Page 64 of Matrix

Those words warm my heart. Her confidence in me is a balm for my soul. For the longest time, I never thought I’d heal from the pain Blackstone caused. Now I’m starting to wonder if maybe Daisy’s the cheat code I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I don’t know how we’ll be able to make it work between us, but I’m going to figure it out. Now that I’ve found her, I’m never letting her go.

Chapter 16: Matrix

I hate leaving Daisy behind after the conversation we just had. Something amazing is happening between us. We’re starting to figure out what it is, but we’re not there yet. I hope that over time we’ll figure out whether we belong together. I think we do, but as I told her, she’ll have to reconsider her job. A federal agent and a MC member won’t work in the long run. We’re not on the same side. Until we can work that out, we won’t have a future together.

After I take my seat in the library, I wait for the others to arrive. With all the voodoo stuff in the room, I can’t help but wonder if anyone in the club practices Santería. I’d love to make a Blackstone poppet and stab its beady black eyes with a million pins.

“What the hell was up with all the yelling coming from your room?” Scar slides into the chair beside me. Since no one else has arrived, we’re alone in the room.

“There was a lot going on. Let’s just leave it at that.” I smirk.

“Remember, we’re guests here. If you two don’t keep it down, they’re liable to throw us out. And I wouldn’t blame them one bit.”

“Sorry, pres. My girl’s a screamer.”

“She’s yours now? You claiming her, Matrix?”

“Who?” Reaper walks in and sits across from us.

“Daisy,” Scar says.

“Seriously? The Fed?” Reaper looks at me like I’ve lost my damn mind, and maybe I have. If someone had told me a few weeks ago that Daisy was an FBI agent and we’d end up together in New Orleans trying to find her trafficked sister, I would have laughed my ass off. A lot has gone down recently. Everything changed.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Scar says.

“Uh …”

Claiming a woman is a big deal in a motorcycle club. It makes her off-limits to everyone else, which works for me. But it also makes me even more responsible for her than I already am. If she does anything to fuck over the club, then it’s on me. I want to trust her not to screw us, but as long as she’s still employed by the US government, is it really worth the risk? Fortunately, members from the NOLA chapter start filing into the room, so I don’t have to answer Scar’s question.

“Church is in session.” Vapor slams the gavel. “Talon will be here in a second. He said he needed a minute to wash the stink off him.”

“Since when is he obsessed with being clean?” Reaper asks.

“No idea,” I mutter.

Talon joins us a few seconds later. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Tell us what went down,” Vapor says.

“Lulu’s is fucking crazy. There are girls everywhere.”

“How many?”

“I counted forty-five, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure I got them all. They kept coming in and out of rooms with customers. It was hard to keep track.”

“That sounds about right,” Vapor says.

“The last prospect we sent in also said there are at least forty girls. It checks out,” Fender adds.

“What about Daisy’s sister, Angela?” I ask.

“Found her upstairs in one of the rooms. She was …” Talon’s gaze slides to me before it drops to the table. He studies the table’s woodgrain as if it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.

“Drugged up and beat up, I’d imagine,” Bones says.

“She’s in bad shape. I didn’t get a close look, but I’m pretty sure I saw track marks on her arms. Her eyes were glassy like she’s on something.”

“They keep most of the girls hooked on heroin to keep them compliant. Even if they could escape, they wouldn’t. They’re too addicted to getting their next fix. It becomes an obsession,” Fang says.