A Blued Steel Wolfe (8 page)

Justin and Cammie decided to spend the day out and about, getting to know each other as more than just friends. Now that they were lovers as well, he wanted to know everything about her. They already knew each other’s favorite food. They found that their musical tastes didn’t differ too much, either.

While they sat in Burger King for lunch, Cammie admitted that she even liked some Metallica. Justin laughed out loud.

“Ok, what’s so funny?” she asked, raising her eyebrow and giving him That Look.

“You would have either loved it or hated it in Kandahar, when this Alpha Team was stationed one tent over from ours,” he explained.

“What’s an Alpha Team?” she asked curiously, her eyebrow staying raised.

“Sorry, a team of Green Berets - Special Forces,” he continued. “Anyway, they played some loud Heavy Metal music whenever they weren’t off on a mission. We worked with them once, and they were total professionals in the field, though.”

“They sound like a fun bunch of guys,” she laughed.

“They were,” he chuckled. Then he reached across the table and took her hand before continuing. “There were some strange rumors flying around about their real mission, but they were so farfetched that we didn’t take them seriously. Anyway, one of them, Shepard I think, really loved the ebony ladies on base. I saw him flirting with several of them over the months they were stationed at Kandahar. I can definitely see the attraction, myself.”

“I’ve never believed that someone’s skin color should stand in the way of love,” Cammie replied as she smiled back and squeezed his hand. “If I thought like that, I wouldn’t have my darling baby boy, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with Juan, and I wouldn’t have even considered you.”

“And if Royce and Tam felt that way, they wouldn’t be married right now, either,” Justin replied. “It’s a shame that too many people refuse to seek love where they might find it, just because it might be out of the ordinary.”

“That’s my point exactly, honey,” she replied, squeezing his hand. “I’ve dated black guys too, but I never liked how they treated me.”

“I admit that you’re the first black girl that I’m attracted to, Cammie,” he said with a nod. Then he smiled wryly. “Who am I kidding? I’m
much
more than just attracted to you.”

“Oh? And what attracted you to me, first?” she asked flirtatiously.

“Your beauty, for one,” he replied, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “What made me start to fall for you was when you looked at me like that at the wedding, though.”

“So, it wasn’t love at first sight?” she chided him good-naturedly.

“Honestly, I’d never considered you as more than a friend, before that,” he admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t think you were attracted to me, since you didn’t show any signs of interest in me before the wedding.”

“Fair enough,” she nodded, and her smile widened slightly.

“How did you and Juan meet, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked suddenly. “He told me his side of the events, but I’d like to hear yours too.”

When she didn’t answer right away, he realized his probable blunder. “I’m sorry, Cammie. I didn’t mean to-“

“No, it’s alright, sweetie,” she said with a smile. “Juan and I met when our families had a cookout together. He was home on Leave a month before 9/11, and we were having a BBQ before I went back to school. I was about to leave for College at UCLA, and we hit it off. I’d never even looked at a white or Hispanic man like that before, but his personality drew me in even more than his looks. We kept in touch, and started dating when he was assigned to Ft. Irwin. We got married just before he was reassigned to Second Ranger Battalion, but since I was still in school at UCLA, I stayed in Los Angeles while he went to Ft. Lewis. It was hard, but we made it work.”

“He was a great man, and a great soldier,” Justin grinned, remembering his friend. “I know he loved you very much.”

“I still miss him sometimes, but I know he’s in Heaven now. I know he’d want me to be happy, too. Will you make me happy, Justinian Wolfe?” she asked with an impish smile.

“I’ll make you as happy as I possibly can, Camille Jenkins,” he replied truthfully.

“You’d better, baby,” she whispered and leaned across the table. He leaned forward with her, and they shared a sweet and tender kiss.

