Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
But by the look on his face, he knows something is up. “I’m leaving early and will be out of town for a couple of days. But I’ll be back Friday.”
“Is this the retaliation you mentioned?”
“Something like that.”
I frown. “Will you be safe?”
“Retaliation rarely is, sweetheart.”
Unease churns in my stomach.
Because if there was an ambush today, could it happen again?
“Today really didn’t affect you, did it?” he asks, sounding surprised. But it also sounds like he’s been thinking about it.
“I’ve always been good in an emergency. I just focus and do what needs doing.”
He’s studying me.
Looking for clues in my expression.
Or listening for the lie in my words.
But then he smiles. “Sounds like you’re someone good to have around when the shit hits the fan.”
I return the smile. But I want to steer the conversation away from me. “Be careful, okay?”
He steps closer and I’m caught in his heat.
Stay.
I’ve never been so tempted by something in my life.
My gaze trails up his broad chest to his face.
In another world, I could love this man.
But in this one, he is not an option.
“I’d better go. I have things to do,” I say.
“You sure you don’t want that ride?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I’ll see you Friday, okay?”
“You will.”
I feel his eyes on me as I leave the room.
Just like I can still feel the warmth of his touch on my hands long after I’ve left the clubhouse and ridden the bus back to the motel.
And when Luca calls, and I have to endure the ten-minute phone call with him, I close my eyes and imagine Lars breaking every single one of his bones.
Slowly.
Every snap painful.
Every stab of pain an excruciating payment for the hell he’s inflicted on me.
When I hang up from him, I take a long hot shower and stand under the steady stream of hot water as if it can wash away the stench of Luca’s influence over my life. I close my eyes, feel my muscles soften, and finally relax.
After my shower, I climb into bed and have to force myself not to think about Lars.
I can’t get distracted by a hot, inked biker.
Because he’s not for me.
But as I turn off the light and sink my head into my pillow, I can’t help but wish that he was.
CHAPTER 24
Lars
“So, who is she?” I ask Bram.
We’re in the security room of the clubhouse, and Bram has completed the background check on Ella using the identification she gave Mrs. V. this morning as part of the hiring process. All staff are fully vetted. History. Socials. Family ties. Everything.
It’s late, and I should get some shuteye before we ride out early in the morning.
But I want to know what Bram has found during his background check.
“Meet Ella Antonio.” He pulls up her DMV file on one of the many monitors in front of us. Then a couple of old photos he’s pulled from different socials she was tagged in.
I study the photos on the monitor. One is of her and a group of college-aged kids. All smiling for the camera. Friends out drinking. The other is her with another woman. A selfie taken during a night out.
“How come we didn’t get this when we ran facial recognition a couple of days ago?” I ask.
“The photos aren’t very clear. It would be easy for facial recognition to miss them.”
“And you’re certain they’re not AI?”
Bram looks surprised. “Why would they be AI? You think she’s hiding something?”
“There’s not a lot there.”
“No, there’s not. But then if anyone ran the same checks on me, they wouldn’t find a lot either.”
“Because you’re on the run from the law, and the FBI is still chasing you for hacking into their databases, not to mention the military wants your ass for the same thing,” I remind him.
Ten years ago, a warrant was issued for Bram’s arrest. Lucky for him, we found him first, and he’s been our crazy hacker ever since. He knows he’ll always be running. But he’s stealthy enough to never be found.
“Touché,” he says. “Sometimes I forget I’m a fugitive.”
“What about her family?”
“No siblings. Both parents are gone.” As he speaks, he brings up a couple of death certificates on the screen. “Mother several years ago. Cancer. Father only recently. Car accident.”
“How recent?”
“Three months ago, according to this.” He brings up a newspaper article with a photo of a wrecked car.
“There’s more about her parents than her. Which is strange for a twenty-something woman.”
“Maybe she values her privacy.” He pushes his glasses up his nose. “More and more people are digitally detoxing. Maybe she’s one of them.”
Maybe.
My gaze is glued to the images on the screen.
My gut tells me something is off.
Or maybe it’s the attraction I feel toward her getting in the way of my good sense.
CHAPTER 25
Ella
I wake up the next morning with the heavy weight of guilt sitting on my chest.