AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I discussed that with Nicco and his brothers early on. They felt very strongly that their don might have their homes and cars bugged. In which case, he would have heard everything they talked about on a burner phone. The idea of using code words was the only way. Putting spyware on your phone was a ruse meant to make your don feel like he had access to all the information you were providing. Hacker didn’t find any listening software, but it always pays to be cautious.”
“My father always said that people tended to underestimate our don. If that’s true, erring on the side of caution was probably a good idea.” She picked up her juice and took a sip.
Storm put some food on his plate and took a bite before continuing. “We overheard your conversation last night and I’m afraid we’re going to need to test your ability to communicate details to Nicco and his brothers without your don picking up on it today, Aprilia.”
Her head jerked up and she quickly glanced from Storm to me and back again. “Why? What’s happening? Is it that guy who tried to sneak onto your property just now?”
Storm put down his fork and wiped his hands on his napkin, as though he were taking a moment to order his thoughts. “No. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s to do with the ambush Don Diavonte’s men set up before you arrived. There was only one way he could have known our club members were going to a biker rally that day. He had a contact within the organization that set up the rally and Celt has tracked him down.”
“Jesus, what did the guy have to say? Was our don blackmailing him or something?”
“Not exactly. His guy was riding a Ducati, told them he was associated with our club and looking to meet up with us. Dumbass saw a guy on a motorcycle, and even though he wasn’t wearing a cut, he took the guy at his word that he was friend of our club.
Almost before Storm finished talking, Aprilia spoke up, her voice confident. “It wasn’t Nicco. I can guarantee you that much.”
“It’s interesting how the Russo brothers ride Ducatis and have a long history of double-crossing their allies but you don’t think they would double-cross us.”
Aprilia huffed out an exasperated breath. “Nicco and his brothers have never double-crossed anyone who didn’t thoroughly deserve it. If you’re getting double-crossed, it’s your own damn fault.”
“Of course you’re going to deny it. He’s your fiancé, after all.”
“You’re being a suspicious, reckless fool. You have to know my fiancé would never double-cross you without getting me out first.”
Storm’s lips pressed into a thin line, annoyed that he couldn’t really argue that point.
“Ducatis are Italian bikes. It stands to reason that out of all the people who enjoy riding motorcycles, that brand would resonate with Italian mobsters,” I offered.
“Fucking hell, you might be right about that.” Leaning over the table, Storm looked Aprilia in the eye. “You’d best tell your fiancé that doing us dirty would be the mistake of a lifetime.”
Aprilia pushed herself up from the table on both arms and glared right back at Storm. “That sounds like a threat. Nicco didn’t send me here to be threatened by panicky bikers. He sent me to brace an alliance because he trusted you be able to control your paranoia and fear.”
Storm stood slowly, and I didn’t like the look on his face. “Are you calling me a coward who lets fear control his actions?”
I shot to my feet, slipped my arm around Aprilia’s waist, and pulled her back a step. I didn’t think Storm had it in him to strike out at a woman, but I wasn’t taking any chances. “Look, boss, she’s right about sticking to the alliance with the Russo brothers. Until we get solid evidence they’re stabbing us in the back, we stand firm.”
“Nicco told me point blank that his sister was a peace offering between his family and the Dark Slayers MC. He insisted it was the foundation of an alliancethat will never be broken.” She stressed the last five words so he would understand.
Storm was stubborn and suspicious by nature. He searched her face. He must have found whatever he was looking for in her earnest expression because he smoothed down the front of his cut before capitulating. “Alright, we stand firm. We’re meeting with Steel shortly, and we aren’t going to breathe a word about this situation to him.”
Storm gestured for Rob to return her phone. “I’ll take you at your word for now, but if I find out you’re lying, our protection ends permanently. Got it?”
“Are you certain you don’t have some Italian mobster DNA lurking in your ancestry? I only ask because you’re sure as hell acting like one right now.” Aprilia was pushing her luck with Storm. I had to say I admired her balls, for some reason I’d always assumed that the women of mob families were a bit like a lot of the women who hung out with bikers, happy to let their men take control—but she gave as good as she got.
“Let’s just finish our food and head out,” I said before anyone could say anything else.
I dropped my arm from around her waist when she reached out to take the phone from Rob. I felt like I had just been subjected to a crisis of trust with Storm. He passed, but just barely. And that worried the fuck out of me.
Aprilia gasped when she looked at her phone and began scrolling. Before I could react, tears were welling up in her eyes. I kneeled beside her and slid the phone out of her hand. There was text after text from a man named Chester. All of them were saying that Aprilia had already been given to him and there were no take backs just because she found a younger, more attractive man to latch onto. He was calling her names and making threats. The strange part was that every time I clicked a text, it disappeared after about ten seconds, just long enough for me to read the damn thing. I quickly turned the phone off again.
“What’s going on?” Storm asked.
Aprilia threw her arms around my neck, clearly shocked. “I’ve done everything I was supposed to do. Don Diavonte promised me I didn’t have to go through with the marriage match he made for me.”
I patted her on the back and whispered, “Hush now, cher. Everything is going to be okay.”
I handed the phone to Storm. “Looks like someone hacked her phone and installed a workaround that avoids triggering the spyware when she receives disappearing text messages. That’s bad shit.”
“You know, Mason, it’s been a pretty rough morning already. Make this make sense for me.” Storm said rubbing his temples.
