UNDERCOVER TO MY HEART

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Looking down the dark barrel of a gun will either make you break or make you dangerous.

I did not blink. I did not flinch. I let out a light, breathless laugh, tilting my head like the silver revolver pointed at my heart was nothing more than an ugly joke.

"If I was sent by someone, do you think I would be working for tips in a dump like this?" I asked, keeping my voice smooth and sweet.

I picked up the glass of amber bourbon, met Xavier's cold grey eyes, and took a slow sip. The liquid burned down my throat, but I did not break eye contact for a single second. I set the glass back down on the wood with a quiet click.

"The liquor is good, boss," I said, offering him a small smile. "But if you shoot your only bartender, you will have to pour your own drinks."

Xavier stared at me, his finger lingering on the trigger. Silence stretched across the bar, so heavy you could hear the hum of the neon beer sign. Slowly, the corners of his mouth twitched upward, and he lowered the heavy weapon, resting it back on the counter.

"She has nerve," Xavier said, looking over his shoulder. "I like people with nerve."

"She is a distraction," Jack's sharp voice cut through the air.

Jack stepped forward from the shadows near the pool tables, heavy boots thudding against the floorboards. He carried a thick leather folder under his arm and tossed it onto the bar right in front of Xavier. The loud smack made Roxy jump.

"We have bigger problems than testing the new girl," Jack said, his tone icy and professional.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, sliding the folder toward himself. "Explain, Sergeant."

"State police set up a surprise inspection point on the northern highway an hour ago," Jack lied smoothly, his eyes fixed on the cartel boss. "They are stopping every commercial vehicle. If we take the main road tonight, the shipment is done."

My heart did a quick flip behind my ribs. Jack was lying to redirect the shipment away from the highway where my ATF team was waiting. He was trying to protect the run, but more than that, he was trying to keep the club from walking straight into a federal ambush.

Xavier flipped through the forged papers in the folder, his dark eyebrows pulling together in a tight scowl.

"This is short notice, Jack," Xavier growled, his voice dropping an octave. "The buyer at the docks expects those trucks at midnight sharp. We cannot delay."

"We do not delay," Jack countered, leaning over the bar with his hands flat on the wood. "We bypass the highway completely. We take the old mountain pass through the county lines. It adds fifteen minutes, but there are no cops, no cameras, and no scales."

Roxy stepped up beside Xavier, her sharp eyes narrowing as she looked between Jack and the papers. "The mountain road is narrow and dark, Jack. It is risky for a heavy truck convoy."

"It is less risky than handing our cargo to state troopers on a silver platter," Jack shot back, shutting her down without even looking at her.

Xavier sat in silence for a long moment, tapping his manicured fingers on the polished barrel of his revolver. He looked at the ledger, then turned his gaze up to Jack, a slow, cruel grin spreading across his face.

"You always think fast on your feet, Sergeant," Xavier said softly. "That is why I keep you around. But a sudden change in plans makes me nervous. And when I am nervous, I like insurance."

Jack stiffened, his jaw locking tight. "What kind of insurance?"

Xavier reached out and grabbed the glass of bourbon I had poured him, swirling the golden liquid around. He looked past Jack, his cold eyes landing directly on me.

"You ride point on the lead motorcycle, Jack," Xavier ordered, his voice dripping with smooth authority. "You guide the trucks through this dark mountain pass since you know it so well."

"Fine," Jack said immediately. "I will take the lead."

"And the bartender goes with you," Xavier added, pointing his glass straight at my chest.

The air sucked out of my lungs. I kept my face blank, but my pulse spiked to a dangerous speed.

"She stays here," Jack said, his voice tightening just a fraction too much. "She does not know how to ride a heavy bike, and she will slow me down."

"She rides on your back," Xavier insisted, his smile disappearing into a hard, threatening line. "If your new route is as clean as you say it is, then it will be a nice night ride for the two of you. But if cops show up on that mountain road, Jack, it means someone leaked the route."

Jack stood frozen, his eyes burning with a dark, dangerous fire as he stared at the cartel leader.

"And if the cops show up," Xavier whispered, leaning close to Jack with a look that made my blood run cold, "your pretty little passenger takes the very first bullet."

I stood locked in place behind the bar, my stomach turning into a tight knot of ice. Xavier set his empty glass back down on the wood, the sharp clink sounding like a death sentence hanging in the heavy air. Every eye in the room turned to look at me, but I refused to let them see my hands shake or my body break down.

Jack did not move an inch. He kept his broad shoulders square, staring directly into the cartel leader's gray eyes with a cold, unreadable expression that hid the storm raging inside him. He knew as well as I did that arguing any further would only prove Xavier's suspicions and get us both killed right here on the sticky bar floor.

"Get your gear," Jack said, his voice dropping into a low, quiet rasp as he finally turned his head to look at me. "We leave in ten minutes."

"I am ready when you are," I replied, forcing my chin up and stepping out from behind the counter into the lion's den.

I walked past Roxy, who glared at me with pure hatred, and followed Jack toward the back exit. Outside in the dark staging yard, the heavy engines of twenty motorcycles began to roar to life, shaking the ground beneath our feet like thunder before a storm. Jack swung his leg over his massive black bike, reaching back to hand me a spare helmet with a grip that briefly squeezed my cold fingers.

"Hold on tight and keep your head down," Jack growled over the deafening rumble of the exhaust. "Because if this route goes south, I am going to have to make a choice I might not survive."