Page 14 of Phoenix

“Need to find out where Paul’s been going after his withdrawals,” Deviant added. “There’s no digital trail, so we follow his physical one. ATM cams, traffic cameras, gas stations, whatever. He’s cash only, so that’s all we’ve got.”

“Start mapping it tonight,” Fox said, nodding at Deviant. “Tomorrow, we turn his apartment upside down. He’s got physical records, we’ll find ’em.”

I nodded and stood. “Need to get back to my woman. Make sure she’s good.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” Whiskey snorted.

“Don’t knock it,” Stone smirked. “He’ll finally be tolerable now that he knows how it feels to be obsessed with his woman.”

“Go,” Fox said, waving toward the door. “Phoenix, hang back.”

The others filed out, leaving the door open behind them. I faced my prez but didn’t sit back down.

Fox leaned back in his chair and gave me a look that said he wasn’t just my president—he was my friend.

“You want me to send out a vest?” he asked, his lips tipped up at the corners.

A vest.My property patch.

“Yeah,” I confirmed without hesitation. “Send it.”

I intended to have that patch on her back and my ring on her finger as soon as possible. Then I’d breed her and make damn sure no one ever forgot who Lindsay belonged to.

Fox gave me a small nod. “Figured, but I wanted you to say it out loud. Make sure you were certain.”

I didn’t reply. I didn’t need to. In our world, nothing spoke louder than a property patch.

Maverick lifted his chin toward the door. “Go check on your woman. Deviant’ll be digging into shit, and we’ll head over to Vogel’s place around nine.”

“Better find something,” I growled. “We don’t figure this out soon, gonna burn the motherfucking world down to make sure she’s safe.”

I stalked out of the office, my blood humming with fury and need.

They’d come after my girl.

And now the whole world was gonna learn what that cost.

7

LINDSAY

Isat on the edge of Beck’s bed, staring at the closed door as though it might give me answers. My phone sat in my lap, but I hadn’t touched it beyond unlocking the screen and locking it again. Over and over.

There wasn’t anyone I could call to talk about this. My mom would freak, my friends from college wouldn’t understand, and I hadn’t really kept in touch with the kids I hung out with in high school.

Even if I knew who to call, I had no clue what I would say.Hey, I almost got kidnapped and now I’m hiding out in a biker’s bedroom. Also, we kissed, and he called me his.

Yeah, no. That wasn’t a conversation I was prepared to have. Not with my mom. Not with anyone.

I pulled my knees up and rested my chin on them, hugging them close. My shoulder still ached from where that guy had grabbed me, but I barely noticed because my brain wouldn’t shut up. It was spinning wildly.

Who were those guys?

Why did they come after me?

And why had Beck looked like he’d tear the world apart if anyone touched me again?

The questions went round and round inside my head while I curled up on Beck’s big bed, his masculine scent surrounding me. I stayed like that until the doorknob finally turned, and I sat up straight as Beck stepped into the room.

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