Page 46 of Flame's Fight

“I could have said no.” I admit. “I should have said no simply because I didn’t want to meet with him. But I felt like I had to. I didn’t want to alienate him. Now I wish I had rejected him. Never again. If someone asks me to have dinner or coffee and I don’t want to go, I won’t go. Screw their feelings.”

Gina laughs. “Just tell yourself that you’re doing them a favor by saying no. After all, you’re just saving them from Flame’s wrath.”

I chuckle. “Good point.”

“Speaking of Flame, how is he doing?”

“Great. He’s out of the wheelchair and using a cane. We dropped off the wheelchair he ‘borrowed’ earlier. He’s been working with Tanya doing physical therapy. She’s confident that he’ll be back to normal soon.”

“That’s a relief. Now just tell him to stay away from bullets.” I snort as she continues. “But seriously, I’d be careful of Billings. That guy is not on your side. You can tell he’s biased. Is there anyway to get someone else to work the case against Tony?”

“I don’t know. I recorded the interview I had with him and sent it to Evie. She’s a lawyer who works with the club. Plus, Byte was looking into Tony’s background, see if there’s anything in his past that hints at him doing anything like this before. The guys said he handled this like a pro. Not like someone who was acting on the spur of the moment.”

“That’s a good point.” Gina says as someone knocks on my door.

“Hold on, there’s someone at the door.” I take the phone and look through the peephole. My blood runs cold when I see the face on the other side. “Fuck, Gina. He’s here.” I whisper as I back away.

“Who?”

“Tony. He’s outside my door. Fuck, what am I going to do?” I scream when I hear something slam into the door. “I think he’s trying to break in.”

“I’m calling the police.” She says. “Stay on the line.”

“No, call Flame. Can you call Flame first?” I beg her as I scan my apartment for a place to hide.

“Good idea.”

I hear her moving on the other end, but I have to focus on my predicament. Another slam against the door and this time I hear wood cracking. Fuck, I have very little time. I consider my options and make a move that I hope doesn’t get me killed, or worse.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: FLAME

I hate having Brooke out of my sight. As soon as we drove from her apartment, I felt like I had made the wrong decision. I fight my need to have Axel turn the SUV around and take me back to her apartment. Luckily, Tanya’s apartment isn’t too far away. Once we pull up in front, I realize how important it was to get Tanya out of her apartment and into Brooke’s as soon as possible.

The building is small, with only nine apartments located around an open courtyard. It was probably once a charming place, but neglect has made it dingy and unwelcoming. The stucco’s worn and stained, likely from water damage or something worse. I hear Ghost curse when she unlocks the door and lets us into her tiny space.

“You need a better lock than this.” He tells her. “Why didn’t Deion replace it?”

Tanya looks at him and opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. She shrugs. “I never thought about it.”

“He should have!” Ghost explodes. He got the name Ghost because of a silent attack he made against a houseful of human traffickers and kidnappers. But of all of us, he’s also the quietest. He rarely raises his voice unless he’s upset. He’s obviously upset.

“I’m moving out.” Tanya says, placing a calming hand on his arm. “Remember? It doesn’t matter now. And I promise, I’ll let you put on all the locks you want on the door in my next place.”

Ghost glares at her, but he can’t maintain his anger. He gives her a nod before kissing her temple. “I’ll hold you to that. You’ll need at least fifteen minutes to unlock all the locks I put on your next door.”

She rolls her eyes but chuckles as she moves through the space. “Brooke said she has furniture, right?” She asks me. “She said she had a bed in the room I’m using. Do I need to bring a dresser or a nightstand?”

“She has a dresser and two nightstands. There’s also a pretty good size closet.” I tell her.

“Why don’t we leave your furniture in here tonight and just take your personal items over to Brooke’s? We can put the rest of your furniture into a storage unit at Styx. The prospects can do that tomorrow.” Ghost suggests.

“You don’t need pots, pans, dishes, or anything like that.” I tell her. “But you can probably take food. Want us to pack it up?”

Tanya nods. “That would be great. There’s also alcohol in the cupboards. We should definitely take that.” She says with a grin before moving down the hall to her bedroom.

Axel, who brought in a few boxes, moves to the kitchen and opens the cupboards until he finds the alcohol. I hear him loading the glass bottles as I make my way to Tanya’s bedroom. She has two roller suitcases packed within minutes. I take one and roll it out to the SUV. While I’m out there, I glance around the neighborhood. When I see the black Mercedes parked across the street, I move toward it. I know Deion and his men drive similar vehicles. As soon as I step into the street, the car pulls away and takes off. Fuck.

Pulling out my phone, I send a text to Ghost, letting him know we might have trouble. I tell him I’ll stay outside and keep watch, to let me know if he needs me back inside. Leaning against the driver’s side door of the SUV, I watch both sides of the street to see if the vehicle returns.

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