Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“What’s your full name?” Max asks as he takes his seat behind the computer.
“You’re not going to find shit on me, techie.”
Max lifts a cocky brow, challenging the man.
“Angel Guerra.”
Max’s fingers start to fly over the keyboard, and I don’t miss the scrunch of his brows as he watches his computer screen.
“As I was say—” Angel locks his jaw when a knock sounds from the other side of the conference room door.
Dominic pulls the door open enough that I can see it’s Lauren standing on the other side, but he doesn’t step aside enough to let her enter.
“This is club business,” Kincaid says from the front of the room.
Lauren glares at him as Dominic closes the door in her face.
When I look back, Angel seems to have lost some of his confidence, but after a quick blink, it’s right back in place. There’s a fucking story between the two of them, but I doubt if anyone will take the time to explain to everyone in the room what the hell is going on.
“You were dead,” Thumper says again before Angel can continue to explain.
“Takes more than two to the chest to get rid of me,” Angel says, his gaze barely touching Thumper before he turns his attention back to Kincaid.
“Can someone start from the top for those of us that have no fucking clue what’s going?” Ugly asks.
Kincaid runs both hands over his slick bald head before answering. “Angel is a mercenary that was on the same job that Thumper was on when he worked for the FBI. Traffickers showed up, shot Angel, and took Thumper. It was revenge for the death of another trafficker. Thumper killed one of the guys that raped one of the women in his care. The brother wasn’t happy about it.”
My eyes don’t know where to land, racing back and forth among Angel, Thumper, and Kincaid.
I’ve heard bits and pieces about Thumper’s time as an undercover FBI agent, but details are always few and far between. The club thought he was an actual trafficker, and they were prepared to take him out, not only for choosing to be someone we’re trained to hate but also for what seemed like his ability to infiltrate Cerberus before returning to his life of crime. It was a really dark time for all involved, and I can only imagine the level of betrayal everyone felt before the real truth came out.
“I’m working a case,” Angel begins again.
“Earning a paycheck,” Grinch mutters.
“Enough,” Kincaid hisses.
Angel must get remarks like that often because the man doesn’t even seem fazed by the snide comment.
“That job took me to Telluride. When I saw your man there and his cut, I figured maybe we were working the same case. I know better than to get in Cerberus’s way, so I stayed back, waiting for the dust to settle, only it didn’t. He left and didn’t take the woman with him.”
My skin grows hot with each word he says.
“What woman?” I snap, hating to think I already know the answer.
He’s not creepy. He’s raising his fucking niece.
Those words infiltrate my mind, and I start to feel nauseated.
“Greta Murphy. She was abducted from Wyoming fourteen months ago. I tracked her to Will Varon’s house in Telluride.”
I don’t realize how much noise Max is making, typing on his keyboard until it stops, and the room falls silent.
I turn to look at Kincaid and find his eyes locked on Max.
The IT guy looks like he’s just been sliced up the center of his chest.
“Your guy won’t find shit on him either,” Angel says, but it doesn’t seem to help Max feel any better.
Kincaid turns his eyes, an apology to me in them.
“Varon is a third-generation trafficker running his family’s business out of Telluride, although they keep their abductions a couple of hours away in neighboring states,” Angel continues.
“I’m glad you were able to solve your case,” Kincaid says as he stands. “Now, you need to leave. I don’t want to see you on Cerberus property ever again. If you need to give us a heads-up, you can call. I vow to keep everyone here safe, and that includes their emotional well-being. There’s no justification in how you handle business, and I just can’t allow you to be here any longer.”
Angel nods as if he fully understands where our president is coming from, but he stops short of leaving the room.
“I’ll go, but what do you want me to do with the girl?”
Everyone freezes.
“The girl?” Kincaid asks.
“Two days ago, Greta took an abducted girl to the hospital. The little girl had been beaten pretty badly.”
He doesn’t have any siblings.
It’s something I told Sylvie to prove a fucking point when she was trying to insist Will was such a great guy. I got so damned wrapped up in arguing with her and fighting an erection, I didn’t even circle back to what she had said.