Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“You’ll need to make contact with the other undercover agent on the inside so that you can work together.” We spent another twenty minutes going over the finer details and the true objective. I had so much to do before splitting, so the next few weeks were going to be hellish. Especially when it came to saying goodbye to my family.
“Understood.” I left his office with a thick sense of foreboding. My meeting with the informants was a bust, so I prepared to hand over my cases for the rest of the day.
When I finally arrived at my house, I popped open a beer and sat down on my sofa. So many thoughts crossed my mind as I considered all the people who’d freak when they learned of my assignment. The sound of silence hit me harder than I expected. I needed to see my siblings and let them know the situation, but first, I had to eat. I opened the fridge, only to slam it shut a second later. Nothing in there but beer and some old-ass milk.
My doorbell rang, and the smell of food wafting through it won me over. I opened it to find my twin siblings there with pizza. “We brought food.”
“Damn miracle workers. My fridge is ass empty.”
“I told you,” Demi said, setting the drinks down on the coffee table.
“So how’s the shop?”
“It’s good. You know Mick is itching to get his hands on the needle again.” Mick owned the tattoo shop they worked at, but the wounds he sustained from the Cortes attack on the club had been nearly fatal. We were thankful that he finally pulled through.
“I bet.”
We enjoyed a fun night of bullshitting. They came from my mother’s second baby daddy, so they were over a decade younger than me. They were twins about five minutes apart and Demi lorded over Asher, reminding him that he was the baby of the family. Suddenly, I felt the weight of leaving them. I knew he’d take care of her and so would the Riders, but I worried.
“Demi, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Bro, you’ve got something on your mind. You went from smiling to looking like someone’s shit on your parade. What’s up?”
“Something’s up, isn’t it?” Asher added.
“Don’t be doing that double-team shit on me.” They had a knack of doing that very often. They worked so well together that I wondered what would happen if they didn’t find a significant other at the same time.
“Then don’t keep shit from us. We can see it in your eyes. You have Mom’s eyes.”
“They’re sending me on an undercover assignment.” For a minute, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence bouncing around the room. Then, Demi threw her arms around me, sensing the same thing I did. It wouldn’t end well.
“Can’t you refuse it? I’ve got a bad feeling about it,” Asher remarked, slowly shaking his head.
“I know, but it’s for the best. You know that we need to get rid of these cartels any way we can.” They had been a bane to our existence for as long as we could remember. Their parents were killed by a drug mule whose car broke down, so he stole theirs and killed them in the process.
“I think you’re a fool.” She pushed away with her eyes watering. “I’m going to lose another family member to them.” She stormed out of the house, wiping away her tears. I’d go after her, but I knew she needed time.
“It’s okay, bro. I got her.”
“I know.” He hugged me and went after her as he always did and always would.
Two hours later, Demi came back, and I gladly opened my arms out to her. She pressed her head to my chest and said, “Ricardo, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I wish I could turn the assignment down, but this means too much. I’ve never failed to do my job in Special Forces no matter the danger. I can’t stop now when it’s my homeland—our way of life—I’m protecting.”
“I know. I know. I will try to be strong. Just don’t get yourself killed. If it gets too hairy, get out.”
“I will. The Riders will continue to look after you while I’m gone, but just be a good girl, please.”
“I’ll try, but you know I can’t promise anything.” Her sass returned, easing the pain in my chest.
The next day, I asked Boomer to meet up for a brief discussion after work. The man had a lot on his plate and I didn’t want to interrupt him, especially because he needed time with his beautiful wife.
After agreeing to meet at the clubhouse, I hopped on my Harley and rode out for what felt like the last damn time. I gathered from my new identity that I didn’t ride, so I had to leave it at home. I pulled up to the lot and climbed off just as Boomer pulled in on his bike. After shaking up, we each grabbed a beer from behind the bar and stepped into his office.