Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I grin at her. “And in that time, I’ll update the records of the men arrested in a group.”
I’m still hesitant and scared as fuck to be inside any type of government computer system. They’ll lock me up in federal prison if they find out it’s me, but they won’t.
I hope.
“What if they find out it was you?” Ro asks because she is a worst-case scenario kind of girl.
“They won’t,” I assure her. “My method is invisible, and it’ll just look like a rolling blackout caused the outage, which, with the heat wave we’ve been having, is totally believable.”
Now I just have to pull it off in the next thirty minutes.
“Holy shit, Gia, you really are some type of genius. We have to get you out of this place.”
I smile at my best friend’s confidence in me. “I love you too, Ro.” She’s been my ride-or-die bestie since we were too young to know what ride or die meant. Always here, always encouraging me, always having my back. Hell, she literally saved my life last year when I tried to off myself after a few really bad weeks. When I come up, she comes up, and that’s just how it is.
“Gia, you can do this.”
“I’m in!” I shout the words after a hell of a lot of keyboard tapping and a few minutes of silence. “Now I just have to find them. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? I mean, the records probably have their known affiliations, right?”
The last thing I want is to let other criminals out who’ve done worse things than the Iron Kings.
“Okay, here we are.” I find the batch arrested on the same night and go through each file. “Charges dismissed. Release immediately. And that’s it, Ro. We did it!” I quickly exit the system and shut down my computer because I’m still terrified and full of coked-up adrenaline to think straight.
“Just a few minutes to spare,” Ro says and creeps to my bedroom window that overlooks the front of the neighborhood. “He’s still there, staring at the house like it might wake up and bite him.”
“Good. Let that fucker sit there until the full sixty minutes are up.”
Ro stares at me with wide eyes. “You sure about that?”
“That asshole put a knife to my throat. He deserves to sit and wonder if he’s going to end up in an unmarked grave beside me for as long as possible.”
“Gia, that’s not funny.”
“No, it’s not,” I sigh. “He’s not the boss. But his boss will fuck him up if he doesn’t get it done. So let him stew for a while. It’s real life.” And apparently, now, it’s my life.
When the timer on my phone chimes, the sun is just starting to rise, and my stomach is grumbling for food. I go to the window and open it. “Hey fuck face, it’s done!”
He nods and starts his bike, driving off like a bat out of hell.
What a fucking crazy way to start the day.
Now to fall asleep before Mom wakes up.
Chapter Four
Preacher
“We got the new shipment coming in a few days.”
That’s how Ace starts the meeting, eyeing us with a warning.
“Three mil worth of guns from Russia that we need to protect at all costs.”
The way things have been going lately, I back him up and focus on Dix. “I guess this means the bags made it to Oregon safe and sound?”
Ace hasn’t said anything, and usually we operate under the no news is good news school of thought, but these days, it’s better to ask.
Dix smiles and nods. “Yeah, Joaquin and I got the bags delivered, and we returned with all the cash. Everything’s good.”
Coop asks, “Where’s the cash now?”
Ace says, “We’re working on a deal with Juniper Mesa to help us clean the cash.”
“The whore house?”
My voice is more judgmental than I mean it to be. “So, is she now part of our holdings?”
I have nothing against Juniper, not her job or anything else. It’s not my job to judge, but her place sees all kinds of shady characters.
“No,” Ace confirms. “This is strictly a business arrangement. She’ll help us clean the cash in exchange for protection and a small fee. Dix spoke to her when he returned from Oregon, and the deal is set.”
Coop gives us a leering smile. “Yeah, I’ll just bet Dix did,” he jokes. “How much of a good deal did we get?” He wiggles his brows and leans forward, eager to hear the gossip.
“You ain’t ready for grown folks’ business, boy.”
Coop knocks his head back and laughs at Dix loud enough to echo around the room. “You wish, pops.”
“All right, kids, settle down,” Ace growls. “We need to protect these guns at all costs. You got me?”
Nods go all around the table; laughter fades and everyone’s expression shifts from jovial to serious.