Page 20 of Zen's Crash

“That’s a refreshing change. Most of the people I’ve met double down until it turns into a fight.”

“Not with me. My folks taught me that admitting when you’re wrong shows maturity and character. I have practically zero ego when it comes to making mistakes. In my world if you aren’t making mistakes, you’re not even trying to grow and evolve.”

I choke out a laugh. It’s weird how this man can pull me out of the deepest, darkest place and lift me up to the point that it doesn’t hurt so much. I feel a smile take over my expression. I like Zen in spite of constantly telling myself that we’re not right for each other. If it weren’t for my life being so fucked up, we might have had a chance. Something about that makes my heart hurt.

Zen reaches his big hand out to cover mine. “I can see the worry eating you up from the inside out. Don’t worry, no matter how long it takes or how deep and dark the rabbit hole goes, we’re gonna track that fucker down and bring him to justice.”

“Do you really think you can do this?” I ask, hardly daring to believe that he and his club might succeed where the police failed.

“We took down a county-wide crime syndicate a few years back and unmasked the corrupt police chief behind it. We might look like all we do is ride and party, but we get shit done.”

I turn my hand over and clasp his tighter. “Alright then, I’ll consider us partners. We’ll cover each other’s backs and keep chipping away at this until we get to the truth.”

He dips his head and when it comes back up there’s a look of determination there. “Whatever it takes, I’m there for it.” The note of finality in his voice takes my breath away. “When can you get me all the information you have on what happened?”

“I digitized a lot of it. I keep everything in a cloud.” Pulling out my phone, I tell him, “Give me a minute to get it all in one file and I’ll send you a link.”

He responds warmly, “Great.”

I put the last of it in a zip file and hit send, “I sent it.”

Before he can respond, Kayla approaches with a curious expression on her face. Evan is close behind her, and they sit at our table. I glance over at my friend’s little sister as I lower my phone into my lap. “Zen is going to help me find the man who killed my father. He has experience tracking people electronically.”

Kayla rolls her eyes. “What can he do that the great ChaosCrone herself can’t?”

Chapter 8

Zen

Ifreeze in place with my phone in front of my face, and then slowly lower it. Kayla said ChaosCrone. My head snaps around to Lexi as she responds to her friend.

“Yeah, I’m good at building and upgrading computers. My hacking skills are top tier, but Zen has a history of actually finding missing people.”

Evan chimes in, “Yeah, he found me and helped bring my abductor to justice.”

Kayla absentmindedly reaches out to pat him on the chest. “I remember you telling me about that, babe.”

I ask, trying to keep the shock out of my voice, “You’re ChaosCrone?”

Her brows furrow. “Yes. Is that a problem?”

I push up from the table and grab Lexi by the arm.

She tries to pull away, but I refuse to let go. Furious, I start walking her towards my office. Kayla grabs my free arm in an attempt to stop me from taking her.

All it takes is me barking one word over my shoulder. “Evan!” He immediately steps forward and wraps both arms around his girl, gently pulling her back. “It’s okay. Zen’s just gonna take her somewhere private to talk. Right, Zen?”

I turn again and jerk my chin towards the door, “When we’re finished talking both of them are banned until further notice.”

Kayla gasps, “That’s not fair. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You brought a fucking thief to our clubhouse and I’m not gonna let that go unpunished.”

Lexi makes an angry sound in the back of her throat before snarling, “I’m no thief, you asshole.”

Normally, insulting a club brother is a bannable offense in and of itself. I don’t say that though. In fact, I don’t respond to her at all until I have her safely ensconced in my office with the door locked behind us. I fire up my bank of computers for light and toss her down onto the rolling stool. Settling myself down in my chair, I glare at her.

She’s absolutely defiant. “I’m no thief. Whatever you have rolling around in that head of yours is way off base.”

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