He tightened his mouth. “You’ll lose your soul. No one comes out as the same person they were before they went undercover. Are you prepared for that?”
“I’m prepared to do my job.” That was the only answer I had. “And before you say anything, I’m not my brother. Drugs are not my thing.” Jason had experimented with drugs in high school but nothing serious—or so I thought.
A beat of silence bounced between us.
“About two weeks ago, there was an opening for a bartending position at the Monarch nightclub that Hart owns,” Agent Howard said. “I don’t know if it’s still open, but you were a bartender in college, right?”
I nodded. “I also did some moonlighting as a bartender for a friend in LA.”
He sighed. “You should talk to your father. I’ll work my end.”
My stomach churned with excitement and apprehension. “Thank you. If this happens, I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. I think you’re a great agent. Your superiors and colleagues in LA speak highly of you. I also agree that you’re not Jason. You have fire in you to seek the answers you’re looking for. That alone should help you to stay focused. It’s Hart I’m worried about. Bruce was right. Hart has a nose for cops. So if this op happens, then you need to become a chameleon and adapt to the profile we put together for you.”
I’d taken acting in high school—not that the starring role inRomeo and Julietdeemed me worthy of playing someone I wasn’t on the world stage of criminals and illegal firearms.
But I would do whatever it took to stop a war, and maybe in the end, I would finally get closure on Jason’s death.
2
DUKE
An hour after the clusterfuck at the container yard, I was pacing in a run-down empty building in Dorchester that I was considering purchasing.
I was trying to shed my criminal businesses little by little to build a life in which I could settle down, maybe have kids, open a boxing gym, and spend more time with my siblings. I had to do something soon. Or I was afraid I would end up in a body bag or prison. I’d skirted the Feds for years. But my good friend and associate, Brian McCauley, believed it wasn’t if but when we faced our fate.
I had to get out on my own terms—hand the business over to Vince, my second-in-command, who was eager to run the empire.
“We’re fucked.” Vince sat on a crate, elbows on his knees. “Those were Rosario’s men. They were driving the truck full of guns. What happened? It wasn’t the Feds.”
I’d been racking my brain on who the fuck would have done this. The Mexican cartel came to mind, but I couldn’t find a reason why Arturo Rodriguez would steal Rosario’s guns. He was a dick and had the army, but surely he knew that it was suicide. Then again, Arturo Rodriguez was right up there with Rosario as a lethal motherfucker.
“Maybe Rosario pissed off Arturo.” I walked up and down the dirt-covered floor, smelling the disgusting odor of piss that was permeating the air.
Vince flashed his blue eyes my way. “He has been trying to move into the gun business, but why take her guns?”
“To get her attention. Actually, anyone could’ve stolen the guns, but who knew of our meeting? On our side, only you and I knew. Unless one of our men overheard the details and is stupid enough to cross me”
We’d been fucked over the years by a few who’d worked for us. Either they’d leaked info outside our circle or had been caught stealing from us.
“You can cut off my fingers if we have a leak,” Vince said. “I assure you we don’t.”
I ripped off my beanie and shoved a hand through my sweaty hair. “Are you sure you want to run this business?”
“I go back and forth.” He straightened, his big gut sticking out. “That topic is for another day. What if the Alvarezes are behind this? If anyone has the balls to pull this off, it’s Mateo Alvarez. He’s been kicked out of his gang. And don’t forget that his brother, Tito, tried to move in on the gun trade. Plus, they do have a vendetta against your family.”
The Southside Creepers, a large gang that had been around Dorchester for eons, had been led by Tito Alvarez until he was sent to prison for murder. Mateo had taken the helm but was recently forced out of the gang. Like Tito, Mateo was a loose cannon, murdering anyone who pissed him off, which attracted the wrong kind of attention to the Creepers.
I hadn’t been bothered by the Alvarezes since my brother Denim set up Tito to take the fall for a gun shipment four years ago. But during that meeting, Denim had worn a wire for the Feds, and instead of Tito bragging about a gun shipment, he’d been coerced into confessing to two murders. But that was a story for another day.
“If you’re right about Mateo, then he’s working with someone in Rosario’s camp.” I punched the chipped cement wall as fury flooded my veins. Rosario was going to rain hell down, and I would be right in the middle of it, doing her bidding.
“Why isn’t Gustavo calling me back?” I asked myself more than Vince as I wiped blood off my knuckles. I’d left Rosario’s lieutenant a voicemail after Vince and I found the bodies.
“You think Gustavo is aware of what happened?”
He better not be the one behind this. I could never be sure who was stabbing who in the back in Rosario’s organization. In the past, she’d had a few leaks, not only filtering information to her enemies but to the Feds as well.
