Niro (Henchmen MC Next Generation 1)

Heartbeat skittering, I slipped the key into the lock, taking a paranoid look around the neighborhood, wondering if someone would notice out-of-place me and call the police.

How would I explain my presence to them?

My fiancé, you know the outlaw biker, gave me a key to this house where I was once kidnapped and forced to perform surgery on a member of a drug-dealing cartel. This is all for a scavenger hunt with an unknown prize at the end.

I would end up in jail—if not the psych ward—in a heartbeat.

As soon as the lock turned, I rushed inside, not wanting to be seen even if I knew in my heart of hearts that Niro would never do anything to put me in any sort of danger.

The inside of the house was familiar, yet very different.

The very white interior was now done in warm earth tones. Artwork hung on the walls. There was even a shoe rack to the side of the front door. Where a set of little boy sandals was situated.

Feeling creepy, I moved through the house, making my way to the kitchen since it was the room with the most significance.

My vision flashed back to that night.

The blood.

The man with a hole in his stomach.

The screaming.

The fear.

There were no traces of that kitchen left, though.

The all-white look it had back then was gone, replaced with darker wood cabinets, butcher block countertops, and wood floors.

Taking a deep breath, I moved over toward the kitchen table, looking for a piece of paper, a flower, a picture.

Something. Anything.

But there was nothing.

"Hey there, lil' mama," a voice called, making my stomach drop.

For one horrifying moment, I wondered if Andres Alcazar had somehow hijacked my scavenger hunt, that he had tricked me into coming here, to breaking and entering, to a face-to-face meeting.

It was no secret that the Alcazar Cartel and the Henchmen had experienced their ups and downs over the years. But those were different stories for other times.

But there was no reason for Andres to need to be so backward in trying to get to me.

Niro must have reached out to him for some reason.

"Andres," I said, voice a little breathless as I turned to find him standing there in front of the island in his typical all-black outfit, his dark gaze on me. "How is Val?" I asked, since it was the first thing that popped into my head.

"He's gonna be daddy soon. Guess I should be making an appointment in the future to get them all their shots."

I'd seen Andres from a distance over the years. Driving past his house, behind me in the grocery store, even at the park walking several of his dogs at once.

But he'd never come back to the office.

I shouldn't have, considering, but I had wondered more than once if his dogs were getting their proper vaccinations and care.

"Congratulations," I said, for lack of anything else to say.

"Seems like congratulations are in order for you too," he said, jerking his chin toward my hand.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

"You got an interesting man there, Doc," he said, reaching into his breast pocket. For one terrifying second, I was worried he was reaching for some kind of weapon. Or, worse yet, a piece of Niro. I still had nightmares about that threat Andres had delivered years ago.

But all that he pulled out was an envelope.

"He's got a strange way of giving gifts," I agreed as Andres moved forward, holding out the envelope.

"Seems that way."

"Why did he ask you to give me this?" I asked.

"Seems like I played an important part in you two getting together."

That wasn't entirely untrue, though it was stretching the facts at best.

If it hadn't been for the kidnapping, Niro never would have had a reason to barge into my apartment that day. We never would have confronted our issues. He never would have confessed his long-held feelings. I never would have told him about my new ones.

In a twisted way, Andres did have a part in our life.

I guess it was fitting that he was involved in this over-the-top scheme of Niro's. Even if Niro contacting him might cause some serious problems with Fallon if he ever found out.

"In a screwed-up sort of way," I agreed, getting an amused chuckle from Andres.

"Screwed-up. I can live with that. Just wanted to let you know," he added as I slid my finger under the lip of the envelope. "No matter what happens with my organization and your man's one, you and me, we're good. So go on and have a good life, lil' mama."

And with that, Andres was gone, leaving me reading some sort of haiku that wanted me to go outside to my car again.

Where I found Toll.

"Always regretted not getting a second date with you," he said, giving me a charming smile. "But I think you ended up with who you are meant to be with," he added, holding out a blindfold. "Not my rules," he said, shrugging apologetically as he opened my backseat door.