Chapter 7

7

ECHO

“ I thought you said I had a break,” Jeff whined, the irritating sound making me grit my teeth.

“Well, things change, dipshit,” growled the voice on the other end of his phone. “The boss found another mark, and you need to get everything set up for your new identity.”

This was how they ran their schemes. Jeff was given a new name, bank accounts, apartment, car, etc. Everything that made it appear as if he didn’t need money so that the victim would trust him more easily.

Wizard had been impressed with their thoroughness. It would take someone with considerable skill to tear through the walls they’d built around the fake persona.

“I emailed you the documents,” the man informed Jeff. “But you need to pick up the rest of it tomorrow at noon.”

Jeff sighed dramatically, and I could picture him pouting like a spoiled little kid.

Such an asshole .

“Where?” he asked.

“The coffee shop by the library. Don’t be late.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jeff huffed, then the line went silent, telling me that he’d hung up.

I wrote down the information on a notepad, as I listened to him move around then heard the sound of his front door shutting. Since he was gone, I removed my headphones and grabbed my cell to call Wizard, who picked up after the first ring.

“You get it?” I questioned.

“Too many relays,” he replied with a frustrated grunt. “These fuckers aren’t messing around. Whoever is in charge has deep pockets.”

“Dammit,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “We’ll have to put a tail on both of them after their meeting.”

“Already on it. Sent a text to Prez, and he’s sending Ink and Shadow to go with you. Kevlar and Cross are comin’ to guard your woman.”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “Great.”

Both men were club enforcers and knew how to stay out of sight. Shadow had picked up his skills as a former thief, but Ink had ties to the southern mafia, and they’d given him many skills that came in very handy.

“Tell Ink and Shadow to meet me at the library at eleven thirty.”

“Got it.”

After ending the call, I noticed Violet standing a couple of feet away, craning her neck to look at my surveillance equipment. She seemed fascinated, and a smile spread across my face.

Holding out my hand, I motioned her toward me. “C’mere, baby.”

She hurried to close the distance between us, and I pulled her onto my lap, then gave her a quick tutorial of the setup. When my phone buzzed, she glanced at it with disappointment, and I chuckled.

“Go ahead and try it out,” I told her as I helped her to her feet. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

Her face lit up, and my smile grew. She was so fucking cute.

I walked out onto her balcony and saw the name of the club’s treasurer, Ace, flashing on the screen. He was brilliant with money and kept our accounts more than flush. However, he’d been given his road name because of his gambling. It wasn’t an addiction, though—he wasn’t reckless. But he rarely lost and had cleaned out several patches while he’d been a prospect.

“What’s up?” I greeted when I’d answered the call.

“Wizard sent me some more financials to do some forensic accounting. Think I finally found a new lead.”

I’d have been happy to hear the news a couple of days ago, but now that I’d met and claimed Violet, I was fucking thrilled because I was itching to get this shit handled as fast as possible.

“Go on.”

“I don’t think women are the only targets for this group,” he announced, astounding me.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I muttered.

“Been looking for similar spending patterns near Jeff’s last half dozen victims and ran into a couple that were strikingly similar.”

Jeff had an arsenal of “moves” when running a con, and it had made it easier for us to narrow down the woman he was fleecing by following his money transactions. Wizard had found them by combing through security footage, reservations that required an ID for both participants, and even shit like flower deliveries.

“Except in these two cases, there was a significant age gap between the man and woman—at least twenty years—but the woman disappeared in the end, taking everything valuable and leaving an empty bank account.”

“Okay,” I agreed. He’d convinced me, but I still didn’t see how this helped us get closer to the boss. “There a connection between either of the women and Jeff?”

“Not yet. Just wanted to fill you in so you can be on the lookout for anything that might help with that avenue as well.”

“Noted. Let me know if you find anything else.”

“Sure, brother.”

I chewed on the information from Ace for a few minutes before going back inside. Violet was still tinkering with my equipment, but she glanced up at me with a beautiful smile when she heard me walk in and slide the glass door closed.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she giggled. “I don’t know how any of this would help with my job, but it’s so cool. I’m trying to come up with an excuse.”

I gestured to the setup and winked at her. “If I’m not using it, it’s yours to play with.”

She double blinked, and her deep purple eyes danced with delight. “Really?”

