Page 9 of The Edge of Intensity

My phone gives a notification, probably the group text Decker sent. “Listen, I’ll just see you tomorrow, okay? I’ll walk you to your truck.”

Her shoulders sag and she silently follows me. She’s frozen in front of her truck with her back to me when I hear her mutter something.

“What was that?” I question.

She opens the door and I hear her loud and clear this time when she says, “You can come to my house.”

I don’t get to reply because she jumps into her truck, slams the door, and has it fired up and spitting dirt from the wheels as she speeds off. A bark of laughter rips from me as I stare at her taillights.

Fuck. Here I thought I fucked it all up, instead, she surprised the hell out of me by being brave and asking me into her house. I know it’s a big deal because she told me how she doesn’t even like it when others hang their coat next to hers or if her sister sits on her bed.

I’m wearing a huge smile when I step inside church. Except, it slides right off when I’m reminded of why we have a full table.

“Kathleen.” I nod at Decker’s daughter.

Women might not be allowed in church, but there are exceptions to the rule. Especially when the woman in question has crucial information.

She places her hands on her belt. “They raided his house, Rourke. I went there myself after I became aware Winfield’s house was broken into. Anything of value they took with them and they even tried to cover up their tracks by starting a fire. They didn’t count on Winfield having a sprinkler system, though. Anyway, his truck is gone and so is his bike. There are track marks where he went over the hill and his body is mangled as if he was dragged behind a car or something before they threw him over. If I didn’t know the whole situation with him selling off the stallion and you retrieving the horse, I would have considered it a possible accident. The bike missing does seem fishy, though. Anyway, a lot of things don’t add up. I’ve brought the two case files with all the details we have. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

“Thanks, Kathleen, appreciate it,” I rumble and take a seat.

She nods and strides out of the room. Not only is Kathleen law enforcement, she also has a killer voice, just like her mother, Muriel. Decker’s old lady is a country singer and has recorded some songs with her daughter. Kathleen never goes public with her singing though. She’s devoted her life to becoming sheriff of this town and she has been for almost a year now. Thank fuck, because it comes in handy now.

“I did a background check when I found out Winfield sold the stallion,” I explain. “The ranch where Buckey was has a bad reputation. Horses end up dead and are easily replaced if they don’t live up to their demands.”

“Easy enough if you steal horses,” Luke growls. “I did a little digging of my own and it only cost me a few minutes and some keystrokes. There have been a lot of accusations but no binding evidence.”

“I’ve thrown pictures of all the men who are working or have worked on that ranch into the group app so make sure you thumb through them. If any of those fuckers show up around here, we’ll know,” Silas states.

Luke and Silas are not only club brothers, but biological as well, sharing the same parents. Even if they have two fathers and one mother. Alfie, Joaquin, and Greta have a special kind of relationship and the three children that came from them are raised with a truckload of love and two fathers to balance it all out. I can’t imagine sharing my woman with another man, but then again, it’s their choice, not mine.

“Do you think they’ll come after us?” Walker questions, curling his fingers into fists as if he’s ready to pounce if they come bursting through the door this very second.

His father, Colt, used to be the club’s enforcer. Walker took over two months ago, and he’s clearly cut from the same cloth as his father.

“I think it would be foolish not to be prepared.” I glance around the full table at each and every one of my brothers of the older and younger generation. “Especially when I’ve been working with the stallion I took from them out in the open. They might have had their eyes on us for the past few days without us realizing it.”

“Which means your lady friend could be under their watchful eye as well,” Parker remarks.

The thought of Eastlynne getting pulled into dangerous shit makes me feel as if there’s a tight fist gripping my heart, trying to yank it out through my rib cage.

“I’m heading over to her house after we’re done here. We need to gather more information about these fuckers. Decker, can you make a few calls to your old contacts or have your daughter reach out, whatever works. Going after these fuckers ourselves might bring heat to the ranch.”

“Smart move bringing in the authorities. Kathleen can handle it, but I will make her reach out to make sure she has enough manpower in case shit goes south.” Decker takes out his phone and chuckles. “She never likes it when I interfere with her job. So much fun to make her pissed and have Muriel smooth things over at the dinner table.”

“Whatever,” I grumble, not caring one bit about those details. “I want a team having eyes on the security feed. No one goes off alone until we have this shit handled. I’m heading out to Eastlynne. If something needs your attention right away, talk to your VP.” I turn to Parker. “Text me updates if you have some. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Parker snickers. “Confident you get to spend the night at her place, eh?”

I glare at the fucker. Eastlynne won’t be amused, to put it lightly, and it might fuck things up between us, but I will not risk her safety.

CHAPTER FIVE

– EASTLYNNE –

I lean against Fletch and try to relax. Why did I invite Rourke to my own freaking home? My head feels like it’s going to implode in my skull. I know I’m stressing and I brought it all on myself, but it just felt like I…wanted and needed to prolong our time together.

Rourke is fun and easy to be around. He doesn’t get close to me without giving me a slight heads-up first. Mostly it’s a touch in a teasing matter; a little nudge with his hand on my lower back, a bump with his shoulder against mine, brushing his fingers against my forearm, that kind of stuff.

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