“Play your messages,” Brick ordered. She couldn’t believe she went from being giddy and happy to show off her relationship with her men in public to being told she had to keep it a secret. Screw Gains and anyone else who tried to ruin this for her and the Armos brothers.

  She played the first message, something about dinner and getting together with Gains.

  “What time was that at?” Avery asked her, and she told him the time.

  “That was right about when Jimmy was in the bar and overheard the call Gains made to Afina. Don’t delete it, Afina,” Avery said, and she swallowed hard.

  The next message was at midnight. “Please tell me you aren’t out with Avery Armos. He’s bad news, and don’t believe the bullshit he’s trying to spread on me. I know he wants you in his bed, but he will only hurt you, Afina. Remember our conversation. You’re safe in these arms,” Gains said in the voice message.

  “Asshole. He thinks she’s his,” Brick said.

  “She isn’t. Let’s not lose focus. Afina, do you know who the private numbers are? Any other messages?”

  “No, Avery. That’s it, and I don’t have a clue. It could be anyone,” she said.

  “Okay, this is how we’re going to handle things. I want you to be aware of what’s going on around you at all times. Obviously we have tails on Gains, so if he does try to see you, talk to you, know that I’m aware of it. Roman will inform me. You get any messages from Gains or if he tries something, I want to know about it. The way things are going, the feds could take this over and be focused on their own case and not what my team and I are after. That’s Coast’s killer, and to catch Gains doing whatever the fuck it is he’s doing. There is no reason for him to be socializing or even talking to men like West or Gordon,” Avery told her.

  “Did knowing the names of those men at the house party I attended over a year ago help in any way? I mean, are they connected to this? That Murto guy?” she asked.

  “That isn’t for you to worry about,” Avery told her.

  “I do worry though. I worry about you, Avery, and the fact that all this information could help find Coast’s killer.”

  “You’re not involved in any of that. Your job is to remain safe,” Brick said, raising his voice.

  She stood up. “On my own though, right? You can’t see me in public. We have to hide our relationship, so that means I’m on my own dealing with any of this crap that comes my way because of Gains?” she said, raising her voice.

  “You aren’t alone,” Beck said to her.

  “Harrumph.” She headed toward the kitchen, grabbed onto the island, and started taking off her heeled sandals. She tossed them into the living room.

  “What are you doing?” Saber asked her.

  “Not going out, so I don’t need heels.”

  “Afina, I’m sorry. It has to be like this, but not for long,” Avery told her.

  “It’s better like this. I won’t have to face my cousins, or deal with friends saying things and asking questions. I have a busy work schedule, so getting together will be difficult to say the least,” she said. Brick grabbed her arm and pulled her between his legs.

  “Don’t even try that shit. We’ll meet you. Here, or at our place.”

  “Hmm, booty calls then, huh?” she asked with attitude.

  Brick grabbed her ass and squeezed it. “It’s more than that, and you know it.” He lifted her up and placed her onto her kitchen island.

  “Is it? Because it sure sounds like that to me. Let’s meet up at night, in the dark, get together, and have sex. No dates, kinda screwed that up already, no dinner or meeting for lunch, or even thirty minutes for coffee? Yeah, meet for sex. That’s a booty call, a fuck session, if I’ve ever heard of one before,” she snapped at him.

  He gripped her hips and pushed against her. Her dress lifted to her hips, and he stared down into her eyes.

  “Not just a fuck session. It’s going to be torture not having you with us, not being able to spend time learning more about you and your likes and dislikes, and mostly not being able to show ownership and possession of you. That’s going to be fucking torture for a man like me. Understand me?” he asked so fiercely she was shocked that he felt so strongly. Tears filled her eyes.

  “I don’t want to screw this up. It seems like a recipe for disaster,” she said to him.

  He cupped her cheek and stroked her jaw. “It’s temporary, and if all goes well, things should be wrapped up this week. That’s all I’m fucking giving it. One week, and if my brother doesn’t solve this shit, all rules are off the table.”

  “One week? That’s it?” she asked him.

  “Brick.” Avery said his name.

  “That’s all I’m giving him.”

  “Shit, I can’t make that promise,” Avery said.

  “Well, we can’t give up time with our woman, and exposing her as ours, so I guess you really need to work hard this week,” Brick told him, and his brothers chuckled as Brick kissed Afina and then slowly lowered her onto the island.

  “I think it’s time for appetizers,” he said and removed her panties as he kissed her and then lowered his mouth under her dress and right to her cunt. She moaned and held on to his head.

  Saber and Beck joined in, lowering her top and the strap to her bra.

  “We’ll make all those secret encounters this week extra fucking special,” Saber told her and kissed her lips.

  Beck pinched her nipple. “We’ll bring out the big guns. I have a feeling our Afina is going to love being restrained, tied to the bed, a stretch bar between her legs as we pleasure her and she begs for mercy.”

  “Oh God, Beck. Oh!” She cried out and came. They chuckled low.

  “You like the sound of that, Afina?” Brick asked, and licked across her nipple then tugged on it.

  “I don’t know what that is?” she asked. Beck stroked her pussy, and Saber suckled her other breast.

