Page 183 of Dark Endures

“You need to rest.”

“Then I’ll rest in the park or the bakery. I’m not lying in bed anymore. It’s been two days. Barb said I’ll be fine as long as I don’t exert myself. And before you say maybe we should have a talk, we’ve done nothing but talk for the last two days. I need fresh air and something frivolous.”

There isn’t anything more to talk about. I need to get a ring, and she needs to say yes.

Mindy leans forward and places a hand on my chest. “Unless you want to rethink that no sex before marriage thing again.”

I’ve rethought it a million times already. “Nope.”

She gives me a peck on the lips and pulls back. “I’m going for a walk. And you're not going to follow me.”

“Fine.” I might not, but Canyon definitely will be. “I’ll go make sure The Street hasn’t burned down in my absence.”

“We’ll meet back for dinner and a game.” Mindy stands up.

“Dinner and a game it is.” And will always be.

Hmmm. What kind of engagement ring does Mindy want? Maybe I’ll call one of her friends.

Right now, I need to find out if Rudy and Knuckles are waiting in my dungeon.

***

Jacko sits at my desk while half a dozen brothers just lounge around.

“Did you find them?”

Jacko jumps up. “No. We’ve alerted everyone and offered a reward to encourage some of the baser elements out there to turn them in. But there’s no word yet.”

Well, that is more than a little bit frustrating.

“Does this mean Mindy is feeling up to letting you come back to work?”

She insists on it. “Yeah. Barb cleared her.”

“Good. Because if I had to do any more paperwork, I might lose my mind.” Jacko grins.

He would have done it another month without a complaint. “Anything I should know about?”

“The kid and Sasha Kamenev have become friends.”

That’s a scary thought.

“There’s been complete radio silence from the Linckesters. Even Plant has been playing nice.”

We need way more intel on Plant. Ethan might be sure that Filmore isn’t involved, but I’m not. Vex is sure there was someone smart running a larger ring than what it seems like. Who is bigger and stronger than the Linckesters to operate under the radar trafficking women for years? “Good. I’ll handle them later.”

“There was one odd thing.”

Odd things mean trouble. “What?”

“Colton left the day we rescued Mindy. He just walked off The Street with nothing but the clothes on his back. He didn’t tell anyone and hasn’t reached out since.”

“He didn’t say anything?” That doesn’t sound like Colton.

“Nothing.”

“Did anyone check his apartment to see if he left a note or anything?”

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