by Wilder, L.
He crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair and said, “You want to go check out an address you were given for a mob boss?”
“They are looking to expand their distribution, and my source seems to think that Rodrigo is here to help get things started. I’m guessing he’s looking for a new shipping route for hauling their drugs, and if I can get close enough, I can figure out—”
“Well, there’s no way in hell that’s going to happen.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because these men are dangerous criminals, and I don’t want you anywhere near any of them!” he snapped. “Have you even considered what these guys would do to you if they suspected you were investigating them?”
“I have no intention of ever letting them find out. I mean, come on, it’s not like I’m planning to just walk up and ask the guy for an interview. I’ll keep my distance and stay hidden. They’ll never even know I’m there.”
“Oh, they’ll know you’re there, Winters.” He ran his hand roughly over his face and grumbled, “A young blonde following them around in her bright red Volkswagen. Umm … yeah. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“I’m not stupid, Chandler. I do know what it means to go undercover.”
“But that’s just it. You’ve never gone undercover. You don’t know the first thing about staying under the radar,” he argued.
“Well, this is my chance to learn the ropes.”
“I don’t know, Winters. I only agreed to this article because I knew it was important to you, but now, I’m thinking that was a mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. I can do this. I just need you to give me a chance to prove it.”
“And what if something happens to you?”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. Like I said, I’ll play it safe and keep my distance. I give you my word.”
“I’ll agree to this, but with one condition—you take Myles along with you.”
Myles Dixon was one of our top writers who covered lots of the big criminal cases in town, and I should’ve been excited to have the opportunity to work with someone like him, but I wasn’t. I wanted to do this on my own. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Once Graves had made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. “Okay. I’ll take Myles along, but I have a condition of my own.”
“And what’s that?”
“The story is mine. No matter what happens, he has no input on how it’s written.”
“Agreed.” He glanced down at his watch, then stood up and said, “I’ve got to head upstairs. Get with Myles and fill him in on the situation. If he has any questions, send him to me.”
“Will do.”
When I started for the door, Graves called out to me, “Winters.”
“Yes?”
“Myles is really good at what he does. If you play your cards right, you might learn something from him.”
“You never know. Stranger things have happened.”
With that, I turned and went back to my cubicle. I barely had a chance to sit down before Grace came rushing over to my desk. She wanted to hear about my meeting with Graves, and as I told her everything that was said, a mischievous smile spread across her face. Surprised by her reaction, I asked, “What’s with the look?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I was just thinking … working side by side with Myles wouldn’t be a bad thing. With that hot bod and those incredible blue eyes, he’s all kinds of fine, and on top of that, he’s a brilliant writer. Who knows? Maybe you two will hit it off.”
“Umm … no. I am not interested in Myles. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just a means to an end.”
“You say that now, but after a couple of late-night stakeouts, you might see things differently.”
“Not a chance.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Before I had a chance to argue, she turned and walked away. Damn. I was already feeling anxious about talking to Myles, but after my conversation with Grace, I was downright dreading it—mainly because Grace was right. In our small office, he was something to behold. He was a gifted writer who looked just like Chris Hemsworth, and it was difficult not to think of Thor whenever he walked into the room. To make matters worse, I’d only spoken with him twice, and both times, I kept the conversation brief. There was a chance he wouldn’t even remember meeting me, which made having to contact him that much harder. Knowing I had no other choice, I picked up the phone and dialed his number. After a brief conversation, we made arrangements to meet after work for a bite to eat. It would be a late night for me, but if I could convince him to work with me, it would be well worth it. As soon as I hung up the phone, I turned on my laptop and opened my notes. I wanted to be prepared when I met with Myles, so I quickly reviewed everything I’d gathered over the last month. While it wasn’t much, it was a good start, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be long before I had everything I needed to take down Rodrigo Navarro. I was determined to make him pay for the hurt he’d caused my family, and nothing was going to stand in my way.
3
Riggs
I’ve done some pretty fucked up things in my life, but until Cotton mentioned moving Navarro and his men, I’d never even considered digging up a fucking corpse—much less one that had been buried for several days. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea, but like the others, I believed it was the best way for the club to throw Navarro’s brother off track. As we drove over to the east side of town to retrieve the bodies, I tried to prepare myself for what we were about to encounter, but it didn’t help. Hell, I nearly lost my lunch when I saw the state of the decaying corpses, but I still managed to help my brothers get the job done. Once we had everything loaded into the back of the truck, we drove to a remote part of town in Little Rock, Arkansas. I’d done my research and found an old, abandoned warehouse that was miles away from town. When I discovered it was one of many in the area, I knew it was the perfect place to put our plan into motion.
