Covert (The Clans Book 9)
Page 1
Covert
The Clans #8
Iris Sweetwater & Elizabeth Knox
Available Now From
Elizabeth Knox
Series: Skulls Renegade
Reign
Redemption
Revenge
Relentless
Reckoning
Reclaimed
Regret
Reckless
Reclusive
Retribution
First Generation: A Skulls Renegade MC Boxset
Series: The Clans with Iris Sweetwater
Promised
The Trade
Cherished
Deceit
Love is War
Defiant
Shattered
Covert
Series: Steele Bros.
Tough as Steele
Stripping a Steele
Protecting a Steele
Series: Reapers MC
Scarred
Blackjack
Here Kitty, Kitty
Booger
Widow
Hawk
Bull
Sin City Fets with Linny Lawless and Aubree Valentine
Switched
Full Throttle with Erin Trejo
Against All Odds
Coming Soon From
Elizabeth Knox
Cobra
(Reapers MC #8)
Leave Me Breathless: Black Rose Collection
(Includes Forbidden Love, a full-length Irish Mob story)
Bet on Me
(Royal Bastards MC: Baltimore #1)
Available Now From
Iris Sweetwater
Series: Brothers of Fang
The New Alpha
Blood Betrayal
The Heart of the Pack
The Power of the Hybrid
Series: The Clans with ELIZABETH KNOX
Promised
The Trade
Cherished
Deceit
Love is War
Defiant
Shattered
Covert
Series: Quarter Kings MC with Kasandra Sheckles
Chains
Doc
Series: Red Crows MC
One Way Out
Texas Roze
Nicodemus’ Master
Coming Soon From
Iris Sweetwater
Contemporary Romance Books
Heretic with Elizabeth Knox
Yetti with Kasandra Sheckles
The Daddy Series
Paranormal Romance Books
Rebel Reaper
Embracing Salvation
Lilly of the Woods (Princess Harems #1)
SciFi Romance Books
Scifi Fairytales
Thirst
COVERT
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Shattered. Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Knox & Iris Sweetwater. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief “s used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E. Knox & I. Sweetwater.
https://www.facebook.com/elizabethknoxbooks
Cover design by Clarise Tan, CT Cover Creations
Editing by Raven Heidrich, Hydra Productions
Formatting by Raven Heidrich, Hydra Productions
Proofreading by Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing
Photography by Reggie Deanching, R plus M Photo
Modeling by Sabrina Twyman
KEEP IN CONTACT WITH ELIZABETH
www.facebook.com/elizabethknoxbooks
www.facebook.com/groups/KnoxsBookBabes
www.instagram.com/elizabethknoxbooks
www.twitter.com/eknoxbooks
www.goodreads.com/eknoxbooks
www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-knox
STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT
ELIZABETH IS WORKING ON
https://elizabethknoxbooks.com/
KEEP IN CONTACT WITH IRIS
https://www.facebook.com/irisissweet/
https://www.instagram.com/irisissweet1
https://twitter.com/irisissweet1
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/iris-sweetwater
STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT
IRIS IS WORKING ON
https://irissweetrh.wixsite.com/irissweet-author
Table of Contents
Prologue
Isabella
One Year Ago
Chapter 1
Marcel
Chapter 2
Isabella
Chapter 3
Marcel
Chapter 4
Isabella
Chapter 5
Marcel
Chapter 6
Isabella
Chapter 7
Isabella
Chapter 8
Isabella
Chapter 9
Marcel
Chapter 10
Marcel
Chapter 11
Isabella
But it's gone.
Chapter 12
Marcel
Chapter 13
Marcel
Chapter 14
Isabella
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Marcel
Chapter 17
Isabella
Chapter 18
Isabella
Chapter 19
Marcel
Chapter 20
Marcel
Chapter 21
Isabella
Chapter 22
Isabella
Chapter 23
Marcel
Chapter 24
Marcel
Chapter 25
Isabella
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Isabella
Epilogue
Marcel
Prologue
Isabella
One Year Ago
"Are you sure you have to go?" Aria asks with a fake pouty face, and a little one on her hip. She has so smoothly transitioned into the role of mother; I can't even imagine her not being one at this point. It doesn't hurt that Salvatore is both dreamy and a good man—something rare in this life we live. Her father and any man he would have chosen certainly didn’t fit the bill. But now Marcel is in charge of the Funar Clan, so there is hope for any daughters that these two have.
"Yes, duty calls, and so does my father." I roll my eyes as I speak which makes her scoff.
"Is he ever going to set you up with a nice Romanian man?" My best friend asks.
