“Would it do me any good if I did?” Greg fired back before he could think better of it. Greg could have smacked himself. He needed to be on Maxim’s good side, not try and pick a fight. “I had nothing to do with what happened to your colleagues.”
“Just the right place at the right time.” Maxim eyed him skeptically. It was obvious he didn’t believe Greg. “And pray tell, what were you doing outside?”
“Just getting some fresh air.”
“Getting some air.” Maxim looked him over and took another puff from his cigar as he walked away and took a seat on one of the leather couches. Greg could see the wheels turning in his head. Greg needed to think fast if he was going to get out of this unscathed. “And what brings you to my club, Logan?” Everyone in the group was tense as they stared at him. Greg had a feeling that if he sneezed wrong, they would shoot him. “I can’t say that I’ve seen you before.”
“He’s looking for a job,” Silver answered for him. Greg cocked his head to see Silver walk past him without glancing at him and sit on the bench next to Maxim as if she belonged there. Greg couldn’t stop the flare of jealousy at seeing her there, even though he had no claim on the woman. He suspected she belonged to someone; here was proof.
Greg hadn’t expected Silver to stand up for him, but he was glad she did. He was sinking fast and hadn’t seen a way out.
Maxim draped his arm over her leg in a show of ownership. “Is he now?” Maxim drawled. “Boris, take Zoe and Aleksei home.”
Finally, a real name. Zoe. He tested it in his head.
“Maxim,” Zoe started to protest, but one withering look from him silenced her. Zoe didn’t look at Greg as she and Aleksei were ushered out.
Greg shifted his weight from foot to foot, waiting to see what Maxim was going to do. Everyone still seemed tense as they waited for his verdict. Maxim’s thumb flicked over the end of his cigar, sending ash scattering to the floor. “Okay, Logan. Zoe has vouched for you, and you did save her and Aleksei. I’ll give you a chance. Come to my home tomorrow and we’ll see about a job.” He looked to another of his cronies. “Get him the information.” Then Maxim waved him off, already dismissing him from his sight and mind. Someone gave him the address and escorted him from the VIP area.
Chapter 4
Things couldn’t have gone better for Greg if he had planned it himself. Now he had the means to infiltrate this group and find out where the drugs were coming from. Greg didn’t think they were being housed at the club or at Maxim’s home. If he got the job though, he could find out.
Hopefully, tomorrow would bring him closer to shutting down this operation. He also owed Zoe thanks. She’d saved his ass back there. Normally he was a lot more low-key on undercover assignments. Zoe had thrown him off his game.
He couldn’t say he regretted saving her and her friend. It had gotten him in. But he wouldn’t have been in the position he was in if he hadn’t gone chasing after her just to see her again.
He couldn’t allow that to happen again or he could end up dead. She was a beautiful woman, but she was also a distraction and the enemy. He must not forget that. Zoe worked for a powerful drug dealer and was pretty cozy with him.
He needed to do some more digging on her. He was upset none of his research had shown her. What else had he missed? Greg headed to the office, wanting to go over the research he’d dug up before going to the club.
“How did it go?” Luke, the leader of their group and a good friend, asked looking up at him from his desk. A large stack of paperwork was scattered across the surface, as per usual.
They operated in a rented space that was just large enough to accommodate some desks and a kitchen. They were a private group created by Colonel Weber a few years ago. There were seven of them altogether.
It had started as six, but on one of their missions a few months ago, they were a man short. Jack suggested a guy he’d met at the prosthetic clinic named Drew. He had joined the team without hesitation.
They all came from different branches of the military and had been medically discharged from injuries sustained in the line of duty. The military no longer had a use for them, but the Colonel saw they still could serve their country, just behind the curtains.
They didn’t exist but still had access to all government intel. Greg didn’t fully understand it all, but he wasn’t in the business of asking questions. He had been given a second chance to continue to serve his country and had signed on the dotted line to continue doing what he loved.
“I’m meeting Maxim at his mansion tomorrow for a job.”
Luke raised a quizzical brow. He was their leader but also played a big brother to all of them, even if they all were about the same age. “That was fast. I thought you were going to survey first before approaching. Are you sure it’s wise to go in already? We don’t have a full layout of the house yet. Shay was able to get some info on it, but we don’t have the full schematics.”
Shay was Luke’s girlfriend. They had met a few months ago when he’d saved her from a trafficker that was auctioning women out of his night club. Technically, a politician her father worked with had arranged for her to be kidnapped, but the kidnapper didn’t want to pay fast enough so her handler decided to make a quick buck off of her.
Shay was smart and had set the club on fire and escaped, ending up in Luke’s car. Now she helped them as she went through school on property law.
“An opportunity presented itself and I was forced to make a quick decision.”
“The woman?” Luke scowled, not looking happy about Greg’s distraction. Greg had been wearing a body camera in the club, so Luke had seen everything Greg had.
“She works closely with Maxim. When she was about to be kidnapped, I reacted.”
“So you were thinking with the other head.”
“She was an opportunity to get close to Maxim. I thought by saving her, it would give me an in, and it did.” Even if that hadn’t been the only reason he’d followed her.
