Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2)
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RAIDEN
Copyright © 2020 by A. M. Hargrove
AM Hargrove LLC UAN Publishing
Up All Night Romance
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in form or any manner whatsoever by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or a book review. Scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated. For information address to A.M. Hargrove LLC, UAN Publishing—Annie@amhargrove.com
All rights reserved.
Raiden Kent. Wealthy. Possessive. Commanding.
To say his intense reaction to Scottie Sullivan barging into his life shocked him was an understatement.
Shrewd, savvy, confident, the former DEA agent ran circles around him in cyber security, his specialty.
Her curves and beauty made focusing on business absurd.
Raiden couldn’t predict Scottie would be his guardian angel in disguise, or how badly he needed her protection.
The day she saved his life made that clear.
Now he had to choose if having Scottie by his side was worth the angst she created.
Could he handle the constant threats hanging over her head each time she strode out the door?
Would her insistence on playing hero be their destruction?
Raiden recognized one thing.
A strong, independent woman like Scottie would never be dictated to.
He had a choice to make that would change everything.
Cover By: Talia at Book Cover Kingdom
Photography: Eric McKinney
This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
Oscar Wilde
Contents
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Epilogue — Raiden
Other Books
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Playlist
“Hell To The Liars” … London Grammar
“Wicked Game” … Ursine Vulpine
“The Last Song Of Your Life” … Pink
“Walk Me Home” … Pink
“The Missing Road” … Radical Face
“There She Goes” … The La’s
“Leaders Of The Free World” … Elbow
“From Yesterday” … Thirty Seconds to Mars
“City Of Blinding Lights” … U2
“Spotlights” … Candlebox
“Only The Wild Ones” … Dispatch
“Safe” … The Airborne Toxic Event
“Moth Into Flame” … Metallica
“Under Pressure” … Queen, David Bowie
“Every Breath You Take” … Police
Prologue
Three men sat in a dingy room, one smoking a cigar. They passed around a file that contained a plethora of information. While two of the men read what the file held, the third moved to a bulletin board that hung on a brick wall.
“How many new soldiers have you recruited?” the man standing asked.
“We’re up to eighteen, sir. Most will arrive this week.”
As the man spoke, the one standing pinned up photos on the board. When he finished, there were six overall. On each person’s head, he deliberately drew a red target. Then his lips stretched into a nasty grimace. The other two men shivered. “Good. That should be enough to accomplish my goals. These two here.” He drilled his finger into the pictures he was referencing. “These are the first two you’ll be taking out.”
One of the seated men asked, “The brothers then. How do you want it done, boss?”
“I don’t give a damn. As long as it’s clean and accurate. Leave nothing behind is all I ask.”
“Explosives work the best for that. Neat with nothing left.”
The boss appeared pensive for a moment. “Fine, but I want it to occur in their pretty headquarters. That should make a point with them and those connected to them.”
The other two men glanced at each other and nodded. “Not a problem. We can make it as big as you want if that’s what you’re interested in.”
The boss glared and gritted out, “What I’m interested in is having them dead. I want them to pay. After you take care of those two, go after these two meddling fuckers.” He slapped his palm on the photos of a man and woman. “Make another grand point with them, especially this nosy fucker.” He stabbed a finger into the picture of the man.
“Boss, that might be a bit more difficult. Their building is as tight as a virgin’s pussy.”
The boss spun around, scowling. It never boded well for them when he was in a mood such as this. “Then fuck it until you loosen the damn thing up.” Bending over, he slammed his hands down on the table, spittle flying out of his mouth. “I want them both to feel my pain. Do I make myself clear?”
“Y-yes, boss. No problem. We’ll come up with something,” one of them added quickly.
“Not just something, dammit. I want the fires of hell to burn those motherfuckers down.”
“Got it, boss. You can count on us.”
“I can count on you? I’m not just counting on you. If you don’t get this fucking job done and done right, I’ll find someone to fill your goddamn shoes.”
“Right, boss.” By now, they knew they’d better get it right the first time, or they’d be at the wrong end of an explosion.
