Page 13 of Beast

“It did.I don’t understand.”

“Your scumbag of an ex had this number, did he?”

She nodded.“Yeah, but that wasn’t him on the call display.I wouldn’t have answered if it was.”

“Tech guys can spoof a call to make it look like it came from somewhere else.Scammers do it all the time.Anything on this phone you can’t afford to lose?Like your father’s number?Mother?Friends?”

Piper chewed nervously on her bottom lip.“Just a few of the contacts.My father.My mom.Work.That kind of thing.”

“You okay with me pulling your contact list, and destroying the phone?”

“You can do that?”

“Not me, but Shadow can.He’s the club’s tech expert.I’m going to call him on your phone.He can grab your contact list, then delete everything.Once he’s done, we’re going to smash this all to hell.We’ll get you a new phone when we stop for clothes.You can tell him which contacts you want, and he’ll turf the rest.If Shadow can access phone data just by being connected, chances are this Drake asshole has someone who can too.Let’s hope that call wasn’t long enough for him to pinpoint our location.”

I didn’t like the way that call had put the fear back on her face.I made a quick call to Shadow and explained what was going on.He instructed me to pull the SIM card out and burn it before I trashed the phone.Overkill, but I liked it.

Piper sat quietly until Shadow completed his work, and I killed the call.“I’m sorry.”

I frowned at her.“For what?”

“I knew Drake had that number, and I meant to tell you and get rid of the phone but then I just forgot.”

I captured her hand and held it in both of mine.I detested the fact that I could now feel it shaking.“You don’t have to apologize to me.I am here to keep you safe.That’s my job, and even if it wasn’t, I would kill any asshole who tried to harm you.Got that?”

She nodded silently.

“Good.Then let’s get out of here.”

I threw some bills on the table, making sure to leave a good tip but not a great one.No reason to remember us after we were gone.I shrugged into my cut and led the way outside.

Standing beside my bike, I pulled the SIM card out and casually dropped Piper’s cell on the ground, crushing it with the heel of my boot.Placing the SIM on top of a metal post, I flamed it with a lighter and watched it shrink and melt under the heat.Satisfied there was no way to revive either, I picked up the shattered remains of the phone and used a shard of the plastic casing to scoop up the smoldering drop that was all that remained of the SIM card.

Seeing the glimmer of a smile on Piper’s face as I tossed the useless lot in the trash can on the sidewalk made it all the more satisfying.

I slung a leg over the bike and waited for Piper to climb behind me.I had planned a straight run back to Georgia but on the off chance someone managed to tag our location with that call, I decided to detour and take a more Northern route.It would add a couple of hours to the trip, but it had the plus of being on less traveled roads.If anyone was following us, they’d be easier to spot.

After that nasty start, the day got better.The sun shone down on us, and the road was high and dry.I spotted a bargain store in a mid-sized town in New Mexico in the early afternoon and pulled into the parking lot.Piper slid off the back of my bike and stretched.

“You okay?”I knew she’d be stiff.She wasn’t used to spending hours at a time riding on the back of a bike.

“Just sore.I’ll be okay.It felt so good, with the wind blowing past and all.”She bent down to touch her toes and winced.

“I wanted to put as much distance as possible between us and where we ditched the phone.”I frowned.“From now on we’ll stop from time to time to stretch our legs.”I could feel the effects of the long ride, but I’d learned to ignore minor aches and pains a long time ago.Being an ex-SEAL gave me an advantage in that area.

“There must be a restroom in there, right?”Piper gazed at the bargain store.

“Let’s go find out.”I held out my hand and she placed hers in it.

“You have a thing about holding hands, don’t you?”

I shrugged.“Probably.Started when the twins were little.If I made them hold my hands, I was less likely to lose them in a crowd.Some people put harnesses on their kids.Some of us just hang on to them.I guess it became a habit.”I gave her hand a little squeeze.“Don’t want to lose you.”

“Not a lot of chance of that.”She tilted her head.“Do you think Drake managed to trace that phone call?”

“I’m going to give Shadow a quick call and see.We can pick up a new phone for you while we’re here.”I held the door open for her.

“Won’t he be able to trace your phone?If he knows I’m with you?”

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