Page 82 of Three

“You took a video. Take a shot of the guns, and send it to me. I’ll forward it to Hector. If they were local, he knows about them, and maybe they can lead us to Malcom.”

He does it. “You’ve never been hotter, Grizzly,” he moans. “Talk P.I. to me.”

I leave my chair and stamp a kiss on his forehead. “You’re ridiculous, Red.”

“And extra special, don’t forget the special part!”

I get another text. “Hector sent me an address. Let’s go check it out.”

“Serena, get the address from Hunter’s phone and start the usual full inspection.”

“Starting now. And ready to give you directions.”

“Her voice, where did you get it?” I ask him as we get ready.

A small closed-mouth smile touches his lips, and when he starts talking, his voice has a hint of melancholy in it. “When I was around thirteen, I used to sneak out and go to this old empty diner with red booths, dim lights, and a jukebox filled with too many songs. My foster family was—is to this day—a lot, and I felt at times…unprepared and in need of some quiet. There was this waitress there. She was in her thirties and had this light, calm voice. She was always nice to me, to all of the very few customers. I wasn’t surprised when, a year later, she told me the diner was going to close down. I heard her saying she wanted to move to L.A. but didn’t have enough money, so I proposed that she give me her voice. And for the next six months, she recorded it for me.”

I can relate with his need of peace and quiet. Raising three teens is hard and noisy as fuck. But I can’t imagine my life without their daily chaos anymore.

“Why did you name the AI Serena?”

“My brothers think that her name is an acronym, like Sentient Entity Remarkably Exploring Novel Approaches, or Spectacularly Entertaining Robot Employing Neurological Algorithms. Or?—”

“I got it, Red, you’re fucking smart. What’s the truth then?”

He smirks. “It simply means serene.”

“Because that was what you got from that diner. Serenity.” Hearing her voice gives him back that feeling.

“Yeah.” The triple-dimple smile is making him damn alluring and in need of a spanking. Followed by the promised ride on my dick.

“You get me,” he murmurs with wonder in his tone.Yes, I do, just as you get me.

I wear my holster and grab my CZ75B. I eject the clip, check it, and pop it back in smoothly. I cock the barrel before putting on the safetyand snapping the gun into the holster. I can feel Ramiel’s attentive gaze on me, following every movement as he slides his long knife on his back.

“You just got even hotter, Hunter Bear. Hard-on-inducing hotter.” He pushes his palm into his groin and adjusts his jeans around the growing bulge.We are even, then.

“Are the boys going to be okay with that Lori guy?” I ask, grabbing my jacket and handing him his leather coat. I know he’s got his brass knuckles in the pocket. With the knife should be enough.

“Definitely not. Serena, send a text to Lori. We are leaving. If something happens to the wicked trio, Hunter will withhold his black mamba from me, and it’ll be your fault. Prepare for my wrath.”

I turn an incredulous look his way, to which he replies, “Lack of sex is the only way for Lori to understand the gravity of my statement. Still, it’s a bad fucking idea to leave them with him.”

They’re eighteen and used to taking care of themselves. Even though they made a few really bad choices in the past, I’m confident they learned from them. Hopefully.

I close the front door and move to my Harley, patting the back of the seat after I mount it. “Hop on, Red.”

“We can go in my car,” he says, pointing at the slick Porsche.

“Mine is faster through traffic.” I pass him the extra helmet, and he grabs it with a grunt.

“It’s going to flatten my hair.”

I look at his just-fucked, messy locks and snort. “Less whining, more hopping.”

He slides the helmet on with a sigh and climbs behind me. My baby groans under our combined weight, she isn’t used to carrying twopeople. But I immediately like Ramiel’s large body behind me. He needs to come closer, though.

I grab his thighs, yanking him toward me with a strong tug. He emits a high-pitched squeak worthy of a Victorian lady that sends me into deep laughter.