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“Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice,” he replies, then pulls over to the side of the road and turns the engine off.

Tyler sees him reach for his piece. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Worth a shot,” Dexter chuckles and gets off his bike. “Let me guess, you’re pissed.”

“Doesn’t even begin to cover it,” I reply. “You put a hit out on us.”

“Hey, man, I’m just trying to do my part in securing this deal. It’s nothing personal.”

I give him a dark look. “We know where the shipment is coming from and where it’s going. The mayor surrendered.”

Tyler adds, “You know I’ve got little to no patience, Dex. We’ve crossed paths before.”

Dexter points up to his crooked nose. “Oh, I remember. So, the jig is up, huh?”

“I’ll give you a choice,” I say. “Walk away now. Take your men, move your little club and drug business to another district. I won’t even press charges. I won’t follow you. I’ll leave you alone. Hell, I’ll even forget the two times you tried to have me killed today, and that should tell you something.”

He seems curious. Enticed, even. And nowhere near as enthusiastic about the whole cartel deal as before. Something has changed and it might work in our favor.

“You’re after the lady, I take it?” he asks.

“She’d better be unharmed,” Tyler replies darkly.

Dexter smiles. “For now. Smart girl, I’ll give her that. Gave me an eye opener. It might have pissed Trevor off, though. I don’t know how long she has left.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s just say I’m inclined to take you up on your offer,” Dexter says. “I wasn’t about to an hour ago, but seeing that you’ve already killed fifteen of my riders, and Trevor doesn’t seem to have the grip he claimed to have on the entire deal, I might settle for cutting my losses and moving the club closer to West Shokan. Their sheriff isn’t a self-righteous prick like you.”

“The last thing you want is to piss off the Sinaloa cartel. It would be a wise choice to move on,” I tell him. “One I’m willing to let you make.”

“Duly noted. I’ll think about it.”

“Think quickly, or I start shooting.”

Dexter scoffs. “I’m done burying my brothers. The price is too high for an otherwise shaky delivery. Trevor talks a lot, and I may have lost confidence in his ability to pull this off.”

“Then be smart for once in your fucking life and call off your men,” Tyler growls. “It’s gone too far, Dexter. It’s not worth it.”

“That we can agree on.”

31

TASSIA

Trevor is fuming.

He doesn’t have to scream, shout or throw furniture around. His aura blares, the air practically rippling away from him.

My wrists hurt from the rope restraints as I twist and try to get myself loose.

“You almost cost me a major deal,” Trevor hisses as he comes back into the living room. “What the fuck were you playing at, Tassia?”

“I merely pointed out the truth,” I reply with a shrug. “You’re not some criminal mastermind. You talk a good game, and I’m sure you get people to go along with you up to a point, just like you fooled me. But at the end of the day, you overestimated yourself. Again.”

Trevor takes out his gun, and I see the itch in his trigger finger. He’s unstable. Volatile. It doesn’t matter what I say to him, he’s got his mind made up about me. All I can do is try to buy myself more time.

“I can help you,” I tell him.