Page 79 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

Harry’s boots thumped down the hall then he poked his head around the door. I held the pen drive up. “Nice. Good work. Any idea what it is?”

“Not a clue.” I looked down at it. “I’ve never seen it before. He used to use his laptop in the living room all the time, but I’ve never seen him with this.”

“The guy wouldn’t hide it if it didn’t have something he didn’t want anyone else to see.”

I slid it in my pocket and we carried on searching, my determination growing stronger by the second.

The pen drive was good, but it wasn’t enough, not to get Neco to change his mind about my chosen career path. I had to show him I could do this, that I was more than capable, that he could trust me to be careful.

To do that, I needed something big, something he couldn’t brush off as dumb luck.

It was just a matter of time before I found it.

* * *

Neco

My relationship with Tomas Mendoza, the man sitting across from me, was complicated to say the least. He may consider me family after growing up in the same shitty neighborhood, but he was also a businessman, ruthless as they came. A crime boss that would take his pound of flesh if the opportunity arose, no matter who you were.

The smile on his face as the guy beside him murmured to him in a rushed, low voice sent a damn chill down my spine. I knew that smile. It meant whatever fucked-up, sick thing he’d had that poor bastard do was done, and done to his satisfaction. I knew this because I had been that guy once. I’d been the man doing Tomas’s dirty work.

The only reason I’d been allowed to leave his services when I had were our ties to this hood, family ties, not in the DNA sense, but forged side by side, fighting, drinking, just trying to survive. The kinds of home lives that shaped us into the fucked-up criminals we were. That shit tied us. That was important to Tomas. We grew up together, and that meant something to this man, when nothing much else did.

Tomas finally dismissed the other guy and we were left on our own, which was proof of the level of trust he had in me. Usually, he would have a couple henchmen standing by ready to blow a hole in my skull if I looked at him the wrong way, if he didn’t do it himself.

Coming here had been a last resort. I’d exhausted every contact I had trying to get something, fucking anything, on the players behind Imperious Inc., but I kept coming up against one brick wall after another. Honestly, I had no idea what to do, who else to turn to. And after what happened last night, Ruby going to meet Scott without telling me, I knew my time was up. I needed to know she was safe. I needed these fuckers out of commission, now, and Tomas was the only person who could get that kind of information. It’d been preying on my mind, knowing it would more than likely come to this, and Ruby had picked up on it. But no way could she find out, she’d only try and stop me. No one could stop me. I’d pay any price to keep her safe.

I’d had a meeting late this afternoon and told the other guys what I planned to do. None of them liked it, but right now, Tomas was our best bet, and we all knew it.

I held the other man’s eyes when they slid to me. The guy was a fucking predator. Any sign of weakness and he’d find a way to exploit it, family or not.

“What do you need?” Tomas said, not wasting any time.

“Information.” I knew walking in here this would cost me. What it would cost me, I was about to find out.

Interest flickered through his eyes. He’d wanted me back on his payroll for a long time. And I was about to give him the chance to drag me back. “Go on.”

“You heard of Imperious Incorporated?”

He sat back in his seat, crossing his feet at the ankles. “Is this business or personal for you?” he said, not answering my question.

“Personal,” I said, voice rough as hell. I hated giving him that, but Tomas demanded complete honesty. Either you told the truth or you paid the price for lying.

“I’m gonna need a little more, Nec.”

“My woman . . . Ruby.” There was recognition in his eyes as I said her name. Everyone knew she meant something to me, even back when we were kids. “Someone hurt her. These people could still be a threat, a threat that I plan to neutralize.”

“Our Ruby?”

There it was. Family. And she was my fucking Ruby, but I kept that to myself. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Nice girl. Visits your mom often.”

My muscles bunched tight. I knew he had eyes and ears everywhere in our old neighborhood. He was a scary motherfucker, but he looked out for his own. Didn’t change the fact I didn’t like him keeping tabs on my girl.

“That’s right.” I didn’t let my gaze falter from his. “You have anything for me, Tomas?”

His dark eyes stayed locked on mine. “I’m afraid I can’t give you what you want.”