Page 52 of Rock

When she locked eyes with her brother, Lyla ran across the room and threw her arms around Jackson. She hadn’t seen him in almost a year. They didn’t get together these days as often as they used to. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she leaned back, still holding his arms.

He smirked. “Mom and Dad guilted me into coming. They said it wasn’t fair for me to leave you to take care of the house alone. I took a few days off work. I can’t stay long, but I’m here.” He looked around. “Why exactly is the entire Shadowridge Guardians MC here?”

Lyla stepped to the side. She was about to make some introductions when Jackson suddenly gasped.

“Rock? Holy shit. It’s you.” Jackson stepped toward his old friend and gave him a solid man hug.

“In the flesh,” Rock stated as they parted. He took over the introductions, pointing around the room. “This is Steele, the club president. Kade, the enforcer. Atlas, the treasurer. He’s also my son.”

Jackson chuckled. “Shit, yes. I see the resemblance.”

Rock turned toward the two guys who’d walked in with Jackson. “Bear, the club secretary. Storm, the VP.”

Jackson shook everyone’s hand. “And you’re all here because…?”

Lyla explained, “The realtor recommended two guys, who happen to be prospects with the MC, to do some of the renovations around the house. I hired them. They spent yesterday tackling the blue carpet you put on the wall downstairs.” She lifted her brows. “Did you seriously need to both staple and glue it? They had to remove the drywall to get it off.”

Jackson cringed. “You removed my blue carpet?” he teased. “That was so innovative. I was so proud of myself for coming up with that. Early eighties acoustic magic. I can’t believe it was still there.”

Rock chuckled. “It was an eyesore in the eighties, and it still was yesterday. I didn’t have the heart to tell you back then.”

Jackson set a hand over his heart as though he were offended. He turned back to Lyla. “And now the entire MC is here?”

“Not quite all of us,” Rock continued. “Some shit went down.”

Lyla was grateful he was taking over.

“What kind of shit?” Jackson glanced around.

Lyla touched his arm.

Rock cleared his throat. “A guy came in last night after Ink and Breaker left and attacked Lyla.”

Jackson gasped and jerked his attention toward his sister. “What the fuck?”

Rock nodded. “Yeah, that’s basically how we’re all feeling. I’d found out Lyla was here, and it was a blessed coincidence that I stopped by within a minute of the attacker. I scared him off, but then I attended to Lyla instead of chasing him. He’s still on the run.”

“Did you call the police?” Jackson asked, his narrowed gaze on Lyla. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” she assured him. “Bumps and bruises. I’ll be fine. Yes, we called the police.”

Steele growled. “But our MC isn’t too keen on waiting for the bureaucracy of the police department. Don’t get me wrong, we have a symbiotic relationship. We help each other out from time to time, but the Guardians are usually faster to solve a crime. We don’t…fill out paperwork, so to speak.”

Lyla drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t even going to ask what he meant by that. It was pretty evident. In fact, she took a step back and simply listened while Steele brought Jackson up to speed.

Jackson listened closely with a furrowed brow. “So, we’re looking for a secret hiding place?”

“Yes,” Kade confirmed. “Not sure it will be helpful since whatever this guy might have stashed here obviously isn’t there anymore, but perhaps we’ll find a clue.”

Jackson ran a hand through his hair and turned around in a slow circle before returning to face everyone. “I know where it is.”

Lyla gasped. She hadn’t expected that answer.

“You had a secret hiding place in your house?” Rock asked.

Jackson winced. “Yeah.”

“How the hell did I not know about it?” Rock’s voice wasn’t angry. It was curious.

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