That night, they drove over to Joshua and Shawnda’s new house. Cammie’s parents bought the home in L.A. to be closer to their daughters and their grandchild. They’d sold their house in New York and used that money as a down payment on the new abode. They were always happy to watch Nate now, since they didn’t have to work anymore. Both of them were retired and collecting pensions from their former professions. It saved Cammie in daycare fees as well, since she didn’t have to pay them to watch their grandson.

The doting grandparents opened their door to them as soon as they rang the bell. Joshua, in sharp contrast to how he’d handled Royce when he learned that Tam was dating a white man, shook Justin’s hand warmly.

“Hello, Joshua,” Justin said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, sir.”

“Don’t you ‘sir’ me, Captain Wolfe. I worked for a living,” Joshua replied with a laugh. He referred to his time in the Army during and after Vietnam. He attained the rank of Command Sergeant Major before retiring with full honors in 1988.

“Touché, Sergeant Major,” Joshua said with a chuckle. “Cammie told me about your service. She’s proud to be your daughter.”

“Oh, stop sucking up to my Papa, Justin,” Cammie said, slapping him on the shoulder. The twinkle in her eye belied the seeming harshness of her words, though.

“Yes, dear,” Justin replied with a grin, sharing a loving look with Cammie.

“Ok, I know why you’re here, but we hate to see him go,” Shawnda said, her smile somewhat sad.

“Sorry, Mom,” Cammie shrugged. “I need Nate at home tonight, since Justin has to go back to his place. We have to work in the morning. I’ll drop him off on the way, though.”

“Ok, honey. Come on and get your baby. We’ll see him tomorrow anyway,” Shawnda said with a smile. Then she led Cammie away to find her child where he was watching Frozen in the TV room.

As soon as the ladies left the room, Joshua turned to his guest. “Justin, I know you’re a good man by all accounts. Hell, you’re a fellow Ranger. I also say this with all due respect,
sir
. If you hurt my daughter in any way, they’ll never find your body. I don’t care who your daddy is, either. Ya feel me, son?”

“Yes, Sergeant Major,” Justin replied with a professional nod. He expected nothing less from a protective father.

“Good,” Joshua replied. “Now that we understand each other, do you want a beer?”

Chapter 3

An Old Enemy – A New Threat

The man watched the Wolfe Mansion from the street. He sat in his Maserati sports car, staring through the binoculars at the house of Anthony Wolfe. When Mr. Wolfe exited his estate with several of his security team in tow, the man smiled. He put down the binoculars and brought up a digital camera with a large zoom lens on it. He started snapping pictures of Mr. Wolfe and his lovely wife.

“I knew it had to be you, Antonio,” he whispered hoarsely as he lowered the camera. “After all these years, I
knew
you were still alive. I knew that the rumors of your death were wrong. Don’t worry, though. A reckoning is coming ‘Anthony Wolfe’, and you will die. You will die after you watch me take everything away from you. You will die after I make you watch me kill everyone that you hold dear… you bastard.”

He fished his cellphone out of his jacket pocket and dialed a number.

“Da?”

“I’ve found him, Ivan. Anthony Wolfe is Antonio Lupo. We’ll have our revenge soon.”

“That is good news! We will meet you at the airport this afternoon. We’ll be on the next flight out to Los Angeles. Do you have the weapons?”

“Everything is ready, but we are doing this
my
way. Remember that. Surveillance first, my friend.”

“Of course, of course. We will take care of it as you order us to, my friend.”

“That is all I ask, Ivan. I have something… special planned for ‘Mr. Anthony Wolfe’ and his friends and family.”

“I understand. He needs to pay for what he did to us.”

“He needs to do more than pay, Ivan. He needs to
suffer
for it first! Then he will pay for what he did to me - to us all of those years ago.”

“Of course, my friend. It will be as you command, Brigadier Salvatore.”

Salvatore Lupo ended the call and closed his phone. The dark tint of his windows prevented anyone from seeing into his car, but he saw Anthony Wolfe and his still lovely Linda Wolfe enter the black Ford Excursion together. Oh, yes. A reckoning was coming. He resolved that he would take Linda in front of her husband before he made Antonio watch him slit her throat.

