Page 20 of Tracked By Hound

“Co-dependent much?”

“Don’t be an ass,” Gray snarls, showing teeth. “Last I heard, you’ve been locked up in your apartment with a woman for the better part of a week. The way I see it, you’re in no place to judge me.”

Touché.

“Quiet down, children,” Knox, who’s been quiet until this moment, calls out, earning a glare from us both. “If you two don’t mind, can we get back to the business at hand?”

Scarlett gives us a breakdown of the expenses needed to fund the shelter, and since we’re already using the building where the auction was taking place, we’re saved the cost of having to secure a location.

That particular location was also selected to make a statement and turn a place that was once filled with fear into one of hope.

I was there when we raided The Den, an auction house that was disguised as a gentleman’s club. While Saint was busy rescuing Jade from a backroom, Knox and the rest of us went in and cleaned house. At the time, we had no clue who was fundingthe auction, so we sent Gray to spy on the Chrome Vipers. I was there too when we attacked their clubhouse and brought the fuckers down.

Perhaps this is why I wanted so badly to punish Chelsea’s brother. He’d threatened to halt all our hard work and plans by stealing our money. Chelsea showing up when she did saved the man’s life.

“We can manage even without the remaining funds.” Scarlett’s words cut through my thoughts and bring me back to the present. “If there’s a problem, I can always sell one of the Vipers’ other holdings and make up for the deficit. I guess it’s a good thing everything is under my name.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Saint tells her. “That money is yours.”

“I don’t mind. My father put everything under my name so I would take the fall if he was ever caught,” she says with a sad smile. “I don’t mind using the money for good when needed. For now, what we have will be enough to start work on the building.”

“Perfect.” Saint claps his hand, and he’s about to say something else when there’s a sudden knock on the door. We all turn around when the door is pushed open and a frizzy-haired prospect peeks in. “What is it, Kyle?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Prez, but there’s a man in the bar asking to see you,” Kyle answers. “Says he’s here to discuss his debt and see his sister.”

Ransom.

My heart nearly stops at the thought of Ransom coming for Chelsea. Suddenly, I get the urge to get up and run to my apartment, pack my shit, grab my woman, and leave the damn city. Hide her in some shack in the middle of nowhere and keepher with me for the rest of our lives. But I force myself to remain seated.

“Bring him in,” Saint says, but I can feel his stare on me. “He could be here to clear his debt.”

I don’t give Saint the satisfaction of seeing me panic. I don’t allow anyone in the room to read the fear spreading in my heart. Christ, I just found her! Her beautiful smile and those eyes that light up every time they look up at me.

I’m about to lose her.

Then I’ll be back to having nothing.

The room is quiet as we wait for Ransom to be brought in, and when it finally happens, I have to force myself to stay still. The man tosses a glare in my direction when he spots me before turning to look around the room.

“Where is my sister?” he asks, and I have to admit to some grudging respect at the steadiness of his town. “I’m here to see my sister.”

“No,” Saint says calmly, leaning back in his chair. “You are not in a position to make any demands.”

Ransom takes a step forward. “My sister—”

“Is safe and will stay here until we have our money as agreed,” Saint’s voice is firm. “Now, do you have the rest of it?”

My eyes are firmly on Ransom, and I read fear in his eyes despite his bravado; the man is terrified, but I have to give him credit. Not many men would come in here willing to go toe-to-toe with Saint.

A little twisted, sick part of me wants to make him disappear. That way, I’ll never have to worry about his sorry ass coming for Chelsea and taking her way. She’s mine, goddamnit.But she’d never forgive me for hurting her brother. How the fuck do I go back to a life without her?

Will I survive?

I’ll have to, because hurting this man would mean hurting Chelsea. I would first cut off my own hand before I did that.

Fuck!

“I’m not discussing anything until I see my sister,” Ransom says again. “I want to verify with my own eyes that she is unharmed. Then we can talk about the remaining debt.”

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