Page 124 of Beneath the Stars (Sugarlake 1)

I shake my head because I have no fucking clue. He lights up a cigarette, worn black combat boots crossing as he leans against his bike. He’s got a cell in his hand, and after a second my phone vibrates in my pocket. I grab it, staring at the screen.

Mason: Here.

My head snaps back to the biker. That’s the private investigator?

“What is it?” Goldi asks, peeking at my phone.

“I think that’s the guy, the PI. I’m gonna go talk to him. Want to come?”

She shakes her head. “I need to go hunt down Eli and tell him about Daddy.” She leans up and gives me a kiss. “Find me after?”

I nod, kissing her before she walks away.

We’ve caught Mason’s attention and he swaggers over. The closer he gets, the more his details become clear. He’s a fucking giant. I’m not a small guy by any means, but he towers over me.

“You Chase?”

“Yeah. Mason, I’m guessing?”

“The one and only.” He smirks, taking a drag off his cigarette.

“Great. Thanks for making the trip.”

He gets right to the point. “I don’t have much time. There’s a naked redhead in my bed back home just waiting for me to tear that ass up, so let’s be quick. Who you looking for?”

“My sister. I don’t really know much. Fucking nothing, actually—other than she might be in Arizona.”

He flicks his cigarette and sucks in air through his teeth. “Oh. Nope. I don’t go anywhere near the west coast. Not even Arizona. I’ll see what I can find by searching some records and making some calls, but you’re shit out of luck for anything else.”

“What the fuck do you mean, you don’t ‘go near the west coast?’ I was told by you that you could find anybody.”

He stands up straighter, his posture becoming defensive. His golden eyes flash. “I can. I’m just not going to.”

My nostrils flare and I clench my fists, trying to stay calm. “Price isn’t an issue. I’ll pay you whatever you want. I just… I need to find her. I need to know she’s okay.” I point at him. “You’re a fucking prick, but if you’re the best, you’re the guy I want.”

Mason’s chin lifts as he assesses what I’ve said. After a tense minute, a smile curls his face. “Yeah, alright. I’ll do it. I’ll give you my email and you can send me what I need. We do this on my timeline, you get me?”

“Yeah, I get you,” I say through my teeth.

“Wonderful.” The smile on his face grows. “Pleasure doing business. I’ll be in touch.”

“That’s it? You needed to meet in person for that?” My brows touch my hairline. I have no clue why we couldn’t do this over the phone.

He’s already walking away, but he spins, walking backward. “You can’t tell the soul of a man if you can’t look in his eyes. I like to know who I’m doing business with.”

What the fuck does that even mean?

I watch as he sits on his bike, his arms sliding into his leather jacket, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The engine of his motorcycle purrs, and he salutes me before peeling out of the lot.

50

Alina

I stare at my reflection in the restroom mirror. My body is trembling from the extreme highs and lows I’ve experienced in the past hour. Dang, get it together, Lee.

I believe Chase when he says it wasn’t what it looked like. Maybe that makes me naive, I don’t know. What I do know is that he’s my forever. My soul recognized his from the moment we met. And he’s right. If I don’t trust him, what’s the point? Now that the shock has worn off, I can look at the scene objectively. I see how my mind was lost in memories of the past, skewing my vision.

Daddy is a whole different issue. Every

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