Page 86 of Thor

He didn't respond to my greeting. Didn't soften his posture. He simply pushed himself off the truck and said, "Get in," nodding toward the passenger door.

No term of endearment. No "sweetheart" or "little one." Just the command, delivered in that controlled voice that made the hair on my arms stand up.

I obeyed, climbing into the massive truck that always made me feel small. Usually, that feeling was comforting. Today it felt like a judgment.

Thor slid into the driver's seat but didn't put the truck in gear. He sat there, hands gripping the steering wheel, knuckles turning white with the pressure. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

I couldn't bear it. "Thor, please—"

"I knew something wasn’t right. I was worried about you. I called the hospital," he said, his voice dangerously soft, still staring straight ahead through the windshield. "No appointment with Dr. Patel today. Never was."

My stomach dropped. Of course he'd checked. Thor left nothing to chance, especially when it involved people he cared about.

"Then I drove past the library." His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping beneath his skin. "Funny thing—you weren't there either."

I swallowed hard, tears threatening to spill. The lie seemed so stupid now, so pointless. "Thor, I can explain—"

"Then explain." He cut me off, his voice glacial as he finally turned to face me. "Explain why you lied to my face."

His eyes burned into mine, not with passion but with hurt wrapped in anger. This close, I could see the slight shake in his hands—not fear, but rage so tightly controlled it needed some physical outlet.

In that moment, the dam broke. Words poured out of me like water through a breach, desperate and chaotic.

"I got a text last night. I checked it this morning. It was anonymous. It had pictures of us, Thor. In your cabin. Pictures of me in Little space. Of you . . . of us together." My voice cracked. "Private things. Things nobody should have seen."

Thor's expression didn't change, but a new tension entered his body. His hands squeezed the steering wheel harder.

"They said they wanted information about the Kings. Financial records. Business holdings. Bank accounts. Everything I knew." I was trembling now, the words tumbling out faster than I could control them. "They had to have been staking out your sanctuary, Thor."

His jaw tightened at the violation of his private space, the muscle ticking visibly beneath his skin.

"They said they'd release everything to my firm if I didn't meet with their representative. Today. Alone." I wiped at tears I hadn't realized were falling. "I couldn't tell you. I was afraid—"

"Afraid of what?" Thor's voice was barely audible, controlled fury vibrating beneath each word.

"Of what you'd do," I whispered. "Of violence. Of starting a war between the clubs. Of seeing you hurt because of me."

"So you lied. Went alone to meet an Iron Serpent." His eyes narrowed. "How did you know they were Serpents?"

"I didn't. Not until just now." I reached into my purse with shaking hands, pulling out the cheap burner phone. "His name is Viper. He gave me this. Said I have to upload the Kings' financial records by tomorrow night or the photos go to every partner at Prestige."

Thor took the phone, turning it over in his massive hands, examining it with the careful attention he gave to potential threats. His expression was impossible to read now—a mask of focused control that hid whatever emotional storm raged beneath.

"He knew things, Thor. About us. About your cabin. About the books we went through at King's Tavern last week." I shuddered, remembering. "They've been watching us. Following us."

Thor remained silent, processing every word, his tactical mind no doubt already mapping threats, assessing damage, planning responses.

"I was going to tell you the moment I got back," I finished, my voice raw. "I swear, Thor. I just wanted to understand what we were dealing with first. I was texting you when you called. I was asking to meet, to tell you everything."

Thor set the burner phone carefully on the dashboard. When he finally spoke, his voice had changed—still controlled, but now with an edge of something infinitely more dangerous than just anger.

"You lied to me. You went alone to meet an Iron Serpent." He paused, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "Do you have any idea—" Another pause, as if he couldn't even find the words. "You could have been killed, Mandy. Or worse."

"I thought I could handle it," I said weakly.

"Handle it?" The words exploded from him, the first crack in his control. "This is the Iron Serpents, Mandy. Not some fucking corporate takeover. These men kill people. They torture people. They make people disappear."

His fist came down on the steering wheel, the sudden violence making me jump.

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