Page 15 of Inferno

And I still can’t figure out why he’s so familiar.

Without another word, he nods and exits my office. I close down all the open apps on my computer and shut it off before grabbing my purse and jacket from the coat tree in the corner. I don’t see Dean—no, Inferno suits him better—again as I leave for the night.

Working late has its perks. There’s very little traffic on my way home, and after grabbing my mail, I park in the garage and head inside.

I heat up a bowl of leftover spaghetti, and as I eat, I look through the mail. It’s mostly bills, but one envelope catches my eye. It’s black, with white handwriting, and I immediately recognize that it belongs to whoever left the note on my car. There’s no return address to give me any indication as to who the sender is.

Trepidation slams into me, and my hands begin to shake as I open the flap. I pull out the black cardstock and take a deep breath before reading what it says.

Dear Emmaline Daniels,

Congrats! You’re the winner of a brand new… friend. Don’t worry, I’m not the kind of friend you have to make time for. I’ll take care of that for you. All that’s required of you is to go about your life and well, look over your shoulder from time to time. Our adventures are going to be so much fun! You’ll see.

Sincerely,

You’ll find out soon enough

The paper falls from my hand and flutters to the floor. Bile rises up the back of my throat, and I run for the half bath off the kitchen. I make it to my knees just in time to spew the minimal spaghetti I consumed.

As soon as I’m sure there’s nothing left in my stomach, I rise to my feet and rinse out my mouth. I have no idea who is doing this to me, but it seems ignoring it won’t make it go away.

I make my way back to the kitchen and grab my cell off the counter. My brain screams at me to call the police, but I don’t. Instead, I call Steph.

“What’s up?” she asks when she answers.

“C-can you come over?” I hate the tremor in my voice.

“Sure. What’s wrong?”

“I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

Twenty minutes later, I’m telling her about the note on my car and in the mail, and together, we call the police.

8

Inferno

“We’ve got company.”

I lower the kickstand on my Harley and follow Reaper into the clubhouse. As we walk, I take in the bikes parked along the side of the building and know immediately who’s here.

“Why is the human world chapter here?” I demand.

Reaper shrugs. “Viking made them wait to state their business until you got here.”

While Valhalla Rising MC members, dead or alive, are all brothers, there’s no love lost between the two chapters. We’ll work together if we have to, but for the most part, we operate separately.

“‘Bout time you showed up,” Rave, my counterpart, grumbles.

Immediately, my anger spikes. It’s not like I was out partying or some shit… I was working. Which in and of itself is laughable considering I don’t have a heartbeat.

“Trooper, get your VP in line, or there won’t be a meeting,” Viking snarls to the other president in the room.

Trooper turns to Rave. “Keep your thoughts to yourself,” he instructs before facing me. “Sorry about that. It’s been a long couple of days. We’re in the middle of a turf war and didn’t really have the time to come here, but orders are orders.”

“Why don’t we go into the meeting room?” Viking suggests as he starts in that direction.

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