Page 53 of Hart of Vengeance
She hunched her shoulders, her bottom lip trembling.
Denim just watched his brother kick Cara to the curb, and I couldn’t tell what he was feeling or thinking because his blue eyes were empty.Typical of the Hart brothers.
The elevator doors finally opened.
No one needed to tell me twice to leave.
17
Denim
The smell of bacon woke me, drifting into the room as I rolled over and stretched. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in a queen bed on a mattress that wasn’t poking my back or on a pillow that wasn’t flat. It was nice not having to listen to men snore, talk in their sleep, have sex, or jerk off in the dead of night.
I sighed, sinking into the comfy mattress as I soaked up the quiet. It was pure gold. Even the decor of bare walls and simple drapes was rich to me.
“Denim,” a soft female voice said before she knocked. “It’s Maggie. Can I come in?”
Pulling up the blankets to hide my morning wood, I cleared my throat. “Sure.”
The door opened, revealing a curvy blonde with green eyes and a smile that could knock any man to his knees. I could see why my brother was smitten with Maggie. Dillon and I had both had hard-ons for her when we were teenagers, but she’d been off-limits. She’d run with a rival gang of ours, and their leader would’ve cut off our nuts if we’d even tried to woo her to our side.
She padded in and stood near the dresser, adjusting her scarf. “Dillon is cooking breakfast. I have to get to work but wanted to say welcome home. Maybe we can catch up tonight if I’m not late. I’m working on a big story.”
“The last time you worked on a big story, you were kidnapped.”
She rolled her eyes. “Comes with the job. But this one isn’t as risky as the last one on human trafficking. I can’t say much, but it involves gang violence.”
Raising an eyebrow, I leaned against the headboard. “Gangs, huh? Like the McCauley gang?” Duke had been standing next to their leader in the picture Travers had shown me.
She tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. “Do you know them?” Intrigue weaved through her question.
I probably shouldn’t say anything. Travers would have my head if I did, and I couldn’t risk anyone finding out I was working with the FBI. Oh, wait. Duke already knew. “Just heard of them. They’re more dangerous than the gang I ran with.”
“Don’t discredit the Creepers,” she said. “Tito Alvarez is trying to make a name for himself. He’s high on power and money and taking over the city.”
I laughed. “What’s he up to other than trying to put a bullet in my head?”
She frowned. “Dillon briefly mentioned that to me earlier. Watch your back. Tito is a scary dude. Anyway, he’s trying to insert himself into the gun-trade market. Word on the street is he’s done with selling drugs.”
“Guns?” I couldn’t help but think that maybe the FBI had their wires crossed. Maybe Tito should be their target rather than Duke.
“It’s a big business,” she said. “Boston PD’s gang unit can’t keep up with the guns coming in and the gang wars going on. But the Feds are now involved because of the large shipments coming in from Europe and South America.”
At least the FBI wasn’t blowing smoke up my ass. “Where does Duke fit into any of this, or does he?”
Her shoulders tensed. “He’s mixed up in something. I just don’t know what yet or why he is. Again, welcome home. I got to run.”
I didn’t get the sense she knew much more than that, although she was close to the cop who’d arrested me for murder. According to Dillon, Officer Ted Hughes was now Detective Ted Hughes, and he was head of the gang unit for the BPD. “Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“It’s your brother’s house. Besides, you’re family.”
The word “family” sounded odd to me. For so long, my family had been the gangs I’d run with on the streets I’d called home. “Oh, and congrats on saying yes to my brother. I’m happy for you guys.”
She blushed. “Thanks. You’ll find that special someone one day.”
I lowered my gaze to the bed. “I doubt that.”
“Jade doesn’t want anything to do with you, huh?” she asked.
