Page 66 of Ricochet

That didn’t bode well. He swung his legs out of bed and snagged a shirt off the ground. “Why—”

“Adelia got herself in trouble, and I’m in the awkward position of knowing two partial sides of a story I shouldn’t know shit about.”

He didn’t care about Lenora’s problems. “What kind of trouble?”

“The kindwhere you turn up dead.”

His stomach bottomed out. “Is she dead?”

“I don’t think so.”

Colin ran his hand over his face. “Wait—aren’t you her step-mother?”Or something?He had no idea what MC-world lingo was for old ladies and their family.

“Or something,” Lenora said. “Look, she has a lot on her plate, and calling you was a stretch, but you both seemed cozy at Seven’s wedding.”

“We arestill cozy, and she’s not answering her phone.”

“She left it at her apartment yesterday.”

His eyes sank shut. “She’s gone without a phone, is going to turn up dead—andyou won’t tell me why?” Colin grabbed pants he’d kicked off before he fell asleep, sliding them on, and booted up his laptop while waiting for Lenora to spit out whatever she’d admit to.

“She ran into banking problems.”

Hissecure email screen appeared on the laptop, but he stopped, not expecting what Lenora had said. “Banking problems?”

“Yeah, banking problems and this shit is a fucking mess.” Her breath heaved. “I’m not sure I even understand it anymore, and I thought I knew everything.”

Colin pinched the bridge of his nose, understanding nothing. “Tell me everything.”

She snorted. “That’s never going to happen,big boy.”

Jesus. He pulled up an email to Brock and Jared, cc’ing Parker, and started to type. “Some of it, Lenora.”

I’m on the phone with Lenora Appleton re: Adelia. She’s missing and “in the kind of trouble that you end up dead.” They’re looking for her. It has to do with “banking problems.” I’ll call in when I have more info. Thought you should know. Not sure what they want from me. Unsureif Javier is aware.

“I’ve said more than I should. If you don’t see that, you’re more clueless than I realized.”

“Who wants her dead?” Colin asked. That was an easy starting point.

“Mayhem.”

What the hell is going on?“Fucking MC.”

“Can we not have that attitude?” Lenora clucked at him. “Adelia knew what she was getting into.”

“Banking problems with a motorcycle gang? Yeah, I doubt that.”

Lenora cackled. “Then you don’t know that girl.”

“What am I supposed to do? Find her and give her back to you so your club assholes can kill her? I don’t think so.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like? You’re Mayhem. Remember? You’re part of the problem.”

“I called you because I cared.”

“Or you’re trying to track her down,” he snapped.

“Find her before they do—or before she doessomething she can’t come back from.”

Adelia? “Like what!”

But he’d shouted to himself. The line had gone dead.

---