Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I t’s time to make the call.
A nervous energy surrounded Parker as he entered his second bedroom that doubled as an office. He’d been counting down the days of when he’d finally be able to make the call to Luis and tell him that it was time to disappear.
Though they hadn’t talked much over the years, they’d communicated more these last several weeks than they had since they were kids. Parker wanted his friend to escape the wrath that was about to swallow up Wolf and the Kingz. So, he’d put him on notice that he should get ready to run.
This was it.
Parker was finally going to get the closure he’d been wanting for years.
He unlocked his desk and pulled out a brand-new burner phone from the stash in the bottom desk drawer. He never used his personal phone when reaching out to Luis. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his friend. It was mainly for Luis’s protection. The less contact he had with Parker, the better for him and his family if Wolf found out.
Sitting back in his seat, Parker first sent Luis a coded message of letters and numbers that only they’d understand. Once Luis responded back with an agreed-upon code, then Parker would know it was him and that it was a good time to call.
Seconds ticked by with no response, and just when he started rocking back and forth in his chair, a text came through.
Luis: Clear.
Good.
Parker wanted to talk to him before Chelsey walked in. She was cleaning up the kitchen, but they both had a conference call with Rock in a few minutes. Reaching out to Luis needed to be done now.
He dialed his friend, and Luis picked up on the first ring.
“What’s up, man?” his friend said.
Hearing Luis’s slightly accented voice, a mixture of his Mexican and Black heritage, made Parker smile and brought back memories of the past. The good and bad times, but mostly good. They’d had some fun growing up despite their circumstances.
“It’s time to make a move,” Parker said. “Disappear within the next twenty-four hours or if possible, sooner.”
“Will do. We’re ready,” Luis confirmed.
Parker had sent enough cash for him and his family to live on for six months. Even longer if they left the US and found a cheaper country to live in. There were five people planning to travel with him, and Rock had managed to get them all passports under a new identity.
How? That’s what Parker had wanted to know, especially considering how quickly he’d been able to get it done.
The less you know on the subject , the better , was all that Rock had said.
Of course, that didn’t sit well with Parker, but he kept his mouth shut. He wanted to do everything he could to help Luis start a new life. It was the least he could do for the guy who’d helped save his.
“Wolf’s been a little irritable,” Luis said, “because of computers going haywire, a break-in at one of the businesses, and a few other issues.”
With Luis’s help, Parker and Rock’s tech guy had been able to hack into all of Wolf’s computer systems. It helped that the tech people Parker’s father used could be bought off easily.
Thanks to Luis, they’d also gotten addresses to all the Kingz stash houses, including the ones in LA. The DEA had initially been concerned that they didn’t have enough people who could move in on all the buildings at the same time, but Parker would find out this evening if they worked it out.
More importantly, Wolf wouldn’t know what was happening until it was too late.
“Normally, Elder or Slick handled the day-to-day operations, but Elder is out of town,” Luis said. “Supposedly he’s in LA, but you know what that means.”
It meant that Elder could be anywhere in the world. Wolf and his right-hand man had always been secretive about their travel locations. Some things never changed.
Parker wasn’t concerned, but he’d see if Rock’s tech guy could find out Elder’s location. Normally, he’d reach out to Wiz, but Parker was trying not to use much of Supreme’s resources in this case, even if Mason had okayed it.
As for Elder, Parker wanted to make sure that when they took Wolf down, they took him down, too. Elder didn’t have control of every aspect of the Kingz organization, but he had enough authority to do damage.
The authorities wanted them behind bars, but if it was up to Parker, they’d both die a painful death.
“Luis, thanks for everything you’ve done to help. Be safe. Remember, keep your family close, and leave all old electronics behind. Only use the new phones and laptops I sent you. At least until Wolf and the Kingz have been disbanded. It’s safer that way.”
They talked a few minutes longer before disconnecting. Though the burner couldn’t be traced, Parker wasn’t taking any chances. He removed the SIM card and cut it up with a pair of pruning shears, then tossed the phone.
He just hoped his friend didn’t do something stupid like double-cross him. Of course, Parker and Rock had a fail-safe in place in case Luis or his family betrayed them. There were trackers installed in all the new devices Parker had sent him.
So, if Luis lost his mind, and decided to deceive him in any way, Parker would hunt his ass down and take out him and his family. Unfortunately, that attitude was something he had inherited from his father—that vengeance is mine mentality when it came to people who betrayed him.
Hopefully, Luis wouldn’t let him down, but if he did…all hell was going to break loose.
“What are you going to do about James and Debby, the people who came to Supreme yesterday?” Chelsey asked as she sauntered into the room looking like a delicious snack.
Her fitted T-shirt hugged her upper body and put her full breasts and perky nipples on display. The ripped, skin-tight jeans? Hell, they wrapped around her curvy hips, molded over her shapely thighs, and made him want to strip her out of them and bury himself balls deep inside of her.
A wicked smile kicked up the left corner of her luscious mouth, and Parker groaned when her tongue made an appearance. She moistened her tempting lips, and his dick twitched behind his zipper.
“We only have five minutes before the conference call. So whatever you’re thinking—forget it.”
Parker laughed and discreetly adjusted himself while trying to get his body under control. She was right. They only had a few minutes before they were scheduled to meet with Rock and Kamora via a Zoom call.
When Chelsey rounded the desk, Parker pushed his office chair back and reached for her, guiding her onto his lap.
“You think you know me, huh?” he said, inhaling her sweet scent.
