Page 152 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Did you sleep?”

“Not well,” I replied.

The men filtered into the living room one by one, and I could feel their stares on my back. “Have you met the men yet?” Devon asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head and turning to all of them.

“Smith Jarrod,” one of the taller men said, introducing himself. He was lean and dark-eyed, with a sharp pointed nose and a birthmark on his forehead that looked like a scar.

One by one, the rest of the men started introducing themselves to me. Justin was one of the shorter men, but he was sturdy and strongly built with an arsenal of muscles that bulged from his cutaway jacket. Derek introduced himself to me as Derek, but insisted I call him by his nickname, Bones, like everyone else. He was one of the older men in the group. His hair was greying at the temples, and his handlebar mustache dipped slightly at the edges. He was almost a parody of himself… the aging biker who fit the stereotype.

Dewy, also known as Red, looked like the youngest member of the group. He had long brown hair that fell to his shoulders and one missing tooth that could be seen clearly when he smiled. Lonny was blond-haired and blue-eyed, and he had a tiny dagger tattooed next to his right eye. Despite the tattoo, he looked like the friendliest of the lot.

“There’s more men,” Devon told me. “You’ll probably meet them at some point during your stay here.”

“Just watch out for Wheels,” Lonny told me with a wink. “He hasn’t met a pretty woman he hasn’t liked.”

Ryder leaned against the arm of one of the sofas and observed me with his men. He didn’t say much, and he didn’t contribute to the introductions in any way. He was definitely the most formidable of all the men present, in both stature and in personality. There was an edge to him that commanded fear, and there was a presence to him that commanded respect.

Once the introductions were out of the way, Ryder looked towards Devon. “What did you find out?” he asked.

Everyone turned to Devon. “There’s no such man as Walter Black,” he replied.

“The police told me that too,” I said, feeling a little nauseous all of a sudden.

“What about his apartment?” Ryder asked.

“I checked it out this morning again,” Devon revealed. “The apartment is registered under someone else’s name…. A man who was found missing in another state.”

“So he’s a ghost then,” Ryder nodded.

“Seems that way for now,” Devon replied. “There’s no trace of him anywhere.”

“What can you tell us about him?” Lonny asked me. “What does he look like?”

“He’s a big guy,” I said. “Almost as tall as Ryder, and he has a siAbbyr build too. He’s got blond hair and blue eyes.”

“Any distinguishing characteristics?” Red asked.

“He had tattoos.”

“Who doesn’t?” Bones laughed.

“Any particular tattoos stood out to you?” Ryder asked seriously.

“He had a siren tattooed on his right calf,” I said. “It was huge.”

“A siren?” Bones asked.

“A mermaid,” I explained.

The men exchanged questioning glances, and it was clear that they hadn’t come across anyone with the kind of tattoo I had just mentioned.

“He also had a huge tattoo of a man with eagle’s wings on his back,” I said.

Again, my description was met with blank expressions.

“It doesn’t matter… We’ll find him,” Ryder said dismissively, and he turned as though he was leaving.

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