Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
DIEGO
I wish she would have woken me up.
As I laid alone the next morning, the only thought that ran through my mind was how empty my bed felt. Gone was Ruby’s warmth and her touch. Gone was her leg that wriggled itself between mine. Gone was her limp arm that hung around my waist while she snored against my shoulder.
But I also knew it was for the best.
Hell, if any of those meatheads found her in bed with me, especially her brother, I’d be dead.
Screw the cartel; they’d torture me before loading me up with lead.
So, I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.
I tried to close my aching eyes after taking my pain pill so I could push the world from memory and drift back into an effortless slumber.
Except, it didn’t work.
“Fuck,” I said flatly.
After lying in bed for what felt like ages, I eased myself upright. I already felt a difference in my shoulder and the mobility I had in it, so I was able to press myself onto my feet without shimmying myself to the edge of the bed first. Small successes were the best, I suppose.
Those successes don’t get you out of the cartel, though.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled to myself.
Then, a knock came at the door, and it ripped me from my foggy trance.
“Hello?” I called out.
The door cracked open. “It’s me.”
I stood to my feet and stretched my good arm over my head. “Come on in, Notch.”
He walked into my loft and closed the door behind him. “Stone has called church. He wants you there.”
I blinked a few times. “What?”
He snickered. “A meeting. He’s called a meeting and he’s telling you to be there.”
I nodded. “Ah.”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “There’s coffee and bacon in the kitchen downstairs. You think you can be ready in fifteen?”
I shrugged. “If no one cares about bedroom breath, I can leave with you once I put a shirt on.”
He snickered. “And hopefully some pants.”
My eyes widened as I looked down, and that was when I realized I was naked.
Stark-ass, butt-ass, fucking-ass naked. Notch roared with laughter as he walked out of the loft, holding his stomach and wiping tears from his eyes.
And me? Well, I scrambled to get clothes on and prayed with all my might that Ruby hadn’t left marks or hickies on my body for him to behold while I had been standing there with my goddamn dick out.
Then, I splashed some water on my face and made my way downstairs.
I followed the siren call of caffeine and found my way into the expansive kitchen.
The stainless-steel appliances glittered for me, blinding my eyes as I reached for a piece of bacon.
I chomped on it before I made myself a mug of coffee and when I turned around, everyone stared at me from the common room across the hall.
And there were a hell of a lot of people in there.
“Uh, hi,” I said as I waved.
Stone nodded. “Guys, this is Diego, the guy I was talking about.”
A man with a scowl on his face walked over and offered his hand. “The name’s Asher. I’m the president of the Celtic Riders.”
I shook his hand. “Diego. I’m trying to get my ass out of the cartel.”
He crooked an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me he was trying to leave, Stone.”
Stone scoffed. “Because we still don’t know if he’s telling the truth or baiting us.”
I sighed. “Sorry you got dragged into this, too.”
Asher nodded and dropped my hand. “I can respect a man who means his apologies.”
At least they don’t all hate me. “So, what’s the meeting about?”
Asher held his arm out. “We need to discuss the situation at hand.”
Which was probably code for ‘what the fuck do we do with the cartel guy?’
Either way, I walked into the common room and took a seat between Stone and Frost. All of the guys found a place to perch, and all eyes were painfully on me.
I sipped my coffee and tried to look as relaxed as possible, but I was surrounded by at least two dozen massive men who were probably ready to snap my inconvenient neck.
Then, West spoke. “So, we think we’ve found a way to set up the cartel.”
I blinked. “Wait, what?”
Texas cleared his throat. “Go ahead and fill him in. He needs to know.”
Stone held up his hand. “Now wait just a fucking second because I haven’t approved this plan just yet.”
Asher groaned. “Come on, man. You dragged us all the way down here this early in the morning for a plan you aren’t even sure you’re doing? I find that hard to believe.”
Stone glared at the man before his eyes came back to me. “If we go with this plan, I want you to call your contact right after this in front of all of us so we know you tell your contact the right things.”
I furrowed my brow. “Uh, okay.”
“Then, after you place the call, your phone is mine until I trust you enough to give it back.”
All of the guys stared me down, probably expecting a fight. But honestly? It felt more like a relief than anything else.
“Someone’s still watching my mother?” I asked.
Bronx nodded. “We’re all taking shifts.”
I peeked over at him. “Can I write her letters to send with you guys? So she knows I haven’t abandoned her?”
Texas snickered. “Dude, of course. It’s your mom.”
I sighed. “Then, I’m fine with the plan.”
Asher patted my back. “Good man.”
Stone scoffed. “We’ll see about that. West? Go ahead with the plan.”
Then, West took the reins once more. “We can use one of the old storage facilities that we used with Cheng. One of the old warehouses is actually still rented out in that man’s name.”
Stone blinked. “Wait, seriously? I thought we transferred all of his belongings in the States over to us?”
West shrugged. “We missed this one. It’s a smaller warehouse that’s been empty for a long time.
We assume that Cheng abandoned it. Maybe because it was compromised?
Either way, it’s a resource we have that doesn’t trace back to us and we can most certainly make it look as if it’s stocked with weapons.
Then, we can request a meeting with this Carlos the Boss guy and ambush them. ”
My eyes widened. “You want to try and ambush Carlos? No, that’ll never happen.”
