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I wish I could tell him, or anyone, for that matter. I’m not the type to share personal stuff with my brothers, but I want to talk to someone about Valentina. Too bad I can’t.
“Nobody important.” The lie feels heavy on my tongue, but I have no other choice. No matter how I feel about her, there’s no future for us. There can’t be.
Gia’s voice echoes from the hall, “Yo, there’s a lady Fed outside who wants to see you. One of you or all of you.” I throw my stick on the table and follow Ace and Banger to the door, hoping it’s not bad news.
I slip my sunglasses on as we step outside and see Agent Stiles. Her blonde hair and sharp brown eyes give her a tough but pretty look. She scans each of us, and her serious expression tells me she’s not here with good news.
Ace stands in front of me and addresses the visitor. “What can I help you with, Agent Stiles?” I’m at his side, our brothers behind us. A united front.
Agent Stiles’s lips thin out into a straight line, putting me on edge. She’s not here with good news. The question is what the bad news is about.
“What you can help me with isn’t yet clear. Arturo Rojas and his sons are in town.” Silence settles all around us, and she sighs. “Los Tres Colombianos,” she clarifies with a hint of annoyance. “They’ve been spotted here in Angel Harbor, and I’m sure there’s a reason for it.”
Ace nods. “Thanks for letting us know.”
“You don’t know anything about it?” Her gaze bounces between me and Ace, and I wonder if she knows about Valentina. She couldn’t know, could she? Fuck, have we been followed? The way her brown eyes settle on my face makes me uneasy.
“We have no business with them,” I say, trying to sound firm.
“They killed your men, and you have no idea why they’re here on your turf? I find that impossible to believe.”
Ace and I both shrug at the same time. “What you believe or choose to believe is your business. Not ours. We’ve never had any reason to do business with them, aside from our dead prospects.” Ace’s poker face is blank as fuck, giving Stiles nothing.
She’s smart, and I can tell she’s not buying what we’re selling. “Fine, play it your way. Just know that the FBI and DEA are keeping an eye on Rojas. So for your sake, I hope you don’t have any business with them.”
“We don’t,” Ace confirms.
“Good. Because I’d hate to have to arrest you, any of you,” she says and points at all of us, “for killing Rojas or his sons in retaliation.”
“Who can we kill in retaliation?” Shades laughs and crosses his arms beside me. “Give us names, Agent. Be specific.”
A few laughs go around, but we’re all on edge now that we know the Feds are watching Rojas.
“Funny,” she replies, without a hint of humor. “If you do have any dealing with LTC and we find out, your friend Doherty won’t be able to keep your asses out of prison.”
Fuck that. I’m not going back behind bars for anything.
“If you’re watching them, why aren’t Rojas or his sons in handcuffs yet?” I ask, trying to keep my tone calm.
Stiles crosses her arms, her frown deepening.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Maybe we’ll end up doing you a favor,” I shoot back. “You have a big bad cartel leader in your backyard, and you have fuck all to arrest him on.”
I mad dog her, but that doesn’t stop her. “I would,” she starts and steps forward, glaring back at me. “If you men would give me something solid. Something I can make stick.”
“We don’t snitch, lady.” Banger’s voice is angry behind me. He’s lived more of his life on the wrong side of the law than the right side, and he doesn’t work with cops. Period.
Stiles smiles at Banger, but her gaze slides back to Ace, the man with the power to make that decision. “And what about you, Ace? What do you think?”
He laughs in her face. “Keep dreaming, sweetheart.”
Agent Stiles nods and takes a few steps back to take in every one of us.
“I had to try,” she says with a shrug. “Just know that we’re watching, boys. We’re always watching.” To punctuate her words, she points two fingers at her eyes and then right back at us, the universal sign for I’m watching you.
“Enjoy the view,” Banger calls out with a laugh.
I watch her get into her nondescript government-issued vehicle and drive away, but I can’t stop staring at the spot where she’d parked her car.
My mind swirls with all the times Valentina and I have been together. Does Stiles know? And if she does, why didn’t she blow up my spot just now? Because she wants something. Then again, she would have been better served to let my brothers know I’m fucking a cartel princess.
