Divided (Unguarded #2) - Ivy Stone Page 0,34

Someone who has knowledge of his business and one he won’t sniff out as a cop.”

Excitement and nerves steamroll through me when what Mason’s suggesting hits me. The thirst for revenge enrages my adrenaline.

His chin lifts toward me. “You wanna take those bastards down?”

The devil in me roars and I nod. “You know it.”

I’m going undercover.

Three months of hell with the sickest motherfuckers around and I was ready to punch skulls and fill them up with bullet holes. I grit my teeth while scrubbing over the short beard I’ve grown the past few months while undercover. The whole time listening to Lucio Marino drag on about some bullshit that doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with this meeting between me, him, his father and Cannon, the president of the Misery’s Angels Motorcycle Club.

My palms begin to sweat as I glance around the inside of Sweet Tarts during the day. It’s quiet, dull, not as filthy but the air still reeks of pussy and stale beer. I wipe my hands on my pants and keep them by my side in an effort not to jump over the table and rip Lucio’s tongue out of his goddamn throat. I mask my frustration by pretending to listen while my heart beats to an unsteady rhythm. This is the first meeting we’ve had in Sweet Tarts and although it seemed Ali no longer worked here, it doesn’t stop my stomach from churning or the feeling of time slowing down because this meeting feels like the longest in the fuckin’ history of gun trades. I just had to pray our intel was solid because the day I went undercover as a new trafficker in town it made checking up on Ali every now and again, impossible. It was a risk I couldn’t take.

Thoughts of Ali take a backseat when Cannon jumps in and his arguing with Lucio grows loud. I stand from my seat, ready to cut this meeting short and get the hell out of here.

“All due respect gentlemen, but I got places to be and your territory issues don’t involve me. You want me to get those guns to you Thursday, let me know. You don’t want them, I’ll find someone else who does. I’ve got shit to do,” I say with a calmness in my tone, all sweat and nerves hidden.

The three men silence at once. A vein in Lucio’s forehead ticks as he drills holes into me. Sometimes it’s as if recognition flashes in his eyes and I worry he remembers my face—from the first night I met Ali and he had her followed, to the nights I spent here gathering more information on him and his family.

Giuseppe looks like he’s ready to kill me for interrupting and Cannon stares at me like he always does, with curious eyes. There’s something about that guy I just can’t place.

I stand tall, showing no fear but eyeing off every man in the room to prepare for Giuseppe’s next move.

His eyes widen and his lips turn upward into the slimy, phony smile he wears so well. “Ah… Mr. King, I apologize for my son. He never knows when to shut up. The guns are yours. But first, have a drink with me. I insist.” He turns to Lucio after addressing me with my undercover name. “Lucio, have your girl come take our drink order.”

I pretend to check the time on my watch when Lucio yells out something in Italian. “I really have to go.”

“Sit,” he demands with fake niceties that scream if you don’t fucking sit I’m gonna blow your head right off your shoulders.

I sit back down in the booth and Giuseppe starts spouting about alliances, trust, and loyalty in this business. My mouth tightens and I’m too busy trying not to visibly cringe at the bullshit he’s spouting that I barely register the half-naked waitress nearing our table.

She lifts her head. “What can I…” she pauses as her eyes land on mine, and I swear if it were possible I’d say both our hearts stopped in that second.

“What can I get for you?”

Shock. Fear. Dread. Reprisal.

This is it.

This moment would define our futures, what comes next. Two paths. Two options. But only one ending to ensure Ali’s safety.

My hands begin to shake. But nobody notices. Giuseppe, Lucio, and Cannon are too busy talking like the world isn’t about to come crashing down around us when Lucio realizes who the man across the table from him really is.

Roamyn. Here. In Sweet Tarts.

Shock