Page 13

S omething about this girl gets to me. Sure, she’s hot.

And yeah, the first time I saw her, I was struck by her looks.

The second time, I was almost struck by her .

There’s something about her that just intrigues me.

I know she isn’t telling me everything. Not like I asked, of course, but she isn’t offering anything free of charge.

I had Link, the local tech guy for this chapter and a buddy of Grim’s, check the feeds. I had security reinstalled and upgraded within three days of taking over. Link was quick to step in and work with Flint, my guy back home, to make sure we were up and running quickly.

Link falls in the same category as Grim—above the rest of those here, but still not completely out of the doghouse yet. But I’ve got a gut feeling both will pass. Might even make fine officers one day.

We also updated the cameras at all our local spots, not just around the compound, and Link had a field day getting a clear shot of Viv clocking Lucky.

We might have both laughed our asses off for a solid minute as we replayed it a few times.

After our small childish moment—that will definitely happen again, because no doubt Link made a copy of that feed to show the rest of the boys later—he went through the whole day’s footage.

We got a clear view of Viv making her way to Howlers around one and getting into the same limo about twenty minutes later .

Link’s good, but he still needs to work on his skills. He didn’t have a way to hack into the local traffic cameras to figure out where the limo went after the pickup. All we know is it was a rental, and the guy who booked it was Mr. Smith. Original.

We have both the driver and “Mr. Smith” in holding.

Driver’s already crying and said he was just told to drive.

We’re giving him some time to think about things.

When we asked if he heard what was going on in the back, he said no.

But I find it hard to believe the guy had no clue what was happening.

And I don’t think Viv is the type to not make a noise when she’s being assaulted.

Just looking at her makes me think she took a hell of a beating, and I’m not ready to let the driver go just yet.

I’m all for punishing those who don’t speak up when they see and hear things.

A witness who does nothing is just as much to blame as the predator in my book.

As for the guy Viv gave a royal beatdown to, I honestly don’t know if he’ll make it.

He took a pretty hard hit to the ground when he stumbled out of the car, and then Viv didn’t let up when she pounced on him.

Which made me proud as shit when I watched the tape again.

Not that I should be proud. I don’t know her.

I’m just happy a girl fought back. Some of the old ladies back home have been through some shit.

Everyone does what they can not to be a victim.

Seeing them stand up for themselves makes me smile.

Not that I think Viv can’t do it. Girl is a conundrum for sure.

Pink puffy dress. Welder in heels. Mean left and right hook.

She knows what she’s doing, I’ll give her that.

Just don’t know if she’s smart enough to make sure she’s not put in this position again.

Even if it wasn’t the first time. And from her confession, she’s been drugged before, which makes me think this is more routine than random .

I watch her sit up and wobble a second before catching herself, bracing her hands in the lock position as she grips the side of the table. Slowly, she eases one foot down, then the next. If she still had heels on, she’d probably have fallen like a baby deer.

Speaking of shoes, I grab the heels we took off her earlier and hand them over. I expect her to just tuck them under her arm and carry them out, but the girl surprises me even more when she bends, sways, and puts them on.

“Ready?” I can’t help but smile as she glares at me. It’s cute.

She’s cute.

She doesn’t say anything but starts teetering on the heels toward the door.

Rooster and the rest of the boys watch, like me, but at least he holds the door for her when she gets close.

I hum a laugh, nodding to Swiss and Mickey as I follow the pink ball of fluff.

One who can’t walk in heels and probably should go barefoot to prevent any further bruises and other injuries.

Rooster and I close ranks on either side of her as the three of us make it to the front door of the club.

The party is in full swing, and if she walked alone, I don’t know who would be in more trouble: her for getting caught with a half-drunk biker, or the guy who thinks she’s a vamp dressed like a pinata and waiting for someone to open her up.

But we also do it to make sure she doesn’t fall on her face if she passes out or something.

She might look good in heels, but she can’t walk in them.

And I need to know more about what’s going on so I can tell if I’m killing the guys in the basement or just giving them enough of a beatdown to satisfy my demons .

