Page 43 of Queen of Blades

“I got her, Snoopy,” Paul said flatly. “You have my word that nothing will happen to her.”

The slew of angry expletives and threats was loud against Paul’s ear. Harper could hear them without issue, but he didn’t flinch. He stood, stone-faced, stroking her hair, listening.

It took a solid minute before the line went silent.

“Are you done?” Paul asked.

He paused, staring out the window.

“Meet me at the place where you did me a favor at eight.”

He took the phone away from his ear and tapped the screen to end the call. There was no way her father had a chance to respond to his demand.

Harper drew her brows together and looked up at him. “What was that?”

Paul kissed the top of her head and sighed. “Any father worth his salt wouldn’t take the word of his kidnapped daughter or the person holding her that she was safe.”

Pursing her lips, she nodded. He had a point.

“I figured I could take you to see him briefly. I’ll get a feel for what he knows, and maybe we can work together on a plan to put an end to this ridiculousness.” From the look on his face, the words were sour on his tongue.

She lifted her brows in surprise. “You’d work with the Riders?”

From what she could tell, Paul despised her father’s motorcycle club. This was completely out of character.

He swallowed hard and lifted his chin. “I’ll do anything to keep you alive.”

23

Paul

Scrubbinghishair,Paulwalked out of the bedroom as Harper turned on the shower again. He really needed to get in there, and while the idea of joining her tickled his fancy, he couldn’t. Shit had to get done.

Namely, they needed to eat something. It’d been too long. They had to get a solid meal in their bellies before they did anything else. Once he got her eating, he could take a shower. Then they’d head off to the old body shop to meet up with Snoopy.

That useless junkie snake in the grass. He didn’t deserve Harper. She should have a father who actually wanted what was best for her, not that friggin’ loser who had pissed off every syndicate from Oklahoma to Georgia and back again.

Frowning, he grabbed the two plates of cold grilled cheese and tossed them into the garbage. The soup could be reheated. He dumped their bowls back into the pot and flicked on the flame, then turned the burner on medium heat for the pan he’d left before. Peering over at the salad, he shrugged. It may not be the best, but it was still food.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed his brother while getting supplies out of the refrigerator. As he pulled four slices of bread from the package, the ringing ended.

“Hello?”

“I need backup for eight tonight,” he said, forgoing any greeting.

“At the house?” Eddie asked, clearly confused.

Paul tucked the phone against his shoulder as he buttered some bread. “No. Oberlin Body Shop.”

“Snoopy’s place?”

“Yeah.” The bread sizzled as he dropped it into the pan. “I’m taking Harper there so her dad can confirm she’s okay.”

“That’s a bad idea if I ever heard one.” Eddie wasn’t one to mince words. He got straight to the point.

Paul sighed as he added cheese to the bread. “Probably, but to be fair, I haven’t had a good one yet. I’m hoping he may be able to help figure out who’s behind the bounty.”

Eddie snickered. “You thinkthat guyknows?”

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