Page 18 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Every diamond has the ability to shine when there is someone to recognize its good facets and inhibit its flaws.”

–Wes Fesler

Jameson

I didn’t know exactly what changed, but after the two friends came back from the bathroom, I could see that the caution that Rayne had before was completely gone.

She easily leaned against my shoulder now as she laughed and joked with her friends.

It wasn’t hard for me to drop most of the pretense that I had around them. After all, it had been such a long time that I felt comfortable just listening to a group of people telling stories and hanging out.

I had to keep glancing around the place to ensure that none of the other gang members were there. I had convinced myself that the entire night could be written off as me trying to get laid if I was spotted.

Besides, I’d earned Felix’s trust after the last few months. The smaller drug runs weren’t the first I’d done while undercover. Over the past few months, Felix had trusted me with more than a dozen. I wasn’t in this deep for a few ounces here or there.

I knew the hard-hitting truth. If it wasn’t me making the drops, then it was going to be someone else. The fact that I worked at the gym opened doors to the entire operation. Which is why it was picked as my cover from the start.

Also, it was a job that allowed me the freedom to come and go while watching everyone I needed to. Most of the Reapers were members of the gym. Almost every member had a job around town. A few of them were plumbers for the same company, and two brothers worked at a landscape company. Declan worked in an auto parts store. Felix and Ben didn’t have full-time jobs. They seemed to spend most of their time watching over the other members.

They had a huge house on the very outskirts of town. The massive six-bedroom place backed a bayou.

I’d staked the place out as much as I could, but Ben had three rottweilers named Larry, Curly, and Moe that alerted him anytime I got too close.

The first time I’d been invited out to the place, I knew I had to play it cool if I wanted to be invited back.

It was three months before I finally had a chance to look around. Ben had hosted a large crawfish boil as a birthday party for Felix.

There were almost a hundred people going in and out of the home, which had given me plenty of time to look around. I’d even dragged a very drunk Izzy with me, knowing if I got caught looking around, I could always pretend we’d been looking for a quiet place.

Maybe that’s why Izzy kept trying to get with me. I hated stringing women on.

Damn it. Wasn’t that what I was doing now with Rayne?

I knew the truth. There was no way that anything could come out of tonight. I didn’t even know why she continued to hang out with me at this point. She knew I was one of the Reapers and from how she was acting earlier, she knew that the Reapers were trouble.

When Aria dragged Tobias to the dance floor again and Charlotte disappeared somewhere, leaving me alone with Rayne, I figured I’d ask her. Only I didn’t get a chance to.

“Don’t bullshit me,” she said the moment we were alone.

“I won’t,” I said, figuring to play along with whatever happened next.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Ex-military?”

I paused for a heartbeat before nodding slowly. Okay, so Felix and the rest knew that about me too.

“What branch?” she asked.

“Marines,” I answered quickly. Another truth.

She shifted. “Which accounts for the mixture of accents I hear behind that fake Louisiana drawl you’ve convinced everyone else around here you have. How long?”

I was thankful she didn’t dwell on the accent.

“Four years.”

“Where, exactly, up north are you from? I’d wager…” She held up a finger when I opened my mouth. Honestly, the lies I’d been telling over the past years rolled off my tongue so easily, I didn’t even know what I was going to say. “Chicago,” she finished.

My eyebrows jumped just the slightest, giving the answer away.