Page 8 of Deceiver

I laugh, pulling back. “Well, I’m glad to be of service.”

She winks at me. “I have to get back. I’ll call you when I find out when the next party is. Until then, I think you need to contact your friend for protection and lay low. Western is going to help us, even if I have to make him.”

I love how confident she is, but it’s clear she has no idea just how powerful that club is.

I hug her once more and then leave the club, going to my car quickly and driving back to Leo’s house. I’m still not sure it’s a good idea to go to mine, considering just how dangerous this situation really is. Pulling up into the drive, I pull out my phone and dial Nathan while glancing around to make sure nobody is waiting to jump out at me. When I’m certain they’re not, I rush inside just as Nathan answers his phone.

“I’ve been wondering when you would call.”

“You saw it then,” I exhale, closing the door and locking it before setting the alarm.

Leo showed me all of it, making sure to remind me three times to ensure the alarm is set so I know if someone is trying to get in.

“I think everyone saw it. That was a ballsy move, Bonnie.”

I explain the situation to him, and when I’m done, he exhales. “Shit. That’s bad.”

“It’s really bad. I’m scared, Nathan. A man like Bill Whart isn’t going to just sit back and let this slide. He is going to want revenge, and he’s going to come looking for it.”

“He isn’t the one you should be worried about. It’s all of them, it’s every shady scumbag that works for whoever it is that is running this. Bill is a piece in a rather large and deadly puzzle.”

“Well, now I feel better,” I mutter.

“I’m not trying to scare you, Bonnie, but this isn’t a good situation. What do you need from me?”

“I have nobody. I can’t go to the police here because I honestly don’t know that they’re not going to hurt me, too. Everyone is in on it. I need protection, someone to be with me until I can figure this out.”

“Not all cops in that town are shady, only a small handful. I’ve got friends down there, I’ll contact one of them to come and talk to you.”

“What if they’re not safe ...?”

“I promise you, they are. You can trust me. I’ll be in contact. Until then, you need to lie low, this is a very bad situation for you. You should have picked another case.”

Bit late for that now.

“Maybe, but at the same time, those men are monsters, and Western spent a long time in prison because of it. Not to mention the foster children who continue to go missing. They’re running an operation that is dangerous and risking the lives of children. I’m not sorry that I raised awareness to that, because even if the article is removed, it’s in peoples’ minds now, and that’s what I want.”

Nathan makes a displeased noise. “It’s not worth the risk to your life.”

“There is nothing I can do about it now.”

“No, you’re right, there isn’t. Sit tight, I’ll be in contact.”

I hang up and sit on the sofa, staring down at my phone, desperately praying that it’ll just magically ring and Western will decide he’s ready to talk to me.

Come on, Western.

I just need five minutes.

Five. Damned. Minutes.

~*~*~*~*~

“LAY DOWN,” LUNA HISSESas we near the clubhouse entrance. “Like, flat on the ground.”

“I’m trying,” I grunt, trying to squish myself down in her ridiculously tiny car. My limbs are twisted, and, my word, my back hurts. It’s not as easy as it looks.

“I can see your head!”

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