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Beautiful name.It was only after several heartbeats passed that I realized I was smiling at her. Not only that, but I was staring at her, cataloging all her features from the slight laugh lines at the corner of her eyes to the way her tongue darted out to lick her lips when she was nervous. And those eyes—ice blue—the same fucking eyes I saw the day I was brought to the hospital. Those eyes locked with mine when I was on the verge of death. She saved my life—a man who didn’t deserve her kind words or attention.
I stepped back and glanced down at her boy, who was oblivious to everything passing between his mom and me. “Nice to meet you, Parker. Take care of your mama.”
I turned back to my bike, trying to get my thoughts off the woman who kept me alive when my life was going to hell. I heard her footsteps retreating as her son yapped about my bike. In the rusted chrome of the bike, I could see her get in the car, and moments later pull out of the driveway. My eyes followed her down the street as she turned out of sight, and stayed way too fucking long at the stop sign.
I had to get her out of my head. She was a complication I didn’t need. And her kid was bound to get in the way of the job. I didn’t know why she was living here amongst killers when she could be literally anywhere else, but I had to assume it had something to do with the baby daddy.
Against my better judgment, I pulled out the cell Baz gave me just after I was released from prison and I dialed his number.
I stoodas a line of SUVs stopped at the curb in front of my house. Baz never went anywhere without protection, which made it damn near impossible to take him out without an army at your back. That’s why I had to get on the inside. It would have been so fucking easy to take this asshole out with a single shot. Rafe had the manpower to do it, but that wouldn’t solve the problem. For every asshole like Baz, there were another ten lined up to take his place. The operation had to be taken down from the inside, along with all his contacts from The Syndicate. But the longer this went on, I wondered if it was even worth it. Sure, we could take them down in time, but how long would it be until another group formed the same fucking operation and started this all over again?
“Given your reluctance to accept my thanks at the prison, I’m a little surprised you called,” Baz said as he walked up the drive to where I was standing beside my bike.
We were on complete opposite sides of the spectrum. He was dressed in his best suit, sticking out like a sore thumb on this side of town. Whereas I looked like the typical dirtbag in my ratty jeans and t-shirt. He wore thousand dollar shoes and I wore work boots. It would be clear to anyone who saw us together that I was nothing more than his flunky.
“I’m surprised you made the trip to see me.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I was in town for a business meeting. I was intrigued when you made the call. Did you finally decide to get on board?”
“Not exactly,” I said carefully. I didn’t want to turn him down completely. I needed him to continue to trust me, to figure out how to use me to his advantage. Only then would I make any headway.
“Then what is this about?”
“Your son stopped by yesterday. He said my new neighbor is his woman and his kid.”
“Your point being?”
“He asked me to look out for them.”
He chuckled slightly, taking a step closer to me. “Whatever it is, just fucking say it.”
“Why are they here?” He didn’t say anything, but his eyes watched me shrewdly. “It’s a problem.”
“In what way?”
“Look around here. This place is filled with criminals, all willing to do your bidding.”
“Much like you,” he answered.
“I never said I would be on your payroll.”
As soon as I said it, his guards stiffened slightly, but Baz raised his hand for them to back down. “You know, that’s what I like about you. Most men want to join me, to reap the spoils of war. But you’re different. I read up on you. Former military, lethal with a weapon, yet you’re not carrying.”
“I don’t need to.”
“And somehow you got wrapped up in drugs and killed a cop. How is that possible?”
“I think you know exactly how it happened,” I answered, refusing to give too much away.
He moved closer, pulling his hand from his pocket to rub against his top lip. Everything about this man was calculated, planned out as if he saw my call coming—as if he always knew what was coming. That made him both predictable and a loose cannon. The question was, which way would he go today. Making that call could very well get me killed for interfering in a personal matter. But if I was right about him, it would put me in the position to climb my way up the ladder much faster than I anticipated. My neighbor wasn’t just his son’s woman. She was the mother of Baz’s heir, and that made him worth more than anything.
“So, why exactly did you call me here?”
“Because that kid doesn’t belong in this part of town. We both know this area isn’t safe, so why the hell is your son’s baby mama living here, putting your grandson in danger?”
“Suddenly, you care,” he said interestedly.
“I don’t care, but I see the attention she draws every time she steps out of her house.”