It was after midnight when we finally pulled up to the warehouse, and without a single street light, the entire place was surrounded in darkness. We didn’t want to take any chances on being recognized, so we left our cuts in the SUV and wore all black. We even wore dark-colored ski masks, which made it difficult for us to see as we pulled the bodies out of the truck. Once we had them inside the warehouse, we removed the plastic and positioned them, along with several of their firearms, to look like an exchange gone wrong. Knowing there was a chance the cops would know that the whole setup had been staged, we torched the place, destroying any evidence that might connect Navarro’s death back to us. Before we left, Blaze parked Navarro’s SUV at the front gate with his wallet stashed away in the glovebox.
As soon as we were certain that no stone had been left unturned, we got in our vehicles and headed back to Memphis. We were all eager to find out if Cotton’s plan worked, so Big and I wasted no time hacking into the database at the Little Rock Police Department. We read through every report that was filed, and at first, it looked like they were buying into the setup. As we’d hoped, they used Navarro’s car and license to connect Navarro to the scene, and it wasn’t long before they identified his remains. Unfortunately, doubts started to trickle in when the forensic coroner’s report came back. Even though there wasn’t much left of Navarro or his men, he’d determined that the actual time of death didn’t exactly match the timeline of the fire. Even so, they still believed it was associated with a bad drug exchange and didn’t share the information with the newspapers.
Feeling confident that our plan had worked, we all gathered down at Daisy’s, the club’s diner, to grab a burger before Cotton and the others headed back home. Cyrus had closed early, leaving the entire place to the brothers, and just as we were about to finish eating, Blaze turned to Gus and asked, “Now that we’ve bought ourselves some time, are we gonna move forward with the run?”
“I think we’re good for the end of the week, but we’re going to do things a little different this go rou
nd.” He quickly glanced over in Cotton’s direction as he continued, “Cotton’s gonna send several brothers to follow the shipment until it reaches Baton Rouge.”
“And Ronin? Has he got things sorted with the new dock?” Shadow asked.
Knowing he stood to lose everything if the location ever got out, Ronin had worked hard to keep his dock and all his transporting barges secured. Unfortunately, Navarro used a tracker on one of our SUVs, and we led our enemy straight to his door. It was a tough hit for the club, but an even harder hit for Ronin. He basically had to start from scratch by securing a new warehouse and a new barge. To make things even more difficult, he only had a few days to do it, so I was relieved when Gus replied, “He did, but it’s down in Mobile.”
“Mobile, Alabama?”
“Yeah. He said it’s even better than the last one, and he’s added more security. Murphy and I are going to check it out in the morning. If it’s as good as he says, then we should be a go for the end of the week.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
Cotton and the others were going over some minor details of their trip back home when I heard the front door rattle back and forth. I turned to see who was at the door, and my world stopped turning when I saw her standing on the other side of the glass. It had been a couple of years since I’d seen her, but the second I saw those crystal-blue eyes, I knew it was Reece. She looked just as beautiful as she did that night in the bar, and I could still remember how good she felt in my arms.
Her scent.
The soft caress of her lips.
The warmth of her body pressed against mine.
The longing that burned inside of me when she walked out that door.
I thought back to all the sleeplessness nights I spent lying in my bed wondering how I’d managed to let a girl like Reece slip through my fingers. I couldn’t deny the fact that it was my fault. I was trying to play it cool and didn’t call her right away. In fact, I didn’t pursue her at all. I was thick-headed and assumed she’d reach out to me. That didn’t happen, and by the time I’d actually pulled my head out of my ass, it was too late. My stomach twisted into a knot when I remembered the day I went to her dorm looking for her. I’d gone there after I finally called her, and the conversation was awkward at best. It was clear that she was hurt because I had waited so long to contact her, and I hoped that I could rectify things if I went to see her in person. I was surprised when Danielle, her sorority sister, answered the door. I was even more surprised when she told me that Reece had already left for Vanderbilt. Even though I already knew it, Danielle informed me that I’d fucked up in a major way. I thought about going after her, explaining that I’d made a mistake, but after my conversation with Danielle, I decided against it. Reece had gone to Vanderbilt to start a new chapter in her life, a chapter in which a man like me didn’t belong.
As I sat there looking at her now, I wondered if I’d made the right choice. My mind was suddenly bombarded with questions, questions that demanded answers, but before I had the chance to go to her, Cyrus yelled, “Sorry, lady, we’re closed.”
I watched in awe as a light blush crossed her delicate face. With an awkward smile and a quick shrug, she turned and walked away. Panic surged through me when I realized she was leaving, and I found myself racing towards the door. I rushed outside but stopped when I spotted her in the parking lot talking to some guy. They spoke for a few moments, and then Reece walked over and got inside the car with him. Damn. Even though I had no claim to her, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling jealous, and when I couldn’t stand it a moment longer, I went back inside the restaurant. As I made it back over to my seat, I couldn’t help but wonder if the asshole she was with was her boyfriend, or worse—her husband. The mere thought of her being tied to someone else gutted me. Picking up on my change of mood, Blaze leaned over to me and asked, “Everything all right, brother?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Just had to check on something.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“All right. If you say so.” He stood up and turned to others as he said, “Well, boys … I better head on home. Kenadee has to work the late shift, so I’ll need to be there to get Kevin sorted for the night.”
