Page 75 of Jackal

“Is there a man?” Mom asked.

I froze, my eyes roaming the courtyard to see if any members were walking around, but instead saw a large, black SUV that was similar to the one Lacy and I were tossed into for an attempted kidnapping. “I gotta go, but I love you both. I’ll call you soon.” Then I ended the call before they could get another word in.

My heart raced and I looked around in confusion. Who the hell was this? And why weren’t they stopped at the entrance? This place may as well be a fortress with all the extra guards everywhere. And I knew from conversations I wasn’t supposed to hear that there were cameras everywhere. So what the hell happened?

I was sizing up the walk to the door, then looked back at the SUV, wondering if I could even make a mad dash before they got me. The odds weren’t good, but I swallowed hard, shoved my phone in my pocket, and decided to make a run for it. I’d zig zag until I made it. Harder to miss a wild, moving target, right?

But just as I started my sprint, Hawk burst from the door with his arms out wide, smiling widely. Eagle followed, looking nearly as eager as Hawk. I skidded and froze where I was, still piecing together what was happening.

Jackal pulled up the driveway, his dark hair blowing behind him, as a man with brown hair in a nice suit sprang from the front passenger side, then opened the back door. A blond man climbed out, buttoning his suit jacket as he smiled and headed toward Hawk.

Being nosy, I stayed frozen, hoping they didn’t see me but also that I heard anything they said. That didn’t last long whenthe blond man looked over, followed by Hawk. He immediately waved me over. Shit. Busted.

I had thrown on a pair of jeans, a red tank top, and sandals because it was hot out. We planned to hang in the bar later to celebrate Lacy’s last night of freedom. There was no chance in hell of us taking her to a male revue or anything cool, so we decided to have a little party at the clubhouse. Lots of members from other chapters were supposed to be arriving any minute. But this wasn’t a biker. This man’s coiffed hair and tailored suit screamed power and money.

Deciding that my attire was perfectly suitable for the location and occasion, and that mister fancy suit was the one that stuck out, I made my way over.

“This is Dr. Raja. She’s helped out in some…messy circumstances,” Hawk said as I got within their circle.

The blond man extended his hand, and since Hawk and Eagle looked so friendly with him, I didn’t want to be rude. I placed my hand into his, but he turned it, then brought my knuckles to his lips.Ewww.

“How did such an exotic and intelligent beauty find herself here at the compound?” the blond man asked.

I tugged on my hand. “It’s not really polite to refer to women from foreign places as exotic,” I stated. Hawk gave me a tight-lipped glare, but I cocked my brow. It was rude as fuck, so as least I didn’t say it like that.

Looking over his shoulder, Jackal’s brow furrowed as he made long strides toward me.

The man put his hand to his chest. “You must excuse me, miss. I only meant to compliment you.”

“All well deserved, I’m sure,” Jackal said as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me firmly to his side. “I see you’ve met Petrov, Jr.”

Note to self, ask who the fuck that is and why it matters later.“Yes. He was just saying how intelligent I am.”

“Excuse my manners, my dear. I’m Nikolai Petrov, Jr. So pleased to meet you, Dr. Raja. And Jackal, it’s been a long time my friend.” He could call me doctor. He’d have to earn the right to call me Shiv and he already had a point deducted.

Nikolai extended his hand to Jackal. He squeezed me, then moved his arm to shake his hand. “It has. I hope you had a nice trip.” Then his arm went right back. But he kissed my temple and said, “Hey, Lil Bird. Why don’t you find your friends?”

That was code for they had man-talk too big for my lady ears. But since they all were so tense, I decided I wasn’t interested anyway. “I’ll check on Mama Hen, too. We have a lot of guests coming.”

“Cindy,” Nikolai said with sincere admiration in his voice. “I cannot wait to see her. It’s been ages.”

Giving a tight smile, I turned and went inside. Pulling my phone out, there was one missed call from my mom. Wow. She was exhibiting some serious self-control.

I didn’t see the girls hanging around, so I headed to the kitchen where I found Mama Hen and Lacy.

“Hey, hon, whatcha up to?” Mama Hen asked as she piled meat onto trays to take outside for grilling. There were always a few pieces of chicken, and I knew that was for me.

“Some preppy guy is outside. Called me exotic,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Lacy grimaced. “Eww. Preppy guy? Who could that be? I thought it was a bunch of members?”

“His name is Nikolai,” I said as I reached for the veggie tray.

“Petrov? Old or young?” Mama Hen asked.

“Youngish, I guess? Maybe around my age?” I shrugged, then crunched on the carrot.

“Oh. Hmm.”

---