Page 41 of Unholy Cross

Chapter Seventeen

When Cross’s cell phonerang, he glanced at it and saw the nameAssholeflash across the screen.He left the club and stepped outside to answer.

“Yes?”Cross greeted.

“I have no idea what Lorelei sees in you,” Evren stated flatly.“Your manners are atrocious.”

“Look at you using that college degree.”

“Can you hear me rolling my eyes?”

“Why have you called?”

“The chip,” Evren said, and Cross immediately tensed.“Consumer technology is probably a decade or more behind privatized technology.Meta.Apple.Anything Japan or South Korea puts out.For instance, this chip that was inside Lorelei is like radio-frequency identification trackers.There is a transponder, a receiver, and a transmitter.The difference, however, is that while a scanner is needed for dog-tagging, in this chip, the transmitter is pinged on radio towers.It was easy hacking into that system and seeing where this chip was located.Very sophisticated piece of technology.”

“That goddamn doctor,” Cross muttered.“If I ever see that asshole I’m going to gut him like a fish.”

“Well, at least he can’t get to her now.”

“Yeah.Thanks, Evren.”

Thinking about how Lorelei had been hurt and degraded by that son of a bitch Birsha, he wished he’d been able to roast him slowly over fire and brimstone.It would’ve been his pleasure to send the bastard to Hell.

****

The days fell intoa routine.Lorelei kept with Cross’s hours.Sleeping in until noon, then she’d work on her own projects until Cross came home, keeping busy watching YouTube as she practiced cooking and knitting.

Late one evening, after Cross had left for work, the doorbell chimed and she froze.She knew no one, no one knew her, so who was visiting?Should she ignore it?Placing a hand over her thundering heart, all that rolled through her mind was that she had to hide.Had to arm herself.Defend herself.The person on the other side of the door couldn’t be a good person because who shows up nine o’clock at night?Just as she grabbed a knife from the butcher’s block, she heard a very loud voice call out Cross’s name.

“Aera!Open the door!I have a present for Lorelei!”

It was Saxon.She sagged in relief, almost collapsing as her knees threatened to give way.Laying the knife on the counter, she hurried to the door and threw it open.Saxon stood there with a cellophaned gift basket in one arm and a Styrofoam cooler in the other.Before she could try guessing why he was there, a grin lit up his face, making him look almost boyish.

“Little sis!”he cried.“Just the person I wanted to see.I come bearing gifts.”

He held out the cooler, and she took it, surprised at how heavy it was.Glancing at it questioningly, before looking back at the big man beaming at her.

“I think you’re going to like this present,” he said.

She scooted back from the door and waved him in.Saxon practically bounded into the house, giving a whistle as he looked around the spacious home.She closed the locked the door behind him.

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