I grinned and walked over to stand in front of her. She’d taken my seat, so I bent over and gripped the arms of the chair, caging her in. “What’s mine is yours, baby.”

Her smile turned sly, and she quipped, “Does that include your body?”

My lips brushed across hers, then slid along her jaw until I reached her ear. “ Especially my body.”

She shivered, and I groaned, pissed at Jeff for a whole other reason now. “Gonna have to wait until I get back, though,” I informed her reluctantly.

“You have to leave?” Her bottom lip popped out just a little in an adorable pout. I took it between my teeth and tugged, before letting go and smacking a hard kiss on her mouth.

“Got to check on something. But a couple of prospects will be downstairs by the front and back doors of the building. Our sergeant at arms, Kevlar, and captain, Cross, will be across the hall in the apartment I was using before. They’ll be listening, so if you’re scared or need anything, just call out to them.”

Violet nodded, chewing on her lip as she stared up at me. “Just be careful,” she whispered finally.

I replied by giving her a deep kiss, then murmured against her lips, “Don’t be doing anything that will have you making those sexy sounds I love to hear when I fuck you. Or I’ll have to kill them.” Her eyes widened, and my gaze swept down her delicious curves. “Hmmm. I’m making that a permanent rule, baby. Only I get to make you come, is that understood?”

Violet hummed her agreement, her purple orbs cloudy with desire.

It was hard as fuck—no pun intended—to leave her with that soft look and ripe body there for the taking. But I wanted this shit over with so we could move on with our lives. Hopefully, by the time her property patch was complete, she’d have my ring on her finger and my baby in her belly.

Shadow and Ink were waiting when I pulled into the parking lot on my motorcycle. I’d driven the Jeep to Violet’s that first night, but a couple of the guys had brought my bike over the next day.

I hadn’t had a chance to take Violet out on it, but I was itching to feel her wrapped around me with the wind in my face and my engine hummed beneath us. Just the thought of the ride had me hard as steel, but I was gonna take her to a spot I’d discovered. One that was isolated and would give us the perfect cover for me to fuck her on the back of my motorcycle.

Shaking my head, I pushed those images away before I exploded in my jeans like a horny teenager.

“Echo,” Shadow greeted me as I swung my leg over the seat and dismounted.

I nodded to them both as I shrugged out of my cut and stowed it in my saddle bag, then put on a leather jacket.

“Those for us?” I asked, lifting my chin toward three dark, nondescript sedans.

“Yeah,” Ink confirmed. He and Shadow had both removed their cuts as well. We didn’t want to draw attention to the MC if spotted. Ink—who was an incredible artist and tattooist, with a huge waiting list at our tattoo parlor, Hellbound Studio—had also donned a buttoned up, long-sleeved Henley in order to cover a good portion of the designs that covered his body. “Jeff isn’t here yet, but only two guys are in the café. One of them looks like he’s packing heat. Unsure if the other is with him or not.”

“Keep it simple,” I instructed as I checked over my weapon before shoving it into the back of my pants so the piece was fully hidden by my jacket. “Ink, I want you on Jeff. Shadow and I will tail the contact unless it looks like they’re both involved, then we’ll split up.”

Both men nodded, and then we got settled inside the cars, the three of us still linked through earpieces Wizard had specifically designed for the club.

“On approach,” Ink muttered, and I glanced at the small parking lot by the coffee house, seeing Jeff pulling in. I’d obviously bugged his car and tapped his phone, but we needed to monitor all his communication, including in-person conversations. So Wizard and I had created a small device to cling to his hair near his scalp with a micro silicone link ring bead. He couldn’t see or feel it, it wasn’t affected by water or soap, and a comb wouldn’t dislodge it. I’d slipped him a pill on my first night in the building so I could break in and attach the bug.

“Sully,” Jeff greeted the bigger of the two men as he approached the table.

Sully grunted in response and shoved a folder at Jeff when he sat down. “Did you look through the information I sent?”

Jeff sighed—he did that often, and it was annoying as fuck. How he managed to swindle women was beyond me.

“Give me a break,” he snapped. “You only sent it a couple of hours ago. I always know my shit when the job starts, so stop treating me like this is my first one.”

If I hadn’t been watching all of the men so carefully, I might have missed the subtle cue from the third guy when Jeff’s tone became belligerent.

“Looks like we’re each on our own,” Shadow muttered in my ear.

