this all out, Raven. We just have to remain vigilant and watch our backs, that’s all.”

“Oh, isthatall?”

I shook my head and let go of his hand, turning it palm up. “Give me your keys.” He handed them over without question and I used them to open the glovebox. I pulled out both our guns and passed his to him along with the holster. “We’re gonna wear these at all times.”

He nodded slowly as I handed him back the keys. He opened his belt and secured the holster at his waist. I did the same, hating the weight of the thing. Though I’d carried a gun for half of my adult life between the military and my bounty hunting career, I’d gotten used to only wearing it regularly since this fucking recovery began. Knowing that I’d do everything in the world to protect the man at my side, however, made me push down my distaste.

Raven glanced back at me. “I guess we should get back to the office and find out why Brian Leopard is calling.”

I nodded. “Yeah, Sunshine, I guess we should.”

Chapter Four

RAVEN

By the time we walked into the office forty-five minutes later, I was exhausted. We’d stopped at a specialty market which always had a great salad bar and made ourselves something light and healthy to eat. Dolly had promised to have a big pan of veggie lasagna for our dinner. I’d never asked her to cook for us, but she took it upon herself to make sure Nana got at least one hot meal every day. She always made extra for us. God love the woman, but she was bad for my waistline as well as my cholesterol. Miguel and I had begun running an extra mile every morning just to combat the carb overload she’d injected into our diet.

Judy smiled at us when we walked in. She held out a hand to indicate two very colorful men sitting there, and I was immediately surprised when the older one jumped up from his chair. “This is Mr. Leopard. He’s the gentleman you left a message for earlier, Miguel.”

The man was flamboyant as all hell. He was on the short side, with a lion’s mane of curls which appeared to have been teased within an inch of their life. He reminded me of James Brown, and I was reminded of Miguel’s earlier comment of wanting to return Mr. Lion’s phone call. I had to bite my lip to keep from poking him in the ribs because he’d actually been spot on.

Dressed in skin-tight, apple green, satin pants which outlined an average-sized penis, and a boldly patterned silk shirt in the same tones open all the way to his navel, he was a horror to look at. He had thick tufts of wiry, brown hair poking through the gap of his shirt, and his neck was draped with more gold chains than I could count. So many, in fact, that I was surprised he could hold his head up. Taking pride of place between both nipples was a giant jewel encrusted pendant in the shape of a letter B. The jewels appeared to be diamonds.

“Oh, God!” he exclaimed, rushing over to us. “Mr. Huerta?”

Miguel nodded. “That’s me…Mr. Leopard?”

“Yes!” He reached for Miguel’s hand with both of his, and Miguel shook.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” he said. “This is my partner, Raven Mathis.”

I smiled at him and also got a double handshake. “Nice to meet you.” I glanced at the second man who rose daintily from his chair. He was what I would have called a club kid. Whereas Brian Leopard was easily in his mid-fifties, the younger man was barely legal. He was dressed a little less flamboyantly, but his clothing still screamed “out there.” His white, denim short-shorts could politely be described as Daisy Dukes or cutoffs. He wore a tight, pink tee which didn’t quite reach his waistband, revealing a sparkling diamond bellybutton ring.

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