Free Loving a Bad Boy by Erosa Knowles Page B

have this bit of information, I’ll
get that. Shake the tree a bit, see what falls out. I don’t really
need to know much more since I’ll bring in a new crew to deliver
the product.”
    Tex snorted. “The little diva ain’t going to
like that. He’s been fighting everything you do, I understand
jealousy, but something else gotta be going on.” He glanced at
Julio. “What d'you think?”
    Julio tapped the file with the graphs
inside. “Carlos is cheating on his wife. She’s the daughter of
Benito Maderas. High ranking Cartel with a badass son who does hits
for Francisco from time to time. From what I understand, he warned
Carlos before allowing the marriage to proceed, what would happen
if his daughter was hurt.” Julio shrugged. “I guess cheating on his
wife falls in that category.”
    Tex leaned back in his
chair and sneered. “You guess? C'mon. Few women agree to share
their husbands once they catch 'em. And if you’re saying
he’s cheating ,
she probably doesn’t know.”
    Julio had resumed eating, and swallowed
before responding. For a player, Tex had some prudish ideas when it
came to having a woman. “Women know when their man is unfaithful,
they may not want to acknowledge it, but I think they know. How
they handle it is different. Some cry, some fight, some get even.”
He shrugged. “People are different.” Since he had never had a
serious relationship, it mattered little to him.
    Tex shook his head. His eyes took on a
distant glow. “Maybe, maybe not. But a man who cheats, deserves
whatever he gets.”
    “ Everyone is responsible
for their own actions, I agree. Now, what’s up with accounting, you
got something else?” Julio asked as he pushed aside the now empty
bowl. “Somewhere in all of that is Carlos' secret. Let’s start
looking at the bank accounts of the women in the
company.”
    Tex flipped open his laptop while Julio
grabbed his. Two hours later they had found nothing.
    Julio stretched. “The female employees look
good. I’ll start on the list of associates Roberto gave me.” He
looked over at Tex, who was still typing. “If you want to share the
rest of your list, I’ll help so we can wrap up at a decent hour.” A
bone-deep tiredness had latched onto him. Perhaps the discovery of
the shipping pattern had eased some of his tension. He wasn’t sure,
all he knew was for the first time in a week, sleep called to him
like a siren and he planned to answer soon.
    “ Here.” Tex slid him a
sheet of paper.
    His brow rose as he looked at the names.
“What the…” He glanced at Tex, who stared at the monitor. “These
are men,” he snapped.
    “ One is a
transvestite.”
    Julio’s mouth dropped. “What? A what?”
    Tex chuckled. “You heard me.” He stopped
typing and met Julio’s gaze. “We have to check the men out as well
as the women. It’s possible he’s having an affair on the down-low.
If that’s true, it would explain his fear. His father-in-law might
forgive him screwing a woman, but probably not a man.”
    Julio snapped his jaw tight. His mind
whirled at the implications. “Shit.” The older men who ran the
Cartel were a homophobic bunch. No telling what the Maderas clan
would do if Carlos was stupid enough to have a man on the side. He
gazed at the names on the list and couldn’t search through the
list. “You finish these, and I’ll start on the associates.” He slid
the paper back to Tex, ignoring his grin.
    “ No problem, I’m almost
done here. If it makes you feel better about your cousin, there are
only two anomalies. I doubt he’d play the field with more than one
man in the company. That would be too messy.”
    “ Thanks,” he snapped. He
had every right to sound angry at the problem Roberto’s son
created. If Carlos was cheating on his wife with another man, using
Cartel funds, he might as well go straight to the undertaker for
measurements. Unfortunately, his wife, father, mother and siblings
would suffer for his weakness.
    Roberto was