Page 74 of Pulse

Spec snorted. “Some? Come the fuck on.”

Curly shot him a look that had Spec’s mouth snapping shut.

Wow.

Maybe he could teach her that trick. She had a potent glare, but Curly’s was next level.

“I appreciate you coming to us with this. You’ve taken a great personal risk, which means you feel something for him. I made you a promise that no harm would come to him, and I stick by that.” He glanced at Spec as he spoke. “It will need to be dealt with, but it sounds like our priority needs to be keeping our family safe and getting rid of what’s left of the cartel.”

The relief was so staggering she had to blink back tears.

Fuck.

These men couldn’t see her cry. Not if she was the last woman on Earth.

She cleared her throat. “Thank you. And yes, that’s exactly why Pulse wanted to come to you.”

“But you beat him to it,” Spec said, shaking his head.

She turned her attention to him. “That’s right.” How could a sweet and kind person like Liv put up with this insufferable buffoon?

“The first step is to call a club meeting,” Curly said as he pulled out his phone.

A series of pounding sounds came from outside. It sounded like boots on the steps.

All three of them froze. Talia’s heart sank.

The door flew open with so much force that it slammed against the wall. A rush of warm air flowed into the building.

Talia closed her eyes with a sigh.

Pulse had arrived.

CHAPTER TWENTY

PULSE WOKE WITH a brick in his stomach. He’d hoped for a few minutes of peace before he recalled what he had to do today, but no, his body remembered the instant he woke up.

Five minutes. He’d give himself five minutes to enjoy the feel of Talia against him before he got up and called Curly. Five minutes of losing himself in her soft, warm skin. He rolled over and frowned at the empty bed and cold sheets.

Had she slept at all? He sat up with a sigh. He’d most likely find her sitting at the table with a third cup of coffee as she stared out the window and ran through every possible thing that could go wrong today.

“Talia?” he called as he dragged himself out of bed. She didn’t answer. His frown deepened. Could she be in the guest shower? Before emerging into the hallway, he tugged on some jeans and a plain black tee. “Tal?” he called again.

Maybe she’d fallen asleep on the couch. God, that would make him a dick. He’d slept on while she lay awake and eventually moved to the sofa alone.

But, no, she wasn’t on the couch either. “Tal, where are you?” he called as he walked into the empty kitchen. He frowned. Hadn’t she dumped her wallet and keys on the table when they’d come in last night?

On a hunch, he peeked out the window to the parking lot behind his apartment.

Her car was gone.

Pulse experienced two seconds of confusion before the worst-case scenario hit him, and he knew without a doubt where she was.

“Fuck!”he shouted into the quiet apartment. “Goddammit.” What a fucking fool he’d been. How the hell could he have fallen for her easy agreement to his ridiculous demand that she stay home? The Talia he knew would never go along with him ordering her ass around, especially if it meant leaving her on the sidelines.

“Fuck.”

He jammed his feet into his boots, then sprinted toward the door. The cops towed his bike to the impound lot, but he had a truck for when he had to get to work on nasty days.

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