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“Perfect.” Cobi stood. “I’ll text you the info, and we’ll meet again to go over the finer details of this assignment. Until then, do a little salvage digging and find some cars you like. I’ll get purchase orders to you when you’re ready.”
I grunted. “Sure thing.”
It had taken all four days to put the plan into place. Landon went fishing, and Jackson was spending time with Waverly, which left me free to become the person I used to be. Someone I didn’t like.
The jackass with a chip on his shoulder who hated everyone.
When Ireland met Edgar, we were all in an awful place. Our parents had just died, and we were responsible for a sixteen-year-old boy. Edgar offered Ireland and Landon good jobs with enough money to make ends meet while also taking care of our baby bro as our parents’ estate went through all the proper machinations of the court system. However, the longer Ireland stayed there, the more Ireland lost herself in the business. Landon and I let some bad shit slide. Saw stuff we shouldn’t have and kept our heads down. I’m notthatself-absorbed to not be able to chide myself for all the red flags we’d ignored along the way.
Until Ireland asked us for help.
Now, I was reopening the doors to Lux Automotive Auction, to set a trap for the rest of Edgar’s syndicate. Couldn’t say I didn’t feel like I was jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
Lux Automotive Auctionwas one of the biggest auction houses in Nashville. At one point, Edgar had over a hundred employees, doing three-quarters of a million dollars in profit every week, if not more. There were people in titles. Mechanics. Car washers. Receptionists and contract negotiators who did all the binding paperwork. How Cobi and Detective St. James planned on bringing the place back to life was beyond me.
Especially in such little time.
The day of the reopening, I’d slept like shit the night before. Ireland wasn’t there, so I could run the plan by her, and telling Landon was a non-starter. My stomach gnawed at me the whole time I got ready. Anything and everything could go wrong. Then where would I be? I thought about sending a text to Mack just to keep him abreast of the situation, but I didn’t want to ruin their honeymoon.
Instead, I pulled up my big boy undies and got my ass in gear. I could do this. All the way to the auction, I thought about what I was supposed to do and how I would explain Edgar’s absence or my presence. The idea he wasn’t talking, or no one knew his business collapsed around him, it rubbed me the wrong way. For being a thuggish booster, Edgar had no loyalty to his people. Then again, Ireland already knew that. She’d taken the brunt of his abusive bullshit.
After grabbing a coffee on the way, I pulled into the parking lot on day five and stopped short. I had to be hallucinating. There was no other way to describe what was happening. There were cars in the parking lot and a line at the door. Cars with dealer plates were scattered amongst regular Davidson County tags. The gate covered in corrugated sheet metal was open, and there were several cars in the bays for the auction. Outside, people waited in a line to get inside the building as buyers. Cobi had outdone himself.
I was impressed.
Driving through the gate, I spotted the cars I’d picked out to work on already on the lifts. Across from where I stopped were three rows of high-end model cars awaiting buyers. If I hadn’t known the truth, I’d have sworn the place was still open for business. Cobi wasn’t kidding when he said they would go all in for this bust.
I climbed off my bike after parking in the designated spot and pushed into the main part of the business. Fresh paint and sparkling floors greeted me. All the scuff marks and chipped walls had been fixed from where all hell had broken loose when Edgar realized it was all over, and the police had crashed his little party. The front of the building was awash in activity, while others stood around talking. There was even a faint scent of food cooking from the cafeteria down the hall. From the appearance of things, this was a fully functioning auction house.
“There you are,” a man said, coming straight for me. “Didn’t your assistant tell you I’d be here early?”
The guy was older. Going by the lines around his eyes and mouth, I’d have to say he was my age or a little older. A woman about Jackson’s age, maybe, followed behind the man. She’d been dressed in barely-there clothes, looking more like arm candy than of importance. “I’m Pedro. This is Hope, my girl. Are you ready to make a shitload of money today?”
My gaze bounced from Pedro to Hope. She was too good for him. Too sweet. Too soft. I could see it with the way she smiled at Pedro, indulgingly and always touched him right over his heart. She fancied herself in love with him if I had to guess, and boy, when she found out the truth of what was happening inside the auction house, it would break her.
If she didn’t already know.
There was something else there in Pedro’s amber-colored eyes. Determination. The need to prove himself. I’d seen that same spark of light before in Ireland’s eyes. When she dug in, getting her to back away was impossible. The day Mack showed up at the shop and relayed Ireland’s shenanigans, i.e.; going into Lux to find all the stolen cars herselfwhileEdgar was there. I’d seen just how far she’d been willing to go to catch the son of a bitch. That same stubborn set in her features matched how the man standing in front of me looked. Only Pedro wanted to prove himself to Edgar, and Ireland wanted to nail that bastard to the wall.
“Yes, sir,” I drawled, keeping my eyes on the girl. “I believe I am. Let’s talk in my office.” Now to bait the hook.
Chapter 1
Hunter
Eighteen months later…
“And in other news…” the reporter said, drawing my attention as I carried Mack Jr. into the kitchen for breakfast. “The fiery accident yesterday afternoon at the Shelby Road exit of Interstate 24 is still under investigation after a wild chase through Nashville lead to the death of both the passenger and driver of the vehicle. Local authority won’t release the names of the suspects, only they were wanted in connection with a string of car thefts around the area.”
I glanced at the screen and shook my head. “That’s why we don’t chop cars, little dude.” I kissed the side of Mack Jr.’s head.
Eighteen months ago, Cobi and Ava St. James came into my life and threw me into the deep side of the river. They needed my help to take down the remaining ring of Edgar’s Lux syndicate. I don’t know, maybe the asshole caught me at a moment of weakness, worried about my sister, feeling pitiful about myself and pounced. I’d taken him up on the job and, well, it hadn’t gone according to plan.
Sure, we shut down the organization for good, but the two people who knew more about Edgar’s business than those arrested were in the wind. The second Nashville PD and federal agents busted through those doors, Pedro grabbed Hope and they were on the run. So far, they hadn’t been found. I figured they’d gone back to Mexico to hide out with Edgar’s family.
Or maybe they headed back to New York.
Either way, they were on Nashville’s most wanted list and eventually, both would fuck up. The idea bothered me. Hope was innocent in my book. She had personal problems out the ass. She had a juvie record a mile long for petty shit. CPS had been on her mom’s ass for most of Hope’s life. The odds were stacked against her and when she could have found a better way, Pedro showed up and swept Hope away.
