Page 14 of Trigger's Temptation

I need to sweat this out.

I need to forget the way Trigger tasted.

Because if I don’t, I’ll lose myself to a man I have no business wanting.

Chapter 8

AERIANNA

After two hours at the gym, it’s two a.m. by the time I drag myself back to my apartment. My legs feel like jelly, and my arms are still trembling from pushing through an extra workout. After a quick shower, I pull on fresh clothes and head out, driving home through the quiet, empty streets.

When I step inside my apartment, I toss my keys into the bowl by the door and unholster my service weapon, securing it in the safe. My mind doesn’t slow down, racing a million miles an hour. Memories of my past and the people I’ve lost haunt me. And then there’s him, the sexy, dangerous biker who takes my breath away, tempting me to blur the clean lines of black and white and step into the grey.

Losing my best friend, Allison, broke something in me. Trusting men has been nearly impossible ever since. She and I grew up together in a small town tucked away in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. There wasn’t much to do there except party and stir up trouble, and Allison and I were inseparable through it all. If I was there, so was she, and vice versa.

Looking back now, the signs were there. I should have seen them. But we were young, naive, and reckless. I missed them,and it cost Allison her freedom. For eight long years, I’ve been searching for her. Every year that passes chips away at my hope, but I can’t let it go. I owe it to her.

It all started when she began drifting away, hiding things from me. She told me she’d met someone—someone who promised to take her far away from our small town and give her the world. She was smitten, glowing in a way I hadn’t seen before. But she wouldn’t let me meet him. She said I wouldn’t understand. Then, right after graduation, Allison disappeared without a trace.

EIGHT YEARS AGO IN TROUT LAKE, MI

The sharp ringing of my cell phone drags me from sleep. I’d just gotten home from a bonfire celebrating our graduation. Allison had decided to stay longer, saying her new guy was coming to meet her. I left to make it home before curfew.

“Hello?” I mumble, slapping my phone to answer without checking the caller ID. Silence greets me.

“Hello?” I try again, a frown forming. Still nothing. I pull the phone away from my ear and see Allison’s name flashing on the screen.

“Allison? What’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up abruptly, sleep forgotten.

“Aeri, I’m so sorry,” she whispers, her voice trembling.

“Sorry? Sorry for what? Allison, where are you?” Panic seeps into my voice as I sit up straighter.

Before she can answer, I hear muffled voices and shuffling, then a piercing scream. The line goes dead.

“Allison!” I shout into the silence. My hands shake as I redial her number. It goes straight to voicemail. I try again. Same result. Again and again, nothing.

With my heart racing, I throw on jeans and a hoodie, grabbing my phone to open the Find a Friend app we’d installed on our phones. The icon flashes blue, marking her last location, then blinks to black. I screenshot it and shove my feet into my sneakers.

I sprint down the stairs, grabbing my car keys off the hook by the door. My hands are trembling so badly that I drop them, cursing as I pick them up again. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. I won’t be any help to Allison if I’m falling apart. Once my breathing steadies, I slide the keys into the ignition, fire up my truck, and peel out of the driveway.

On the road, I call Uncle Mark, the Chief of Police in Trout Lake.

“Hello?” His groggy voice answers.

“Uncle Mark, it’s Aeri. I need your help.” My voice cracks, thick with panic.

“Aeri, what’s wrong? Where are you?” His tone sharpens, sleep slipping away.

“I’m driving to the bonfire where Allison and I were earlier tonight. She called me Uncle Mark. Something’s wrong.” Tears spill down my cheeks, and I wipe them away with my sleeve.

“I know where you kids were. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Aeri, listen to me: if you get there before I do, do not get out of your truck. Wait for me. Promise me.”

“Okay,” I whisper, my voice trembling.

“Hey, Aeri?”

“Yeah?”

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