Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
The kids who wrote the code that looked to the world like a gig app. The kind where someone else picked up your orders for a fee. And it ran that way, for the most part. But if you knew the code, it was an excellent way to order drugs and get them dropped off right at your doorstep. To the cops it would look like late-night tacos or someone picking up your kid’s meds from the pharmacy for you. It was the perfect cover.
Hamilton found the coders on the Dark Web, outsiders looking for a place to fit in. They probably hadn’t intended to become criminals, but soon they were in far too deep to ever get out again.
Most of the employees had no idea what was going on. Like his brother hadn’t. His little brother had thought he was making some extra money so he could try to pay off the student loans that seemed to never fucking get smaller no matter how much he paid. He’d been desperate, and criminals took advantage of it.
And then one day they gave him a “special” delivery.
Jensen brought his attention back front and center. He had to focus on the now and not the ghosts that haunted him. Even though he was doing it all for them. The two people in the whole world he ever loved.
Well, three. Three. There was one more, and he counted on that man for everything right now. His other brother. The one he hadn’t shared a mother with. The one who had been there for everything, and now he trusted him with his greatest love.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure security is tight down here,” he promised.
Phil sighed, an audible sound even over the pulsating music. “I need you to take care of upstairs, too. I know it’s a lot to ask but I’m in a bind, and I don’t trust anyone else.”
Jensen managed to not drop his jaw. He was moving upstairs? He thought he would have to wait months, maybe years for this kind of chance. “What happened to Austin?”
Phil grimaced. “He has been…reassigned.”
It was everything he’d been waiting for, and he didn’t even feel bad since he’d caught Austin about to rape a passed-out club girl a couple of weeks ago. He’d stopped it, but Austin had it in for him ever since. Austin was pretty much one of the top dogs here. There wasn’t anywhere else to go unless he was joining Hamilton himself.
So Austin had been reassigned to a shallow grave somewhere.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
“Let’s just say we might have found out Austin was taking more than his fair share,” Phil admitted. “It couldn’t happen at a worse time. The cops are all over us since they identified the Jalisco cartel we were working with here in Dallas. Lucky for us that ditzy broad who caught them doesn’t know we’re the real force behind the operation, and anyone who could have talked died in the war her dad set off.”
He’d been surprised at how easily the cartel had gone down. He wasn’t a fool. Someone had gotten them to turn on each other. A pro. “I heard her dad used to work for an intelligence agency.”
Phil shrugged. “His daughter’s safe. Trust me. We aren’t going after that crazy bitch. We’re going to stay as far away from that whole group as we can. I think one of the things Hamilton wants to talk about is moving the operation to a bigger city. Now that we know it works here, we can start the business in Houston. In a couple of years we’ll be the supplier of choice for the entire US.”
It was good to know they had ambitions. He intended to make sure they never reached their goals. “So I get to meet the big boss?”
Phil put a hand on his shoulder, a paternal gesture. “I think it’s time. And I’ll get you moved out of here in a couple of weeks. I promise you won’t be pulling double duty for long. We just need to find someone who can run this club and train him. You’ll like it upstairs. I think you’re smart, J. You can go places here. I’m happy you didn’t get caught up in that mess that happened in LA. You never told me how you started working for the cartel. You don’t seem like their type.”
He noticed the couple on the main stage. They were playing out a fantasy scene. At least he hoped so or those ears that guy had were seriously deformed. Nah. He had pretend wings, too. Jensen sighed. He was never going to get used to the freaky stuff, and that seemed to come from people who read a lot.
He wondered if Harlow liked those fairies fucking books.
He remembered her talking about her aunt’s books. Something about cowboys and women who liked more than one of them at a time.