Page 10 of Double Edged Hearts
Claudius seethes. “Alex… I’m not happy with this. I can’t be. Feds are always on our asses. Aside from that… man, I hate to say this, but Cora is the kind of person who’s difficult to trust. She’ll work for whoever can pay her the most. Fuck knows what must have happened for her to join the feds.”
I can’t exactly refute him. He’s not wrong.
“So… you’re telling me I can’t see her?” I raise my brows.
At thirty-three, I’m the youngest of the group, and the lowest in rank. I also follow orders. I’m also the one who’ll be the first to get called into question if shit goes down. That’s what having a traitorous brother does for you.
My brother, Jude, was the fifth member of our crew. He betrayed us all when he betrayed Claudius. I killed him to save Claudius, but even by doing so I always feel like they’ll never fully trust me because of all the evil Jude did.
Claudius rises to his feet. “Alex, are you going to see her again?”
I bite the inside of my lip. “I don’t know.”
“I’m telling you now I’m not happy with it. I’m also telling you if the day comes when your association with her puts us at risk, I’ll be forced to be more ruthless.” His mouth twists wryly and his jaw clenches. “Even if I don’t want to.”
A flicker of tension courses through me at his words. He means he’ll cut me loose. He fucking means he’ll kill me if he has to, and I accept that. I’m the one playing with fire here. If I get burned, I can’t bring the others down.
I nod. “Okay.”
“I mean it, Alex.”
“I hear you, Boss.”
* * *
I meet Donny an hour later in my office at Rush, our racing arena.
A few years back, the guys and I started up the place because of our love for motorcycles and daredevil stunts. While the others are busy with their own business ventures, I run the place. Quite often I take part in the races and crazy stunts people pay a pretty penny to watch.
Donny works with me as my right-hand man taking the bookings for the nightly races we hold, and the bets. He loves money far more than me, and the look on his face now tells me he’s making a good deal with whoever the poor bastard is he’s talking to on the phone.
He’s grinning like an idiot and nods at me as I shrug out of my jacket.
“Let’s cap it at twenty grand, shall we,” he says into the phone with a chuckle. “I’ll send you the info.”
He hangs up and beams at me, running a hand through his dark brown hair.
“You look happy,” I state.
“Fuck, I just love our job. That was Antonio De Mario. That fucker wants to throw down twenty G’s on Luca.”
I widen my eyes. “Fuuccck.” I understand his happiness now. We take a twenty-percent cut on the bets on the races.
Lucca is the only biker who takes part in our races who can jump his bike through the ring of fire. I give him credit for his fearlessness. I don’t do fire, but I do heights. When push comes to shove, I can make whatever vehicle I’m in fly.
“I know right,” he beams.
“That is why I love my job.” I take a seat.
When seriousness washes over his face, I know he’s about to ask me about Cora.
“So, did you see her?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“What now?”
“I don’t know. I need to leave well enough alone.”
