This is the last time I let Daron pick the meeting place.
“Why are you giving me that look?” he asks as he piles an enormous helping of chicken wings onto his plate. In the background, a bored-looking girl grinds up against a pole.
“A fucking strip club?”
He shrugs, frowns at the wings, adds a few more, and stalks off to the corner booth where William and Eric are waiting.
“It’s loud,” he explains, shoving his way into his seat. I pull up a chair and take the very end. “If anyone’s listening, they won’t be able to hear very well. Besides, it’s owned by the McGraths.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I say, scowling at him. “If anything, going to a strip club owned by my wife’s family makes it decidedly worse.”
Eric’s busy staring at the topless girl on the stage. “Beats the bar at least,” he says with a shrug. “Although I’m not excited by the mid-afternoon talent.”
“Focus,” I say and wave a hand at Daron. “No more strip clubs.”
He shrugs a little, chowing down. “I’m serious though. This place is perfect. The lighting is low, lots of open sightlines so nobody can sneak up, and the music makes it impossible to eavesdrop.”
“He’s got a point,” William concedes and tosses a sugar packet at Eric. “Although I don’t share our young friend’s enthusiasm.”
“What? I’m a monster for liking an attractive girl’s tits?”
“Focus,” I snarl again. “For fuck’s sake, we’re supposed to be professionals.”
“What’s the point of being criminals if we act like fucking investment bankers?” Daron waves a chicken wing in the air. “This, right here, is why we do crime.”
“I definitely don’t do crime for the bad afternoon strip club visits,” William says, rubbing his face.
“Alright, enough.” I gesture at Eric. “Give me what you have.”
He clears his throat and stops watching the girl. “We’ve actually been pretty productive. Turns out, Los Sombras has been pissing off more than a few people all over Baltimore lately, which means lots of guys wanted to talk.”
“We made contact with some former associates of theirs,” William confirms. “They were helpful.”
Eric takes a file folder from his bag and slides it to me. I flip it open, and inside is a dossier with a photo of a man at the top. He’s wearing sunglasses, has a thick black beard, and very dark hair.
“Diego Navarro, also known as El Espectro, is running operations on the East Coast. He’s mainly working out of Baltimore right now, but he’s got bases in New York, Philly, and Boston. Not much is known about his background except that he’s a skilled assassin.”
“That’s why they call him the ghost,” William says. “He’s good at sneaking in and out without getting caught.”
I consider that, flipping through the pages. “What else do you know?”
“We have a location. I guess our pal Diego hasn’t been too careful in the last few months, and more than a few people have figured out where he lives.”
“Not very ghostly,” Daron says.
I ignore him and flip to the last page. “This is the place?”
“It’s a decent house,” William says.
“We don’t know about the security yet.” Eric keeps talking, warming up to the subject. “I haven’t had time to stake it out, but he’s definitely got a network with a ton of chatter. I did some basic scanning from a nearby street, and I’d guess we could break into it without too much effort.”
“Meaning you could,” Daron corrects. “Eric here can’t break into a wet cardboard box.”
Eric flips him off. “From what we heard, it seems that Diego was directly involved in the heist Brenden got burned on. I’m betting he was the one funding it all from the start.”
“The other guys are definitely locked up,” William cuts in again. “They haven’t talked yet, which is good, but who knows how long that lasts. Once they spill their guts, Diego’s going to be even more motivated to take care of your brother-in-law.”
“Meaning we don’t have much time.” I flip the folder shut as soon as Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” blares over the speaker system. As much as I hate to admit it, Daron’s probably right about the noise covering any eavesdropping, and the low light would make it very hard to read over my shoulder.
Still, a fucking strip club. I thought I was past this shit.
“What’s the play here?” Eric asks eagerly. “I assume we didn’t just do all that recon for nothing.”
“The play is you don’t worry about it.” I shove the folder into my jacket. “Erase any evidence that you were looking into Los Sombras. Make sure anyone you talked to forgets you exist. Understand?”
“You’re going to do something.” Eric leans closer. “I want in.”
I glance at Daron. He’s chewing and staring right at me with a deep frown. “That’s not happening.”
“We’re a crew, right? Whatever you’re in on—”
“This is personal. I already asked too much of you.”
William interrupts. “I’m on Eric’s side here.”
“Seriously?” Daron asks, looking perturbed. “I expected this from young buck here—”
“Fuck off, Daron,” Eric says.
“But you have actual experience. Why the fuck would you want to get involved with Los Sombras?”
“Because we’re a crew now.” William seems strangely calm about all this, considering what he’s saying. I don’t know how I feel about it, but I let him talk. “Eric’s motives are wrong, but his heart’s in the right place. If we’re going to build trust, it should start here. I’m willing to help so long as you’re sure this is going to be worth our time.”
I sit back and consider. I could use their expertise, but I understand Daron’s hesitation. They don’t need to stick their necks out for me.
But maybe William’s got a point. If we’re going to build this team, we can start right here, with something simple. Daron looks annoyed, but I cut him off before he can start to argue more.
“I want you three to probe the Los Sombras network,” I say, talking louder when Daron tries to protest. “Don’t do anything stupid. Find vulnerabilities, but don’t go past that. I’ll need a way inside when it’s time.”
“What else?” Eric asks, looking excited. “Want me to stake them out?”
“No, not yet. I’ll handle anything like that if it comes up.” I look at Daron and hold his gaze. “You want to argue? Tell me this is stupid?”
He finishes chewing. William’s watching the dancing girl with a bored expression, and Eric seems like he’s about to vibrate out of his seat. I hold Daron’s stare and practically beg him to challenge me. I want him to make a good point, to convince these other two idiots that they don’t need to get involved in my problem.
