A/N: Thanks for your patience with me updating this slowly. I start school next week and I have written chapter 8, and I'm debating if that will be the final chapter or not - there's a lot that is left unanswered, but the big mystery is solved. I figure if I do complete it at the end of chapter 8, I could always write a sequel later on when I have more time to devote to it Thanks for all the favorites/follows - means a lot to me! Hope you enjoy it!
I paced around the living room while Mac researched Liam Jr. None of this seemed to make sense, how did all these criminals, tie in together?
First, I would have been on Alonzo's involvement as he related to El Despeadado before he ever stepped foot in the US. Second, Clyde's connection with Weevil's shop made me think that he was laundering money through there with Alonzo's help while all the teenagers did the leg work of selling the drugs, but then is Junior part of this? Or was this just an odd coincidence? Did Clyde and the Fitzpatrick's somehow meet at a criminal luau and decide to join forces? I had too many questions and not enough answers. Hopefully Mac's research cleared things up.
The door opened and broke me from my thoughts. I saw Weevil walk in.
"Honey, your home!" I half joked. In my father's eyes, it was all sarcasm. I hugged him lightly, and he shrugged me off him and nodded to Mac at the table. "Good to see you too." I snarked as I reminded myself to follow up with him about his attitude later. "So, what have you got?" I asked Mac as I sat beside her.
"Junior is as clean as they come. Is Matty sure that he is part of this?" She questioned.
"She told me that he and two of the PCH'ers are the ones that sell drugs at her school. And just because he's clean doesn't mean he isn't a criminal, he's only a freshman. Any idea how he is related to Liam?"
"Liam is his father; his mother was much younger at the time – I'm pretty sure it was a shady situation." She turned the laptop to face me. The mother went to great lengths to hide her name, there were several misnomers and no verified age information. It seemed like the mother wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen either, as the date of births ranged from her being 14 at the time, she conceived Liam, to 26.
"So, we know that he was born into one of the most powerful criminal families in Neptune, perhaps in California itself. How can we get further information without getting his dad involved?" I pondered the question and knew what the answer was, but I didn't want to involve Matty in this. Maybe I could utilize Mac. "How would you feel about scoring some Molly?" I asked the short haired brunette. Her left eyebrow raised but a smile formed on her face.
"That's my Saturday night Veronica, sure thing." I laughed and she agreed to wander around the high school campus during their game tonight. I called Wallace and made sure that he would be attending the game so that he could keep his eyes on Mac as well – it was still better than having a 16-year-old girl jump into the front lines. She stood up from the computer and leaned into me "Is everything okay?" She nodded her head towards Weevil on the couch. I shrugged in response because I had no idea what was going on. She smiled with tight lips and patted my shoulder twice before she grabbed her bag to head outside. "Wallace should be here soon, and I've got a date with a Marlboro, so I'm just gonna stand outside and get to business." She announced as she closed the door behind her. Mac didn't smoke – she just didn't want to be part of this tension fest that was happening between he and I.
"I have no idea who did any of this at this point." I confessed as I sat next to him on the couch. I looked over at him to meet his eyes. "How can all the criminals in Neptune have their hands near these drugs all at once? How can all of them have motive? How can all of them have access? None of this makes sense to me." I shook my head and leaned into his shoulder and I felt him tense beneath my head.
"I'm really not tryna get kicked out of your house today, V." he spoke with aggression. I sat back up and kept my distance tasteful.
"Why would you be kicked out? Do you really think my dad has that much of an issue with you?" I questioned. I knew my joke earlier wasn't in the best taste and there are things my dad has said that would truly hurt Weevil if he knew, but I don't think my dad would ever kick him out.
"Why didn't you tell him about this?" as he spoke, he motioned his hand between he and I. I felt a little guilty, as if maybe I was supposed to bring our situation to light, so we didn't have to sneak around.
"I want to tell him when I clear you of this bullshit you're in right now. Telling him now would just anger him more because of your most recent arrest; let me do my magic and we will be free and clear to be…this." I mimicked the same gesture he did and it brought a small smile to his face.
"How about your friends?" He motioned to the door.
"Mac and Wallace already know about us." His face was covered in shock. "You didn't think I would tell them?"
"I'm not exactly the guy most girls wanna show off. And that ain't even considering my looks or anything cos I know I'm good looking." He stopped to wink at me. "Just saying because of who I was in my past and all…" He trailed.
