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“So, what do we need to know about this drop? Namely, time and location. Has payment already been made?” Dex asked, his deep voice commanding attention.

Mario dismissively waved his hand. “You do not need those answers. The cargo is loaded in the box truck graciously provided for you, and the navigation is programmed with the location. I didn’t know if you were familiar with doing a job correctly, so I took it upon myself to give you the best chance of success,” the condescending ass responded. “As for the payment, forgive me if I don’t trust a bunch of outlaw bikers with collecting my money. The client has already paid,” he added on.

I fought to keep my face neutral at the bullshit this man was spewing.

No one in their right mind would pay for the product in full before receiving it. There might be a wire at the exchange time, but I knew damn well Los Muertos kept everything cash. They wanted no electronic footprint when it came to money or any illegal shit. It was why authorities had such a hard time nailing them to the wall. To get to Los Muertos, they would have to get close and get proof of dealings because they weren’t going to find shit online.

So Mario’s claims—utter bullshit.

Dex’s fists clenched and unclenched. “Perfect. So glad you thought about all of that for us,” he answered, making his way over to the driver’s side. It sounded like he was swallowing broken glass trying to get those words out. If the situation wasn’t so fucked, I would be cracking up at the level of restraint Dex had to use.

Man’s asshole is probably clenched as tight as his fists.

Mario’s hand appeared by the passenger door, holding it shut. “Gunner, I do hope there are no hard feelings about you being rejected by Ryan. I wouldn’t want that to impact the working relationship we have.”

I glanced over to where he was standing and imagined ramming my fist into his face—replacing his manic grin with a bloody mess. The man was fucking delusional, and his head was so far up his ass that he didn’t even realize the shit that came out of his mouth. Ryan told me about their exchange after I left. How he insisted she belonged to him after she told him they weren’t even a couple, much less engaged. I could see it now as he stood in front of me; Ryan was his obsession, and he felt he owned her.

I shook my head. “No, I’m not impacted by the relationship Ryan has with you,” I responded, deadpan.

His smile widened as he opened the truck door for me to get in. Fucker thought he’d won. Before Dex fully backed out of the loading dock, I rolled my window down.

“Hey, Mario, you might think she’s your girl, but it’s my name she yells out when I fuck her. And she does it so beautifully,” I yelled out, flipping the man off.

His face morphed into a snarl. I wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t pull out his gun and shoot me right here, but before he could retaliate, Dex gunned it.

“Really, man? And y’all say I’m the one with communication problems?” Dex said, his head shaking in disapproval, but the smile on his face let me know he wasn’t actually pissed.

Seconds later, my pocket buzzed, and I winced. She might be pissed, though.

Ryan: Seriously? You had to antagonize him, didn’t you? Now he’s going to be texting my ass.

I caught Dex shaking his head at the goofy grin on my face as my fingers flew across the screen, typing out a response I knew she would hate.

Me: Oh, baby, I just wanted him to know what he was missing out on. Besides, if we’re about to be ambushed like you think, I already had it coming from him.

All I received was the middle finger emoji and a muffled “fuck you” coming from the cargo area. Ryan would make me pay for announcing how loud she was when fucked. But her wrath was worth the pleasure I got calling Mario out on his bullshit.

Ryan

What did it say about me that this was not my first time riding in the back of a box truck? I’d done lots of questionable shit for Los Muertos.

But this was my first time in a box truck that Dex was driving.

“Fuck. Do you have a death wish?” I yelled as we ran over another pothole—or pedestrian. I wasn’t sure. Supposedly this was his “normal” driving speed. At least that’s what Gunner’s text read when I threatened to shoot them as soon as we came to a stop.

It was decided that I would be at the drop today because it was too much of a coincidence that Mario kept all the details from me while insisting Gunner deliver the cargo to its destination. Mario knew I hated the Reapers, so I guessed he would stage the attack to look like their MC was responsible, but my money was on his Armandos doing the actual attack. And I was going to kick their asses when I saw them. Mario may be the cartel heir, but they knew Sergio would be pissed at this temper tantrum he was throwing. Didn’t Mario consider what would happen if I had decided to retaliate, thinking this attack really was the Reapers?

“Why didn’t I have Robert load a pillow?” I mumbled, bracing myself with the two crates so I didn’t get a concussion from Dex’s driving.

I had texted Robert this morning, telling him to leave the box truck unlocked so I could climb inside. Mario still thought I was at home, and I hoped he didn’t send anyone looking for me. If he did, Nikki agreed to run interference, but it would cost me. She was pissed at me for almost dying and making her deal with Dex. So I would be eating, and paying for, Chinese takeout for the next week.

The screen on my phone lit up, illuminating the dark truck.

Gunner: Ok. We’re on that long stretch of road we talked about.

Immediately, I was on high alert. I’d snuck a look at the route that Mario provided. There was a long stretch of desolate road leading to the destination. My guess was that the truck would be hijacked before it ever got there. Who knew if that destination was an actual drop location. A failed drop would make it look like the Skeletons, and more specifically, Gunner, were incapable of running guns. That’s how I would plan it if I were in Mario’s shoes.

Dex hit another pothole, sending me careening into one of the crates. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when it moved so easily. I loaded enough of these shipments to know the crate shouldn’t be this light.