Page 22 of Desert Loyalties
It got so bad, I passed out at school one day.
The rumour mill said I was pregnant. The truth? I was just exhausted. Something had to give, and I couldn’t exactly give up eating, so my studies took the hit. Instead of cramming for tests, I started sleeping through the night.
When college application season rolled around, I didn’t get into the Ivies. But I did get one chance, one opportunity to change my fate, but even that wasn’t meant to be.
Yeah. That hit me in whatever strength I had left. I finally accepted that my dreams were dead.
So, I found the cheapest community college I could, as far from home as possible which turned out to be in Nevada. I picked the easiest major, partied my way through it, figured I’d crash and burn my way to some kind of future eventually.
And then I stumbled into the Horsemen’s clubhouse.
Now? Now I don’t know what waits for me as we pull into the compound.
But it’s too late to turn back.
Chapter 9
MANDRAKE
I want to take Skye and run. Just disappear. Let the world burn behind us if it has to. The thought of her in danger makes my skin crawl.
The clubhouse is a mess. Sofas overturned. Bottles shattered. The kitchen’s a clutter of open cabinets and splintered drawers.
“They’re here,” a prospect mutters, jerking his chin toward the church room.
We step in, and the entire brotherhood is there. Ranger’s already at the front, arms folded across his chest. His jaw ticks when he sees us.
“All non-patched, out.” he says. “Not You,” when Skye turns to leave.
The prospects file out, glancing at Skye like she’s radioactive. The door shuts behind them with a heavy finality.
I step forward. “What the fuck happened?”
Ranger doesn’t answer right away. Just lifts his chin and points at Skye. “Ask her.”
Brothers shift, spreading out. A few position themselves between us and the door. My muscles coil. I don’t like this. Feels too much like a cage.
“What the fuck, Ranger?” My voice is sharp. Threatening.
He doesn’t flinch. “DEA came up empty. No drugs, no guns, no anything. But the raid? The warrant? It was based on intel from a confidential informant.”
The word hits the room like a live grenade.
Mickey, our tech guy, steps forward, clutching a tablet. “They did’t put the CI’s name in the system. But I pulled the phone and financial records of the lead agent.”
He taps the screen. “He didn’t make any calls. But he paid for a messenger app. Disappearing messages, encrypted, all that. I traced the signal of the only person he messaged on the other end.”
He pauses. I don’t like where this is going.
Mickey exhales. “The IP came from here. From inside the compound.”
My pulse spikes.
He lifts his gaze to Skye. “More specifically it traced back to your guesthouse.”
She stiffens beside me.
Skye shakes her head, furious. “Of course I didn’t do it. Why the hell would I?”