"Stop thinking I'm ashamed of you or something because I'm not. I just didn't rush to tell my dad because of our currently living situation. Once your case is solved, I'll tell him." I finished my thought and realized that, again, I was putting my dreams on hold for a guy. I came back to Neptune for Logan, I stayed in Neptune for Logan, and now I'm here planning a future with a new guy – in Neptune. I put these thoughts to the back of my mind as I focused on questions for the case. "Do you know anyone that could possibly know all these criminals?"
"Not really, all my boys and family know Clyde, a handful of them know Alonzo, but ever since the Thumper shit in high school, everyone from the PCH'ers have steered clear of the Fitzpatrick's." I stood and paced – it helped me think, made my blood flow; or maybe it was just anxiety.
"Have you heard from anyone that used to live and or loiter at your house?"
"Just Claudia, she's really the only one who keeps in touch. She's real family though so I can't just cut her out like that." He defended himself.
"Has she mentioned anything about Alonzo?"
"Not really, she sent me a couple of pictures of them on vacation in Mexico. He didn't seem to be doing anything illegal though." I grimaced.
"Are you positive you would know what illegal looked like, and if so, would you tell me if they were involved in something illegal?"
"I would, but it's just some pictures from some fancy hotel and an overlook on the water." He went into his pocket and pulled out his phone, he pulled up the text thread and handed me the phone "scroll left, there is a bunch of them"
I absentmindedly scrolled through the pictures, seeing Claudia posing in front of random buildings, pointing at a cactus, kissing Alonzo's cheek under a sunset, and then several pictures of the sunset from what looked like a balcony overlooking a pool. It was quite the sight to see, it was beautiful.
"You don't think that he's funding this trip with drug money?"
"I doubt it, he stopped living large when he took her to Mexico with him. She actually complained because she has to cook where they're staying, and her spoiled ass is used to dinners out on the town."
"Cook? Not many hotels have rooms with kitchens and stoves in them." I questioned him and he realized something was off about that as well. He opened his phone once more and scrolled through the pictures again, trying to find something I had missed.
"This might not be a hotel." He spoke, as he zoomed in and out of a couple of the pictures on his phone. "I think they are staying in someone's home." He handed me the phone and showed me where he zoomed in on one of the pictures that was taken from the balcony, it looked like beneath the sunset, underneath the awning of the porch – there was a mailbox attached to the building.
"You realize hotels have mailboxes, right?" I questioned.
"Yes, I know they do. But this one seems to have a name underneath it; it gets too blurry to make it out when I zoom in that far, but I'm telling you, that's a name." I sighed and I looked at the picture; I needed better resolution.
"Can I pull this up on my laptop?" He nodded and I plugged the phone into my computer and brought up the images. On my computer, it was very clear that there was a name beneath the mailbox. I couldn't make out if it was a street name, or a last name, or what language it was in – but there was something there. "Alright, bonus points for the boyfriend." I joked and looked up at him. I could see him get a little uneasy but wasn't sure if it was a bad thing or not. "Is it too soon, or?" I asked.
"Been a while since I've been called that. Threw me back a little. Also, kinda funny coming outta your mouth – and it being about me." He smiled.
"Well, if you want to keep that title, you're going to have to dig a little. I would ask questions about the hotel, where it's at, what road its on, what the rooms are like, etcetera. Not all at once, spread out over a couple of conversations. If we can get a road name that would help. Any information you can get would get us closer than where we are now." I delegated his tasks. He smirked.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're bossy as hell?"
"Not anyone that's still alive." I threatened halfheartedly. He sauntered closer to me.
"Well, I happen to find it endearing, Miss Mars." His voice velvety smooth against my eardrums. His lips so close to my earlobe, I could feel the vibration of the sound of his voice. Goosebumps rose on my arms and trailed up to my neck.
"Why, Mr. Navarro, are you trying to seduce me?" I purred back into his ear; making sure my lip brushed his earlobe, sending a noticeable shock through his body.
"Only if it's working…"He trailed off as he drug his fingertips from the outside of my thigh, over my hip, up my side and up to my neck and cupped the side of my face. My heart was beating out of my chest and it continued when he closed the gap between us. This kiss wasn't like our first kiss, it wasn't awkward, it wasn't fueled by Jim Beam, and it was full of passion. His lips were persistent against mine, and when his tongue begged for entry, I let it. I found myself wrapping my arms around his body and digging my fingertips into his shoulders as his hands wandered my body. First, they were in my hair and then they slid down my back and remained on my hips as he pressed me closer to him.
"It's very clear to me that we aren't alone in this house." I spoke as I broke the kiss, but kept our foreheads pressed together.
"Your dad have any upcoming travels?" Eli asked as he raised a brow and kissed the tip of my nose.
