Page 49 of Break Me, Daddy

Chapter18

Holden

Leaning back in his office chair, Holden rolled his neck to work out the inevitable crick that came from staring at a computer screen all day.

Getting old sucked.

But for the most part, his teams were solid and the field reports from the morning had all been positive. Smooth sailing on all fronts.

So why the hell was he feeling so damn antsy?

The answer, he was sure, came in the form of a willowy redhead with a personality that matched her hair. It had been hell keeping his hands off her yesterday, and even harder giving her the freedom to spend her day without him. Not that she’d gone far, but just knowing she was in the other room, close but still so damn far out of reach had about killed him. Even harder today, letting her go out on some undefined errands without him, and without even pushing her to tell him what she was up to.

It was the right thing to do, at least that’s what he kept telling himself. But he wasn’t sure how long he could keep her under his roof without breaking his own rules around their relationship. Without pushing her up against a wall, sliding his hand up the the inside of her thigh to her?—

His phone rang, giving him a welcome break from the thoughts torturing him. “Falcon. What’s up?”

“We got some info on the group that’s been hassling your club.” Her tone was excited, if a little smug, and Holden instantly sat up straighter in his seat. “Thought you might like to know.”

“Fucking finally. How’d you manage that?”

“Zach.”

Surprise had Holden’s brows rising to his hairline. “The new guy that looks like he’s still in high school?”

Falcon chuckled. “That’s the one. He’s been flirting with one of the girls—she’s eighteen, we ran everyone we could before sending him in—and last night he managed to get her alone long enough for her to slip up and tell him the name of her church. If you want to call it that.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Who the fuck are we dealing with?”

“The Prophets of the Sacred Truth.”

Something about the name tickled the back of his mind. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“Because they’re a fucking cult. Feds have been trying to shut them down for years, but they’ve never been able to get any hard evidence about the rumors of child brides and other shit. Up until a few years ago, it was assumed they only operated out west but I guess they’ve been growing.”

“Fucking hell. Are they dangerous?”

“Depends on who you’re talking to.” Despite her calm, fury reverberated in her voice. “If you’re a child in their so-called church, they’re dangerous as fuck. So far, there hasn’t been any evidence of them making trouble for outsiders other than a few protests here and there.”

That was where he knew the name from. A group of them had been making trouble out in Arizona for years now, staging protests outside pretty much any building or event they deemed to be going ‘against God'.

Like Falcon had said, so far they hadn’t made too much trouble. Mostly they just liked to make up ridiculous signs and yell at people from across the street. No physical altercations that he was aware of, but he would sure as hell be digging into them a lot deeper now that he had a name.

“Thanks, Fal. And take Zach out for a drink. If he’s old enough.”

Falcon laughed. “He is, but I’ll be sure to remind him to have his ID on him. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I’m going to do some digging, but have Zach keep things up with the girl. Maybe we can get her out, get some information from her if we promise to keep her safe. Make sure he feels her out first, so he doesn’t tip his hand too soon to someone who’s all in.”

“He knows how to play it. Kid’s done a hell of a job so far.”

High praise from Ember “Falcon” West, indeed. “Good. Keep me updated.”

Relieved to finally have something to keep his mind off his situation with Frankie, Holden ended the call as he logged into a database only certain security clearances had access to. And got to work.

Frankie

By the timeshe pulled up in Lottie’s driveway, Frankie was even more of a mess than she’d been leaving the college. The ticket sat heavy in her purse, a constant reminder of exactly how badly she’d fucked up in just one day.

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