Page 37 of Property of Azrael

Looks like Plan B it is, because there isn’t a single scenario where she’s not by my side on the beach. Not when I can fix it right here and now. Shifting from my spot next to her, I move around the table, pick up the book, and place it down in front of her.

She frowns. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Buying that book I asked you about in Arkansas.” Pulling out my wallet, I finger a twenty-dollar bill and place it on top. “I’d like it personalized, please.”

Her nostrils flare. “That’s cheating.”

“I play dirty, baby, and you didn’t set the terms to exclude me from purchasing.” I shrug. “The devil’s in the details.”

“The devil is standing right in front of me,” she mutters under her breath.

Snatching up the bill and the book, she signs the paperback, taking her time. When she’s done, she closes the front cover and slides it over to me. A smile spreads across her full lips when I retrieve it from the table and open it.

“To Azrael, the cheating asshole who only bought this book to get in my pants in another country.” I raise my brow as I read it aloud. She’s not wrong—not in the slightest.

“I’ll cherish it forever. A memento of your first signing, and us meeting each other.” I press the book against my chest, patting it lovingly. “It’s going right on my bookshelf in the office, next to my engineering manuals.” Reclaiming my seat next to her, I rest my hand on her leg. “I can’t wait to see you under a Mexican sunset.”

“You know, you were right the other night. You are an asshole.”

“An honest one, though.” I smile. “Now, how about we get this stuff packed up so we can go back to the room and discuss our trip tomorrow? Plus, you need to email your boss.”

She rolls her eyes, adding an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.”

She gets to work on packing away what little swag she has left into a bundle, while the organizer, Sapphire, calls out a few last-minute raffles. Eden, Fox, and Orion joins us, and the guys offer to help the ladies take their things up to the room. They head out, and I take one last look around her table for anything she may have left behind. When I’m satisfied that we got everything, I see Van making his way over to me.

“We have a problem,” he reports. “Got some information about that asshole from earlier. He’s patched.”

“Who does he ride with? Maybe I can make some calls to his president.”

“He’s a fucking Hoosier Hellion. Just patched into the Tennessee charter.”

The pit in my stomach plummets like a lead bullet. We’d been discreet. No colors, no mentions of our club, only for me to fuck it up royally all on my own.

“Fuck. That’s the last thing we need right now.” If he gets hold of that video footage, we’ll be in the crosshairs with no backup. I’d been so careful to keep my face hidden from cameras until now. Until that bastard belittled Hallie. “He saw her with me last night and today.”

“No shit,” Van snorts. “If he puts two and two together, it’s not just us he’ll be targeting. You know their M.O.”

All too well. Unlike the other clubs we’ve had issues with, the Hoosier Hellions went after our families first, the people most precious to our members. A quick way to slice us down emotionally. They’d done it once before, so there’s nothing that leads me to believe they won’t try it again. Hallie won’t be safe unless we deal with him.

“It’s just the one guy, right?”

Van nods. “As far as I can tell. Mindy’s working on scrubbing any copies of the video right now.”

“Then we take care of it before we leave.”

“What about Hallie? If we’re going after this guy, who stays with her?”

Dammit. Defending her honor put her right into their crosshairs.

“Have Fox stay behind. She won’t think anything of it since Eden’s got a thing for him. I’ll call Asher.” He, out of all of us, should be the first to know what we’ll be doing tonight. “Go get eyes on that bastard. If you think we can take him, call me.”

I pull out my phone and make a call. Looks like my celebration with Hallie will have to wait.

HALLIE

My phone pingswith a text from Az.

The guys and I are going to get a head start on our trip tomorrow. May be up late.

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