But he finally shakes his head. “Fuck it. I never liked the cartel assholes. One of them stole my car. Did I ever tell you that story?”
“You’re full of shit,” Eric says, grinning widely. “When should we start?”
“Tonight.” I push back and stand. “If any of you have second thoughts, I won’t hold it against you. But I appreciate this show of support.”
William shrugs. “We’re a team now. Might as well get used to it.”
“Enjoy the buffet on me.” I toss some cash on the table. Daron eagerly grabs it.
“Happy to, boss.” He gives me a sarcastic salute as I walk off.
Their help is more than I deserve. But if they really do want to help, then I need to make sure I can take care of them in the end. I’m not going to be the kind of man that takes advantage of the people working for me.
They’ll get rewarded commensurate with their risk.
I just don’t know how yet.
I’m distracted as I drive back home. I’m thinking about how I can put my new team to good use as I disengage the security system and head in through the front door. “Riley?” I call out and pause when there’s no response. “Riley!”
Nothing. Dead quiet. I’m on high alert as I pull my gun and immediately start sweeping the area. I check my phone for sensor alerts, but there’s nothing. Only one ping from an hour ago: someone left through the back.
That fucking girl.
I know exactly where she went. I put my gun away and storm back out. This time, I hit the street, walking instead of driving. I’m at the safe house door ten minutes later, banging on it angrily.
My sweet angel wife answers with a happy smile. “Alexan! We were just talking—”
I storm past her, fucking livid. “What were you thinking?” I snarl as she closes the door behind me.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I told you when I left not to go anywhere.”
“But I was just checking on Brenden.” She frowns at where her brother’s sitting on the couch. He still looks like shit, but he’s still alive at least. “I thought this place was safe?”
“It’s safe-ish, but it won’t be if you keep coming here.” I gesture at Brenden, trying very hard to keep myself under control, but failing. “What were you thinking, letting her come here?”
“I didn’t,” he says with a shrug. “I actually told her all this already.”
“Fine, okay, it was dumb!” She glares at me. “But since I was here, we both figured I might as well visit.”
I take several calming breaths. If I had known that the woman I’d fall for would be so damn impulsive, I would’ve learned meditation or something. Because I’m pretty sure she’s going to give me a heart attack.
“Mantis is good,” I say, stressing the word. “They’re extremely adept at what they do. Which means you could be followed and never know it. Which means they could know where Brenden’s staying.”
“I thought we were worried about Los Sombras?” she asks, glancing over at her brother. He shakes his head, exasperated.
“We’re worried about everyone!” I say, throwing up my hands. “That’s the problem. You have to be more careful.”
“My brother’s all alone in this stupid empty apartment. He’s half dead—”
“I’m not that bad,” he says, scratching the back of his head.
She looks at him like she wants to kick him in the teeth. “My brother is half dead,” she says through her teeth. “I can’t just leave him alone.”
“You’re going to have to.” I wave a hand at him. “Say goodbye. You’ll see each other again soon.”
She crosses her arms. “That’s not going to work for me.”
Brenden sighs. “Don’t get all stubborn now, Riles.”
“You hear this, right? My husband laying down the law?”
“He’s not wrong.”
“Thank you,” I say to her brother. “We have rules for a reason. You need to follow them if we’re going to live through this.”
Riley’s jaw works, but she finally nods. I can tell it’s hard for her. “Fine, alright? I screwed up. I can see that now. Just don’t be so smug about it.”
“Believe me, there’s not a smug bone in my body.” I nod at Brenden. “I’ll drop off more supplies soon.”
“Good luck with that.” He grins at me, and I’m pretty sure he’s talking about my wife.
I direct her out of the house and back down onto the sidewalk. She’s glaring at me the whole time as we take the long way back to my place. I make sure nobody’s following the best I can, but it’s not easy with Riley in tow. Finally, we make it back home.
“I know this is hard,” I tell her once the security system’s back in place. “But it won’t be forever.”
She slumps down onto the couch and leans back. Her eyes shut, and I study her long neck and her pouty lips. God, she’s beautiful, but infuriating too.
“I know,” she says at last, looking at me. “I made a mistake. I’m owning up to it.”
I walk over and sit beside her. I put a hand on her knee, then pull her close against me. Reluctantly, she leans into my side.
“This is hard,” I say softly. “But we’re going to get through it together.”
“I know that. I’m just worried.”
“You can’t do anything for Brenden right now. I promise, I’m taking care of him.”
“I know you are. I just hate feeling powerless.” She pulls back slightly and looks away. “That’s how I felt growing up, you know? My dad treated me like I was some huge disappointment. I couldn’t do anything right.”
“Your dad’s an asshole. You’re a clever and beautiful woman, Riley. You just need to be a little less impulsive.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She smiles slightly. “I’m working on it. It’s just hard to unlearn all the shit my father forced into my head over the years.”
My jaw flexes. I hate what that man did to my wife. She’s holding onto all this baggage because of him, but she doesn’t deserve it. I want to break that fucking man’s skull in half, but I know that would only upset her. Otherwise, I’d make him suffer.
“He doesn’t matter anymore.” I tilt her chin toward me. “You know that, right? He’s nothing. You’re something.”
“Thank you.” She leans up and kisses me. “That helps.”
“Now, keep your ass in the house, alright?” I kiss her again and drag her into my lap. “Don’t make it even harder to keep you alive.”
“Yes, sir,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’ll do what I can, sir.”
I grip her ass and kiss her. This girl is going to get us both killed, and I can’t even stay angry.
