Page 118 of Claimed By the Band

Relief floods through me as Maria's words sink in. We finally have something concrete. Something that can't be buried or denied.

"Will this be enough to nail the bastards you're after?" Maria asks, and I can hear the smile in her voice. She's helped me with cases before, but this is different. This is personal, even if she doesn't know how much.

"Yeah," I say, trying to keep my voice steady despite my excitement. "This will definitely help."

"Then in that case, I can deliver it to them myself. Certified chain of custody and everything," she offers. "Make sure there's no chance they can claim contamination or tampering."

"You'd do that?" I ask, genuinely touched by her willingness to help. Maria's always been professional, but this goes above and beyond.

"Of course! But after this, you owe me a drink. Face to face," she says, a hint of teasing in her tone. "I've known you for what, three years now? Time to meet the man behind the mystery."

I laugh, surprising myself with how genuine it sounds. Even more surprising is my response. “Deal.”

There's a pause on the other end of the line, like she wasn't expecting me to agree. To be honest, I wasn't expecting it either. But something has shifted inside me these past several weeks. The careful walls I built to protect myself don't feel quite so necessary anymore.

"Really?" Maria asks, clearly delighted. "No take-backs!"

"No take-backs," I agree, smiling despite myself. "Just... give me a little time to wrap this case up first?"

"Of course," she says warmly. "Stay safe, Echo. And good luck nailing these assholes to the wall."

I end the call to find Asher and Knox watching me intently, waiting to hear what this means for our investigation. For our future.

"With Maria's testimony about the lab results, we should be able to get a warrant for Trakiss at the very least," I tell them, setting my phone aside. "The evidence is solid—there's no way he can claim he wasn't involved in developing the compound used at the concert."

"Do you really think he'll talk?" Knox asks. "About the cult?"

I consider this carefully, thinking about the cold calculation I saw in Trakiss’s eyes that night at the party. About how quickly he recognized what I was, even through my careful disguise. I still don't knowhowhe recognized me, considering I never saw him while I was there, but still.

"I think so," I say finally. "He strikes me as the type to save his own skin. Especially if we can prove he was developing illegal weapons. That's serious jail time."

"Good," Asher says fiercely, his arms tightening around my waist. "I want them all to pay for what they did to you. To us."

My chest tightens at the simple inclusion in his words. Not just what they did to me, but to us. Because I'm part of this pack now. Their fights are my fights, and mine are theirs.

"Wewillmake them pay," Knox rumbles protectively. "All of them."

I lean back against Asher's chest, letting their combined strength support me. "We just have to be careful," I say, even thoughpart of me wants to charge in and burn it all down immediately. "The Sons of Epsilon have powerful connections. And they're patient."

"So are we," Asher says, pressing a kiss to my temple. "We'll do this right."

Knox's hand finds mine, squeezing gently. "No rushing in half-cocked," he agrees, which makes me smile given his usual tendency to do exactly that.

"We should tell the others," I say, already reaching for my phone again. But Asher's hands on my hips stop me.

"In a minute," he murmurs against my neck, making me shiver. "I believe we were in the middle of something before we were so rudely interrupted."

Heat floods my cheeks as I remember exactly what we were doing before Maria called. Knox's eyes darken as he catches my scent shifting with arousal.

"Were we?" he asks innocently, but his hand is already sliding back between my thighs. "I can't quite remember. Maybe you should remind us."

I gasp as his fingers find their previous rhythm, picking up exactly where they left off. Asher's hands resume their torment of my nipples through my shirt, making me arch between them.

"The others can wait a little longer," Asher purrs in my ear as I rock against Knox's talented fingers. "Right now, we want to celebrate this victory properly."

Any protest I might have made dies in my throat as Knox's thumb circles my clit just right. They work me steadily higher,their touches perfectly synchronized like they've been doing this forever.

In a way, I suppose they have. They know each other so well, move together so naturally. And now they're including me in that dance, teaching my body to move with theirs.

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