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Very fucking good.

It wasn’t often that I found myself blindsided.

From day one, I knew there was something fucked up about Porter's BFF and her creepy ass 'Annabelle doll' eyes – pun intended.

I'd put it down to her being a little batshit and a whole lot obsessed.

I should've known better.

Always fucking knew blondes were a bad breed of woman.

"Her purpose?"

"To observe and report," Gonzalez confirmed. "From what I can gather."

"And her kid?" I asked, rubbing my jaw. "He Porter's?"

"Don’t know nothing about no kid." His tone was light when he offered, "As a show of good faith, I can take care of the bitch."

"Nah," I mused, thoroughly entertained at the thought of that crazy fucking woman carrying all her tall tales back to daddy. "Let her watch." I grinned to myself before adding, "Soon enough, she won't have a daddy to run back to."

"Very well," he replied. "The offer still stands."

"And Noah and his wife?" I asked, getting straight back to business. "How's that fixed?"

"Carlito's been trailing them for weeks," he informed me. "All good, Bolillo. Nothing to report on Daddy Carter's front either."

Nodding, I ran a hand through my hair and asked, "The girl?"

There was a pause before Gonzalez said, "The girl has more protection than the state fucking senator."

Relief flooded my body.

She was safe.

"You know the score," I felt the need to remind him, knowing all too well about the dangers of falling into a false sense of security. "Anything happens to her and the deal's off."

"Nothing will happen to your old lady, Bolillo," Gonzalez replied with a weary sigh. "You are much too valuable to me." He chuckled before adding, "When you join us, you'll see, my friend, that we take care of ourfamily."

I rolled my eyes at his words, not bothering to tell him for the hundredth damn time that I wasn’t joining the family. Fucker could continue to dream all he wanted. Whatever floated his boat. "I'm getting off here, G," I told him. "Got a shit ton of clean-up to do."

"Expect my call," was all he said before the line went dead.

Within seconds, the phone began to vibrate in my hand again.

Pressing accept, I put the phone to my ear and said, "Expect your call? Wanna give me a few minutes before calling in another job, asshole?"

"It's me."

My heart stopped.

Fucking stopped dead in my chest.

The sound of her voice was the verylastthing I'd expected to hear on the other line.

"How'd you get this number, HC?" I asked, tone gruff, as I wrestled my emotions back into the box I needed to keep them inside in order to get shit done.

"Teagan," she confessed.

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