My cheeks flush at the question because there is only one Romanian man I want to touch me, and I get the feeling that is one deal my father will never score no matter how loyal he is to the Funars.
"Is there such a thing as a nice Romanian man?" It's her turn to roll her eyes. "Besides, you weren’t always in a hurry to get settled down, maybe I'm not either." I wink at her and wave as I walk out the door. It's gotten dark and a little chilly, so I pull my jacket tighter around me. It's the one thing I hate about visiting my best friend; the weather here. Seattle is always a little on the cold side and rainy much of the time. I love the sun too much to leave California behind for any place like this permanently.
I look around and don’t see my Uber and stomp my foot in frustration. It was supposed to be here already according to the app. We didn’t all have fancy ways of getting around. Just because my father was paid to do the books by the Funars didn’t mean we had armored lim
os and SUVs following us around like they did. We had to pay Ubers to take us to the airport, though we easily afford first class.
A black car pulls up really slow against the curb. "Finally!" I hiss under my breath, yanking the car door open. I slide in without another thought, only to hear the locks instantly click. Looking up, the car has three men in suits, the windows a little too tinted for my taste. "This isn’t an Uber, is it?" I ask erroneously.
The man in the backseat with me grabs my hands and snaps on a pair of handcuffs. "No, this is nothing like an Uber. We sent him home."
I try not to panic. These guys look official, not really like the type to kidnap me and use me for ransom or something like that. I don’t think these men are mafia, so they must be cops or worse— government agents. I don’t know what they want with me, but I can't say my father isn’t involved in some shady shit. It’s part of working in this business, and I often help him. What has he gotten me into now?
The car accelerates, and we are going pretty fast, like maybe we are on the highway. I don’t know where they’re taking me, and I’m unsure I want to find out. "Can one of you tell me what’s going on here?" I ask, looking back and forth between the three men. The driver is balding and stoic, just driving and nothing else. The one in the passenger seat has dark, long hair pulled back in a pony tail. He almost looks like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction.
The one next to me is young, though when he smiles I can see he is missing a tooth. I wonder if that happened on the job. "To be blunt, Miss Zugra, we are taking you for interrogation about an incident we need to clear up. You can either cooperate and find yourself back at home in no time, or we have the means to make you disappear or put you away for a long time."
A shiver goes down my spine at his harsh words, and I’m like putty. I’ve been around the mafia all my life, but I’m not trained like they are to resist these things and go through torture. I don’t want to throw my father under the bus, but I won’t be locked away in some federal prison and beaten for the rest of my life. I will have to give them whatever it is they want.
"Just tell me what you want to know. I have no intention on disappearing or even going wherever it is you would have me taken. I just want to go home."
The man in the back with me looks up and locks eyes in the rearview mirror with baldy. I see a slight nod and hope it’s a good sign. I seize up as toothless reaches for something but then see it is only a remote, and with the click of a button, a small screen protrudes from the roof. There’s more to this car than meets the eye.
"Is this you, Miss Zugra?" he asks, and I look at it to see it is a picture of me at the shipyard about three weeks ago. I remember my father sending me there to sign off on something, which I've done a couple of times before with him there. This was the first time alone.
"Yes, my father sent me there to sign for a shipment. Just typical cargo," I tell them, confused.
"Miss Zugra, ignorance isn’t going to save you here, even if it's not an act. We know what was on that ship and where it was headed, thanks to the fact that it sank before it ever made it to its final docking. It doesn’t matter who sent you to do it, you are an adult and did it of your own free will. This could all be pinned on your shoulders."
I know better than to talk back to them, but I don’t even get what the issue is. What would my father have me sign for that would get me in so much trouble? "If I could be going down for this you could at least tell me what was so bad about that shipment."
"Guns, headed for Tehran. I am sure you understand the severity of such a crime." He nods at me, and I stop breathing for a moment. I had no idea my father was involved in something so heavy. It didn’t even cross my mind. And why did he have me sign for it knowing what it was and what kind of trouble I could get in? I’m not sure I care anymore about throwing him under the bus.
"I can’t believe my father would involve me in something like that."
"Believe what you want to believe, it doesn't change anything right now," Travolta's twin pipes up, and I glare at him.
"So, what can I do? How can I get out of this? I’m a young woman. I’m sure you know I don’t want to be in prison. I want to live my life. Do you want me to testify against my father or something?"
Toothless shakes his head. "No, though we may go after him based on our conversation. What we would like to offer you is a clean slate in exchange for your help."
"What help could I possibly be?"
Travolta points to the screen, and I see an ugly, older man standing with some glamorous women and a couple of younger men that look like more handsome versions of the old man.
