I shake my head. “No can do, Cuz.”
“Why? Hot date with a grizzly bear?” He laughs at his own joke while I flip him my middle finger.
“Hey, be nice to Monk,” Trigger cackles and saddles up to the bar. Aria pours him a beer, but I catch her smiling at his joke as well.
“I thought we decided his new road name was going to be Father instead?” Pointz asks, before laughing to himself. He and Trigger bump fists over the joke like it's the most hilarious thing ever.
“Real funny,” I tell him and keep walking toward the door.
“Leave him alone,” Aria finally says. “Just because he isn’t a resident Playboy like all of ya’ll.”
“Not saying he has to claim the same manwhore status as Trigger.” Pointz lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “Just saying the man could use a little TLC, and if he happened to do it with the help of some sweet pussy then he may be more relaxed.”
“And not so grumpy,” Trigger adds.
My face wipes clear of all emotion except for the heated glare I’m shooting all of them. My chest squeezes painfully, feeling her loss all over again. “Never gonna happen.”
I slip out the door before they can say any more. In the past year, the ribbing has gotten worse. I don’t party. And I have not moved on from the girl who holds my heart. Countless times, I’ve been advised that I should just have a night with a club whore to move on, and I’ve never even entertained the idea. Even if we aren’t together, the idea of anyone else touching me, kissing me, or having their body pressed to mine feels like cheating. I’m not ready to let go of Winnie. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to say goodbye to what we had, especially knowing she’s still out there. Bullet explained that they’re all just worried about me. He, Karma, and Prez know the most about how much Winnie’s leaving tore me up. They also know that I’m to blamebecause of my own stupidity. I ran her off and I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life regretting that I hurt her. If I’m ever lucky enough to see her again, I’ll fall to my knees and beg for her forgiveness. If I ever am lucky enough to have her again, there’s no way I’ll ever let her go.
Chapter 19
Finn
The plans to scoop up the Bianchi asset came together much smoother and faster than any of us anticipated. As Prez had stated, the mafia heir already had everything prepared and was willing to keep our timeline as long as it benefitted keeping his woman safe. Within twenty hours of our emergency meeting, I was heading out with Karma, Bullet, and both prospects who were driving behind us in the truck. The location that had been sent to us was an old shipyard in Chattanooga. The drive was only a few hours, but we wanted to arrive early in order to do some surveillance of the area. With the war going on between the Cartel and the Mafia, and their own personal war inside the Familia, we didn’t want to take any chances. Our alliance may be to Bianchi but that doesn’t mean we’re trying to bring trouble to our door either.
The shipyard is deserted when we get there. The river is calm in the background, while the only things in the sky are a few birds. Karma instructs the prospects to park a block over and to keep a lookout for possible interruptions. I kill the engine on my bike and climb off. Bullet is already glancing around and tryingto find any high peaks where a sharpshooter could hide. His military training is kicking in.
“Not that I’m going to complain about the short ride, but I was surprised a mafia prince would come all the way down here from New York,” I muse, while keeping an eye on the back gate.
“He’s been in Atlanta working on some hotel deal. A front for an illegal gambling ring,” Bullet explains, and I scoff.
“That makes much more sense.” We both chuckle and sweep the area through the aisles of boats, small yachts, and containers. Once Karma makes it back over to us, we go over our plan.
“Get her and put her in the cage. Two of us ride in the front, and one of us takes up the back,” Karma lays it out in military precision.
“Easy enough,” Bullet agrees with him, and so do I. I’m about to ask when our little party is getting started, right as my cell phone vibrates with a text from prospect number one.
“They’re here.”
Karma nods, and Bullet shifts, so we’re standing farther apart. In case they decided to double-cross us for some reason, it would be harder to shoot all three of us if we’re not so close together. Tires on gravel disrupt the silence soon after. My hands ball into fists at my side when a black utility van with blacked-out windows pulls into view. The van stops a few feet from us, and a man in a black suit steps out of the passenger side. He walks up to me, since I’m standing in the middle.
“Daggerz’s boys?” he asks, an arrogant brow raised and a cocky smirk in place.
The word boy makes me bristle, but I manage to hold my composure. Sticking my hand out to shake his, I step forward. “Bianchi’s goons?”
Bullet holds back a laugh, disguised as a cough, while Karma’s jaw works overtime to suppress the smile that wants tomake an appearance. The man in front of me loses his smile, and he pulls back, adjusting his suit coat.
“We’ll follow you.” He nods toward our bikes.
Karma holds up a hand. “We were told we’re taking the asset from here.”
The man glances among the three of us, and I swear he looks a little hesitant. “The asset is currently indisposed. Boss wants this done with our eyes on her until we reach the safety of your clubhouse.”
Indisposed?
“You knocked her out?” The question flies from my mouth, and my eyes narrow on the man. His eyes flash, but he holds firm, his chin raised.
“The asset is important to the boss. We did what was best to get the asset here as safely as possible.”
