Page 34 of Loving Smoke

My father would want to know how the plan was moving along, and of course I would tell him the seduction succeeded. Leaving out the parts about how Smoke worked my body and mind into a frenzy where reason, good sense, and the final goal of entrapment were banished from my brain. Where the haunting question remained. Who was seducing who?

The afternoon heat made the temperature in the crawl space unbearable, but Rico insisted on seeing exactly where his precious gun shipment would be stored. The three of us crouched in the tight space as Rico’s underlings brought in ten boxes filled with assault rifles and ammunition.

“You seen enough,” Blood grumbled, then swiped at his sweaty forehead.

Rico nodded and the three of us crept out. Blood replaced the opening with the same wood as the construction of the building, then pushed the dumpsters back in place.

Rico eyed the space. “I think this will work out nicely.”

“As long as you can trust your people.” I jerked my chin to the two guys off to the side who stored the boxes.

“They wouldn’t be with me if I couldn’t trust them. They know the consequences of deceit although it seems you’ve managed to lure away one of my fighters.”

I’d expected him to bring this up earlier. “I just offered him a better deal. I’m assuming you don’t own him.” I laughed around my words. “Or is slavery still a thing in this city?”

“Of course not.” Rico inflected righteous defense. “He’s free to work wherever, but you should be warned he has a criminal record in the States.”

“Who the fuck cares?” Blood barked out a laugh. “Most of the people we know have a rap sheet.”

Rico ignored Blood’s outburst and directed his words to me. “Just a word of caution.”

“Appreciate it.” I paused for half a second. “We needed to add some security. Especially since we were robbed at gunpoint three nights ago.”

“Really? Crime in this city is escalating by the day. So much unrest.”

I controlled my eye roll and played along. “Probably due to the inequality between the haves and the have-nots.”

“Hmmm, more pathos than I expected from an outlaw biker, but you make a good point.”

I cleared my throat and resisted the temptation of telling Rico to fuck off. “Then this is a done deal.” I had no intention of bringing him back into the office to toast our fake alliance or to shake hands with the devil.

The three men eyed each other, then Rico said something to his men in Spanish and they parted.

Blood and I watched them until they reached the sidewalk at the front of the building, then he heaved the back door open. “I still don’t trust the guy.”

The cool air of the club surrounded us. “We don’t have to trust him.” We headed into the office and I pulled out my phone. “Now, to make the second part of this deal.”

I swiped at Jamison’s number as I settled behind my desk.

After a few rings Jamison’s gruff voice filled the phone. “Yeah?”

“I got everything in place.” Code for the guns were in the crawl space.

“I’ll arrange pick-up in two.” Code for Jameson sending a cargo van in two hours to transport the artillery to the States.

“Sounds good.” I swiped away the call and leaned back in my chair. “We just took the first steps to getting back home.”

Blood pulled out his smokes, offered me one, then flicked his lighter and lit us both up.

“I just hope your plan works.”

“It will.” I drew deep on my cig, then blew the smoke toward the ceiling. “What are you gonna do with the rest of your day off?”

After working seven days straight for the last three months, we decided to close on Mondays. It was the slowest day of the week and we needed a fuckin’ break especially since we had Sandoval where we wanted him.

The big man didn’t even give them shit about pouching one of his fighters. He played along with the cat and mouse game and even denied setting up the robbery. Devious fucker.

Blood’s hard face split into a grin. “Check out some of the local talent. How about you?”

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