Page 121 of Hard Limits

“I don’t know the details, but I have to make a pickup.”

“A pickup? What kind of a pickup?”

A pause. A long pause. “Indi.”

“Is she okay? Is she—”

“As I said, I don’t have the details. Can you put the ironing board away? We’ll be back soon.”

“Fuck the ironing board. I’m coming with you.”

“That’s not part of the plan.”

“Then fuck the plan too.”

“I can’t take you into the middle of an operation.”

“Fine, I’ll drive myself.”

There were two SUVs outside in the driveway, but where were the damn keys? Brax had seen them on the counter earlier, but now they were gone.

“Looking for these?”

Chase held up a key in each hand. That man had been spending too much time with Alexa.

“In that case, I’ll walk.”

Or run. Casa Nova was five miles away, but if Indi was in trouble, Brax wouldn’t leave her to face it alone. And a cab was out of the question.

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Really? How are you going to stop me?”

Chase was a personal assistant. Yes, he might have been an inch taller than Brax, but Brax worked out in the gym at Nyx every day he was home, and he wasn’t in bad shape. But he made the mistake of blinking, and when he opened his eyes, he was face down on the floor with his arm twisted behind his back. Damn, that hurt. Chase had been spending too much time with Jerry as well.

“Haven’t you ever been in love with a woman?” Brax asked, his cheek squashed against the tile.

“No.”

“A man?”

The merest hesitation. “No.”

Brax suspected Chase was lying about that.

“If Alexa was in a bad situation, wouldn’t you want to be there to help?”

“Not if it risked making the situation worse.” But it turned out that Alexa was eavesdropping on the conversation. “She says you have to stay in the car. If you get out, she’ll never fix your shit again—that’s a direct quote. And…she’ll also put a picture of your tattoo on the billboard down the street from Nyx.”

Of course she would. Brax didn’t doubt it.

“I’ll stay in the car, I swear. I just need to see Indi.”

CHAPTER 44

THE ASSISTANT

When Jerry returned to the devil’s playground, I’d expected war to break out. Gunfire, explosions, the works. But instead, there was silence, and perhaps that was worse?

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