Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“Be back, pretty girl,” I murmured.
Then I dragged myself away, because the sooner we handled the crew threatening her, the sooner every hour of my night could belong exactly where I wanted it. After one last look, I trudged toward the shower before staying became more appealing than doing my damn job.
My injured side pulled when I dressed and secured my weapon beneath my cut, but the stitches held.
Nomad waited in the back lot with Wraith, Smoke, and two other brothers beside an unmarked truck old enough to disappear among the ranch vehicles scattered through the canyon. Smoke looked at the faint bite marks above the collar of my shirt, then grinned.
“Thought we were dragging you away from sleep,” he razzed as I approached. “Looks like you were busy.”
“You can stare, or you can keep your teeth,” I threatened, pulling open the passenger door.
Wraith shoved Smoke toward the far side of the back seat. “He’s offering choices now. Must’ve had a hell of a night.”
Nomad drove us west without turning on the cab light, taking two county roads before cutting onto an old ranch track a half mile from the storage property. The key and address recovered from the road ambush had led to a fenced parcel tucked between low ridges, far enough from neighboring homes that engines and gunfire would not draw immediate attention. We left the truck behind a stand of scrub oak and covered the remaining distance on foot, using the broken terrain to stay out of view of the exterior cameras.
I took the first approach because explosives had already become the crew’s favorite solution whenever their plans went bad. Nothing obvious waited along the dry wash or the narrow path leading toward the fence, but I found a motion sensor wired into one of the outer lights and a camera aimed at the main drive. Whoever used the place had protected the obvious approaches while treating the steep southern slope like no one would bother climbing it.
“Lazy bastards,” Smoke muttered as he crouched beside me.
“Be grateful.” I studied the building through a compact pair of binoculars. “Competent criminals ruin everybody’s night.”
A truck connected to the warehouse theft rolled through the gate less than thirty minutes after we settled into position. Two men opened the storage building while a third backed the vehicle close, and all three carried sidearms. They unloaded four equipment cases, including one with Bellamy-style markings partially covered by black tape, then moved the truck beside two other vehicles positioned nose-out for a fast departure.
Nomad photographed the plates and gate while Wraith tracked the men moving between the yard and building. I studied the narrow service road disappearing behind the property toward the north ridge. The rear route was rough but passable, giving anyone inside a second way out if the main drive closed.
“Rear road hooks east after the fence,” Nomad murmured, checking the terrain map on his phone. “Comes out near the old quarry spur.”
“Put eyes on both ends before daylight,” I instructed. “Nobody gets close enough to spook them.”
We held the first rotation until nearly four, long enough to see another vehicle arrive and one of the men carry out a small case, handling it with more care than the others. The distance kept me from identifying the contents, but caution from men who had been tossing heavy equipment around like luggage made the case worth remembering. Wraith took the last set of photographs before another surveillance team moved into place from the eastern ridge.
I returned to the compound just before dawn, showered the dust from my skin, and slid back into bed beside Tamsin. She turned toward me, pressing her face into my chest, and I spent several hard minutes staring at the ceiling while her thigh rested across an erection I did not have time to use properly.
The club kept an eye on the property throughout the morning while I moved between reports, short meetings, and my office. When I was trapped behind the desk, Tamsin usually occupied the couch along the wall, curled into one corner with Bellamy paperwork and her bare feet tucked beneath her. Every few pages, she would look up to make sure I was still there, and every time she did, I pictured shutting the door, pulling her across the desk, and making her read the same paragraph again with my hand between her thighs.
She caught me watching shortly before noon. “Are you doing any work?”
“Plenty,” I rumbled, letting my gaze move over the soft shirt hugging her breasts. “Some of it requires close observation.”
“That explanation would be more convincing if you were looking at the reports.”
A few minutes later, Jacqueline appeared in the doorway. “Want to help in the kitchen before Halo’s cooking poisons half the brothers?”
“Sure.”
Tamsin went with her, and I listened to her laughter drift down the hall while I reviewed the next surveillance update.