Page 20 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

She pulled away. “How can I not get worked up over this? I’ve lived with her for almost a year and a half. She didn’t sell drugs.”

Tundra sat forward. “Nobody said anything about selling. She could have been a go-between.”

Beast nodded. “And she’d be the first person they’d suspect if they were low on supply or cash.”

Lex twisted her lips to the side and gave Beast a pointed look. “You’re right, but why wouldn’t they have found the drugs like we did?”

I shook my head. “It took both of us to move that mattress. I could have done it alone, but it takes time. Hiding drugs in the box springs or the mattress itself is doable. That headboard is solid fuckin’ oak. They’d never expect her to stash it there.”

Alexandra looked at me. “Then how did she do it? It’s why I think someone may have set her up.”

“No, sweetheart,” Tundra said.

Beast sat back in his seat. “Actually, let’s play that out. Who would do that and what would they gain?”

My temper flared to life. I widened my eyes at Beast. “She just lost her friend. She’s in no headspace for this kind of speculation.” I glanced at Lex and back to Beast. “That’s why we need to find this Tobias asshole and fuck him up if he doesn’t give us answers.”

Alexandra turned wide eyes to me. “You can’t go…” She stopped on a sigh and looked away.

“Lex,” I called.

She held up a hand. “I get it. This is what you do. It’s what Dad would do.”

“Then why does it bother you?” I asked.

“Because I know most of these people. I never knew anyone that Dad roughed up.”

“When did you get soft?” Tundra asked.

Beast shook his head. “I don’t think she’s soft. It’s different when the problems have something to do with you. And she probably doesn’t want our prospect to get roughed up in the process either, though why she cares about him, I’ll never know.”

Tundra chuckled. “Yeah, she needs to get over that.”

Alexandra glanced out the living room window. The sun had finally set. She looked back to Beast. “Are you going to trust me to stay here alone while you three bust heads?”

Beast smiled and winked at her. “Yeah. So you better not make me regret it.”

At eight-fifty, I led Beast and Tundra into the Eden Park apartment complex and parked my bike near the community clubhouse. I hadn’t had time to do any reconnaissance before they arrived.

Tundra swung off his bike. “This guy doesn’t live at the pool, prospect.”

I nodded. “That’s the thing. Brantley didn’t give me a unit or a building number. Just said I’m looking for a lime green SUV - probably a high-end model - and he parks close to his building.”

“Fuck,” Tundra muttered.

Beast started to speak, but stopped and turned toward the approaching sound of thumping bass. An older model Porsche Cayenne pulled into the lot and as it rolled under the street lamps, I saw it was lime green.

“Speak of the devil,” Beast said.

I grinned. “It’s better to be lucky than good sometimes.”

Beast nodded. “Don’t get cocky. Let’s leave the bikes, it isn’t ideal, but we’ll draw instant attention otherwise.”

We took off at a jog in the same direction as the SUV. At a breezeway between two buildings, Tundra gave a hand signal that he was going to split away from me and Beast. For some reason, Beast picked up the pace and we rounded the corner.

Bass notes filled the air, reverberating against my body. Tobias had parked but hadn’t left his vehicle.

“I don’t miss apartment living. I fuckin’ hated assholes who sat like that making everyone listen to their music,” Beast muttered.

I didn’t point out that our bikes did the same thing when we had our radios on during a ride and we came to a stop.

From the other side of the building, Tundra wandered out toward the SUV.

“What’s he doing?” I whispered.

“Don’t worry,” Beast said.

Tundra strode across the parking lot, holding his keys out like he owned a car parked beyond the SUV. Then he doubled back the way he came as though he’d forgotten something.

Moments later, Beast’s cell chimed with a notification. He pulled his phone from his hip, glanced at the screen, and tucked it away. “He’s alone. Let’s make an approach. You get in the passenger seat. I’m sliding in the back. Have your gun out.”

The music stopped, the engine shut down, and a tall lanky man with curly brown hair got out of the SUV. Before closing the car door, he blew out a huge plume of smoke.

Beast stood still. “Change in plan. We’ll rush him inside his place.”

We watched Tobias walk through the parking lot, casual and oblivious. We stalked down the sidewalk the moment he reached his door.

By the time he had opened the door, Tundra was at his side. “Hey, man. I’m your new neighbor. You know where I can get some weed?”

Tobias pulled an Airpod from his ear. “What did you say?”

