Page 79 of Chief's Addiction

Still… I narrowed my eyes. “What are you doing sneaking around?”

Memphis trembled, her big green eyes darting between me and Cora’s sleeping form. When she spoke, I wasn’t surprised that her tiny soft voice fit her tiny form. No wonder my Enforcer was stomping around like a madman. I didn’t know her from Eve, but even I could see that the little thing needed someone to look out for her.

“I heard what he did to her. What Spike did. I wanted... I needed to make sure she was okay.”

A mix of emotions flickered across her face. I knew what’d been done to the girls we’d rescued, but seeing the scars with my own eyes wasn’t something I’d ever get used to.

The tension in my shoulders eased somewhat.

“She’s gonna be fine,” I said, deliberately softening my tone. “Doc patched her up. She just needs rest now.”

Memphis nodded jerkily, her eyes lingering on Cora’s bruised face.

“Thank you for checking on her,” I added, surprising myself with the gratitude I felt toward this skittish woman. “But I promise you, Spike and his men will never hurt anyone again.”

Something dark and haunted flashed in her jade-colored doe eyes. “And Nikolai?”

My head jerked back, every muscle in my body going rigid as I stared at her. “How do you know about Nikolai?”

Memphis’s face shut down instantly, all expression wiped clean as if someone had flipped a switch. Her entire body began to tremble more violently, and she took a step back into the hallway.

Fuck. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her.

I rose from my chair, moving toward her, and she shrank back, making herself smaller.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I said, holding up my hands. “You’re safe here. The Saints will protect you.”

A single tear slipped down her pale cheek, leaving a glistening trail in its wake. “Nobody can protect me,” she whispered.

Before I could reply, she turned around and walked out of the room. I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty doorway as unease crawled up my spine.

How the fuck did she know about Nikolai Sidorov? Foxy’s intel had only come in a couple days ago, and we’d been careful about who we shared it with. Had Killer told her? Unlikely. That brooding motherfucker barely spoke to anyone, and he’d never share club business.

As I was racking my brain, trying to figure out how Killer’s obsession knew about the Russians, Beckett appeared in the doorway. The bruises on his face had darkened to a deep purple, but he looked better than he had yesterday. More rested.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes immediately going to Cora. “How is she?”

“Sleeping,” I replied, running a hand through my hair. “Doc gave her something stronger for the pain.”

He nodded, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. “Zero’s teaching me about cybersecurity. It’s pretty cool.”

I felt my lips quirk up. “You into computers, kid?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he shrugged, but I could see the excitement in his eyes. “Zero says I’m a natural.”

Something warmed in my chest at the thought of Beckett finding his place here with us.

“Look, I need to handle something,” I said, deciding I needed to talk to Foxy and see if she’d heard anything more from her contact in St. Louis. “Could you sit with her for a bit? I won’t be long.”

Beckett nodded, already moving toward the chair I’d been sitting in for the last two days. “Yeah, of course. I’ll stay as long as you need.”

“Thanks, kid.” I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed.

As soon as I stepped out of Cora’s room, I groaned. Fuck my life. Viper, Sparrow, and Knox were leaning against the far wall in the hallway, clearly waiting for me. Sparrow’s eyes narrowed as they landed on me, but there was something different in his expression. I didn’t give a damn what he had to say about it, Cora wasn’t leaving Jacksonville. She belonged to me now, and he was going to have to get the fuck over it.

I crossed my arms over my chest, bracing for whatever was coming. “Gentlemen.”

The hallway was silent for a long moment, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally, Sparrow pushed off the wall, taking a step toward me.

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