Page 78 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

I was going to keep her tied to our bed for a week when she started stalking him—when, not if. My baby girl was too predictable for me not to understand she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from hunting the bastard down, finding out every personal detail about him and his life so she could be assured Abi was safe.

Extreme, given that he was nothing more than her professor, but Samara had sensed something off, and there was no stopping her. The only thing I could do at this point was make sure she didn’t get hurt.

Anya’s irritated inhale scraped over my nerves. “He’s a ghost. When Nova came to me about this man because she felt uneasy, I put out a few inquiries myself. There is zero information on him. He doesn’t even have a birth record.”

“That’s nothing we didn’t already know,” I informed her. “Samara isn’t helpless. If she wanted your help finding out who the man is, she would have called you.”

“I am well versed in how capable my child is, Elias Reid. And how stubborn she is. We share more than a similar face. Her stubbornness rivals my own.” She muttered a curse. “Look, I’m worried about her. About this Vaughn person. If my contacts have no clue who this man is, then there is a reason he’s off the grid. She needs to watch her back.”

Realizing she had a point, I gritted my teeth. “I’ll speak to her about it.”

“That’s why I called you instead of her. You’re probably the only one she will listen to,” she said softly. “You’re good for her.”

My lips lifted in a half smile. “Does that mean you’re gonna give your blessing when I marry her?”

Anya snorted. “Like that would matter.”

My smile dropped. “It does to her.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Really?”

“Your opinion matters to her more than anyone else’s, Anya,” I told her honestly. “She craves your respect as much as your affection.”

There was another silence, this one more intense than the previous ones. After a moment, she murmured, “You have my blessing, Elias.”

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

samara

Two coffees in hand,I walked into work. Abi hadn’t been able to run with me that morning because she was feeling sick. I planned on taking her some soup from Aggie’s later that evening, but her unexpected illness had given me time to put up a few cameras without Elias getting twitchy.

What he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.

I’d just placed a few in the classroom where Professor Vaughn taught. One over the door to his office. And a mere handful around other locations throughout the campus that would allow me to check on my friend.

After I’d double-checked that the feeds were working, I’d stopped by the coffee shop for my usual pick-me-up, as well as a little treat for Jos and Nishia.

Placing the cup of coffee on the fairy’s desk as I passed, I gave her a wink when she mouthed “thank you,” but since she was on the phone, I didn’t pause. Knocking on Jos’s door, I stepped inside with the small bag holding a chocolate-filled croissant.

Her eyes brightened when she saw me. Spotting the treat I was carrying, she licked her lips. “You spoil me!”

“Only because I love you,” I told her honestly as I placed the pastry on her desk. “I’ve got a packed morning, so I will see you later.”

“I love you too, Sammy,” she called, blowing me a kiss.

In my office, I got straight to work, but I had my feed up for Abi’s cameras. I’d placed one outside her dorm room, but so far, it had shown zero activity other than random students walking by. She must have been feeling rougher than she’d told me to skip her run, as well as her first class of the day.

By noon, I still hadn’t seen her leave her room, and I was already adding things to a list of what to take her. It was a Friday, so she would have the weekend to rest up. Soup and over-the-counter meds would hopefully help, but I could call a doctor who did house calls. He worked for the MC, but he also had his own private practice, as well as was on the board at the local hospital.

A hospital my family donated millions to every year.

My day was going fairly well until I received an email from Berkeley. She’d changed her mind. Again. Even though she’d already approved the latest changes. I really didn’t have time for her bullshit, but I also wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of quitting her project. She thought she could mess around, but she had no idea who she was dealing with.

As badly as I wanted to slit her throat, I’d come to the decision that it would be more satisfying to make her lose her shit instead. She wanted to play games with me, I would make her go bankrupt while rubbing it in her face that I had the man she was so desperate for attention from.

It wasn’t quite as satisfying as it would have been if I had bathed in her blood, but I had different priorities at the moment. Plotting how I was going to kill her was secondary to ensuring my friend was safe.

My office door opened with such force that it slammed against the wall. Eyes wide, I glanced up from the blueprints I was working on to find Elias stomping into the room.

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