Page 72 of Pit

Tessa

I’m already at my desk when Anita arrives wearing over-sized shades. I smirk as she passes my desk muttering, “Good morning.”

I go into the kitchenette and make her a coffee, also grabbing the pastry I picked up for her on the way in this morning. She’s got her head in her hands when I place the items on her desk, and she glances up, removing her shades. “I am too old to spend the weekend drinking like I’m nineteen,” she murmurs.

I laugh. “Yeah, I won’t be making a habit of repeating Friday night again. Why do people drink like that?”

She frowns. “You’ve never been drunk before?”

“Of course, just nothing like that. I have very vague memories of the night. I don’t even remember getting home, but I woke fully dressed and somehow remembered to get myself a bottle of water and paracetamol.”

“Weird,” she says, a strange look passing over her face.

“And I swear I saw my . . . ex.” I give my head a shake. “Well, not my ex, just a . . . never mind, I don’t know what he was.Either way, I really thought he’d taken me home.” I laugh to myself. “Wishful thinking.”

I head back to my desk just as the door opens and a large biker fills the doorway, one I recognise from the club Pit belongs to. My heart immediately speeds up, and I force myself to smile. I know he isn’t here for me—why would he be—but seeing that logo on his jacket sets some kind of alarm off inside me, making me want to run in the opposite direction.

“Do you have an appointment?” I ask, my voice wavering slightly.

“She’s expecting me,” he mutters, looking past me to Anita.

“You don’t have an appointment, Kade,” she shouts from her office.

“Atlas sent me,” he replies.

“Jesus,” she says to herself. “It’s fucking Monday morning. I don’t have the time or patience for this shit.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger,” he argues.

He heads into her office, and she closes the door. Meanwhile, my heart races faster. She knows The Chaos Demons, and it sounds like Atlas is one of them.

Minutes later, Kade storms from the office, pulling out his mobile as he leaves. Anita leans on the doorframe of her office and sighs loudly. “That fucker tries way too hard to control me,” she says out loud.

I turn to face her. “You know The Chaos Demons?”

She glances down with a guilty expression. “Uh-huh.”

“So, you know Pit?” She finally meets my eyes and gives a nod. My heart races. “Was he there on Friday?” I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. Eventually, she gives a slight nod. “Was it coincidence he was there?”

“No.”

I eye her suspiciously. “And did he take me home?”

“Yes.”

“But he didn’t want me to know?” She gives her head a shake. “Why?”

Anita lets out a long breath. “I have no idea, Tessa. He’s in turmoil over you, like he can’t bear to see you with anyone else, but he’s keeping his distance.”

I briefly close my eyes, thinking back to that night. I knew it was him the second I felt a hand on my back. The way he scooped me into his arms, and how his scent filled my nostrils, it instantly calmed me.

“I thought I was imagining him,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “So, this job . . .”

She holds up her hands, already shaking her head. “I employed you because I liked you and you’re bloody good at the job.”

“But before that, did he set this up?”

She groans. “Look, he doesn’t want you to know all this, Tessa. And if I tell you, he’s going to be annoyed with me, and honestly, it’s a stress I can do without.”

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