“You needed to see me?” I entered the small office behind the bar. Rafael was sitting behind the desk with Brick and Flathead at either side of him. Any other guy would be intimidated, but I just saw a couple of musclebound eggheads, nothing I couldn’t handle.

“Come in. Sit down.” He waved at the seats before him and I slumped down into one of them.

He eyed me for a moment and I met his glare with an equally challenging one. He leaned back in his chair and smirked. “I hear you’re looking for a job?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Went out earlier but it’s a lot harder than I thought.”

He nodded. “What do you know how to do?”

I leaned forward, my hands folded on my knees and I looked down at them. “I can pretty much do anything. I’ve been on the road for a long time so I’ve learned to do a lot of jobs.”

“Like what?”

He was pushing for information and I was going to give it to him in short answers. Frustrating as fuck for him, for sure. “Odd jobs here and there. You know.”

He sighed and leaned forward on the desk. “I’m not asking to play games with you. I want to know if you’re clean?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m clean.”

“No record.”

“I keep to myself, man. I don’t make trouble.”

Rafael looked up at the two goons at his side and they both nodded in agreement. “You wanna work for me, you gotta keep your mouth shut. Understood?”

I nodded. “I’m a fortress.”

“We work for Juan de La Cruz. You heard of him?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Hardcore Colombian mafia boss.”

Rafael nodded. “We’re always looking for good men. Men who know what’s good for them and keep their mouth shut.”

I nodded. “Then look no further.”

Rafael leaned in and lowered his voice. “First run is a test. You do what I ask of you, no questions asked. If you do shit correctly I’ll put you through for a bigger test run. Understand?”

“I got you.”

“Good. Get with Flathead and he’ll give you a rundown of the process.” I reached out to shake his hand and he stood up and gripped it tightly. When I went to pull back he held me back. “Not a word to Chastity about this. I don’t want her knowing about my dealings. Especially this one. I don’t give a shit if you’re her family. I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through your head. Are we clear?”

I squeezed his hand hard, nearly breaking it, and he grimaced and let go. “Clear,” I growled angrily and walked out the door.

I met with Rafael’s goons a while later to go through the first task they needed from me. They needed me to bring a package up to the same address Chastity and I had visited the day before. Taking the envelope, I knew it was money. Not a hefty sum but I needed to make sure it got to the right hands.

As I got ready to leave, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, Chastity’s name popped up.

Angel: Baby, where are you going without me?

I looked up at her window and she was looking down at me. Her pretty blonde hair haloing her pretty face. I sent a kiss up at her and tore my eyes away from hers in order to respond.

Guns: Heading out to do a drop. Got a new job.

Angel: Will you be back tonight?

Guns: As long as you want me, I’ll be in your bed every night.

I looked up and she grinned at me, sending me a sweet kiss. My heart tugged and I shook my damn head and quickly headed out. As I sped down the streets of L.A. I knew my head was stuck in the fucking clouds. I needed to get it unstuck and fast before I got it blown off.

Pulling up to the same shaggy fuckin’ house we had been to earlier, I parked my bike and made sure my gun was safely seated at my hip. Getting off I made my way to the front door. I looked around, my muscles tensing at the stillness in the air.

Three knocks, they said three knocks and someone would come to the door. One. Two. Three. I waited, and when no one came to the door, I turned to leave.

“Who the fuck, are you?” A voice rang out from my left and I turned slowly to see a barrel of a gun pointed right at my face.

I lifted my hands, holding out the envelope full of cash. “I’m looking for Andino. The Porcupine sent me.”

“The Porcupine, huh? What are you his new lap dog?”

I grunted and slowly started getting annoyed. This was absolute bullshit. What the fuck was I getting myself into. I had better shit to do than talk shit with this druggy loser.

“Look man, I’m just lookin’ for Andino. I’m here to give him his money.”

I heard the door unlocking and I slowly turned to see a small scrawny kid open the door. “Andino’s not here, but I’ll take the package.”

I quickly tucked the package on my waistband and shook my head. “I was told to put it in Andino’s hands and you’re not Andino.”

“Oh come on, man. I’ll give it to him.”

I narrowed my eyes at the slimy man and backed away slowly. You never could tell how far these druggie fuckers would go for just a wad of cash. “Tell Andino I’ve got his money.”

“Hey, I swear if you give it to me I’ll make sure the package gets delivered. I swear, man!”

I watched as his grip tightened on his gun and I slowly glided my fingers along my glock. “Unless you want a bullet in your head courtesy of The Porcupine, I suggest you walk back into that house.

“And who the fuck should I say you are when Andino comes asking?”

I smirked. “Someone he’ll definitely be meeting when the time comes.”

I hopped on my bike and revved up my engine needing to get the fuck out of that place as quickly as possible. I kept thinking of Chastity being around all this bullshit. How was it she hadn’t gotten herself killed in the midst of all this filth. I headed straight back to The Gremlins bar. I needed to get rid of this godforsaken envelope as soon as possible. And I needed to be there for her. That’s what my job entailed. Protection. I was there to take a bullet for my sultry angel if I needed to. And God help me, I’d get her the fuck out of there if it was the last thing I did in my life.