1. Indi #4
Dream nodded. “He showed it to me once…before things got bad.”
Spider spoke up. “Uhhhh. I’m sorry, who’s Ray?” he asked.
Haze scoffed, crossing his arms. “Look who’s lost now.
” He tilted his head to one side. “For someone who claims to be in charge, you sure are behind on the intel, aren’t you?
” He grinned. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to fill you in, seeing as you’re so behind.
” Spider clicked his tongue. “Ray is some lowlife drug dealer Dream had a run-in with. Well…multiple run-ins. He’s the one who brought Kief’s attention to her. But Felix and I handled him.”
Felix’s arms flexed as he stared down at the file.
“Not enough, apparently. We should’ve killed him,” he snapped.
His eyes raised to meet Spider’s. “Ray’s the petty drug dealer working under Kief who tried to sell Dream into dancing in some underground club.
One that turned out to have ties to a trafficking ring associated with Northern Lights.
Thankfully, she got away from him…for some time.
” He pulled Dream close, holding her tight, obviously worried about her mental state.
“Do you need to take a break from all of this?” He carefully touched her cheek, brushing her long hair back. “We can take a break.”
Dream shook her head, placing her hand atop his. “No, I’m okay. I promise.” She leaned her head forward, pressing her forehead against his. “I pinky promise.” She then kissed him sweetly, cupping his face before pulling away. “I’m not a broken Dream anymore.”
My heart ached for the two of them, knowing all they had been through. And knowing what she meant by calling herself that.
Felix has finally met his equal.
Spider cleared his throat, directing all our focus back to him.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t think things could have aligned any better for us.
” We all looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
“Well, as you know, Indi, Charlotte’s Web has been organizing an undercover operation for some time. ”
“Don’t,” Haze warned.
Spider ignored him and kept speaking. “And the original plans were put on hold to use our assets to help locate Dream.”
“I’m warning you,” Haze warned again.
Spider shot him a look, almost daring him to do something. “Now that Dream’s been safely located and recovered, it’s been decided that Charlotte’s Web is going to resume the original operation. And we need you to play your part.”
Haze kicked the table, startling me. “I said no. Indi isn’t going anywhere, especially undercover at one of Kief’s fucking clubs,” he growled. “It’s too dangerous. And I’m not letting her out of my sight. Not after everything that fucker has done to all of us.”
How did I know he was going to say that?
My twin looked from Spider to Felix. “Forgive me, hermano, but you let your woman out of your sight. And because of that, you almost died. Both of you.” I looked at Felix, and he looked as though he wanted to murder Haze.
“I don’t care what you, Charlotte’s Web, or anyone else says… Indi isn’t going anywhere.”
I looked between my brothers, instantly feeling anxious at the growing tension. Their inherited tempers were both beginning to show, seeping into the air like a cloud of smoke as they glared at one another.
Spider leaned back in his chair and just sighed. “I wasn’t asking.” Haze shot his gaze to him. “You can huff and puff all you want, big boy. But something you seem to forget is that it was Charlotte’s Web who saved your ass.” His dark eyes met Haze’s before moving to me. “And yours too.”
My stomach fell at the realization.
“See, while it was Felix who may have been the one who helped physically clean your messes, it was me who allowed him to do so.” His smile and teasing personality had faded, leaving nothing but a serious decorum I’d never witnessed before.
“And without my protection, you two wouldn’t last a day out in this world.
Not with the police constantly looking for you both.
Isn’t that right, Felix?” He spun his head to meet our older brother’s stare.
Felix removed his glasses, clenching his teeth as he shared the truth of our situation. “He’s right.” I could tell he was burning from being controlled.
Felix…
“Like it or not, she’s going undercover.
” My head dropped and I listened as he continued to speak.
“But since you’ve made it so abundantly clear in the past, I’m not sending her in alone.
” Spider stood from his chair and walked over to us, stopping directly behind Haze.
He leaned down between us and smiled, speaking directly next to his ear.
“You’re going with her, cousin.” We both shivered at the word.