She looped her arm around his neck and leaned against his chest. That put her lips inches from his.
“I do, and I love what I know about you,” she said and nibbled on his top lip, then his lower one before kissing him.
What started as a sweet kiss of their tongues teasing one another, quickly turned into a fiery connection. Especially when Chelsey slipped her hand between their bodies and cupped his dick.
A moan slipped from him as he ground against her hand. He already couldn’t control himself when it came to her, but when she caressed him like this, even through his pants, he felt as if he’d explode.
“Baby,” he groaned against her mouth and reached for his belt buckle, then his zipper. But before he could take things further, his cell phone alarm went off.
“Dammit,” he growled, then grumbled and dropped his forehead to her shoulder. “You’re always starting something.”
Chelsey giggled and moved to get up, but Parker stopped her with a hand on her hip.
“You can sit on my lap during the meeting. I’ll keep the camera off.”
She tsked. “Dude, and have you poking me in the butt with that stiff rod in your pants? I don’t think so.”
Parker laughed at the truth of that statement. His dick was still hard just thinking about being pressed against her sweet ass. That’s the type of effect she had on him. It didn’t matter the time, the day, or the place, his body responded whenever she was near.
“Oh, and don’t think I didn’t notice that you distracted me,” Chelsey said as she stood. She adjusted her shirt and leaned against the credenza that was behind his desk. “We need to dig further into James and Debby. I don’t know what they were up to, but they were up to something.”
“I agree,” Parker said. After pulling himself together, he began logging into the meeting.
He had watched the video footage of them at Supreme several times, but the only thing that gave him pause was their mention of Sean . It was too much of a coincident that they dropped the same name as the guy at the fundraiser. The guy who thought he’d looked familiar.
It was possible that Sean had witnessed the altercation with Troy and saw what went down when they’d been on Jeff’s detail. Still, that didn’t explain why James asked for him, especially when Laz had been lead on that assignment. If Jeff had been the client they were referring to, Laz would’ve been the person that James would’ve mention. Or at the least, Chelsey.
Out of curiosity, Egypt had put a call into Jeff. They were just waiting to hear back from him.
But whoever James and Debby were, and whatever they were up to, Parker would deal with them after he took care of Wolf. Right now, that was his top priority, and the takedown date was getting close. Very close.
Tonight, he’d find out when the DEA, ATF, and the Feds—or as Rock called them, the alphabets—would be ready to move in on Wolf and his operation. He hoped everything would go as smooth as they all planned, but he was cautiously optimistic. Trying to hit Wolf from all sides at the same time was risky and almost impossible. Still, they were going to give it a try.
A few minutes later, Rock, Kamora, and the tech guy, Logic, showed up on the large computer monitor.
“Hey, you guys,” Parker said and rocked back in his seat. He automatically found Chelsey’s leg, and he rested his hand on her thigh, but then she linked her fingers with his.
It was like he had to touch her, and he was glad she never seemed to mind. It didn’t matter where they were, whether sitting on the sofa, riding in the car, or lying in bed, if she was within reach, his hands sought her out. The touch of her was like a calming elixir, bringing him comfort like nothing else.
“Three days,” Rock said by way of greeting. “The alphabets will be ready to move in then.”
“Assets will be frozen, stash houses will be raided, and Wolf and his crew will be arrested,” Logic added.
He rarely said much during their meetings, but when it came to looks, he fit the tech geek profile. Each time they met online, Logic, had on a checkered shirt with a print tie. Rarely did one match the other. Then there was his wire-rim glasses that were square in shape and could be considered fashionable by some. His huge afro always looked unkempt but that could be because he ran his hand over it or his fingers through it every fifteen minutes, leaving it standing on end.
But Parker wouldn’t be surprised if there was more to the guy than his online persona. He was learning that anyone who worked for Rock had a story. He just didn’t know Logic’s. At least not yet. They’d get to know each other once Parker made the move to Miami.
He listened as Kamora filled them all in on a few more details regarding the takedown and what would happen after everyone was in cuffs. He didn’t know how she’d developed relationships with the alphabets, but she talked about them as if they were friends.
Had she been a confidential informant at some point in her life?
He wasn’t sure, but she was another person on Rock’s team who Parker was looking forward to getting to know better.
“There’s no way they can gather the whole crew up at once,” Parker said to Kamora. “Have your contacts considered that?”
“They’ll get as many as they can,” she said. “The information you gave us about the walk-up apartment complex Wolf owns will be helpful. And it was confirmed that several crew members live in some of the units.”
Luis had been helpful with that information, along with everything else that he’d shared. That apartment complex hadn’t showed up on the information that Kamora had gathered. Parker wondered if they were missing anything else.
“There’s no guarantee that we’ll get everything Wolf owns, and the alphabets might not be able to scoop everyone up,” Rock said as if reading Parker’s mind. “But you know how the authorities are. They care about locking down the leaders of crime syndicates. If they can cut them off from the top, they have a better chance of dismantling the rest of the operation.”
That was why Rock was still walking around a free man. The alphabets were never able to get to him. Sure, they got some of his crew, some who were still locked up, but they’d never been able to capture Rock. And according to Angelo, Rock’s crew was loyal. When they were arrested, they kept their mouths shut and not one tried to make a deal.
“Are you ready for this?” Rock asked.
Even if Parker wasn’t, it was too late. There were too many people and organizations involved now to turn back.
“I’m ready. I’m ready to take Wolf and the Kingz down once and for all.”
He only wished he could be in San Diego to watch it all play out.