Covert (The Clans Book 9) Read online

  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.