"Unfortunately, no, but he usually leaves a couple of nights a week to go to his girlfriend's house, so there's hope." I smile weakly. It was unnerving to have just made out in the middle of my living room with Weevil. Weevil of all people. I didn't feel guilty about it either like I had thought I would, I felt happy, I felt… relief. Relief that maybe I could get a happy ending even if I wasn't supposed to.
"Let's hope that comes sooner rather than later." He kissed my forehead and walked towards the couch. "Care to watch something with me?" He gestured.
"Is this what people call 'Netflix and Chill?'" I joked.
"Normally I would at least take my girl out occasionally. But you see, I can't be doing dumb stuff to get money anymore – so I'm a real loser."
"Nah, the losers are the ones who are doing dumb stuff for money. Have you ever thought about going legit and getting a shop together? One that doesn't chop cars?" I asked as I sat next to him and snatched the remote from him.
"All the time I do. But then I get reminded that in order to get the startup cash for something like that, I would have to do something else for work for a while. Crime is just too easy – you always have money." He sighed. He looked over at me as if a realization hit him. "You still planning on taking off once I'm a free man?"
"I really want to leave Neptune." I spoke, as I selected some early 90's rom-com, much to his dismay, I'm sure. "But then you came along and made things complicated for me, so I don't know what I want to do."
"I don't want you to give up on things for me, V."
"And I appreciate that, but I also don't want to start something with us and then immediate make this long-distance. That's not fair to either of us, that's setting this up to fail."
"We can talk about this later, when things are clearer." He put an abrupt end to the conversation, thankfully. Perhaps he heard the confusion in my voice. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and answered.
"Did you get some drugs?" I asked.
"I sure did, and I got them from Junior. He also asked me on a date and was real fucked up when I told him I was twice his age." Mac laughed.
"Alright, bring them here. I have a testing kit, we can at least see if the drugs he is pedaling are the ones that are tainted."
"Alright, Wallace is coming too – he bought beer and wants to celebrate the team's win tonight, so prepare to drink." Mac warned. I glanced over at Eli.
"Are you bringing enough for four?" He looked over at me with slight suspicion.
"Is your boo drinking with us tonight as well?" Mac asked suggestively; I felt my face catch on fire.
"I'm not a fan of that word, but, yes. He will be here." Eli's ears perked up, as if knowing it was him, I was referring to.
"I'll let Wallace know. Does he have a beer preference?" she asked.
"Not really, same as me. No preference."
"We will be there soon. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I could hear her smirk through the phone. I was concerned that not only did she buy Molly, but she'd smoked some weed at the game and was flying high right now.
"How'd the game go?" Eli asked.
"It went well, Mac was able to get the Molly from Junior and I'm going to run it through a test kit that I have here, and we are going to see what he's selling." I stood up from the couch and turned towards him "Oh, and they're bringing beer, so things might get a little fun tonight."
"Should I be nervous?" I chuckled
"I don't think you have anything to be nervous about, I'm pretty sure Mac is high right now from the great Ganja gods, and Wallace told me that if I was happy, he was happy – just be yourself, they're normal people and you're normal people. Everything will be fine." I was reassuring him as much as I was assuring myself, if I was being honest.
"I trust you, but I don't trust your choices in movies." He spoke as he realized what I had selected before the phone call.
"But, rom-coms make the best make out flicks." I joked in my "Amber" voice – one that I had used several times when I tried to sound ditzy.
"You're lucky you're cute." He smiled and kissed the side of my head just as my dad was walking into the living room. By the look on his face, he didn't see the kiss, but he did notice our proximity on the couch; Weevil moved several inches from me.
"I was going to head out for the next couple of nights to Angie's house, but if there is something, I'm not aware of…" his eyes darted back and forth between us.
"Dad, enjoy yourself. Even if there was something between he and I, what would you do? Sit between us on the couch for the next two days?" I joked; the sarcasm met with a welcomed smile from Keith's face.
"I guess you're right, you're a bit old for that now, aren't you?" He diverted his glare to Eli "Keep her safe while I'm gone, I'm trusting you." And he nodded in Eli's direction.
"Will do, sir." Eli responded. When my dad left and closed the door behind him, I exhaled, and Eli did too.
"He's usually less inquisitive if he's going to see his special lady friend, more inquisitive when he comes back from a case. We got lucky this time." I spoke. He slid back over towards me and put his arm around my shoulder.
"We did, so now is it my turn to get lucky?" He questioned, and I felt myself burst into laughter.
"Alright, I'll hand it to you." I spoke between laughs. "That was a pretty great line." I fell back into his chest and relaxed myself. Hopefully tonight would be successful.
