Chapter Five #2
“Because guys like me don’t introduce buyers. Josiah’s not some idiot. He’s the big time. He’s gonna smell a cop the second I tried something like that. No thanks. I don’t want any bullet holes in the back of my head.”
I had to bite down on my tongue to not react. The thought of that bastard, pulling a gun, made my stomach contract. “’As he done something like that before?” The more I probed him, the sooner I’d know if he was the man Lincoln and his guys were looking for.
Cam shook his head, reaching for the door handle. “You know what? I gotta go. I’m serious. Thanks for everything today, okay?”
My hand shot out as I reached for his forearm, catching him just before he opened the door. “’Ang on a second, Cam.”
His eyes met mine and the fear swirling in them was easy to recognize. “Mars, please…”
I tightened my grip as he tried to pull away. “I don’t want to see ya get ‘urt, Cam.”
He shook his head again as his eyes suddenly got shiny. “Please, Mars, let me go. I shouldn’t have told you all that shit.”
I frowned at him, dropping his arm. “Get out.”
He blinked at me. “What?”
“Get outta the fucking car!” I sprung out and opened his door. He slid out, clutching his coat. In the heat, away from the A/C, he must have hotter than hell. I gestured at the coat. “Take that off. Ya must be boiling.”
He stripped down to his T-shirt and I grabbed his arm, dragging him several steps away to a covered awning to get us out of the blazing sun.
When he turned to face me, he was wearing a completely enraged look, but it wasn’t the expression that made my breath catch.
I realized I hadn’t seen him without his oversized jacket until just now.
Seeing him without it was eye-opening, to say the very least.
I dragged my gaze down his body. I already knew he was leaner than me. Most average guys did nowhere near the amount of weight training Candy made the team do and I had a pretty ripped frame, if I did say so myself.
Cam was quite different, though. He was toned under his shirt, so toned that I could make out his perfectly defined pecs under the tight tee as well as…
shiiit… Nipple piercings. With tiny, little rings that poked out.
Saliva filled my mouth, and I had the overwhelming urge to grab the scruff of the shirt and rip it in two.
Right down the front—just to save time peeling it off—so I could confirm I was right.
I’d always thought men who pierced their nipples were brave.
Personally, I was very sensitive there and just the thought that someone would intentionally undergo the agony of getting their nipples pierced in the first place, made me cringe.
I’d been with a guy who’d done it and he’d confirmed that yeah, it’d hurt like a bitch.
He said the first piercing wasn’t the worst one to get done.
It was the second one, because you knew what was coming.
But after the wounds had healed, whenever someone tugged on them with their tongue, it made him insanely horny.
“What the hell is going on? I’m not telling you about Josiah!” he yelled, completely breaking my concentration on his nipples “I shouldn’t have said anything. He’s gonna kill me if I say something. You’ve gotta believe me, Mars.”
I frowned at him, still holding onto his arm. “Don’t be a bloody ning-nong. I’d never do anything to put ya in danger. I thought you’d know that by now.”
He looked skeptical and suspicious. “What then?”
“Ya say this Josiah guy is bad news, Cam, and the money’s good. I get that, but if ya introduced me—”
He yanked his arm out of my hold. “I told you I can’t do that!”
“All you’d ‘ave to do is say ya ran into me at a bar or something. We got talking about cars and I told ya I can’t find the model I want. I’m British. It’s a believable story.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “What’s the point? So, you and the FBI can arrest him?” He canted his head at Mickey who was watching us from the front seat.
I nodded, unsure how to put it. I certainly didn’t want to let him know the real reason I needed more info. “Eventually. We’d ‘ave to build a case against him and—”
Cam started laughing, holding his stomach as he bent over. I tapped my foot. When he finally straightened, he was wearing an incredulous expression. “Josiah’s not stupid and he’s got a lot of muscle around him all the time. He’s not going to believe anything you say and he’s gonna check you out.”
I knew that must be true. If this guy ran a big auto theft ring and drug ring, hiring guys like Cam to do his dirty work would make sense.
He’d insulate himself so he’d be clean if he was ever arrested.
And he’d sure as hell check out his buyers before agreeing to supply whatever they wanted.
That meant building a bulletproof undercover background before any approach could be made.
I glanced at Mickey before looking back at Cam. “Okay, look. I’ll let ya find a car for Josiah, but I’m coming with ya.” The truth was, I’d have to clear anything like that with Candy before letting Cam attempt it. Mickey’s informant idea was looking feasible.
Cam rolled his eyes. “I already told you—”
“Mickey and I will stay outside in the shadows when ya deliver the vehicle. Josiah will never know we’re there.”
He bit his lip, rolling the idea around in his noggin for a few seconds. “Fine. And then what? I still don’t see the point.”
I smiled. “And then, you’re coming back to L.A. with us so we can discuss this with my boss.”
His eyes widened. “You’re gonna tell your boss…some big muckety muck from the FBI, about me? And excuse me, I live here. My mom’s here. I’m not going to LA.”
I laughed, gripping his shoulder. “We’ll talk about it. You’ll really like Candy.”
He regarded me strangely. “Candy. That’s the name of your boss at the FBI? Candy? Ooh…he sounds really scary. Is he in charge of the chocolate factory?” He laughed again.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Sweet as.” He did a terrible impersonation of a New Zealand accent.
I sighed.
“Why? You never told me why you want to tell everyone about me.”
I looked deeply into his eyes. “Not everyone. Just Candy. I think it’s important to tell ‘im about Josiah and I can’t bloody do that if I don’t tell ‘im about you too.
If that guy is ‘urting people, ‘e ‘as to be stopped.” I let go of his shoulder, gesturing to Mickey.
He shut off the car and got out, locking it.
“What’s going on?” Cam asked.
Mickey walked up, and I clapped him on the back. “’Ow would ya like to ‘elp steal a car?”
Mickey snorted. “I’d rather stay out of prison, thanks.”
I chuckled. “We’re just gonna watch from the sidelines and then, after our friend here, delivers the car, we’ll drive to L.A. to introduce ‘im to Candy.”
Mickey grinned. “I like the last part of this plan, Mars, but we can’t watch him commit a crime.”