Page 22 of Talon

“I think she’s got one, but it’s not me. After waiting around for a few hours, I was about to leave when a man showed up. I almost had him, but he got away.”

“Bastard,” Matrix mutters.

“He left a threatening note.” As the gravity of the situation dawns on the members’faces, I pull the note out of my pocket. Matrix slides it across the table to get a better look.“We need to figure out who’s doing this and put a stop to it.”

“Did you ask her about ex-boyfriends? Anyone who would want to hurt her?” Scar asks.

“Yeah, but she can’t think of any.”

“Maybe you haven’t asked her the right questions,” Nitro says.

“I didn’t interrogate her, but we went over possible suspects, and nothing seemed to fit. This guy’s organized. He’s cunning. Somehow, he followed the girls to Sienna’s house without me noticing.”

“If he’s been stalking her for a while, he probably already knew where Jessica would go if she was in trouble,” Matrix says.

“That’s what I figured, too,” I say.

“We’ve got two clues to work with,” Scar says.“The doll and the note.”

“Did you call the cops?” Reaper asks.

“They’d just take the evidence and lock it up. I talked her out of it so we could keep it.”

“Good. What else is going on with her?” Scar asks.

“Lots of phone calls where no one responds after she picks up. Feeling like she’s being watched. Typical stalker shit.”

“But she didn’t do anything about it?” Nitro asks.

“Like what?” A defensive note enters my tone. I don’t know why I want to protect her so much, but I do. There’s just something about her that makes me want to keep her safe from everything and everyone. Nitro’s not implying anything bad. He’s just asking questions, but it’s pissing me off anyway.“You know the cops won’t do shit about stalkers. They can’t do anything until someone gets attacked.”

“Matrix, get Bones from the NOLA chapter on video conference. We need his expertise,” Scar commands.

“Can we bring Jessica in here, too?” I ask, knowing she deserves to be involved in this discussion.

“Into Church?” Reaper raises a brow.

“Absolutely not. She’s not a member, and this is club business now,” Scar says.“The minute you brought Reaper into this, it became our problem. We’re going to handle it, but she doesn’t need to be here for this discussion. We don’t let outsiders into our meetings, especially when other chapters are involved.”

“But she’s at the center of all this. She might be able to help us piece things together. She deserves to know what’s being said about her case,” I argue, frustration rising in my chest.

Matrix announces,“Bones is ready.”

Bones appears on the screen, his Louisiana drawl instantly recognizable.“Let the girl come in. She might figure out who’s stalking her once she hears what I have to say. We won’t bring up anything else while she’s in the room.”

“I guess that would work,” Scar says.

“Back in a minute.” I push back from the chair.

“How are things in NOLA?” Scar asks Bones as I leave the room.

“Well, we’ve got a new problem down here …”

As I walk down the hall, I miss the end of what he’s saying. I’ll have to ask Scar about it later. The NOLA chapter’s been up to their eyeballs in bullshit recently. We’re always ready to lend a hand if they need it, but so far, they haven’t asked.

The door to Jessica’s room is slightly ajar. She’s sitting on the bed, twisting a strand of her honey-blonde hair around her finger. A slight frown furrows her brow.

“Jess?” I call softly, knocking lightly on the doorframe. She jolts. Surprise and curiosity flicker across her gorgeous face.