  “You don’t know what a stretch bar is, sweetie?” Avery asked, joining in, too.

  She moaned, and her pussy spasmed, then a finger slid into her asshole.

  “No! Oh God, I don’t. I don’t know anything about sex toys.”

  “My God, that’s hot! Fuck, I’m going shopping,” Beck exclaimed, and she cried out another release as all four men brought her pleasure over and over again.

  Maybe, just maybe, she might play hooky from work tomorrow.

  She gasped as Beck pulled fingers from her body, lifted her up, and carried her to the bedroom.

  “Can’t let that delivery boy catch a glimpse of our woman,” he said and slapped her ass as he carried her into the bedroom.

  “Or hear her cry out in pleasure either,” Brick reprimanded.

  They were wild and sexy, and as soon as they got her to the bedroom they stripped her and prepared her to be taken by the four of them. She never wanted to be without them nearby. Hell, maybe she would play hooky the whole week.

  * * * *

  “You tell me how the fuck we’re missing that many crates of shit?” Modara asked Colett over the cell phone.

  “I don’t know, boss. The warehouse has been on lockdown for months since the scare with the federal investigation. You said not to even provide armed guards and make it secure, and the one guy we have is only on in the day time outside,” Colett told him.

  “Someone ripped me off, and I need to know who. Any chatter about guns being sold or even drugs?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Well, start digging. I need all that shit back.”

  “Does it really matter when there’s still such a large supply?”

  “Yeah, it does. It isn’t all mine. I had it in safe keeping for a reason.”

  “Who does it belong to?” Colett asked him.

  “Murto.”

  “Oh fuck.”

  “Exactly. Now get on top of this. I need to know if any guns were sold in the last several days and to whom.”

  “That isn’t going to be easy. It’s not like people advertise buying illegal guns.”

  “No shit, Colett, but if I don’t find that out, then what do I have to offer Murto in order to save our lives? When he finds out he was ripped off, that person or people are as good as dead. Nothing will stop him. He could kill us all.”

  “I’m on it. We’ll find the assholes. I guarantee it.”

  * * * *

  Cortone shook Murto’s hand as they met at Murto’s estate on the water.

  “It’s good to see you. I understand the exchange went through well with no issues,” Murto said to him.

  Cortone nodded. “So far, so good. I assume you were happy with the supply of the crates.”

  “Indeed. They are exactly what I ordered. I hate having to purchase the same shit again, but my old supply are being held in a secure location on lockdown as precaution.”

  “Of course, Murto. I was just glad that our contact had exactly what you requested and with no hold-ups.”

  “Me too. Pretty strange that they did, but it’s a done deal. I was a bit worried about a potential situation like a year ago, and whether this guy was legit or not.”

  “Gains is legit. He’s been providing supplies for the last year and very few times in order to keep unidentified. I don’t know how he works it out. He said he has access to the warehouses through the department of confiscated items and things. It all just sits there and rots. He can sneak it out of there somehow.”

  “Crazy shit. Glad it all worked out.”

  “I’m waiting on money from Gordon before we sell the product to that gang in Virginia.”

  “Well done. Just let me know if you need anything else,” Cortone told him, and then they had a drink by poolside.

  As soon as Cortone was done, he left the estate and called Gordon.

  “Hello?”

  “Yeah, it all went well.”

  “Not as fucking well as you think.”

  “What do you mean, Gordon?”

  “Gains has cops on his ass and Internal Affairs, too.”

  “What? Fuck no, I just did this deal with Vendis Murto. Are you telling me we’re going to get busted?”

  “I can’t see how we can. We haven’t touched a thing.”

  “Does Gains know?”

  “Yes, and he swears he’s fine, but I heard that there was a situation at Foger’s Bar and that an undercover cop was drugged and left in the bathroom.”

  “Shit, that doesn’t sound good. Was it Gains who drugged the undercover cop?”

  “Well, supposedly he was there, but so was West, Cortone’s guy.”

  “Why the fuck would he be there?”

  “I don’t know, unless the dirty cop is doing business with him.”

  “No way. Shit, well, see what else you can find out. We should stay clear of Gains.”

  “Got it.”

  * * * *

  Gordon tried Afina’s number again. It was two o’clock on Tuesday. Why hadn’t she answered her phone at all? He hoped that she wasn’t fucking that dick, Gains. He saw him hitting on her, and it pissed him off. Gordon hadn’t spoken to his brother in a few weeks, but then he mentioned Afina to him and even sent pictures. His brother had another year in prison to go if he maintained his good behavior shit. Seeing Afina got him remembering when his brother and she were lovers. He strolled by an open bedroom door once and saw her naked on the bed, his brother’s hand possessively over her ass. She had an amazing body. He would have loved to have climbed up on there and joined them, but his brother thought she was so fucking special. He screwed that up by fucking whores. When Afina busted him that night at Murto’s estate, it was crazy. She gave his brother a black eye and busted his lip. On top of that she stole his Porsche and dumped it at the junkyard with the keys in it. He shook his head. Jake had been pissed off.

