Page 18 of Colt

“Were you careful?” Prez asked.

“As careful as I could be, but you know there’s a chance they’ll see my footprint.”

There was always a risk involved with hacking into government agencies. They had people on the payroll who were almost as good as me. If I was caught, there’d be consequences, and they’d no doubt be dire.

“I fuckin’ hate this.” Dagger heaved a frustrated breath.

“I’ve done this shit before,” I said reassuringly. “The Feds haven’t caught onto me yet.”

He let out a snort. “Colt, I trust you. Diggin’ doesn’t worry me. What’s makin’ my ass nip is the chance you might goddamned find somethin’.”

I scraped a hand down my face. “I know. But at least we’ll have a heads-up. The last thing we need is to be sittin’ ducks.”

“Yeah.” He expelled another hard breath, pausing briefly before asking the question I’d been dreading. “Have you seen Freya yet?”

The image of her kissing me floated through my head again at the mere mention of her name. “Yeah,” I muttered, gut nosediving. “Tracked her down to a bar and took her home. Didn’t want her vulnerable when she’d been drinkin’.”

Prez laughed. “She’s lived away from home for years and always kept herself safe. Though, I gotta say, I like that you’re protective. It’s good she’s got another big brother.”

I tugged at my collar and reached into the nightstand to grab my antacids. “I’ve watched Frey grow up. I feel a certain kinship to her.”

“When you goin’ to visit Ed?” Prez asked.

I popped an antacid into my mouth, thanking the heavens Dagger had moved on to another subject. “Within the next few days.”

“Where are ya?” Prez demanded.

My mouth twisted. “The Thompson in Denver.”

“Why didn’t you stay in Grand Junction? Surely, you’re gonna see more of Ed than Freya. Logistically you’ve kinda screwed yourself. For a smart guy, you’ve gone and fucked-up there.”

A weird feeling crept through my gut. Prez was right. Why did I hole up in Denver?

“Anyway,” he went on. “It’s probably good you’re staying there. Want you to take Freya to visit Ed at some point.”

I thrust an impatient hand through my hair. “Why?”

“Soph wants her to speak to Nina about a treatment plan. Kit had one when he came home, and she thinks it’ll benefit Ed, especially as she reckons he’ll have more problems settling. Poor guy’s been homeless for so long, she thinks it’ll be harder for him to integrate.”

“I can get the info for Doc,” I offered.

“Sophie reckons it’ll be easier for Freya to relay the details. You probably won’t recognize the medical terms. Freya’s familiar with ‘em ‘from Kit’s treatment plan. All the details have gotta be right.”

“I’ll call her now,” I told Prez. “See when she’s free.”

“Good man,” he said proudly. “Oh, and call Lucy too, will ya? She turned up here for you last night. Snooty bitch just walked into the bar like she owned the goddamned place. Atlas is pissed.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face.

What the fuck was she playin’ at? It wasn’t the first time she’d shown up at the compound uninvited. Maybe I should’ve called to tell her I was here, but we didn’t have that kind of relationship. In fact, I’d made it clear therewasno relationship, we were casual at best, an on-tap fuck at worst, and honestly, her blow jobs weren’t good enough to make me put up with the rest of her bullshit.

I was only with her for convenience, so appearing at the clubhouse with no invite was a massive no-no, especially after I’d told her never to do it again after the last time.

Maybe it was time to reassess my situation. Pussy was one thing, but when it was attached to a sneaky cunt, it lost all appeal.

“Leave it with me,” I told Prez. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Good man,” he replied. “Gonna go get coffee. Keep me posted, yeah?”

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