Chapter 152: Tom Padilla, the drug dealer

ROMAN

"Keep your head on straight and don’t mess this up, Ro."

"I’ve got it," I barked into the earpiece, craning my neck to see myself in the rear view mirror of my car.

The face in the mirror was not my face. Tom Padilla had a heavier jaw, a darker brow and a small dangling silver cross earring on his left ear. I had to take out my studs for this fucking disguise.

The prosthetic went from my temple to my chin, took an hour to put on and itched like a bastard. I looked like a man who sold things out of the back of a truck.

"You just have to pretend to be Anthony’s dealer, Tom Padilla..."

"I know what I’m supposed to do, Kai. Stop talking in my ear."

My heart beat restlessly. It wasn’t because of the disguise or the fact that the actual Tom Padilla was locked away in one of my properties. No, it was that building.

Kingsley and Co. was on the other side of the plaza where I was supposed to meet Anthony Braddock, and my whole body ached terribly.

Ivy would be inside that lousy building.

Or would she have gone home? It was past four in the evening. She had to be up there, right? She was up there right now, close enough to hit with a stone. I was sitting in my car, in a parking lot, barely four hundred yards away, dressed as a drug dealer.

The only reason I hadn’t walked across the street, up the stairs, and ripped her out of whatever office Felix had stashed her in was that Kai would never let me hear the end of it.

I’ve got it. I’ve got this. I’m not going to lose my mind and go look for Vivi.

Anthony Braddock had already gone around the back of the plaza. I had watched him from the car. He was pretty sick and suffered from chronic pain. Dr. Meyers had been smuggling him illegal opioids to help with his pain, and he had gotten hooked.

But now, with Meyers in prison, no one was smuggling him his opioids anymore, so the addicted old man had been searching for new dealers and had met Tom Padilla on the dark web.

"Why are you still in the car?" Kai’s voice nagged at me through the earpiece. "Didn’t you say Anthony’s already at the meeting point? You better not be getting any funny ideas, Ro..."

"Dammit, Kai, I said I’ve got this."

"Then why the fuck aren’t you out of the car already..."

I ripped the earpiece out, scratching my cheek in the process. The little wire came with it and slapped against my collar. I yanked it off and threw it at the windshield.

It bounced off and landed back on my lap, and with a deep groan I slammed my fist on the steering wheel several times, breathing harshly.

I could do this. I wasn’t pathetic. Vivi had not ruined me. I was Roman Knight, for goodness sake. I could not be this weak over a freaking woman.

My phone rang in my pocket with a call from Gideon.

"Yeah."

"You ripped out the earpiece." My brother’s cool voice washed over me.

"Kai was fussing."

"He was fussing because it’s the first time you’re doing this. Kai’s usually the one who goes undercover. Are you alright, Roman?"

And that was the thing about G.

Kai would fuss and fuss and fuss, and it would make you want to climb the walls and run to the freaking hills, but Gideon just asked questions and waited for you to answer. There was no place in the world to hide from his questions.

"I..." I croaked, feeling ashamed. "She’s in the building."

"You’re not going to go over there, are you?"

I dropped my head onto the steering wheel. Vivi should be nothing. It was already way over a month. "I’m not going to go over there."

"Good. I trust you, Ro. We’ll wait for you to come home after meeting Anthony. Call if anything comes up."

"Okay, thanks, G."

I took one last look at my disguise, grabbed a small tin from the glove compartment, and got out of the car.

The back of the plaza was a service lane. There were dumpsters, a fire escape, and Anthony Braddock standing with his hands clasped in front of him. Ugh, what was that disgusting smell?

He was smaller in person. When he turned at the sound of my footsteps, his whole body was shaking. Oh, he must have bad withdrawal symptoms. Getting hooked on pain medication is almost as bad as getting hooked on drugs.

"Mr. Padilla?"

I gave a grunt, not bothering to talk much.

"You’re younger than I expected."

"I’m older than I look," I replied curtly. "Get straight to the point."

"I suppose that is fair." He swallowed. "So, are you sure you can get me the... the goods?"

I pulled the tin out of my jacket, flipped the lid and held it out to him. The round pills had his mouth watering.

"C... can I have one?"

"You want it, you buy it," I shrugged, snapping the tin closed. "The difference between other dealers and me is that they’ll sell it to you in small bags, but once they’re gone, your supply is gone."

The man rubbed his palms together and licked his lips. "Y... yes, that’s true."

"I’m a supplier. I don’t do bags. I do containers." I pocketed the tin, and I could swear he whined like a hungry cat when I did. "I can get you a lifetime supply, and you will never, ever have to look for a dealer again."

Anthony’s eyebrows shot up immediately. "How much does a lifetime supply cost?"

"Five billion."

I had priced it high on purpose. A man this desperate wouldn’t stop at the first number, and I wanted to see how far he would stretch.

A short, wheezy, disbelieving laugh that turned into a cough escaped his lips. "You have to be joking."

It disappeared once he saw that I was, in fact, not joking.

"Five billion?! What? All for a bunch of drugs?"

Man, I didn’t need this. I was already too antsy and restless. Why did G think sending me was a good idea? I got that he just wanted me out of the house, but still.

"You aren’t ready, then," I shrugged. "For one man who’s dying, five billion is cheap."

He was quiet for a while. The chattering from the plaza drifted through the air.

"I will need proof that you can supply it," Anthony said at last. "I’ve been burned. I’m not handing nine figures to a man I just met in a service lane."

"Reasonable." I turned around to leave. "I can take you to the container myself. You can see it, smell it, roll around in the drugs, whatever you want. But only if you’re ready, and only if you’re serious. I have several clients ready to buy."

I kept walking and had barely taken three steps when he hurried after me. "Fine! Okay. When? When can you show me?"

"Monday."

"Monday. Yes. Monday." He was nodding too fast. "Where?"

"I’ll send you the address."

"Yes. Right. Yes." He straightened his coat with shaky hands that wouldn’t quite cooperate. "I will try to find the money. Okay?"

Do whatever you want, I wanted to snap at him. I wanted to grab him and shake him down, asking how Vivi was doing, but instead I watched him scurry around the plaza like a rat and disappear.

I followed, and I was halfway across the plaza grounds when my feet skidded to a halt, and I saw her.

"Vivi."