From behind, Beast clapped him on his shoulder while shoving him forward. “Let’s go inside.”

“What the fuck?” Tobias yelled, while trying to shake Beast off.

“Don’t struggle or I’ll have to shoot you,” Beast muttered.

“That would harsh your mellow, man,” Tundra said, following them into the apartment and aiming his gun at Tobias.

“Who the hell are you assholes?”

I stepped inside the apartment, closed the door, and then moved in front of Tobias. “Do the Twenty-Sixers know you lifted a kilo of their product?”

The way he stared at me, he was scared. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I inched closer to him. “That’s not what Brantley said.”

He paused too long. “Who the hell is that?”

Out of nowhere, I punched him in his solar plexus. He wheezed out and his face went bright pink.

“Jesus, man. We need him to talk, not force him into a fuckin’ asthma attack or some shit,” Tundra said.

“Did you bust into Brantley’s girlfriend’s apartment last night?”

“Fuck you,” he hissed.

“Funny thing, Brantley said the same shit before he spilled about your involvement.” I grabbed a fist full of his curls. “Did you break into her apartment? Yes or no.”

“No. Someone stole my half of the kilo,” he clipped out, his voice an octave higher.

Beast moved in and I took his cue to get out of the way. “When did that happen?”

“Fuck off.”

Beast grabbed Tobias by the throat and shoved him up against the wall, his gun pressed below Tobias’s ear.

“Recognize what you’re up against, dumbass.

You stole product worth thousands. Then you lost that product, and your fuckin’ buddy is runnin’ his mouth that you were the one who stole the fuckin’ drugs.

You’re worth more to us as a bounty to the Sixers than the missing drugs. ”

Tobias paled. “A… bounty?”

“Yeah. So where the fuck were you last night? I’m gonna know if you’re lying because you’re shit at it.”

“I, I don’t know,” he spluttered.

“You don’t know where you were last night?” I asked.

Beast pressed closer to Tobias. “One of you bring the truck, we’ll take this useless asshole to the Sixers right now.”

“No! No, I’ll talk. Don’t take me there, they’ll kill me.”

Tundra leaned his shoulder against the wall near Tobias. “Why would they kill you?”

“I fucked one of their sisters.”

“She help you get to their stash?”

“Ye…ah, no. What are you—ulk,” Tobias bent forward when Beast punched him in the mouth with the hand he'd had at his throat.

Beast tucked his gun into the waistband of his jeans. “Answer my fuckin’ question, asshole. Did you break into an apartment last night?”

Tobias glared at Beast. “Yeah, and I couldn’t find anything. Even tossed her hot roommate’s shit because that’s exactly what Ines would do. She’s fuckin’ diabolical when she needs to be sneaky.”

I sidled up to Tobias. “What does Ines have to do with this?”

He glared at me. “Nothin’… any more.”

News of Ines passing was making the rounds, especially since Alexandra had called several different people.

Tobias might have spoken to Brantley already or heard about it from a mutual friend with Brantley.

Or, perhaps Alexandra’s gut feeling that the accident could have been avoided was more than just a feeling.

“Answer my fuckin’ question, or we’re handing you over to the Twenty-Sixers. What did Ines have to do with the coke?” Beast asked.

“She sold two of the kilos we stole.”

Shit.

Beast spoke through clenched teeth. “How many fuckin’ kilos did you steal from them?”

“Two that Ines knew about. Brantley and I took a third kilo and split it,” Tobias said.

“And you expect us to believe that your half got stolen?” I asked.

Beast shook his head. “Who’d she sell it to?”

Tobias’s brown eyes went wide. “Fuck if I know. I just know I got my cut of the money, and it’s the most money I’ve ever made in such a short time.”

“And you couldn’t upgrade your fuckin’ wheels?” Tundra asked.

Tobias turned his head toward Tundra. “A Cayenne is a sweet ride.”

“That model has to be ten years old and ugly as fuck.”

Tobias rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Ines pitched a fuckin’ shit fit when I said I was buying a brand new Porsche. Insisted we couldn’t be too flashy. That’s how people got caught. She sent me a listing for the used Porsche I’m driving.”

Fuckin’ hell .

How could Lex miss the signs? But then, if Ines knew not to be flashy and she was as diabolical and sneaky as Tobias said, maybe there weren’t any signs for Lex to miss.