I reached over and grabbed my twin’s hand, squeezing it tight. “Where?” I asked, shooting my head up.
Spider turned to Felix as my brother spun his laptop around, revealing the image on the monitor. “The Burnout.”
Of—fucking—course.
I looked over at my twin, but Haze remained quiet.
Spider roughly gripped both of our shoulders, excitedly pulling us close to him as the smell of weed flooded my nostrils. “Pack your bags! You start tomorrow.” His clutch on us released as he returned to his chair.
I looked from my brother to him. “Tomorrow? But…what are we supposed to even do?” I felt anxious at how quickly things were moving.
Spider snapped his fingers and almost instantly, Felix tossed a second file across the table to me.
I opened it to find a brand-new set of ID cards for both Haze and me.
The photos of ourselves were altered, and our new aliases had already been decided.
I slid the cards towards Haze, looking at the other documents.
There were pages of information we needed to know, such as photos and background checks on known Northern Lights members.
Felix had included additional documents like prefilled applications, job agreements, and such, all filled in and completed.
“I—I don’t understand.” I looked up at my older brother. “When did you do all of this?”
He rested his head on his hand, blowing a few of his wild strands of hair from his face. “Last night.” He paused. “I wanted you to give your input, but I guess there were more important things happening.” He looked at Haze, who was now back to his normal self.
My twin grinned, looking at the ID cards. “Kaylan Flowers…and Bud Reyes.” He glanced up at Felix. “Bud…are you fucking kidding me?” He threw the ID card down with a loud scoff. “Who the fuck would have a name like that?”
“Oh, now that was my idea.” Spider chimed in. Haze shot him a dirty look. “What’s wrong, Bud? Don’t like it?” He was having way too much fun. “Tough titties, buddy. Your aliases were picked, and everything is already settled. If you wanted a say, then you should’ve been here last night.”
“Fucking little prick,” Haze uttered under his breath. “So tell me…how are we supposed to be undercover as siblings if we don’t even have the same last names?”
Spider tried to hold back his laughter. “You’re not.
” We both blinked at him. “Twins or not, there is nothing about this that screams siblings to me. Even if you are brother and sister, the two of you would be clocked so fast. So instead, you two are going undercover as plain and simple individuals. Not brother and sister, and sure as fuck not fucking twins. Thank god you’re not identical. ”
Individuals? Not twins?
I looked at Haze, then back at the IDs. “Is that why my picture has me with green hair? And dark eyes?” I looked at Haze’s again, seeing he too had darker eyes in his photo. “I’m guessing we’re wearing contacts to hide our eyes, but electric-green hair?” I blew a raspberry. “I’m not dying my hair.”
“Oh! That’s an easy fix.” I looked up at Dream, smiling at me from across the table. “And I’ll help you with that.”
“How?” I asked.
Her smile grew as she flipped her hair. “With a wig, of course!”
A wig?
“Oh.” I looked back at the ID, feeling a little better about the situation. “I guess we can make that work.”
Dream giggled softly. “I’ll make sure it looks good, don’t worry.” I smiled at her, thankful to have another woman in the family. Especially Dream.
I glanced back at the ID, trying to not freak out at picturing myself as someone else.
Kaylan Flowers.
Spider watched me closely. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked the color green?”
Haze’s hand landed on my thigh, squeezing it tight. He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, low enough for only me to hear. “I think the green looks good on you, little sis.” My cheeks flushed, knowing how much he loved me in green.
Calm down, Indi.
I cleared my throat and adjusted myself, pretending to ignore Haze’s tease. My eyes skimmed back over the file and its contents, reading more of the information provided to us. “So…” I looked through the stack. “Haze will be acting as a bartender—”
My twin scoffed. “Easy! I learned mixology in culinary school, not to mention I spent most of my nights back then bartending in town to pay my way through school. I got this shit on lock.” His smile fell. “Wait, but what about Indi?” He looked at me. “What is she going to do?”
I looked into his eyes as Felix answered for me. “Indi will be working bottle service for VIP.”