  He stared at his phone. Maybe she was fucking Gains, and maybe Gains was telling her what he was planning. It would be nice to see her again, have dinner, and maybe get a feel for her. Could he hit her up? His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced at the caller ID. He knew who it was, and he answered.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m getting inquiries about a sale of weapons and drugs.”

  “An inquiry? What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It’s buzz on the down low. Seems there may have been a problem or some heat on that merchandise.”

  Gordon swallowed hard. He knew what that meant. Cops on the tail. Could he be talking about the shipment Murto just got from Cortone’s guy? Was it a set up by Gains? Was he working for the police, the feds, what?

  “Well, I haven’t heard of any shipments around town. What kind of heat are we talking?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s hush-hush, yet the push is deep. Figured if it was you or someone you knew, then I would give the heads up.”

  “I appreciate that. Thanks.” He ended the call and felt his gut clench. What the fuck was going on?

  He didn’t think this had anything to do with the shipment of guns to Murto. Besides that, none of the shit was traceable, and whoever stole it was the one who had to worry. This was the risk you took as a crook.

  He dialed Afina’s cell phone, and when she picked up, he smiled.

  * * * *

  “Hello?”

  “You’re a hard woman to track down these days,” Gordon said to her. She gasped and then looked around her in the office. No one was even looking at her.

  “Why are you calling me?”

  “To say hello. It was good seeing you the other night despite the shitty company you were keeping. Please tell me you aren’t screwing that fucking cop.”

  “I’m not even friends with him. Why are you calling me though?”

  “I can’t check up on you?”

  “No, you can’t. It’s been over a year, and I was dating your brother, not you.”

  “Obviously you’re still pissed off.”

  “Ya think?” she replied, and he chuckled.

  “I like this attitude. All ballsy and tough. Completely different than the old you.”

  “Nearly having my life destroyed by some criminal jerk like your brother changed me.”

  “Listen, I didn’t call to fight or harass you.”

  “Really? Then why did you?”

  “Well, a little piece of advice. Gains is trouble, and he’s stupid. Not sure if he tells you things he does, but he’s getting in over his head.”

  “I really don’t care. Nor do I want to hear about it.”

  “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “No.”

  “Lunch then tomorrow?”

  “No.”

  “Why so harsh?”

  “Listen, I need to go. Do me a favor and lose my number. When I broke things off with Jake, I broke off any connections to him or anyone associated with him. Bye.” She hung up on him.

  Afina was shaking as she ended the call and then leaned back in her chair. She immediately thought of Avery, Beck, Saber, and Brick. Avery said to call him or text him if Gains or Gordon contacted her. She sat forward in her seat when she heard the knock on her office door. She jumped at the sound and then widened her eyes at the sight of Gains standing there. He wore a suit, his badge, and gun and was definitely on duty. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He walked into the small office.

  “I wasn’t paying attention, and you don’t scare me.” She stood up from her desk.

  She came around the front of it. “I’m really busy today,” she said and reached for the filing cabinet drawer to pull out a file she needed to work on before calling it a day. When she felt the hand on her hip, she froze.

  “You’re shaking. What’s wrong?” he asked. She was tired of this. She didn’t want to be in the middle of another investigation. Was there a way she could get information from Gains that could help with Avery’s case on him? Was something brewing between Gains and Gordon that was criminal? She closed her eyes and exhaled. He caressed her shoulder.

  “Jesus, what is wrong? Tell me, honey,” he said to her. She looked up at him. She no longer saw him as the good-looking older detective with the flirty smile and lines. She saw him as a dirty cop, a potential killer. What did she know?

  She shrugged his hands off her shoulders, slammed the filing cabinet closed, and stepped to the side. “You want to know why I’m shaking? Want to know what’s wrong? I’ll tell you. I just got a call from Gordon.” His eyes widened.

  “Yeah, your little friend there is asking me questions about you.”

  “He isn’t my friend, first of all, and second of all, why would he be asking you questions about me?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because he thinks we’re an item, or as he put it, fucking each other. I don’t know, but, Gains, I don’t need this. I already made one mistake and went out with Gordon’s brother Jake.”

  “What? When was this?”

  “Before he went to jail. I didn’t know he was into stupid shit. We dated for months, I thought he loved me, but Jake cheated on me.”

  “Damn, that’s fucked up. What a dick.”

  “Yeah, well, I left him, and it cost me a beating and getting caught in a police raid, so excuse me if I don’t want to wind up in the middle of some deal between you and him. Whatever you’re involved in, get out of it and don’t deal with Gordon. He can’t be trusted, and if you screw him over, even slightly, you’ll end up regretting it or dead. These are bad people.” Gains looked toward the office door and then closed it.

  “I’m not doing business with him. It’s work related. An undercover operation, honey, that I shouldn’t even be speaking to you about.”

  She exhaled.

  “That isn’t what he inferred.”

  “He knows we’re friends. He obviously knows I’m a cop, a detective, and he’s trying to put the heat on.”

  “That has nothing to do with me. I don’t need him harassing me, or even calling or inquiring into my life. He hangs out with a lot of bad people who do illegal things. Listen, I don’t care. I’m not involved. Just watch your ass because Gordon and anyone associated with him looks out for number one. They will crush you. These men kill,” she said to him, and he stared at her.