Page 21 of Puma's Pride

“I have his number.” Josef says, writing both numbers and handing Spark the piece of paper. “I haven’t spoken to Juan in several weeks.”

“Last I heard, Juan was still in Mexico. That’s obviously not the case.” Sal adds. “I had men watching him.” He turns to Josef. “Follow up with them and find out what happened. We need to track down your brother.”

“I know I already apologized…” Josef starts, but I wave him off.

“I get it. Your brother’s fooled several people. I just want to know his endgame.”

After Josef leaves, Sal turns to me. “We’ll search for Juan. If you find him first, I’m asking you not to kill him unless you have no choice.”

I study him and consider his request. He’s still a father and Juan is his son. Before I met Mal, I would have said no, but I can understand him better now. I’ve only known Mal for a day, but our interaction is enough to have me nodding my head in agreement. I imagine Sal is remembering the little boy rather than the man he has become.

“Thank you.” Sal says, closing his eyes in relief. Then the father is gone, and the businessman is back. “I have another request. Purely business.” He continues when I nod. “It’s about the charity event at 1%. I plan on making several purchases, and I want to hire your club to guard the transport until it reaches my warehouse.”

I consider his request. Most of my crew will be at the event. Those who aren’t protecting the women will protect the art, at least until the buyer claims their property. They should have no problem switching over to protecting Sal’s purchases. “We can do that.” I tell him and he thanks me before walking us outside.

Before I have my helmet on, my phone buzzes.

“Puma.” I answer, expecting to hear Corinne, since it’s her number on the display.

“Boss, it’s Showtime. We have a problem.”

CHAPTER TWELVE: ALISA

“This is too much,” Corinne says, yet again as we make our way through Bed, Bath and Beyond. I’m pushing one cart, which is overflowing with items for Mal’s room, while Showtime is pushing a second, less full, for Corinne. When Showtime takes Mal and Elina to look at gaming chairs, I try to get Corinne to add more to her cart.

“Do you know how much money Puma has?” I ask her.

She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “No, but I don’t want to spend it all today.”

“You won’t. Hell, you can’t. He has more money than he needs. The most expensive thing he owns is that bike of his.” I tell her. “When he played ball, he spent money on a whim. It surprised me to learn he still had any money left after his accident. But one thing the accident did was make him smarter about money. He rarely buys anything, unless it’s for us or the club. This is important to him. He wants you and Mal to be comfortable at the club, or as comfortable as you can be.”

“I understand, but I feel like I’m taking advantage of him. I don’t want him to think that all I care about is the money.” Corinne protests. “Not that I think there’s anything between us.” She says hurriedly when I narrow my eyes at her.

“I wasn’t thinking that.” I assure her. “Corinne, Puma knows you aren’t out to get his money. If all you cared about was money, you could have used Mal’s existence to bilk him for millions. Family means everything to Puma. He knows you could take Mal away. He hopes you won’t.”

“I would never take Mal away from him.” Corinne protests. “But I have a confession to make. It’s something I’ll tell Puma, too. I could have pushed harder to contact Puma. But I was afraid of losing Mal.”

My eyebrows fly up at her words. “You thought he’d try to take Mal away from you?” I can hear the anger in my tone and I know she hears it, too.

“Not really, no, but I was afraid of the possibility, of the risk. When I first found out I was pregnant, I tried to contact Puma. I wanted nothing from him, only thought he should know. After his manager turned me away, I waited. My plan was to wait until I after I gave birth to approach him again. I thought it would be easier to convince them with proof of his existence. But when I held Mal in my arms…”

“You considered all the ways you could lose him.” She nods when I finish her thought. “I get it. I do. Being a mother is rewarding, frustrating, amazing, and terrifying. The thought of losing our children is more painful than the thought of losing our own lives. I know Puma. He would never have behaved so callously. But I get not wanting to take the risk. For what’s worth, Puma feels nothing but gratitude that you had his son and that you’re willing to let him be a part of your life.”

“You’re amazing. I can see why he loves you so much.” Corinne says. “I hope you know I don’t want to cause problems between you. Not that I think I can.”

I smile at her. “I saw him hugging you last night.” Laughing when she turns even whiter than she already is. “My first thought was how perfect you two look together. Like Yin and Yang. Dark and Light. Physically, you complement each other perfectly. Well, there’s the proof.” I say, jutting my chin at Mal and making Corinne smile. “I told Puma that last night.”

Corinne frowns. “What did he say?”

“That he loves me. But I know he cares about you, too. He may not have thought about you after than night. I’m not being mean.” I assure her when I see her frown deepen. “But when you called him for help, he answered. Now that he knows you and he knows about Mal, you’re part of his life. So humor the poor guy and buy enough stuff for your room, so he knows you’ll stay.”

Corinne laughs as she takes charge of her cart and heads toward the comforters.

I walk over to Showtime to see what mischief she and the kids are up to. The kids are busy trying out all the various bean bag chairs, even though they are exactly the same, except for their color.

“You handled that well.” Showtime says when I reach her.

“You heard that?” I ask, glancing at the kids and hoping they didn’t hear as well.

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