Stone snickered. “And why’s that?”
I sighed. “Because Carlos is just as paranoid as you are guarded. It’s why he’s never been caught. No one except those he truly and completely trusts have ever seen his face or heard his voice. The rest is passed down via word of mouth and tubes of trust, if that makes any sense.”
West nodded. “It does.”
Stone shrugged. “It’s the only option we’ve got. Take it or leave it.”
I sank back into my chair. “Do you guys really think Carlos will show up if we do this?”
And that was when West smiled. “If we make him think that we have something there that’s worth him showing up for, he most certainly will. Because at the end of the day? He’s still a businessman driven by a need for money and fortune. He’ll come if we make it worth his while.”
Stone murmured to himself. “They always do.”
I shrugged off his comment. “So, what will we make him believe it’s stocked with?”
Stone cleared his throat. “Anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft weapons, and portable launchers.”
My jaw hit the floor. “Yeah, that would do it.”
Asher chuckled. “Figured as much.”
Bronx grinned. “Told you we’d pull out the big guns for this one, Dee.”
I smiled up at him. “Yeah, I suppose you did.”
“Dee?” Stone asked.
Bronx shrugged. “Just a nickname.”
Stone narrowed his eyes. “Well, don’t get attached. If this goes south, he’s the first one we’re throwing in our path.”
“What?” Notch asked.
I held my hand up. “It’s okay, I know how this works. And I agree that this is the best plan we’ve got. What do you guys think?”
West folded his arms over his chest. “I think it’s a great shot at getting what we want out of this scenario.”
Asher nodded his head. “My guys will provide support as they can. Just let us know what that support is.”
I craned my neck back to look at Notch. “You okay?”
He looked like he had swallowed something sour. “Yeah, I’m great.”
“All in favor?” Stone asked.
He raised his hand, and all the guys shot their hands into the air, which meant that we were a go for setting this shit up. For a split second my heart seized with nervousness, but then all eyes were back on me.
And for some reason, that relaxed me.
“Ready to make the call?” Stone asked.
I pulled out my cell phone and nodded. “Yep. Want me to put him on speaker?”
Stone shook his head. “No. Just stick to the plan and give me a thumbs up when you’ve hooked him.”
I dialed the number for my contact. “Done.”
And the phone didn’t even ring once before the goon picked up. “What is it?”
I drew in a deep breath. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of information you’re going to want.”
“Good. Whatcha got?”
I tried to keep as cool of a head as possible. “There’s a warehouse around…”
Stone mouthed to me. “Mira Mesa.”
“...Mira Mesa that has some serious fucking firepower in it. We’re talking anti-aircraft missiles and launchers and shit.”
“You’re kidding. How the hell did you find this out?”
“Dude, I overheard them talking about it. I even hopped into the back of a car and followed them to the damn site. They’re there.”
“And you’ve seen them? With your own eyes?”
I nodded. “Yes. They’re there, and there’s a fuckton of them. The Boss is going to want to see it for himself.”
There was a hell of a long pause and I started to panic. Did I oversell it? Did I say something wrong? Was there a tremor in my voice?
Then, the goon came back. “Good job, the Boss is pleased.”
“It gets better, though. The guys are trying to find a way to offload everything because their last client dipped out. I mean, ghosted them completely. I think we’re in a good position to set up a meeting with Stone and—”
The goon cackled with laughter. “Listen here, you little shit. Carlos meets with who he wants to meet with. You leave the meetings to me.”
“I understand that, but if you just hear me out—”
“We’re done with this conversation.”
I spoke as quickly as possible. “The president of the club has more to offer!”
There was a long pause before the man came back to the phone. “Speak. Quickly.”
So, I cleared my throat. “There are also anti-tank guns. I’ve found dockets and receipts for all sorts of connections they have ranging from ARs all the way to tanks themselves.
They’ve got serious plugs, and I know that if we can dip in while they’re desperate to sell this shit off, they’d be willing to cut Carlos a very serious deal. Possibly even get in bed with Carlos.”
Stone’s eyes widened but I held up my hand. I knew how to lube this man up even if I’d never met him in my life.
And it worked. “And you’re sure about that?”
I nodded. “Positive.”
The man drew in a deep breath. “I’ll make the call.”
I gave a thumbs-up to Stone. “Wonderful.”
The guys silently rejoiced as a grin crossed Stone’s face.
But the goon kept talking. “You should know, though, that if you’re lying about this in any way—if this is a trap of any sort—I mean if this fucks anything up—”
I nodded. “I know, it’s my head.”
“No, it’s not your head. It’s you and your mother’s head. Your entire life goes down with this, understood? And your death will be slow. You’ll watch your mother die before your very eyes before I string you up by your feet and—”
I blocked the rest of what he said out. One, I didn’t feel like vomiting in my lap anytime soon. And two, we got them to agree. That was the hardest part of all this, and I had done it.
Then, when the man was done threatening me, I nodded my head. “I understand.”
“Good. We’ll contact this Stone guy when we’re ready to set up a meeting. You did good, Diego.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Thanks.”
And when the phone call ended as abruptly as it had started, I handed my phone over to Stone.
Hoping and praying that things went according to plan.