Page 30 of Ace

“Yeah?”Beast was a man of few words.

“Got an intruder.Need you to find out what you can from him.”

“Location?”

“My place.Thor has him trussed up in the back shed.”

“On it.”

The connection went dead, and I pocketed the phone.“Beast will be here shortly.Do whatever he says.Let me know when you have any info for me.”

“Yes, sir.”Thor nudged the intruder with the toe of his biker boot.“Tiny is checking the perimeter to make sure there aren’t any other nasty surprises waiting for us.”

Already regretting letting Emma talk me into staying here, I nodded curtly.The clubhouse was way easier to defend.I pivoted on my heel and headed back to the house.

When I entered, I found Emma pacing back and forth in the mudroom.At least she’d had the sense to stay in the house.She halted; her arms crossed.“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“You tell me it’s ‘club business,’ leave the room, then sneak out the back door.So, what the hell is going on?”

I sighed.“Someone tried to slip past the prospects and get into the house.”I handed her the piece of paper Thor had found on the guy.“Looks like they’ve connected us.I didn’t think they’d manage that quite this quick.”

She studied the paper.“That’s my college ID photo.”

Damn.They knew where she worked, where she went to school, and her name.It wouldn’t take much to find out her home address and anything else they’d need to track her down.“This information is public?Anyone with a computer or smartphone would have access to it?”

She frowned.“I guess.All they’d have to do is search the university website.”

“What else is on that website?Your address?Phone number?”

She shook her head.“No.But it would list my classes, and it wouldn’t take much to get from that to where I’m going to be, and when.”Realization flickered across her face.“I can’t go to school until this is over, can I?”

“Sorry, babe, but no.”

“They’ll boot me out of the program if I’m a no show for too long.”

“How long is too long?”

She shrugged.“I’m not sure.”

“How about if you have a medical reason for not showing up?”

Her hand went to the wound on her side.“You want me to tell them I was shot?”

“No.”I reached out and pulled her toward me.I couldn’t resist touching her any longer.“Shadow is our tech guy.He could hack in and place something on your record that shows you have a medical reason for not attending.Maybe meningitis, or some type of disease that requires you to quarantine.How much time is left in this semester?”

She squinted.“It just started, so almost four months until exams.”

“Perfect,” I said.“Meanwhile you stay with me.”

“I can’t miss months of classes and expect to pass an exam.”

“Shadow can have lessons sent to you.How about we just have him insert a vague doctor’s note for now and see what happens?Might fix this quick.”

The frown on her face told me how likely she thought that was.Too bad.Until we had this thing under control, she’d just have to learn to trust me.Meanwhile, it gave me a chance to woo her.“Want to go out to dinner with me?Somewhere fancy?”

She blinked at the sudden change of subject.“What?”

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