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Prologue
Hunter
Two weeks after Ireland’s engagement party...
Music blared through the stereo in the shop. It was weird being there alone, left with my thoughts, as my sister and her new husband went on their honeymoon. Wouldn’t say I was jealous of them. Nothing about getting married or settling down appealed to me. Now, Jackson, on the other hand, that boy was getting into it deep with Waverly. He landed the girl of his dreams, and I could already see the little hearts in his eyes.
He'd be the next one to take the leap.
Mark my words.
Still, not being able to argue with Ireland about her shitty choice in music left me surly and rough around the edges. Not even Landon fucking with the playlists elevated my mood. If anything, the sour, bitter taste spread across my senses, forcing afuckfrom between my lips, the longer I stood there.
I was antsy, and I didn’t have any reason to be. Except for my routine, being thrown off.Goddammit, Ireland.My sister could rile me up even when she wasn’t here. I ran a hand over my slicked back hair. If anyone saw me right now, they’d think I was having a mental breakdown.
‘Suppose I was, too.
Two weeks was too long.
“Looks like you’re in the seventh round of a twelve-round fight, and you’re losing,” Cobi said, joining me in the paint bay. Beside him was a woman I hadn’t met before. She smelled like expensive perfume and a G-Man. Or in her case, a G-Woman. She was pretty, in a buttoned-up suit kind of way. Definitely not my style.
How they knew where I’d been or entered my domain without me knowing it showed just how fucked in the head I’d been all morning. “When did you get here? Better yet, why are you here?”
Cobi stared at me. Intention and a bit of apprehension filled his eyes. “I won’t bullshit you.”
My stomach dropped. “Not the best way to start a conversation, all things considered.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and lines of stress and exhaustion crisscrossed his features before he motioned to the woman who stood beside him. “This is Detective Ava St. James. She just transferred into our division from New York. Is there some place private we can talk?”
“All right,” I said, motioning to the office. “Why don’t we go to the office instead of standing out here?”
Once we settled and I’d closed the door, I crossed to the desk. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. We expanded the business a little, considering once word got around about our prices and quality, we were more in demand. Which also meant expanding the office space instead of us having to use the shitty little desk out front.
“What can I do for the both of you?” I asked, taking a seat.
“We need you to reopen Lux,” Cobi said, not even attempting to beat around the bush. “I know that’s a big ask, but you’re the only one I could trust for this assignment.”
Blowing out a breath, I put my hands behind my head. Opening Lux? The last place I ever wanted to step foot in. Memories of the day when Ireland and Mack took down Edgar as I traced VIN numbers while ducking Edger’s posse flashed through my mind.
“Why?”
“You’re not recognizable.” Cobi bent forward, folding his hands in front of him as he braced his elbows on his jean-covered thighs. “Look, a call came in from a distributor. They obviously didn’t get the memo about the original raid, so they wanted to bring a shipment of cars in to chop. The auction house would be a suitable cover for them. If we can track their moves, perhaps we can shut down the remaining arm of Edgar’s operation and add more charges to the asshole’s already lengthy case.”
Well, shit. Not anything I’d been expecting.
“So, we set up the business like nothing ever happened and go with the flow?” I assumed, cutting my gaze to Detective St. James. I wasn’t sure if she’d been there to run interference or if she was a casual observer. All things considered, it kind of unnerved me. “How do we explain Edgar not being there? Or the fact everything is different, and I’m running the place, not one of Edgar’s men?”
“Basically? Yes. We’ll get some cars from impound and have them around the lot. Of course, if you want to hit up a junk yard or two...” Cobi shrugged. “The other is easy enough. We can lie.”
Reminded me of the old days, to be honest, before we knew what Edgar was doing to Ireland. “What do I do about this place?” Ireland was gone for two weeks. Landon did better on transmissions and exhausts. Our real bread and butter came from Ireland’s engine repairs.
“Skeleton crew until Ireland gets back?” Cobi cocked a brow. “I know it’s not perfect. We have four days to move everything into place. I wouldn’t even ask, but you’re who they know.”
“It’s been a long time,” I said with a shrug. The desperation seeping from Cobi showed me how much of a tight spot he really was in. “Fuck it. Fine. I’ll do it. I can close the shop down for a few weeks, not much going on as it is. I’ll let Landon know to take a hike as well.”
Glancing at Detective St. James, I wondered what she was thinking. She hadn’t said a word since her introduction, but she watched our interaction with keen interest. She extended her hand and when I took it; I noticed the calluses on her fingers and the roughness of her palms. Working hands. Good. Didn’t need someone dainty fidgeting about the auction while trying to trap our targets.
If that made me misogynistic, so be it.
