Page 15

She studied me for a long moment. I could see her weighing options, deciding how much fight to put up. Finally, she nodded toward the window.

"By the lamp post out there. Maybe nineteen, twenty? Skinny kid trying to look hard in one of those wannabe dealer hoodies. You know the type."

I did. Serpent prospects trying to prove themselves. The kind who did stupid shit to impress their handlers.

"How long was he there?"

"I don't know, twenty minutes? I had a client, wasn't exactly timing him." She peeled off the gloves again, movements agitated. "He left when Thor pulled up out front."

Smart kid, running from Thor. But not smart enough to avoid being spotted in the first place.

"Any distinguishing marks? Tattoos?"

"Jesus, what is this, Law and Order?" But she answered anyway. "Shitty neck tattoo. Either a snake or a drunkearthworm. Oh, and he had this weird twitch. Kept touching his pocket like he was checking his phone."

Or a weapon. Or a camera.

I mentally added exterior cameras to my security list. Multiple angles. Motion activated. Maybe some less obvious ones hidden in the decorative metalwork Thor had installed last year.

"You should have called someone."

"And said what? There's a sketchy dude standing on a public sidewalk? They'd laugh me off the phone. There’s literally always someone out there. It’s freaksville round here."

She had a point, but it didn't ease the knot in my gut. The Serpents were probing, testing boundaries. Looking for weaknesses.

Looking at her.

"From now on, you call me," I said. "Sketchy dudes, weird feelings, anything that makes your instincts twitch. I don't care if it seems like nothing."

"Oh good, a bodyguard I didn't ask for." She crossed her arms, hip cocked in defiance. "You got a tracking anklet for me? Maybe we should build a panic room?"

A panic room wasn't a bad idea actually. I filed that away for later.

"I'm trying to keep you safe. It’s my job."

"I've kept myself safe for years without—" She cut herself off, jaw clicking shut.

Without what? Without help? Without someone giving a damn?

I wanted to push, to dig into whatever she'd just swallowed back. But the shuttered look in her eyes warned me off.

"This isn't about your independence," I said instead. "It's about the club protecting its assets."

"Assets." Her laugh held no humor. "That what I am now?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Do I?"

We stared at each other across the cleaned station. The few feet between us might as well have been miles. Or maybe not enough distance at all.

“Look. Let me show you what I have in mind.”

Ispreadmysecurityplansacross her newly cleaned station. Everything laminated and organized. Color-coded by threat level. Emergency contact lists with direct lines to me, Thor, and Duke. I'd spent three hours on these last night, methodically planning every contingency.

Lena's indignation was immediate.

"Absolutely not." She snatched up the top sheet, eyes scanning the protocols. "I'm not doing door checks every hour like some paranoid shut-in."