Page 19 of Pulse

Folding his arms across his broad chest, Curly frowned. “Against Pulse, you mean? As opposed to the entire club?”

“Yes, though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Do—” She winced and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“No. Go ahead. I know you’re on our side, so ask what you need to help my men. I’m not stupid enough to keep secrets from you. You’ll have access to whatever information you need.”

The sincerity in his tone had her smiling. “Well, thank you. It’s not often clients are so easy to work with.”

“Well…” He shrugged and gazed at Brooke once again. “I have a lot more to lose now than I did before. Don’t think I’d survive being ripped away from her. My guys are a family more than a club. So I’m not fucking around when it comes to our legal protection and counsel.”

Shit.

He might as well have slipped a knife between her ribs.

“Yes,” she whispered, unable to strengthen her voice. “Obviously, I’m aware of what happened to you in the past. And I promise you here and now that I will do everything in my power to keep you and your family safe.”

“I know you will. You have an incredible track record of going to the ends of the earth for your clients. It’s why I chose you. It’s why I trust you with my life and my family’s lives.”

His solemn gaze bore into hers, twisting the knife beneath her ribs.

She swallowed a painful lump as she nodded. “I won’t let you down.”

If he had even an inkling of who her father was and how he’d destroyed thirteen years of Curly’s life, he’d not only take those words back and kick her ass off his property, but he’d also probably end her life.

And make sure no one ever found her body.

CHAPTER FIVE

“YOU WORKING TONIGHT?” Spec asked as he sidled over.

Pulse had been nursing the same beer for the past twenty minutes. As typically happened in Florida, the air heated his beer within minutes, and he now had a piss-warm drink to finish. Not that it mattered. Cold or warm, every sip settled in his stomach like battery acid.

“Nope.”

Talia stood across the yard chatting with Curly. They seemed to be lost in a serious discussion, and it didn’t take a genius to know he was the main topic of conversation.

Fuck.

He’d tried so hard to fly under the radar for so long, to not only be the center of attention but to bring the drama to his club. It had his head exploding.

“We gonna stand here like a bunch of assholes, or you gonna talk to me? I’ve been super patient waiting for details, but I’m anxious now.”

Pulse snorted. Patience was the last word anyone would use in association with the club’s enforcer.

“I’m serious.” Spec elbowed him. He’d buzzed his hair that morning, giving him an even more fresh-out-of-the-army look than usual. “You have no idea the things Liv had to do to my body this morning to keep me in bed so I wouldn’t call you at six.”

Another snort. “I highly doubt you took much convincing. Your woman breathes, and you’re hard.”

Spec’s shameless grin and wagging eyebrows had Pulse chuckling.

“Finally, a laugh. Fuck, brother, you’ve been off today.”

“Sorry.” He sipped the beer, wincing as the warm foam coated his tongue.

“I’ll take those details now.”

Pulse shrugged. “Not much to tell. Got arrested. The charges were bullshit. Lawyer got them dropped. You know how it goes.”

“Hmm.”

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