Page 85 of Mystic's Sunrise

Sly leaned forward, smirking. “Then why haven’t we lit their clubhouse up yet?”

I turned my head slow, like a goddamn predator. “Because we don’t make a move until we know exactly where she is. You burn the whole house down without checking the basement, you risk killing the one thing you want most.”

Sly swallowed that smirk.

I pulled a crumpled photo from my cut and slapped it on the table to remind them. Zeynep, from last summer. Sitting onmy bike, her smile small but real. My hoodie drowning her tiny frame.

“She’s still close. That’s how Lucy operates—she doesn’t run far. She plays clever. Tricks people into thinking she’s weak. She’s hiding Zeynep.”

Torch grunted. “Could’ve moved her out of state already. The Devils ain’t stupid.”

“No, they’re not.” I stared down at the photo. “But they’re soft. That club’s full of men who believe in saving women, they’re weak—easy targets. That’s where I think she is—hidden behind their code.”

Sly scratched his jaw. “You want recon? We got eyes on the clubhouse, but nothing’s moved in days.”

“Eyes aren’t enough,” I snapped. “We need ears too. Word is, they’ve got new faces drifting in and out lately. I want names. I want patterns. I want the waitress at their shitty bar who knows how they take their fucking coffee.”

Torch nodded. “I can call in Brick. He knows how to get information, owes us.”

“Good. You tell Brick he’ll be rewarded if he comes through.”

I leaned forward, tapping the edge of the photo.

“They’ve got her. Or they did. But if they moved her, I need to know so we can blow that clubhouse to dust.

The air in the room turned thick.

“If she gave them any intel on us… if she opened her mouth…”

Torch hesitated. “What then?”

I looked up, voice low, dangerous. “Then I remind her who owns her voice.”

Silence.

“Find her,” I said, straightening. “I don’t care how long it takes. You dig through every back alley, every motel. You watchThe Devil’s House like it’s the only goddamn whore left on earth.”

I paused at the door, glancing back at the photo.

“They think she’s safe.” My jaw clenched. “But no one’s safe from me. Not forever.”

***

THE KNOCK CAMEhard. Sharp. Like a warning shot instead of a request.

I didn’t like being interrupted, not when my head was full of Zeynep’s fucking name, my fists itching to break something, my gut burning with the need to move. Hunt. Burn. Kill. I’d been staring at that damn photo of her for hours, her soft eyes taunting me like a ghost I couldn’t put in the ground.

But I wasn’t the kind of man to ignore opportunity when it kicked in my door. And Brick had brought me an opportunity.

“Get in here,” I barked.

The door creaked open and in strutted a woman like she owned the goddamn floor. Platinum blonde hair, dress that covered nothing. Her eyes raking over me slowly as she gave me a smile that screamed fuck me.

Fucking patch chaser.

I didn’t stand. She didn’t mean shit to me. Just leaned back in my chair and let my whiskey swirl, studying her like a weapon I hadn’t decided how to use yet. Brick said she had information I wanted to hear, he better be right and not wasting my time.

“Who are you?”