Then an evil grin spread across the boss’s face. “I’ve saved these two for last.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“The perfect weapon.” They watched as he pinned another picture to the board. This time it was that of a baby.
“A baby? That baby is a weapon?”
“Not just any baby, you idiot. It’s their preci
ous daughter. When I threaten to slit her throat, the other two will crawl out of their hole and come running. That’s when you’ll strike. I want the kill to be outrageously horrific. Do you understand?”
“Absolutely, sir. We got it. How soon should we start?”
“When the rest of the men arrive, bring them up to speed and get this done. Then we’ll resume all operations. Nobody fucks with the O’Briens. They think they’ve gotten us, but they’re mortally wrong. They didn’t realize they left the most ruthless son of a bitch behind.” Aiden’s vicious laugh filled the cavernous room they occupied and his two men glanced at each other. One of them felt sorry for those people whose pictures he stared at. They would soon experience a bloody nightmare.
Chapter One
Scottie
The screen on my computer blinked as I waited for the information to load. As the newest hire at Wolfe Investigations, I reflected upon how I’d ended up here. As a former DEA agent, we’d been working on a case to locate a suspected mule who was running cocaine and heroin out of the tunnels from Mexico. This one was in Arizona and had been nothing but one tremendous pain in the ass. We’d shut down most of them, but this mule had somehow eluded everything we’d done.
One of our team suggested hiring an outside company, which ended up being Wolfe Investigations. His former experience with them had been stellar. After running the gauntlet of red tape, the request was approved and our first meeting took place. I didn’t expect the contact to be a woman. Gemini Wolfe, co-owner with her husband, Drex, showed up as the company rep. Her knowledge blew everyone away, and we hired WI on the spot. Gemini and I worked together for three months until we apprehended our guys. Turned out there were several and they were elderly men—ones we never suspected. They were currently in jail, awaiting trial.
A couple of weeks later, I got a call from Gemini asking if she and her husband could come down to visit. Why not? She and I got along so well, I figured it was a social call.
It wasn’t. They came down to offer me a job with Wolfe Investigations. Gemini’s throaty chuckle hit me when Drex posed the question.
“Would you be interested in working for WI? We’re prepared to offer you a very lucrative package.”
“It’s obvious we’ve shocked you. Your eyes look like they’re about to hit the floor.” Gemini patted my back.
“Well, uh, yeah.” I cleared my throat and asked, “Why me?”
Drex answered, “I’ll let Gem handle this.”
She scooted forward in her chair and propped her elbows on the table. “It’s pretty simple. You’re a damn good agent. You’re better than any of the guys you work with. You have a nose for sniffing things out and your superiors stifle you. Had it been up to you, you would’ve had this case closed months ago. Am I right?”
“Maybe, but—”
She stopped me. “We know. Red tape. We don’t have red tape at WI. We let our employees function with autonomy. If you’d like, come visit our headquarters, in Denver, where we’re based. We’ll show you around and let you have a look for yourself. Then you can decide.”
Drex added, “Our turnover rate is practically nil. I’ve only had to fire one employee and only because she was a mole, working for a terrorist.”
“Wow.”
Gemini knocked Drex in the arm. “Why’d you mention that? It was ages ago. You’ll scare her off.”
He shrugged. “Full disclosure. Add to that, many of us at Wolfe Investigations are former Black Ops, including myself. Some of us served in the military together. If we weren’t Black Ops, I make sure to hire the best of the best. I search for ex-law enforcement and ex-military people.”
“First off, the terrorist thing doesn’t scare me. I prefer to know those things ahead of time. Second, I’m impressed with your experience.”
“Let me interrupt you.”
Gemini raised a finger. “Let me interrupt you. We haven’t had any terrorist incidents since then,”
Drex eyed her. “Yes, we have. Besides, she has to be willing to work in that kind of environment, just in case.”
“Hey, I’m good with that. We deal with bombs all the time.”
Drex stared at Gemini. “See?”
“Point taken. So, what do you think?”
“I’d like to see your headquarters first and meet some of your employees.”
