Before Lucky (Forever Love #2.5)(15)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“You’ve got a call, you’ve got a call, don’t drop the ball, don’t drop the ball.” My phone’s new ringer sang to me and I grabbed it quickly just to shut up the annoying voice of one of the chipmunks.

“Hello, Zane here,” I answered without looking at who was calling.

“Zane, it’s Special Agent Waldron.”

“Oh, hi.” I frowned, not sure why he was calling me right before a date. Had something happened?

“I wanted to tell you that I think you need to leave Miami for a bit.”

“What?” My voice was louder that normal and I cleared my throat before talking. “Why?”

“I don’t think this line of questioning is going well and we think that Braydon is onto the fact that you are dating his exes. From what we can tell, he doesn’t know that he is under suspicion, but we think that it’s better for the case if you take a breather for a bit.”

“How does Braydon know?” My voice was raspy, and I clenched my fists. I didn’t want to leave Miami, not yet.

“We think Brigetta has been stalking you.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, but I think she had sour grapes after your date and has been following you. It seems like she made some sort of connection and informed Braydon. He’s been overheard telling people you’re dating all of his leftovers.”

“So he doesn’t know we suspect him of drugs?” I sighed, glad for some good news.

“We don’t think so. But I think after tonight, you need to abort the current plan of dating these girls. It is my suggestion and advice that you leave Miami as soon as possible and go to Los Angeles.”

“When?”

“As soon as possible.”

“I see.” I bit my lip. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to stop seeing Lucky. It was too soon. I hadn’t even gotten to take her on a date yet.

“We think you should leave tomorrow if possible.”

“No.” There was no hesitation in my voice. “I can’t leave tomorrow.”

“Zane, for the sake of the case and your brother’s memory, we really think it is best…”

“I can’t leave tomorrow.” I interrupted him, as my brain worked furiously. “I have some loose ends I need to tie up.”

“If it’s about the diner…” Special Agent Waldron’s voice was soft. “I know you’ve been going there a lot, and I’m not going to ask you why. But I want to warn you that getting involved with anyone right now is not advisable.”

“I’ll go to Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks.” My voice was even and brusque. “I have some things to take care of before I leave.”

“You have to be careful, Zane. Remember why you’re doing this. Think about Noah. These drug lords, they don’t care about innocent lives.”

“Everything I do is for Noah. I haven’t forgotten. I have to go.” I hung up quickly, annoyed that he had questioned me like that. I was so annoyed that I could almost ignore the yearning and worry that rested around my heart. I wasn’t going to see Lucky again, not for a long time. Not unless I somehow got her to agree to come to Los Angeles with me. I just didn’t see how it would work, though. I’d already spoken to the Johnsons and they were more than happy for me to continue working on the documentary, but I didn’t have any idea how to get Lucky there. I didn’t think I could just say, “Hey wanna come to Los Angeles with me and work on a history documentary? You don’t know me and you think I’m a player, but hey.” I sighed to myself and rubbed my forehead. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. My initial plan of slowly getting to know Lucky and becoming friends before I went in for the kill, wasn’t going to work. The timeline I thought I had was gone. I needed to fast-forward everything and I had no idea how to do that without looking like a weirdo and her turning me down point-blank. I couldn’t afford that.

I drove to pick up Mailbert in silence. All I could think about was Lucky and how much I would miss seeing her face. “You are certifiably crazy, Zane Beaumont,” I mumbled to myself as I drove in the crazy traffic to Coral Gables. I wasn’t looking forward to my date with Mailbert: she was a beautiful, no-nonsense girl, and I knew I had to be on the top of my game. Her father was an attorney who had fled with his parents from Cuba in the 60s, and he was heavily involved in the music industry. He was an acquaintance of my dad, and I knew that if I did anything to upset Mailbert, her father and uncles would not be too happy with me. I couldn’t afford to bring down their wrath on me. In fact, I already knew it was a risk taking Mailbert to Lou’s; she would not be impressed with the diner, and would likely see it as an insult that I hadn’t taken her to a nice restaurant somewhere. I already knew I would have to take her on a walk by the beach afterwards as an excuse for taking her to the diner. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I didn’t want to miss my weekly viewing of Lucky.

“Gracias.” Mailbert waited for me to open the car door for her as we walked back to my car. I smiled as she got in and waved goodbye to her father, who was still standing at the front door, watching me, as I got into the driver’s seat.

“De nada.” I smiled at Mailbert as I got in, happy to see that she was in a better mood than I had last seen her in.

“You learned some Spanish now, Zane?” She looked surprised and I shook my head.

“No, not really. I know enough to get by.”

“To get by where? In England?” She laughed at her joke and I nodded as I pulled away.

“I know, I know. I should really learn the language.”

“I don’t know how you can live in Miami and not speak the language.” She shook her head.

“I know, I’m a idiot. Anyone that lives in Miami and doesn’t speak fluent Spanish is a first-class idiot.”

“Well, I’ll teach you.” She smoothed her dress down, and ran her fingers through her long black hair. “Especially if you want to meet my grandparents. They don’t speak any English.”

“Oh?” I laughed, and tried to change the subject. We were going to places I didn’t want to go, and I was worried that Mailbert thought that this was the beginning of some sort of lengthy relationship. I didn’t want to tell her that I had no intention of ever meeting her grandparents.

“So, where are we going? Meat market?”

“Uh, no.” I shook my head and gave her an impish smile. “I thought we would try a new place I found.”