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Suddenly the pain was with me all at once. I clung to my arm and pressed down on the shallow gashes from Sean’s claws. Then Sean was on his feet, looming over me, rage burning in his eyes.

“He won’t get far,” Sean snarled. “We’ll catch him. But until then, you’ll serve my purposes just fine.”

He grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. I struggled, but I couldn’t break his grip. He raised his hand, and pain burst through my skull. The world turned black around me.

28

ACE

Istared into my whiskey.

I’d thought it would make me feel better. That’s why I was here at the clubhouse in the early evening, staring into two fingers of liquor and unable to lift the glass. I didn’t want it. Hell, I didn’t even want to smell it. I shoved the glass aside so roughly it rocked and nearly tipped over.

“Not feeling it?” Striker asked from behind the bar.

“None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t gotten so drunk,” I said. “It was irresponsible.”

Hawk slid into the booth next to me, grabbed the glass, and took a sip. “Hey, even though you’re the alpha, you’re allowed to cut loose a little.”

“That was more than cutting loose.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I wish I knew what the fuck happened.”

“Something’s not adding up,” Striker said. “There’s got to be a way to fix this.”

“Harley will come back,” Hawk said.

“You didn’t see her today. She’s done with Lakeview, Hawk. She’s done with me.” Her face flashed in my mind. I could stillsee the steely determination in her blue eyes when she’d said goodbye.

The clubhouse door creaked open. Tori stepped inside, dressed in a big hoodie and jeans, looking like she’d spent the day nursing a hangover.

“Hey, Tori,” Striker said slowly. He tilted his head at her. They hooked up occasionally, but they weren’t exactly together. It was odd to see Tori around the clubhouse before the party really started. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, um. Well, no.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Ace, can I talk to you? In private?”

I glanced at Striker and Hawk, then nodded at them both. Striker went to the other end of the bar, and Hawk followed. They busied themselves putting together some new dishware Night Shift had provided. I nodded toward the stool next to me, but Tori didn’t sit down. She stuffed her hands into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. It made her look younger than she was. My dragon roused into alertness, curious, and a little suspicious. “What is it?”

“It’s about Blakely.”

I straightened. Just hearing her name sent a flash of anger through me. “What about her?”

“Last night… I know what happened. Or what sort-of happened.”

“What do you mean?”

Tori swallowed hard. “You didn’t sleep with her.”

There was no lie that my dragon could sense. But how could she know that? Tori had been with Striker last night.

I gripped the edge of the bar and tried to contain my anger, even as smoke burned in my throat. “Explain.”

“Me and Blakely set it up.” She stared down at her feet, and the words came out in a rush. “She’s been staying with me, and she’s been really cut up and hurt about everything thathappened. I felt bad for her. So when she asked me to come to the party last night to see how you were doing, I agreed. I told here you were kind of drunk and sad, and she had this idea. She decided she’d come to the clubhouse, and when you were asleep, she’d sneak into your bed, and then I’d text Harley and tell her to come over.”

The smoke burned hotter. I gripped the bar’s edge so hard it cracked under my fingers.

“Blakely wanted it to look like you’d called her,” Tori said. “She said you needed to be, um, reminded… of what you two had. And that this whole thing with Harley wasn’t real.”

“Tori.”

She looked up. Something on my face made her gasp, and she took a shaky step back.