Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
The engines grew louder, then cut out one by one. I heard voices from outside, the crunch of boots on gravel. Griffin turned to face the door but didn’t move from his spot. “No one here will touch you unless you want them to. Not unless you had something to do with the trafficking.”
I didn’t know if I believed Griffin or not. But I believed he believed it and, for now, that might have to be enough.
The first man through the door wore his authority like a second skin. Behind him came another man, taller and heavier, with a face that looked like it had been carved from stone. Neither of them spoke, but the garage suddenly felt smaller. My grip tightened around the little camera until my knuckles ached.
More men filtered in behind them. Their faces were hard, their gazes all assessing me. I pressed my shoulders harder against the wall, trying to make myself smaller. The gun felt cold against my skin where it was tucked into my waistband.
Two women came in through a side door, moving with the same purposeful care as the men. One was tall and lean, with blonde hair pulled back in a tight braid. Her gaze found mine across the room. The other was smaller, with strawberry blonde hair and a face that seemed too open for this place. She looked almost wholesome, but with a slight edge.
Griffin moved subtly, angling between me and the rest of the room, close enough that his shoulder almost touched my arm. I glanced up at him sharply, but his expression changed from intense to open and grinning.
“Brought home a stray,” Griffin said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to do at the club. By the time I got there, the place was fully engulfed. Found this one escaping out a window and, let me tell you, she really knows how to cause a ruckus.”
The tall woman with the braid caught my eye again. She gave me an encouraging smile. The smaller woman edged closer, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of vanilla on her skin. “Nobody here is going to hurt you,” she said. “Whatever happened tonight, whatever you saw, you’re safe now.” She smiled at me. “I’m Pippa. My husband is the vice president. Gunnar.” She nodded to the man standing behind her far enough away I didn’t feel threatened. “The big guy over there is Kiss of Death’s president, Knuckles. He’s also my father. So, yes. I have sway. So does Hannah.” She nodded to the woman with the honey-colored braid. “Hannah is Knuckles’ old lady and Gunnar’s sister.”
“Seems like a pretty closely connected group.” I didn’t know if that knowledge made me feel better or worse about this club.
Pippa smiled. “We are. And we have each other’s backs.”
“What’s the situation, Griffin?” Knuckles got down to business.
Griffin shrugged. “Things kind of went sideways, but it wasn’t my fault.”
“Christ, Griffin.” Knuckles scowled. “When you lead with it wasn’t your fault, it’s usually your fault.”
“Yeah, OK. I’ll give you that. But this time, it really wasn’t my fault.”
“So? What’s going on?”
Griffin sobered. “We might have a bigger problem than we first thought.”
“What’s she got?” Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest.
“Everything,” I said, answering Knuckles for Griffin. No way I was going to sit on the sidelines. Now that I was here, I was going to play an active part. And if these guys tried to fuck me over, I’d do my best to give as good as I got. “I managed to get Iron on video killing three people, as well as ledgers and the hard drives from Enclave Éclipse and several connecting businesses they have operating under the radar to help clean their money. I’ve managed to connect them all together. Iron was cleaning house because he knows he’s in danger of being caught. He just isn’t sure who’s on to him.”
Knuckles stared at me. Hard. This looked more like the men I’d been expecting in a place like this. His eyes were flat and cold. “You got a death wish, girl?”
“No. I’m looking for my sister,” I said.
Something flickered across his face and he glanced at Pippa, then to Gunnar before glancing back at Griffin. “Show me.”
“I ain’t seen it either,” Griffin said, glancing at me. “What do you need for Knuckles to look at what you have?”
“Just a computer.”
Knuckles grunted and turned to the heavily tattooed man from the Bronco. Even the whites of his eyes appeared to be colored in with ink. “Knight?”
“Give me a second.” Knight set a laptop on a workbench and opened it. He powered it on, then held out his hand to me without looking away from the screen. “I’ll need the drive, please.”
I hesitated, then passed it over. Knight opened a small compartment at the end, removed the micro SD card, and slotted it into an adapter. The room went quiet while everyone fixed their attention on the laptop screen.