Page 87 of Property of Bones

My debtshould’vebeen paid by now. But Muerte’s men got greedy. Sloppy. One drug run tipped everything sideways. Spike caught the scent. And I had to vanish before they put me in the ground.

This fucker ruined my life.

But he’s ruined alotmore than mine. There are others. Innocents. Collateral. One of them? Spike’s little sister.

So yeah. I’m the traitor in their eyes. The bastard that sold out his brothers. Fine.

I’ll play the long game.

I’ll wear the shame.

I’ll carry the cross.

Because if that’s the cost to take Muerte down and keep the club…mybrothers…their women, and their kids, safe?

Then burn me at the stake.

Just let me take the bastard with me when I go.

“According to Aaron, little Abigail has an appointment off-compound tomorrow at one. We’ll take her quietly. No mess, no witnesses. Once she’s secured, we send a message. Not to demand a ransom… but to deliver a body part. Something personal. Something unmistakable. Maybe her pretty hair still attached to her scalp.”

He pauses, thoughtful. Calm as death.

“That will bring Spike to his knees. And when he comes crawling to save her, broken and desperate?” He smiles. Slow, deliberate, like a man savoring the scent of blood. “Then we attack.”

“She won’t be alone,” I say before I can stop myself. The words come too fast. Too natural. I hate giving himanythingabout the club. “They never let one of their women leave the compound without a guard. Abby’s will most likely be Tank.”

Fuck.I shouldn’t have said that.

His eyes narrow. “The big guy?”

I nod once, jaw locked, hoping he doesn’t pick up on the heat behind my voice.

“Hm,” he muses, like he’s planning dinner. “We’ll equip our men with tasers. Quiet, quick, low profile. Enough to drop him without drawing attention. Then take him out with a silencer while he’s down.”

He claps me on the shoulder like a proud father.

“Good job, boy. You’re going to make an amazing president. With me running Palm Springs, and the Shadows in my pocket? We’ll be unstoppable.”

Not. Fucking. Happening.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sunny

“They’re just going to run a scan to see if it’s healing properly,” I tell him. “You don’t have to go in the actual room with me, Jack.”

He doesn’t say anything.

Of course he doesn’t.

He sayseverythingwith those damn eyes.

“You’ll need to wear a lead apron,” the nurse says, glancing between us. “And I’ll need you to stand behind the glass barrier with me during the scan.”

Jack gives a single, silent nod. Because of coursehe’snot going anywhere.

I sigh and point at the two prospects hovering like shadows in the corner. Both looking at Jack like he invented oxygen.

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