He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Shadow stood up and said, “I’ve gotta get going, too. I’ll follow you out.”
After they all said their farewells, Blaze looked over to Clutch and Stitch. “I’ll see y’all at the end of the week.”
As soon as they were gone, the others started to disperse. Cotton followed Stitch and Clutch upstairs to the club’s apartments above the restaurant. They’d been staying there for the past week, and while the accommodations were decent enough, I had no doubt they were all looking forward to going home and seeing their families. Once they were gone, I followed Gus and Moose out to our bikes, and just as we were about to put on our helmets, Gus turned to us and said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this Navarro guy.”
Moose shook his head. “You’re not the only one. Look, I’m not saying moving those bodies was a bad idea. I believe it will buy us some time, but at the end of the day, all roads with Navarro lead to Memphis.”
“Yeah, he had to know his brother was planning to expand his distribution to include Memphis. Hell, he’s probably the one who sent him here to start it up.”
“So, it’s only a matter of time before Josue follows the trail back here.”
“Exactly.” Gus turned to me and said, “I’m gonna need you to do whatever it takes to find him. I know he’s gone underground, but there has to be a way you can track him down.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I’m gonna need better than your best on this one, Riggs.”
“Understood. I won’t let you down.”
A daunting feeling washed over me as I watched Gus get on his motorcycle. He’d been my president long enough for me to know when he was worried, and there was no doubt that he was feeling troubled by this whole situation with Navarro. It was completely understandable. From the things I’d read about him, I knew he was a powerful man, more powerful than anyone we’d ever come up against, and it wouldn’t be easy to bring him down. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. Over the years, the club had faced many adversaries, each one thinking they had what it took to bring us to our knees, but none had even come close. We were still standing tall, and I would do everything in my power to keep it that way. When we got back to the clubhouse, I went straight to my room and started reading through all the intel Big and I had gathered on Navarro. I spent the entire night hunting for anything that would lead me to his whereabouts, and something had just caught my eye when Blaze came walking through the door.
When he saw all the papers and files scattered across my desk, he asked, “What’s all this?”
“I’ve been trying to hunt down Navarro.”
“Having any luck?”
“I think I’m getting close, but I won’t know until I check out this IP address. I’m thinking I might be able to use it to bypass his phone navigation.”
“Got no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but good luck with that.”
“Thanks,” I scoffed.
“So, what was up with you last night?”
I turned towards my computer screen as I answered, “I already told you. It was nothing.”
“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit, Riggs. You and I both know it wasn’t nothing. I could see it on your face,” he fussed. “Hell, you looked like you’d seen a fucking ghost. So, just tell me. What went down last night?”
I let out a deep breath as I admitted, “I saw her.”
“I’m sorry, brother. You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”
“Reece.” I turned to face him as I repeated, “I saw Reece.”
“Who the hell is Reece?”
I couldn’t blame him for not remembering. While I’d told him all about her—more than he’d ever wanted to know, it had been a couple of years si
nce I’d mentioned her name. Once she’d left for Vanderbilt, I did what I could to put her and that weekend we’d spent together out of my mind, but it wasn’t easy. Every time I hooked up with some chick, I ended up comparing her to Reece, which only led to a long line of disappointments. Hoping that it wouldn’t take much for Blaze to remember her, I simply answered, “The chick I met on your birthday.”
“Oh, damn.”
Yep. He remembered.
“Yeah.”
His eyebrows furrowed when he asked, “I thought she was at Vanderbilt or something.”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing, but apparently she’s back in town.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing,” I answered, flatly.
“What do you mean nothing? This girl meant something to you, and when she left town, it had you all kinds of twisted up. I know you fucked things up, but now you’ve got your chance to set things straight,” he scolded. “You’ve gotta find her and tell her what’s what.”
As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t. With everything that was going on with the club, I didn’t have time for distractions, especially a distraction like Reece. For the time being, I needed to keep my focus on finding Navarro and nothing else. “I don’t have time for that shit right now. Besides, I don’t know if she’d even want to see me, and on top of that, she was with some guy last night.”
“Didn’t take you as one who’d be scared off by a little competition,” he goaded.
“Never said I was, dickhead. I just don’t see the point in chasing after some chick who’s already tied to some other guy.”
“I guess you gotta ask yourself … is she just ‘some chick,’ or is she more than that? If you really think she’s the one, you’ve gotta fight for her, otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.”