Page 24 of Deuce

“I’ve barely known the guy for twenty-four hours!”

“Doesn’t matter.I’ve seen that look before.You’re hooked.”

“I’ve never looked like this before.”

“Didn’t say I’d seen it on you.”

“I need to put these away.”I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.Deuce was right.I had lots of snacking type things but no real food.Being single, I often ate out or grabbed something at the local drive-through.

“Those are premium steaks.You should marinate them.”

I shrugged.“I don’t have anything to marinate them in.I wasn’t exactly expecting steak to push its way into my dinner plans.”

“Listen to you.Talking like you make dinner plans.”Janet grabbed the package of steak.“We can go to the store.”

“Deuce told me to stay home.”

“No, he told you that you had to take one of those brawny biker boys with you if you went anywhere.”

I looked at her with one brow arched.“Exactly how long were you eavesdropping?”

She grinned.“Long enough.Now get this stuff put away and we can grab some lunch while we’re out.”

I rolled my eyes.It did sound like a good idea, though.Apparently early morning sex gave me an appetite.“Fine, but you get to pay for lunch.”

She grinned.“Can I choose which biker to bring?”

* * *

Deuce

I pulled my phone out and glanced down at it.A text from Thor let me know Sophia and Janet were going out for lunch and he was tagging along.Tiny was staying behind to guard the house.I slipped my phone back in my pocket.

“Everything okay?”Ace asked.

“Just an update.She’s going out with a friend, but Thor is with them.Tiny’s on guard duty at her house.”

He nodded.“Good.She’s our only solid lead so far.Our contact at the bureau is excited.Up to this point, they knew an active human trafficking ring was operating in the area, but they had no idea how the victims were targeted.This dating app scam is a new twist.Prior to this they were going on the assumption that the victims were random, chosen by opportunity.”

He continued, bringing the brothers up to date on missing women from the area and theories on how the victims were being transported.This wasn’t just a local problem.They had credible intel that the women were being shipped overseas to buyers in Asia and Europe.

My mind wandered as he went over the details I already knew.The idea that someone had deliberately targeted Sophia, had chosen to buy her like a piece of meat or a pet dog infuriated me, but anger wasn’t going to help us find and take down this ring.

We were a team.We might not belong to the SEALs anymore, but the training and years of experience were hammered into our brains.We needed to be clinical, look at the data from all angles.I needed to put aside personal feelings if I was going to make sure Sophia was safe.That was going to be tough.

“Do we need to upgrade the security on her house?”Beast was the enforcer for the club.

“I think she’s good.Her father’s some kind of doomsday prepper and he’s got it rigged up tight.Might be a good idea to hack into the feed though, so we can keep a watch on her from here.”Ace glanced over at me.“Think she’ll be okay with that?”

“Can’t see why not.There’s nothing inside so not like it’s an invasion of privacy.We probably want to be careful not to trip any hidden hooks in it though.She doesn’t want her father to know what went down.”

“Why?”Ace frowned.

“Seems to think he might go hunt the guys down and land himself in jail.Sounds like the kind of guy who’s not into polite debates when it comes to his daughter’s wellbeing.”

Beast snorted.“Understand that.Someone touches one of my kids, they might as well just put a bullet in their own brain and save me the trouble.”

Ace shot Beast a quelling look before turning his attention back to me.

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