Page 64 of Tango

“Just listen, please, Ivy. I need to say this. You are the light to all the dark parts of me, and I—” He struggled to speak while I fell even harder for this man. “Thank you for the push. You’re right. I just needed to face it, and tonight I genuinely laughed with them, and, fuck, I want to show dad that fishing spot.” His face lit up and he looked ten years younger. “That’s all because of you.”

“I’m glad I could help.” I sagged into him and let the joy warm me up.

“I’ve thought about it a million times since I met you, and I’ll wait a little longer so’s not to scare you, but Ivy Knight, I’m gonna make you my wife.”

“I won’t say no.” I met his lips halfway, and we sealed our words with a sexy kiss.

“Hey, lovebirds!” Mike broke our moment. “We got the call. Time to ship out.”

Well, the night was almost perfect.

Paul

“Does everyone know exactly what they’re responsible for?” Cole’s voice was sharp and cut through the silence of the room like a knife. We were thirty minutes from the Mexican border, in a safehouse, with only a short time before one of the biggest moments in Shadows’ history. “If not, speak up now because we can’t have one single mistake. We’re not just taking down Martin Castillo, we’re taking down a major tier of the Mexican Cartel.” He looked around the room at us. “That means each and every one of you needs to be on the same page. We’re not leaving a man down in that God-forsaken country.” He stared at all of us. “Everyone knows who their mark is. You get in, make it happen. Get out.”

“Hooah,” we all called in unison. Well, some of us.

“Since when did Shadows start working with the Italian mafia and California bikers?” Mills, team leader from Eagle Eye, muttered behind me. I turned around as I got his concern and couldn’t blame him.

“It’s not just about Castillo and his men.” I wanted to set his mind at ease. “There’s a lot more to it. It’s about who else they’ve been working with.” And who else they’ve affected in the past, I thought as I eyed Trigger. I knew from Mike that Castillo had helped Trigger’s father run a drug operation a while back. So, Trigger and his club had a personal stake in this. I also knew Castillo was his mark. I was more than fine with that.

Before we left, Cole had explained the details to most of us. Some of it was on a “need to know” basis but none of it was particularly a secret. It was just complicated, especially with Frank and Team Eagle Eye. He needed to keep Frank in the dark as much as he could about just how Devil’s Reach and the Capris were involved, as Frank needed to turn his head to a lot of it. He’d opened up to me about it all, because we both knew this was the last operation I had left in my career. I wouldn’t go undercover again and couldn’t show my face working with Blackstone. It would be too risky given who we were at war with.

Mills was a good guy, and I sure as hell didn’t want Eagle Eye to think anyone at Shadows was purposely keeping details from them. When he nodded toward the window, I followed his look and waited. I wanted to know what was on his mind.

“Yeah, well, I know that guy’s Elio Capri, and he’s a bigshot in the mafia, and those guys are his cousins. How’re they involved?”

“I’m not sure of the connection there, exactly.” I scrunched up my face as I thought. “I know Castillo somehow got hold of Rosa Coppola. She’d pulled some dirty deal on him or something.” Mills looked at me, confused. “She’s the last remaining member of the Rome Syndicate, and Elio Capri’s been on the hunt for her for a while now. When he heard of our mission, he offered to help since he wants Rosa bad. I guess he threw out a reward for her, and Castillo’s such a puffed-up asshole he took the bait and Capri got an invite to the party.”

“So, is all this the new normal?” Mills scratched his head.

“No,” I chuckled, “it’s not normal, but the truth is we need all the help we can get on this one. So, here we are.” Mills shook his head slowly, and I clapped him on the back. It was a whole different kind of war we fought these days, and we all had to go with it. Maybe Mills had a point, though. Maybe it was the new normal.

“And what about Devil’s Reach? What’s their in?”

“Grim Gates.”

“Sweet Jesus,” he shook his head, “the life you lived.”

“Yeah, well, look where it brought us.” I grinned, and he smiled and popped a fist bump then got up and walked over to join his team. I knew he’d be okay with it all. These guys were the best of the best.

I failed to mention to Mills that Chili had already put out the word on Castillo, and anyone with a vendetta against the son of a bitch had been invited to join the op. Castillo was done.

My friend Sal approached his brother Dylan, who agreed to be our eyes at the house. Turned out Castillo had messed with Dylan’s daughter a while back, and both brothers were happy to help. Dylan oversaw the ongoing maintenance of Castillo’s escape tunnel, and he kept an ear to the ground. Because of him, we knew the rotation of the guards and when they switched shifts. He really proved his worth when he told us where the weak spots of the house were.

“Good?” Cole asked as he leaned on the wall next to me.

“Yeah,” I assured him. All was well with me. I just itched to move.

I glanced at Cole then checked the time. We had a few more minutes before we all left in different directions. I took a moment to think about all the people who were here with us.

“Just odd. I mean, my two worlds are about to collide.” I shook my head at that.

“Odd doesn’t even begin to describe this.” Cole looked around with me.

Team Dusk and Team Eagle Eye were going over the property map. Trigger, Brick, and Rail, old motorcycle friends of Mike’s from California, were in heavy conversation with Italy’s mafia king, Elio Capri and his two cousins Niccola and Vinni.

“It’s sure hard to wrap my head around.” I whistled quietly in amazement. “How you pulled all this off, Cole, you never cease to amaze me.”

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