Page 96 of Seduction

I take my seat next to him, joining the others as they laugh, the mood lightening. The man’s a genius. I don’t know how he does it, but he always pulls through on the technological side of things. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have caught the people responsible for what happened to Raven, and then later, Gage. Smiling, Tek momentarily looks up from his computer screen.

“Not sure how your wife would feel about that, boss.”

“You find these fuckers, I’m pretty sure she’ll wanna kiss you, too.”

“ThatI wouldn’t be adverse to.”

“Watch it, motherfucker.” The threat is accompanied by a chuckle. “You need to find your own woman.”

“Shit,” Venom says. “If that computer could suck his dick, he probably wouldn’t leave his room.”

Tek smirks.

“Wait, it can’t, can it?”

He flips Venom the bird, hoisting a black case onto the table and removing gloves, along with various equipment.

“Okay, fuckers.” Gage refocuses the group. “Until we figure this shit out, we need to watch our backs. Charger, you’re glued to Raven.”

“Got it, Prez.”

“I assume you got Ellen and Mikey?” He turns to me.

“Yeah. They’re good.”

“What about work?”

“I gave notice. I’m here, brother,” I reassure him.

He nods in understanding, then gives Booker his attention. “You’re on Nita. Crow, Motor, bring your old ladies in. I want everyone here, and I need all those changes and upgrades done within twenty-four hours. I want this place turned into a fucking fort.”

Various words of agreement sound around the table.

“Hate to do it, but we’ll have to cancel the annual Halloween fair,” Gage continues. “Raven’s gonna be pissed since she missed it last year, but I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to those kids because of us.”

“True. We’ll just have to double up on Christmas.”

He nods, agreeing with me. “I’ll get some of the guys from 12 Gauge for extra security. Razor, I need stock of the armory. I’m going to give Jacksonville and South Carolina a call and put them on alert. If we need more bodies, I’m sure Ace and the Snakes will help out. I hate to bring them in, but they can be here quicker than any of our other chapters.”

“I agree,” I give my support.

“These fuckers want to battle, then I’ll give them a motherfucking war.”

CHAPTER 16

***Ellen***

I check the time when I hear Jon’s voice—2:00 a.m. I’d forgotten about this part, the waiting and worrying. But at least he’s home. That’s all that matters. I can’t make out what he’s saying, but it sounds like he’s giving Tyler instructions. When he finally makes it to the bedroom, he pauses, observing me from the doorway. I mute the TV.

“Hi.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Everything okay?”

He strolls in, perching on the edge of the bed. I can see that something’s bothering him, but he smiles through his unease.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he replies, gently tracing the neckline of my tank top. The soft touch sends a thrilling chill through my body.