Page 9 of Blood of Vengeance

I had too much to deal with to wonder how an at-most half shifter had even recognized that sound, and I needed to start with Mule.

“Why did you think Chiggy was missing?”

Dark eyes met mine. He raised his hand and ticked off each response on a finger. “Bike, home. Truck, gone. Phone, off. House, ransacked. A fucking red rose lying on his porch like some sort of gift. Not a goddamned word to anyone about cutting town for a bit.”

Zed huffed. “No Hellions member would cut out like that. Especially not the prez.”

He wasn’t wrong—our club was strong and loyal, filled with shifters who had become family. Chiggy especially wouldn’t have abandoned us without a word.

“Where’s the body?” Mule asked, our usually silent treasurer asking the question that needed to be asked. “You said you saw the murder in your dreams, so where’s the body?”

Locklyn shook her head. “I don’t know—the desert.”

“There’s a lot of that around here,” Zed said, leaning forward over the table. “We’re going to need to know all the details.”

Locklyn nodded but yawned at the same time. Something about that act, about her acquiescing when she obviously needed rest, riled up my wolf. The way her shirt pulled tight across those tits of hers did the same to the human side of me. It was time to give the girl a break.

“In the morning.” I grabbed Locklyn by the arm once more and tugged her behind me. “We start all that shit in the morning.”

Cutter glared my way. “Flinch, maybe?—”

“Maybe nothing. The girl’s tired, it’s late, and we need clear heads if we’re going to handle an investigation into Chiggy’s possible murder without fucking it up and getting caught in some useless cop’s radar. We start tomorrow.”

Everyone in the room stared at me, all waiting for someone to tell me no. Not that it would happen—the only one with the balls or rank was Cutter, and he seemed to know exactly why I was pulling Locklyn out of that room with me.

“Fine,” the VP finally said. “But I want everyone here by ten. And you—” he pointed at Locklyn “—you have any more dreams, you write that shit down. Every detail—sounds, smells, terrain. Anything at all.”

“Sure, I just…” She stopped, forcing me to pause and turn. “I had been planning on staying at my dad’s place, but if it’s ra?—”

“You’re staying with me.”

Her eyes could not have gotten any bigger. “Excuse me?”

Cutter chuckled, sitting deeper and tilting back in the chair. Looking as if he enjoyed the show. “You heard the man. You’re under our watch, and that means we make the rules. If our tail gunner thinks you’re safest with him, that’s where you’re going. Right, Banger?”

The old man looked me up and down, his expression hard. He didn’t like this one bit, but no asshole would keep me from my mate. Not today, not ever. If he tried to stop me, he’d be eating his own dick.

“Yeah. Seems fine,” he finally said, shooting me with a hard glare that made my wolf perk up. Made us both ready to fight. “But she comes in with one mark on that body, and you’re dealing with me. That’s Chiggy’s kid—the man used to change her diapers in this club.”

Warning heard. I nodded once, offering him the respect he deserved as an old man in the club. Before Locklyn could part those pretty lips again, I grabbed her backpack from where she’d dropped it, tugged on her arm, and hurried her through the door, slipping out the back instead of dealing with the guys in the bar. Within seconds, I had her beside my bike, pausing only long enough to pull my keys from my pocket. I swung a leg over, handed her the backpack, then patted the seat behind me.

“Your ass goes here.”

“My ass goes where I say it does.” She slipped her arms into the bag straps then crossed them, making her tits practically pop out of her skimpy top. The woman was trying to kill me.

“Then tell your ass it needs to go to my house. Or would you rather I leave you in the club and let my brothers decide what to do with you?”

Her face flashed with horror at that idea for just a second before it cleared, but I’d seen her flinch. I knew her fear. No way would I ever let anyone—brother or not—touch her, but if scaring her meant I got her to spread her legs around my hips and hang on for a ride, so be it.

With a sigh, Locklyn did just as I’d wanted. She mounted my bike behind me, crawled up nice and close, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Anyone ever told you this seat’s uncomfortable?” she asked.

“Not a one.”

“You must date women with hard asses.”

I chuckled and started the bike, revving the engine until it purred just right, and then knocking back the stand. “You trying to insult me?”

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