I flew back with them in their corporate jet, and it was a slam dunk. The place was magnificent. It had a room that held satellite images—which I wondered how they managed. They were to everything we had as a government agency, which I also wondered about.
“Is this legal?” I smirked, knowing it most likely wasn’t.
“We operate above board on most things,” Drex said. “Huff is our computer expert, along with a few others, and there may be occasions when he goes under the radar to grab information, but that’s all I’ll say right now.”
“I understand.”
That day, I signed an employment contract with them, to begin work in one month. My pay was astronomical, considering what I was making at the DEA. I’d get a moving bonus, which included all expenses paid, plus I’d get help in selling my house. If it didn’t sell, they’d buy it so I could purchase something in Denver. It was a Godfather offer—I couldn’t refuse it.
That was how I landed here, being WI’s newest employee. My first case had been locating a kid who was missing. His parents suspected he was involved in a drug ring. It only took me eight days to find him, using Huff to hack into some bank accounts I suspected of being part of the ring. The leader was laundering money, so as they say, I followed the money and located the kid. He was only seventeen, and they were using him as a delivery guy for the laundry service they ran. How punny. In the delivery truck, there were boxes where the folded shirts were kept. Under each shirt box, they’d stashed the cocaine and heroin. The kid was delivering the shirts along with the drugs. He was getting paid money and drugs to keep up his habit.
Gemini approached me and wanted to know how much experience I had with cyber theft.
“Not much. However, I know a little because most drug operatives run their scams over the dark web.”
Isla Kent, another employee, joined us. “How much experience do you have with the dark web?”
I scoffed. “More than I care to. We did all of our work on it. Tor was my go-to for information.” Tor was short for the onion router. Onion routing was initially developed to protect US intelligence. With over seven thousand relays, it concealed the user’s location from network surveillance. It also utilized an encryption protocol that acted like layers of an onion, hence, the name.
Gemini and Isla glanced at each other.
“What are you two planning?”
“Let’s go to the conference room. This might take a while.”
We sat with our coffees in hand and she told a story that was almost unbelievable. The sad thing was… it was true. It had to do with her, her husband, Acer, who was a frequent visitor at WI, human trafficking, drugs, the FBI, and the mob. By the time she finished, my head spun with this information.
“I remember when the shit hit the fan with the FBI and they charged the deputy director with racketeering. That was you?” I pointed at Isla.
“Yep. All me. Well, kinda. I lost a great friend during that hunt, but I’d rather not discuss it.”
“You also brought down one of the O’Briens of the Irish mob too.”
“That was with the help of WI. That whole incident was how I ended up here.”
“Wow. So what does all that have to do with me?”
“Sex trafficking,” Isla said as she opened a folder and passed it to me.
“Okaaayy.” I inspected the contents, which held numerous suspects. “All of these? Human traffickers?”
“We think and not only that, we believe they’re involved with drugs too.”
“They usually go hand in hand. The trafficker gets the victim addicted.” It was a common theme, and we all knew it at the DEA.
> Isla glanced at Gemini.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s what happened to Acer.”
“Right. So where do I fit in exactly?”
Isla handed me another folder. “We want you to team up with Kent Software.”
“Now you’ve lost me. What do they have to do with anything?”
Gemini grinned. “Let me show you. There’s this software that government agencies have adopted for finding missing people who they believe have been trafficked. Raiden, Cruze, and Acer Kent developed it. It’s been so successful, we’ve asked them, with your assistance, to work on something to identify drug traffickers using the same method. Using the same groundwork, and with your knowledge, it could be a winner.”
“I’m in. When do I start?”
“Scottie, I knew you’d go for this. I told Isla you’d hop on this train.”
Isla grinned. “One thing you need to know. Raiden and Cruze. They are awesome business guys but be warned. They’re lady killers too.”
I waved a hand. “Not worried. Men have surrounded me in the workplace my entire career. I’m not afraid of them.”
“I’m not talking about being afraid. I’m talking about being vulnerable. The Kent men are fierce. They’ll sweep you away before you even realize they deployed a broom,” Isla countered.
“We’ll see. So far I’m unsweepable. I’m immune to men. I consider them a convenience.”