Page 107 of High Stakes

Owen pulls out his phone and puts it to his ear.

“Tobias, where are you?”

My heart slows when I hear his voice come through Owen’s speaker.

“Are you safe?”

I can’t hear his responses, I just know it’s him, and judging by Owen’s relieved expression, he’s safe.

“Listen, something weird happened. Why don’t you cut your adventure short and join me and Bellamy at the club and I’ll fill you in.”

“Wait!”

He looks at me. “What is it, love?”

“Someone is clearly watching this space. What if it was a trap to draw Tobias here.”

Owen frowns for a minute. “That’s a good point. Never mind, Tobias. I’ll fill you in after we render this site safe. We may have to shut down for the night, I’m not sure. Stay safe and I’ll keep you updated.”

I hold my hand out for the phone and Owen’s features soften. “Bellamy wants to talk to you, mate.”

“Toby?” I hate how scared my voice sounds right now.

“Hey, little vixen,” his deep voice is soothing, and it instantly calms me. “What’s wrong?”

“Owen will fill you in when he thinks it’s safe. I’m just…” My voice cracks and I pause to gather my composure. “I’m so glad you’re OK. Please stay that way.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re getting attached to me,” he teases.

Even though he can’t see me, I smile at the phone. “I really am. Please come home tonight. I have something I need to tell you in person.”

He hums. “I wouldn’t give up the chance to talk with you or sleep in your bed, sweet girl. Now hand the phone back to Owen and be a good girl tonight. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, Sir,” I whisper before I push the phone back into Owen’s hand.

Owen slips out of the booth with the phone to his ear and stands a few feet away, talking to Tobias in hushed tones. A minute later, he tucks the phone away and joins me again.

Matteo has moved to the other end of the bar and is on the phone himself, but he approaches us again when he sees that we’re done with our phone call.

“That was Luke. He found the woman you described and is interrogating her now. She’s a new member. Helena Asher. Has only been on the roster a couple of weeks. We did a solid background check, and she passed with flying colors, but we’re going to have to dig deeper into her if her story doesn’t check out.”

Owen nods. “I’ll do that even if it does check out. I need to go through our security footage from the parking lot.”

The club doesn’t have cameras inside, but we do have almost every inch of the parking lot covered, so if the woman is telling the truth we’ll be able to see who she was talking to.

Owen holds out his hand for me. “Sorry this is ruining our night, love. But Tobias is safe. Don’t stress about that. And Lorenzo is dead, so don’t think about that either.”

I shake my head. “It’s hard not to worry. You’re sure he’s dead?”

He closes his eyes for a moment, then looks at me, putting his hand at the base of my neck, squeezing tight. “Baby, I put the first bullet in his head myself.”

First bullet? Does that mean there was a second that Tobias fired? I keep the questions to myself. The admission shocks me. I know Owen is capable of violence, but it’s rare that he talks about it with me. Honestly, I prefer to keep it that way.

“Want to come sit with me while I dig through security footage?”

“Yes, please.”

“If you get bored, Zara and Skylar are here. They’re safe for you to hang out with.”

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