He smiled cruelly at the thought.

***** ***** *****

Cammie entered Jared’s office with a huge smile on her face. Her boss caught the look and the spring in her step and smiled to himself. “How was your weekend, Cammie?” he asked with a knowing smile.

“I think you already know, hon,” she smirked back. “You were at the wedding on Saturday, after all.”

“Just be careful, Cammie,” he cautioned her. “Justin is a good man, but he’s also Mr. Wolfe’s son. If things go bad between you two, it would put you in a very tenuous position.”

“Don’t worry, Jared,” she said with a fond smile for her boss. Cammie knew that Jared Hartman was a good man. She realized that he only had her best interests at heart. “We’re adults, and if things don’t work out with me and Justin, we can still be friends. That won’t happen, though.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with a bemused expression.

“Not a hundred percent sure, but sure enough!” she retaliated. “We’re still getting to know each other, but we were already friends before this started. Don’t worry, Jared.”

“I’m Mr. Wolfe’s attorney, Cammie,” Jared said with a sigh. “It’s my job to worry about everything, remember? That includes any ‘interoffice’ romances that could cause problems for the boss and/or his business.”

“Ok, if you’re gonna worry then don’t worry so much, ok?” Cammie said calmly. She knew that Jared had a lot on his plate. Helping Mr. Wolfe with the task of transitioning from a shady if honorable crime boss into a fully legitimate businessman was a long and oftentimes difficult road. She knew this, since she had to help with every legal brief possible for the transition to take place.

“Ok, Cammie. You win,” Jared chuckled. Maybe he did worry too much. “I put my notes on your desk for the new DVD box investment deal. I just need you to collate them and draw up the papers to the specs, ok?”

“No problem, boss,” Cammie said enthusiastically as she turned to her office.

“Thanks, Cammie. You’re the best!” Jared said with a grin.

“You’re welcome, Jared,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she entered her office and closed the door behind her.

Jared shook his head and smiled wryly as he turned back to his desk. Whatever Justin and Cammie had done, and he was almost sure he knew what it was then their activities had done wonders for Cammie. He hadn’t seen a spring in her step or a smile on her face like that since before Juan died.

There were many factors to consider in the transition. The illegal business deals, involving gambling and arms trafficking brought in more income. However, Mr. Wolfe didn’t want to lose employees or cut their pay in the transition. The gentlemen’s clubs brought in nearly the same revenue as the gambling, so that illegal aspect was next on the chopping block. Mr. Wolfe also just invested in a new media franchise involving drop boxes for DVD movies, and Jared watched that one carefully. The “Blue Box” DVD service stood to make significant money, as it replaced the video stores that were quickly fading.

Also, Mr. Wolfe’s real estate business was booming, and a few more investments would solidify his standing in that arena of capital growth. It would also allow him to reassign his loyal employees without having to fire them. Once Mr. Wolfe was out of the arms business, there were only a few minor details to consider after that.

Six more months,
Jared thought brightly.
Only six more months and we’ll be out of all the illegal crap!

The thought made him smile. It had taken years for this to come about. For every illegal operation that they scaled back and shut down, they needed a legitimate moneymaker to take its place.

Jared admired and respected Mr. Wolfe for what he was doing. He also found his boss infuriating sometimes. He admired Mr. Wolfe’s honor and respected his desire to do the right thing for his employees. However, the pragmatist in him found it all infuriating as well. It would’ve been much easier and cost effective to simply shut those projects down and lay off the workers. If they’d gone that route, hundreds of workers would’ve lost their jobs. On the upside, however, the organization would’ve been completely aboveboard two years earlier. Even now, the projected six month window to total legitimacy was a longshot. On the outside, he would give it nine to eleven months if they hit any snags.