Lies (Phoenix Undercover #1)
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Authors: C. A. Harms
Lies
Phoenix Undercover #1
By C.A. Harms
Lies
Copyright © 2015 by C.A. Harms.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: November 2015
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-372-4
ISBN-10: 1-68058-372-7
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To my Fred…
Or how most of you know her, Lydia.
I know I have already said this once, but I owe you more gratitude than I could ever say in any dedication. So let me just offer yet another reason why I adore you so very much. You have given me so much encouragement when at times I second-guessed myself. We make one pretty badass team, and I will never be able to repay you for all you do for me.
Table of Contents
Josh
I was fading in and out as my body was dragged along the pavement. Warm liquid covered the side of my head and dripped down over my ear. Muffled voices continued to filter in, but everything was hazy. If only I could find my gun.
“Put that sorry-ass pig in the trunk. I don’t want him messing up my interior.”
My body tensed at the man’s words. I knew at that moment the chances of me getting out of this alive were slim to none.
Leo Markovich. I would know the Russian accent anywhere. I had spent the last six months learning his every move. I’d lived in his world, pretending to be one of his people, working with them to supply the streets with drugs and easy women. Now that was all about to end.
“We taking him to Roman?” The name made me tense even more. Roman would not hesitate to put a bullet between my eyes.
“No.” Leo chuckled. “I want to play first. I have some things I need to learn. Some questions I need answered.”
I knew the beatings had just begun.
My body was hoisted up and then tossed into the trunk. I let out a loud groan as I landed on something hard and the pain shot through me like a hot stake.
“You brought this on yourself.” Leo leaned over me, looking down with a smirk on his lips. “Now you must pay the price for your mistakes. No one gets away with deceiving me.”
My right eye was completely swollen shut, but I could still open my left. I watched as the two men chuckled, looking down at me. I knew I would only be digging my own grave if I spoke, but I refused to let them think they had already defeated me.
“Fuck you,” I snarled. “When Roman finds out you twats didn’t know you had a cop living inside the center of your operation, he’ll end you both. Whether I’m dead or not, you two are fucked.”
I refused to look away even when Leo raised his gun and cracked it across my cheek.
The trunk slammed shut and the blackness set in. My stomach rolled as bile filled my mouth, and I coughed and sputtered as bitter, coppery blood drained from the gash on my cheek and ran toward my lips. Turning my head to the side, I heaved as I faded in and out of consciousness from the pain.
Gabby’s face was the last thing I saw before the darkness took over, and I prayed I would get to kiss her beautiful lips again.
Josh
Six months earlier
“You gonna act like a pussy, or are you just gonna go talk to her?” Greyson teased. “Because if you aren’t at least going to give it a shot, I will.”
“Kami would kick your ass,” I said, not taking my eyes off the brunette in line at the counter, or rather off her tight, black pants that perfectly showed off her fine ass.
“Fuck, she doesn’t own me. Besides, she’s getting too clingy. I’ve been avoiding her crazy shit lately.”
It didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was that their relationship had lasted this long.
Greyson had been my partner for six years and my best friend longer than that. He and I first joined the police force together with the same goal in mind—clean up the streets of New York and make the sick bastards of the world pay for their crimes. Ten years of training and long, treacherous hours later, we were finally both agents for the FBI, working on the narcotics task force. In that time, I had been solely focused on the job, leaving little time for dating, but my partner dated enough for the both of us. In fact, most people would refer to him as a manwhore.
A chair screeched against the tile floor, and I looked in Greyson’s direction. “What the hell are you doing?”
He smirked, holding up his empty Starbucks cup. “Looks like I need a refill.” He winked and strutted off toward the counter, where he stood just behind the woman. The knowledge he was openly checking out her ass pissed me off. Asshole was trying to get under my skin, and that shit was working. As the woman passed her money to the barista, Greyson held out a twenty, offering to pay for her drink. I was too far away to hear his exact words, but his game was always the same—play nice guy and charm the girl. The moment the brunette smiled at him, I instantly wanted to beat his ass.
I turned my back to the counter, because I honestly didn’t want to witness the douche getting her number. I sat, scolding myself because I let him have her. There was nothing wrong with having a little fun outside of work, but I had a hard time doing that because the job always got in the way.
A few minutes passed before I felt the table shift. I looked up to find Greyson smirking at me. “I got a date.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you seriously gonna rub that shit in?” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking all smug. “If we weren’t sitting in the middle of Starbucks with witnesses, I would beat your fucking face right now.”
“What crawled up your ass and died? I got your cranky butt a date too.” When I just stared back at him in disbelief, he chuckled.
“What the hell? You think I want to tag along while you taunt me with the brunette?”
“Hell no, I got the brunette for you.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “She’s bringing her roommate for me. She’s a blonde, and you know how I love blondes.” Leaning back in his seat, he folded his arms over his chest, puffing up and trying to appear as if he was some badass. All I could offer was a shake of my head. He really was a cocky son of a bitch.
***
When we entered the club, the flashing lights and loud music instantly made me feel old and out of place. Maybe five years ago I’d have liked this, but now that I was in my late twenties, I had outgrown this shit and preferred a more quiet setting. One where I could actually hear what my date was saying instead of having to scream to carry on any type of conversation.
Greyson nudged me with his elbow to catch my attention, and I looked where he was pointing. My stomach twisted as my gaze landed on the brunette from Starbucks, who was standing next to another woman. The girl was shorter, with bleach-blonde hair. But she was hard to notice because my eyes were still trying to focus on the brunette. She no longer looked like the classy woman who had caught my attention. Her shorts looked more like a pair of underwear, her top was more see-through than not, and she had on enough makeup for ten women.
I looked back at Greyson in confusion. “What the hell?” It was all I could muster up.
“I know, right?” He grinned. “Fucking hot.”
I blinked a few times and looked back toward the two women eyeing us from across the room. Was he blind? Nothing about what I was seeing was appealing.
I was convinced I had dreamed up this morning in the coffee shop, because there was no way this was the same woman. I fought the urge to run away. “This is a joke, right? I changed my mind. You can have the brunette,” I said as I stepped around him, turning my back to the girls. “In fact, you can have ’em both.”
His face lit up like a toddler on Christmas morning as he looked at me, and I chuckled. Dumb walking cock thought he’d won the lottery. I was sure he was already imagining all sorts of kinky shit that involved him and both the girls.
Before either of us could say more, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
I closed my eyes tightly and prayed it wasn’t the fake brunette who had pulled a complete one-eighty from earlier today. When I opened them and saw Greyson’s gleaming grin, I knew my fears had come true. I didn’t want to come off as some arrogant ass, so I turned around and tried like hell not to show the distaste boiling in my stomach.
“Hey, boys, were you planning on joining us?” When she smiled, she had a smudge of bright red lipstick on her front tooth.
I looked back over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes at Greyson, only to find him already eye-fucking the blonde. He wasn’t going to be any help. He brushed past me, hooked a girl on each arm, and led them back to their table. I took in a deep breath and followed, telling myself I would be out of here in an hour. Alone.