Sully glared at Jeff as he continued talking. “This mark is practically on death’s door. That’s why Gene is cutting your break short. The woman’s been talking about completing her bucket list. That’s where the rugged, down-to-earth construction worker comes in.”

I scoffed, wondering how the fuck they expected Jeff to pull that off, then my jaw dropped as I watched him morph into someone else entirely.

Gone was the spoiled, perverted, sniveling little bitch. In his place was a confident man with a hard edge but kind eyes. Even wearing the preppy shit he had on, he looked tougher and rough around the edges.

“Damn.”

“Holy shit,” Ink hissed.

“And the Oscar goes to…” Shadow murmured in an amused tone.

A growl rumbled in Jeff’s chest as he scowled at Sully and picked up the folder. When he held out his hand, Sully dropped a set of keys onto his palm.

“For the apartment, the ‘construction office’”—he used air quotes to indicate that it was fake—“and a fob for a new Ford F-150 Lightning. You're scheduled to fix a leaky window on Monday at ten in the morning.”

Jeff nodded and stood from the table, and like it had a few minutes before, a transformation took over his body. The irritating, juvenile motherfucker was back. He glanced over at the other guy for just a second, then mumbled to Sully, “Tell Gene I’m tired of the middlemen. I do one-on-one with the boss, or I walk.”

Sully’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t otherwise react. After a beat, Jeff pivoted on his heel and marched out of the café.

“Think that’s Gene?” Ink asked, referring to the other man in the coffee house.

“Doesn’t look like a shot caller to me,” Shadow mused.

I grunted an agreement as I watched Jeff approach his vehicle. When he opened the door, I ordered, “Go.”

I knew my boys would be all over their assignments, so I focused solely on my target. Sully didn’t give the other patron even a single side glance as he got up from the table and lumbered outside. He watched Jeff drive away with his face twisted into a sneer.

He was in his car and turning onto the main road when my cell beeped in my ear. Easing out of the parking lot, I kept a safe distance from Sully and pressed the button on my earbud to answer the call.

Ace didn’t wait for me to give him a greeting. “Know you’re tailing the suspect, but I have some info I thought you should know.”

“I need to know it now?” I grumped.

“Could change what you’re looking for.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

Sully drove like an old woman anyway, making it easier for me to listen to Ace.

“After untangling some of the mess of shell companies for a few of Jeff’s accounts, I noticed that some of the deposits made into them originated from businesses unlikely to be owned by men.”

“You know this because…?”

“Would you name your company ‘Twilight Technologies’? Or ‘Charming Capital Co’? Or my personal favorite, ‘The Glam Group’.”

“I see your point,” I conceded. “Not solid proof, though. The boss’s name is Gene.”

“True, but those companies were also the original source of deposits made into two accounts besides Jeff’s. The owners fit the description I gave you earlier today. Young, beautiful, and dating much older men.”

“Sounds like you’re right about the targets, but I still don’t understand why it matters that some of the shell companies might be registered to women. Gene must have other people on the payroll. Could be he used one of them to set up the companies.”

“Maybe, but from everything we’ve learned, it doesn’t sound like this guy is much for delegating or giving up even the slightest bit of control.”

Sully slowed in front of a spectacular mansion and turned into the circle drive.

“Hold up,” I told Ace before he could reply.

I sped up a little and stopped at the next intersection so I could flip a U-turn, then pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road across from the mansion.

“Just wait a second. He’s going inside a house, and I need to set up my parabolic mic so I can hear what’s going on in there.”

Ace remained silent while I went to work. It only took a minute to have it ready to go, and when I turned it on, Sully seemed to be just arriving.

“Gene,” he greeted from somewhere on the second floor. “It’s done.”

There was movement at one of the floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs, and I grabbed my binoculars, directing them to that spot.

The curtain slid away from the window, and shock blew through my system when the boss replied, “Good.”

“Motherfucker,” I sputtered—something I’d only ever done once before…the moment I first saw Violet.

“Everything okay?” Ace queried, his tone alert.

“Yeah. I’m just…fucking hell. I’m looking at the boss, and I think we got the name wrong.”

“Gene isn’t in charge?” Ace asked, his voice filled with frustration.

“Uh, no. That’s the boss. Only, I’m guessing her name is spelled J-E-A-N instead of G-E-N-E.”

“Her? No fucking way.”

“Yup. The ringleader is a fucking woman.”