“You know, we have heated floors. Feel free to chuck the heels if it helps. Promise the floor isn’t sticky. Had the prospects clean it this morning with their toothbrushes,” I say as we stay in step with her. With her heels on, she’s the same height as me and Rooster.

“Not outside, you don’t. And toothbrushes? Really?” She gives me a side-eye but keeps walking as I shrug. Maybe so, maybe not. I’ll let her believe what she wants.

“I’m sure we can rustle up a pair of shoes for you. Might even fit,” Rooster says, and I look over at him, leaning forward to catch his smirk.

“You guys are hilarious. Remind me to book a table at your next open mic night.” She takes two steps faster than us and pushes the front door open.

The smirk she throws at me has me raising my eyebrows.

Did she really think it would bug me if she opened the door for herself?

I hate to break it to her, but I’m not the gentlemanly type.

Half the damn club ain’t. We do that shit to get laid or to get information.

If someone can open a door, then they open a door. Ain’t nothing more than that.

We don’t walk much farther before we see Bane standing guard against a woman a head and a half shorter than him. They aren’t talking, but I can tell they’ve already said enough to get them both glaring at each other.

“Summer.” Viv draws her friend’s name out, and it takes a good seven seconds before the other woman looks away from Bane to concentrate on her. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t call. ”

That’s it. Three words. That’s apparently all the understanding Viv needs before she’s nodding and apologizing.

“Sorry, got hung up.”

Summer nods, as if she already figured that out. And since she’s here, she must have. “Figured. Got the kids in the car, and we headed to your place to check the feeds. That’s when I saw you were taken over here.”

“Jesus, woman, I already done told you,” Bane growls. “She wasn’t taken. We brought her here to help.”

“Pretty sure everyone says that when they’re hiding that they’re taking someone. With the way so many get ‘removed’ these days, you don’t really expect me to just believe you, do you?”

Summer’s words have me catching eyes with both Bane and Rooster.

We didn’t know civilians were aware enough about what was going on.

The police sure as hell have no clue. We’ve had no reason to suspect a random stranger would talk about taken women with us when we’re neck-deep in uncovering the trafficking ring.

I also didn’t miss the part about Viv having cameras. It’s smart with her working and living on this street, but that also means she might have caught shit on her system that the club doesn’t want to get out. Like the fact that we chased after a few of our own men a couple of weeks ago.

She might have also caught something on them from way before I showed up.

“Boss, going to check in.” Rooster gives me a hard stare, and while I might not know him as well as I do the boys back home, I get that he came to the same conclusion I did.

You only check in with two people: the president and the tech guy.

Since I’m standing right here, that leaves little doubt that he’s going to Link’s office.

He’s headed back in before I finish nodding, leaving me to deal with this. Looking at the three of them reminds me of a bad joke. A biker, a fairy princess, and a mom gather outside an old hotel…. Well, either a joke or a bad porno.

I take a second, but then my mind goes back to one aspect of the story that no one seemed to notice. “Did you say you brought your kids?”

Summer nods.

“Seriously? It’s two in the morning, woman.” Bane is seething, and I’ve got no idea why. To my knowledge, he doesn’t know anything about this woman other than she showed up looking for her friend.

“What’s it to you? I have the baby monitor. They’re fine.” She lifts her phone, as if that’s meant to explain shit. I honestly feel like I’m lost in whatever comes out of her mouth half the time she talks. I never was one to pick up on chick speak well.

“They in the guest room?” Viv asks.

Summer nods, which Bane sees as an invitation to head to Viv’s place.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Summer is hot on his heels.

“Checking on the kids. Someone should. You ain’t even watching the feed on your phone to know if something is going on.”

“I have an alert if there’s movement,” Summer grumbles as she keeps pace with him .

Ah, okay, baby monitor app. I get it now.

I look at Viv, who just shrugs and starts wobbling across the road. I grab her elbow a second before she twists her ankle, and she rights herself. She shakes me off, or at least tries to.

“You can let go now.” She gives me a dull stare, and I just smile.