Page 32 of Savage Lust

I pulled the hoodie over my head and handed it to him as he shut down the engine. Was it the heavy garment that made me sweat or my proximity to him?

Putting distance between us was the best plan. I needed to shower before Dylan came over, anyway.

Cam grabbed my hand before I could take a full step away from him.

“Riley, come here.” His voice was cool, firm, and crashed into me like a bucket of cold water.

Something was wrong.

twelve

Cam

The back door stood open, splinters of glass littered doorway, and the wood was cracked. Everything around me slowed down, and I slipped the nine-millimeter out of my saddlebag and chambered a round.

I pulled out my phone and shot off a text.

Archer’s. 911.

The entire table would be here within fifteen minutes, maybe less. But I wasn’t standing out here like a sitting duck. The entire neighborhood had heard me roll in.

“Stay behind me.” I shouldered my body in front of Riley and put her hand on my vest.

She took the hint and clung to the bottom edge.

Blood pounded in my ears as I pushed the door the rest of the way open with my knuckles. As quietly as I could, I stepped through the broken glass and took a two-hand grip on the pistol. If someone was in there, I’d shoot first and ask questions later.

The kitchen was clear, as was the small laundry room to the side. I swept across the living room—the couch had been tossed and the entertainment center doors were open. But no one was there hiding in the corners.

Taking the narrow hallway made me nervous. All the bedrooms and main bathroom branched off it. I couldn’t explore one without leaving another empty.

I’d done this once already this week, only that time it had been different. Then, I’d been alone. Stopping at the end of the hall, I took a deep breath and glanced to my left. A figure filled the doorway we’d just come in.

Puck’s eyes held mine, and he pulled a gun from the small of his back. I’d not heard him ride up and he didn’t have on his cut. He’d driven something else.

I pushed Riley at him and jerked my head toward the backyard. She glanced at me, confused. Puck understood, waving her over and ushering her out the back door. He’d take care of her. I had to trust that.

A cold sweat broke out across my skin, the edges of my vision clouded, and the pulse thundering in my ears was so loud I worried I wouldn’t hear anyone come up behind me.

I checked Archer’s small office first; it was trashed. Paper and folders littered the floor and the rolling chair was upended. I stifled a half grin—anything important had been on his laptop. Which wasn’t in this house. I wasn’t that stupid.

Across the hall, the guest room, the one Riley used, was untouched. I even checked the small bathroom and closet. Nothing. Archer’s room, though, we’d interrupted whoever it was. As they’d only opened a few drawers, and the closet was already empty. A quick glance under the bed showed the remainder of his self-protection arsenal was still intact.

By the time I walked back out the back door, I was relaxing, but needed a smoke like nobody’s business. I cleared my gun and stuck it in my belt before lighting a cigarette.

“Well?” Riley’s eyes were wide, her face ashen.

The urge to pull her to me and hold her was strong. I ignored her question and looked past her to Puck, who leaned against a post on the carport, scratching his beard.

“Whoever broke in was looking for something. They took off out the back bathroom window. Screen’s laying in the dirt.” I took a drag, letting the nicotine soothe me.

Several Harleys popped and crackled up the driveway. Preacher and Jester, I’d heard the engines so many times I knew. Preacher’s rumbled like an old dead hog, and Jester’s had the hum of a racing engine beneath its crackle. They pulled into the carport and shut their bikes off in tandem, the sudden quiet eerie.

“The fuck happened?” Preacher was climbing off all fake concern. “You okay, sweetheart?” He went to Riley first. He reached for her face, and I straightened.

I’d kill him right here.

She took a step back and his hands fell to her shoulders like he would hug her if she needed to be consoled.

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