"These are the Falcones," says Toothless.
"As in -" He puts his hand up to cut me off.
"We have been after the Falcones, especially Franco, for the past two decades. His reach is huge, especially now that his sons are grown and involved. We want you to use the resources at your disposal to help give us information to take him down. Even the CIA needs proof, after all."
"What connections would a woman like me -"
Travolta cuts me off this time. "Let’s not pretend like we don’t know who your father works for."
I sink back into my seat, clearing my throat. "Fine, how am I even supposed to get close enough to get anything, though?"
"It’s up to you, but you are a woman..."
Chapter 1
Marcel
I can’t believe this shit is happening. It’s the Clans, so I should expect anything now. My brother was killed in a hospital for fuck’s sake, but this shit, blowing up a church, has to be a first. We were supposed to be at a Clan wedding, but the bride had everyone evacuate the building. Now I know why.
It is chaos, and everyone around me is screaming. Salvatore, my brother in law, has run back into the building for his mother only to have the place explode on him. I doubt he is alive, and I don’t know how Aria is going to handle this. My heart breaks for her.
My eyes search the crowd, scanning to see if anyone else is missing. My heart skips a beat when I don’t see a certain orange dress, the only one like it today.
Shit. Aria is going to lose her mother in law, her husband, and her best friend here today if some damn miracle doesn’t happen.
I hear murmurs and then applause and look back at the rubble. Sal is somehow alive, the lucky bastard, and is carrying someone in his arms. The body is limp, and I think I am going to be sick until I realize that a girl in an orange dress is right behind Sal, her hand on his shoulder as they walk out of the crumbling, ashy mess towards us.
I run to meet Salvatore, finally seeing it is Marta, his mother he carries lifeless in his arms, but it is Isabella's face I notice as tears streak through the sooty mess on her face. She looks frightened and confused. I take off my jacket and throw it around her, covering her shivering, cut up shoulders as I then walk her over to the family. It’s funny how she has been a part of the Funar Clan for her entire life and much of mine, but it is just recently I have noticed her presence as more than an extra body constantly surrounding us.
Aria’s best friend. The accountant’s daughter. Even though he always swore he would marry her off to a Romanian and keep her pure, it never clicked that she was one of us. I barely even noticed her other than the silly crush I always knew she had on me, especially when she was a kid.
Sal places Marta down on the ground, his face white as a ghost, and looks up at Aria only for her to begin to fall backward. Luckily, he is right behind her, catching her, as she goes unconscious.
"Oh my god!" Isabella screams, rushing to her friend’s side and leaving me to follow.
"Sal, I'll get her to the hospital, okay? You need to be with your family." I can see he is torn, but he has no choice as I lift her in one go. He needs to be with his children and his father right now. They need to make a decision about Marta and figure out why Carla’s wedding was targeted with a bomb.
"I'm coming with you!" Isabella says, tugging my jacket farther over her shoulders and
following me to the car. We lay Aria in the back of the SUV before taking the driver’s and passenger seats. I would normally have a driver take us, but there is no time, especially in this chaos. My hand slides over the two guns I have on me for reassurance. It will be up to me to keep the three of us safe if someone comes after us at the hospital.
"I was trying to make sure everyone got out, and I heard her. I was trying to get to her, and I watched her go. Sal came just a moment too late. I think she had found the bomb or something. She was screaming. She didn’t die from the blast. She was already bleeding."
I listen to Isabella ramble on, hoping it will comfort her and distract me. My mind is racing right now, trying to figure out what fucker decided to fuck up a Clan wedding. Whoever it is must have some gigantic balls to try and get us all in one go like that. Carla or that husband of hers must know something, but I will have to leave that up for Sal and his half-brother to work out for now.
I glance to the back seat as we pull up to the emergency room, the entrance that is only supposed to be for ambulances. I don’t give a fuck.
Isabella’s hand lands on mine, making me tense. "She’s going to be okay," she says through some bleary eyes. "She has to be."
I nod and get out, leading the ER staff to Aria and instruct them with a wad of cash to keep it private and keep her alive. Then, they direct me to go around front like everyone else and tell me where we can wait for news about her.
It’s all a blur as we park and get out of the SUV, rushing in to find the double doors we were told we could wait outside of. It was the best courtesy they could give us with my money until they knew what was wrong. I know they need space to work on her, so I let it go.
We lean against the wall, breathless and in shock.
"Do you mind if I clean up a bit?" she asks, and I nod, having forgotten for a moment we were covered in soot and debris.
She goes off to find a bathroom, but I pass. I don’t want to walk away in case there will be news.