Page 63 of Acceptance

“I meant before he could get close enough to her.”

“That’s kind of a gross way to put it.”

He chuckles. “Fair.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Yes, he does. He really, really does,” Lex says. “You’ll want to shower, too. You kind of look like an extra from a horror film, and you probably have some glass in your hair, too. Not like me, but still enough to cause damage.”

“Yeah, it’s like I’m working with barbed wire here, babe,” Colt says. “Let’s go see what we can do in the apartment. Maybe I’ll get lucky and cut off all my fingerprints. The system won’t mean shit.”

Her eyes widen. “Let’s not aim for that because I don’t really want pink highlights. Blood and this hair is basically like washing white shirts with a red sock.”

They leave Venom and Marnie alone, and Lex hopes this jolts him out of his conviction to keep Marnie away. He could have lost her, and he should take advantage of having her safe and sound in his apartment.

Chapter Twenty-One

Griffin’s Beach

Undertaker

Parking outside the building, Undertaker jumps off his trike and runs through the unlocked main doors.

“Not a secure building. Fucking genius for a biker’s kid,” he mutters under his breath as he takes the stairs three at a time.

The second floor has two men trying to get into apartment 2B. A shoulder slams into the door, but it doesn’t break through.

“Come on, bitch. We know you’re in there,” one calls. “The boss told us where you live.”

“What’re you doing at my girl’s place?” Undertaker growls.

Both of them turn, and upon catching sight of him, jump backwards. “Oh, we must have the wrong apartment, man.”

“Nah, I don’t think so,” he says, grabbing the closest one. His friend takes off, and Undertaker laughs. “Guess your buddy doesn’t believe in leaving no one behind.”

“I was just told to come and take the woman who lives here. I didn’t know Marnie was your girl, man. Never would’ve fucked with her if I did.”

“Who’s your boss?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know the name of the guy you work for?”

“Look, I’m just the hired hand. Like a day laborer or a temp. We have a small network, and our info is given out to different associates to hire as needed.”

Staring in disbelief, Undertaker studies the man to see if he’s lying to him. “Are you fucking with me right now?”

“No! Look, we usually get the information about the person we gotta rough up or bring in somewhere, and then money hits our bank account. We don’t know details, which is kind of the point. Means we can’t rat if we get caught.”

Okay, that’s not a stupid plan. Doesn’t help me, but I gotta admit it’s not a bad business model.

“So, what you’re saying is that you have nothing useful for me since you can’t tell me who’s after my girl?”

“I-I guess not.”

Shrugging, he laughs. “Fine.” He breaks the man’s neck before tossing him to the floor away from the door. He knocks and braces himself on the doorframe. “Baby doll, it’s me. Open the door.”

It opens, and Jamie stands behind it holding a kitchen knife. She looks like she’s seen a ghost, and he storms inside, pissed despite her fear.

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