Page 15 of Eros
“I’m going to assume the somebody is that nice piece of ass that said she had your protection?” Wolf asked.
Our road captain Michael “Wolf” Young was an implant from Alabama. Former military like most of the guys in Savage Order, he had a knack for navigation. So, he was the perfect person tobe our road captain. And even though Janea was a nice piece of ass, I didn’t like how he referred to her as such.
“Watch your mouth,” I said with a calm I didn’t feel.
The road captain looked at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners before a wide grin split his face. “Sorry, Prez.” He held his hands up. I rolled my eyes, then he dropped his hands with a grin. “So why is the beautiful young lady with us?” Wolf asked.
“She’s got some information we might can use, but it comes with a hell of a lot of baggage,” I said.
“The sniper?” Tex asked, and I nodded.
I blew out a breath. “Any of you ever heard of the Black Viper Syndicate?” I asked, and nods went around the room. “Well, that’s who we’re dealing with.”
“Two-hundred and fifty thousand bounty on her head,” Knox chimed in.
Wolf whistled. “Who is this girl?”
“Daughter of the Lt. Governor,” I said. “And she thinks he put the hit out on her.”
“So, what does this have to do with us?” Tex asked. “If he wants his daughter dead, wouldn’t that help us out? She might have seen what the hell you were doing.”
“I think she knows why, and I want to use that information as leverage,” I said. “I think whatever she knows is more important than what she may have seen me doing.”
“Leverage for what?” Knox asked.
“Government contracts,” I said. “We’ve been trying to establish more of our legitimate businesses. This is our in.”
“That might work,” Knox said. “And you think she’ll go along with this?”
“Well, she doesn’t have a choice. Let’s put it to a vote. We’ll give her protection. All in favor say I.”
A wave of I’s went around the room.
“Okay. Let me break the news to Miss Thorne. She either falls in line, or the Vipers can have her. Church dismissed.”
Chapter Seven
Janea
I’dbeenpacinginsidethis dimly lit room ever since I arrived at what turned out to be a biker club’s clubhouse. Not just any motorcycle club, but Savage Order.
The Savage Order name was familiar to me because it wasn’t uncommon to see a group of motorcycles riding through Oakland, but it didn’t dawn on me, I’d been kidnapped by one of them. And now it all made more sense. Eros’s leather vest said president on the front. The loyalty of the kid from the warehouse who wanted to kill me.
“I’m so stupid,” I mumbled to myself as I continued to pace. “How the hell do I get out of this before he kills me?”
The smell of stale beer, harsh cigarette smoke, and the musty scent of old leather filled the air, clinging to the back of the throat. There were no windows, and the walls were closing around me the longer I was in here.
I wasn’t placed in this room by mistake, and it wasn’t a coincidence the room didn’t have windows. Eros didn’t trust me not to try to escape, and I didn’t blame him.
“I should have gone to the police, but if you had Janea would you still be alive?”
Before being shot at, if this had happened to me, I would have gone straight to the police as soon as I got away from Eros. However, with the reach my father had and him being the one who put a hit out on my life, I would have been dead within the hour. The information I had was valuable and the longer the day went on, I understood more than ever I couldn’t trust anyone, especially the police.
The doorknob rattling halted my pacing mid-stride. I faced the door and let out a breath of relief when the door opened, and Eros stepped inside. It was stupid of me to put any trust in this man because he had good reason to kill me. But he also saved my life, and I didn’t know why.
He closed the door, and my gaze was immediately drawn to the white bandage encircling his bicep. He wore his leather vest, a black t-shirt, black jeans, and black motorcycle boots that made him look both menacing and alluring.
A dangerous combination.