“Yeah, lime fuckin’ green is real subtle,” Tundra muttered.

Tobias aimed a lopsided grin at Tundra, but his eyes held irritation. “Did that to spite the bitch. I hate when women shove their opinions down my throat. The only person more opinionated is her damn roommate, but I’d still love to force her to suck my cock.”

My fists clenched and I shifted my weight to line up a punch, when Beast made a low noise and I forced myself to calm down and keep my shit tight.

If we didn’t hand this asshole over to the street gang, I was damn sure gonna come back for him - the brothers could kiss my ass.

A threat like that against Alexandra was unacceptable.

“You’re choking me,” Tobias gurgled.

I saw Beast’s hand relax and it seemed I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t down with Tobias wanting to force himself on Lex.

Beast let go. “Does the gang know who stole from them?”

“I don’t know. I’m not part of that crew. Brantley and I got an invite one night and made the most of it.”

“I don’t trust this asshole,” Tundra said.

Beast cocked his brow. “Neither do I. Call Suarez.” He turned to me. “You got the number for the cop who showed at the apartment?”

I nodded.

Beast continued, “If Suarez doesn’t have the time—”

Tobias squirmed. “Wait, wait, Suarez? Do you mean—”

Beast turned a devious grin to Tobias. “Anton Suarez. He leads the Twenty-sixers. If I turn you over to him, he’ll owe me a favor.”

Tobias narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”

Beast glanced at the door and back to Tobias. “You want to call my bluff, that’s fine. Damned little of what you’ve shared is believable. Suarez would love to have a shot at you and Brantley.”

Fear filled his eyes to the point, I thought Tobias might cry. “No, no! I swear I told you the truth. I broke in last night, tossed the place. The only thing I didn’t do was move her bed frame because it’s so fuckin’ big. Hell, I couldn’t even find where she had the money from our cash sales.”

“Weren’t they all cash sales?” Tundra asked.

Tobias looked annoyed and almost rolled his eyes. “No. Students don’t carry cash. Most of the sales were through Bitcoin.”

“Then how did you get paid?” I asked.

A hint of sadness came over Tobias. “Ines routed the crypto currency to us every two weeks. More of her ‘we can’t be flashy’ decrees. As if anyone would pay attention to my crypto account.”

I gave a single nod. “And since she has nothing to do with this any more - you and Brantley are screwed.”

Earlier, I’d been wrong. I thought it was ditching the drugs that had Brantley so pissed, but it was more likely that and the fact he had no way of getting his next paycheck if Ines was in ICU.

Beast grabbed Tobias by the lapels of his polo shirt. “Do yourself a favor. Get out of the fuckin’ drug business, you’re not cut out for it. I hear you’re back to selling, you’re dead.”

“Fuck that, I’m calling the cops. You’re both wearing patches for your biker gang and I memorized your names.”

Tundra pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his cut.

He held it up in front of us. “I only went back about sixty seconds…but you were recorded the entire time.” He hit a play button and our conversation replayed from the point where Tobias yelled that he was telling the truth about breaking into the apartment.

Tobias went pale.

Tundra grinned. “You call the cops, I got a tech guy who can send this to the local cops, the FBI, and the DEA. After that whole Silk Road case, they’re keyed up to take down more assholes who use crypto to sell drugs… amongst other shit.”

Beast glared at Tobias. “You calling the cops?”

“No,” Tobias muttered under his breath.

“Good.”

Tundra turned for the door. I followed him for three paces.

Beast didn’t move. “Last thing. Do you force women to take your cock?”

Confusion swept over Tobias. “Um—”

Beast leaned forward. “It’s a yes or no question, dumb ass. Have you forced yourself on a woman?”

“No doesn’t always mean—”

Beast slammed his fist into Tobias’s gut, then he followed that punch with a mighty left uppercut. Powerful enough I heard teeth clacking. Then he kneed Tobias in the groin. “ Never force yourself on a woman, you fucking coward.”

Tundra opened the door and the three of us walked back to our bikes.

“What time is it?” Beast asked.

“Nine-thirty,” I said.

“Let’s get back to Alexandra’s. She needs to know how big an asshole that bastard is, and we need to break it to her about her roommate.”

I nodded. “Yeah. One thing, though, he could have lied about Ines to take pressure off himself and Brantley.”

Beast widened his eyes. “That dickhead isn’t smart enough to be that conniving. Let’s ride.”