Page 53 of Graveyards & Greed

Detective Reiner, an older man with a bulbous nose and heavy wrinkles, gazed around at the burned-out remains of the motorcycles and the charred door, and shook his head slowly.

“This isn’t gonna end well,” he warned me quietly.

I folded my arms and studied the mess. “The OutKast MC is out of control, and there’s something going on that we’re missing.”

He nodded. “It’s like a freight train that’s jumped the tracks, and Las Vegas is the town it’s barreling into. I’m three months away from retirement,” he muttered, wiping his hand down his wrinkled face. “Do me a favor, and try to keep it contained until then.” He left a few minutes later after stringing yellow crime scene tape around the perimeter.

Using the back entrance, we migrated to Ezra’s office after the emergency personnel left. Fennick paced with nervous energy, shooting me a feral glare every few minutes, and Kilian sat calmly at Ezra’s desk.

“What’s he doing here at three in the fucking morning, Syl?” Fenn asked, nodding his head toward me.

“None of your business, butthead. Would you have preferred I was alone when they came? And he’s the reason the funeral home didn’t burn down.” Her voice cracked, and I walked over and put my arms around her, glaring at Fenn over her shoulder.

"He helped, huh?" Fennick snorted, eyeing me suspiciously. “He doesn’t have a scratch on him. First Luna and now you. What the hell is going on around here?” He turned to me. “And why the fuck are youstillwearing a goddamn suit?”

Ezra cut in. “We can argue about her boyfriends and his clothes later. Right now we need to get this mess cleaned up and find out if the OutKast MC president is condoning these attacks.” He looked a little older and worn down as he gestured toward the charred door.

“My partner, Ivan, is monitoring their feed at the clubhouse. When he has anything to report, I’ll let you know.”

Fenn stopped pacing and perked up. “Knox hacked the OutKast clubhouse? Nice. Except you missed this, didn’t you?” He waved toward the burned front door.

I rolled my neck and tried to find patience. “You missed it too, asshole. That’s why we think the president didn’t sanction it.”

Kilian closed his laptop and leaned forward. “I sent the surveillance video to the police. The camera caught their faces.”

Ezra nodded. “I called our insurance agent and the disaster cleanup team they recommended. Their people should be here in the morning to work on the smoke damage and the front door.”

Sylvie sighed. “We need to be ready for the Mayor's aunt's funeral next week.” She glanced toward the front of the mortuary. “I loved that door. It’s the original one from the 1950s.”

I heard movement in the hallway and pulled the gun from the small of my back before anyone else moved. Fenn raised an eyebrow. “Alright, maybe you’re not just a fancy fuck boy. Relax, it’s Callum.”

He walked in, his face stern. “We need additional security here until this situation is resolved.”

Fenn rolled his eyes. “You have a knack for stating the obvious.”

Kilian glanced at Fenn. “And you have a habit of ignoring it.”

Callum threw his arm around Sylvie and kissed the top of her head. “How’d the suicide drone work out, and what’d you take out with it?”

Sylvie grinned, and her eyes lit up. As I listened to her describe the night’s events, I fervently hoped things would settle down soon.

Chapter 21

Sylvie

“We have a conference call with the MC president in fifteen minutes,” Fenn informed me the next morning as I watched the workers remove the casing around the charred funeral home door. Ezra had pulled some strings and paid a ton of money to have the door replaced on short notice, but right now, there was a gaping hole there.

Milo stood a few feet away, watching the workers suspiciously. We’d all gone home and gotten cleaned up, and Drakos would only leave after I swore to him Milo could become my shadow for the next week.

Before he left, Drakos leaned in and spoke softly in my ear so no one else could hear. “If you break your promise to me and try to ditch him again, no more orgasms for you for a month, no matter how much you beg.” Then he gently licked and bit my earlobe before walking away. Irritation and lust swirled through me as I watched him go. I had to admit, it was an effective threat.

Later that morning, Fenn handed me a double-shot latte from our favorite local coffee shop just off Pecos Road. He eyed Milo and took a sip of his drink. “Is this Drakos’s way of marking you? He knows we can afford our own bodyguard, right?”

“He wouldn’t leave until I agreed. It might take a while for everyone to calm down.”

“Are you armed?”

I pulled my jacket back so he could see my waistband holster with my favorite handgun tucked inside. “You’re as naggy as Drakos. I’ll be fine, and so far my luck is holding.”

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