Page 46 of The True Garza

“You were all moaning and shit. ‘Mateo. Oh, Mateo,’” he mocks in a voice that’s somehow supposed to be mine.

My cheeks redden. “Stop lying, you ass.”

Though he might not be. I’ve been having all kinds of sex dreams about him as of late, so why wouldn’t I have one when I wasright next to him. The universe is jerky like that.

When he just watches me, I know he’s never going to confirm if he’s lying or not.

I hate you so much, I convey with my glare.

No, you don’t, his returns.

Clearing my throat, I retreat a few steps—if only to get some much-needed air—and glance around the restaurant. Although it could use a bit of upgrading, it’s a lovely space with a stellar sea view, the Santa Monica Pier twinkling in the distance. “Why are we here, anyway?”

“For a meeting,” he answers. “But you slept through the entire thing.”

“You really should’ve woken me up.”

“No big deal that you did, since you won’t be actively taking part in it.”

“Taking part in what?” I spin around to ask him. “And if I really didn’t need to be at the meeting, why drag me out of my house to begin with?”

“Take part in the plan to ferret out your mole. And I ‘dragged’ you here because the last time you were left out of the loop, you went rogue.” He shrugs and straightens from the bar. “Ain’t my fault you fell asleep on the job.”

“I didn’t fall—whatever.” He clearly can’t help being an ass to me. “So, what’s the”—my stomach growls—“um, plan?”

“Forgetting to eat, running side missions, sleeping on the job…” he muses. “It’s like you didn’t read our manual at all, Bridge.”

“I. Was. About. To. Eat. When. You. Called. Me,” I say through gritted teeth.

He tuts as he strides toward me. “Women and their excuses.”

“You infuriating son of a bi—”

Large hands clamp down on my shoulders and forcibly spin me around, driving me toward the entrance. “Come on. Let’s get your stubborn ass fed.”

Although a cauldron of cusses bubbles up inside me, I bite my tongue and let him navigate me back to the car. If I stab him in the throat there, no one will see or hear him scream.

~

I don’t stabhim.

It would be a travesty marring a creature so beautiful.

He takes me to a seafood restaurant and commands me to order whatever I want. Just what I’d hoped for.

“Are you going to tell me what the plan is or what?” I ask as we wait for our meal. He’s texting on his phone.

“It’s simple.” He sets his phone down and gives me his attention. “The mole has no idea that the organization has been completely dismantled, which means a new head won’t be popping up anytime soon. His attack on you was independent; guess he figured if he took out the person who took down Jamal, it’ll prove his loyalty to the organization so when the new head arrives, he’d remain a trusted and valued source. All we have to do is set up a mock operation, pretending to be the new ‘head.’ We can’t make contact with him since we don’t know who he is, so we just have to wait for him to come to us.”

“How?” I ask.

“Trent and I own Salt Room Marina. We closed it down a couple weeks ago in preparation for renovations. But I’ve put the reno on hold and will reopen starting tomorrow as a base for this operation.”

“Oh, like how Jamal ran things through the nightclub?”

“Yeah. That’s how they’ve always operated, so we’ve gotta follow the pattern.”

“But won’t the mole know you, me, literally anybody from Red Cage?”