Page 129 of Broken Bonds
Forcing myself to move, I get dressed and then realize I should leave the sheets until later. It’ll just put Mal’s scent all over me again, and I really do need to get moving. I should have already been at the rec center.
But first…
I grab my phone from the nightstand, take a deep breath, and pull up Jax’s contact on my phone.
I am not looking forward to making this phone call.
At all.
And I have a feeling Jax won’t like it very much, either.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Jax
Heavy is the Head
I’m just pulling off I-75 at my exit when my phone rings again. A stutter of dark concern flashes through me when I see it’s my buddy from the Empire Pack, Sawney Lozada.
I pull off on the side of the road because I have a feeling I want my full concentration on this call. “Hey, Saw. Do I want to hear this?”
He snorts. He’s 94, older than me, but I’ve always gotten along well with him. “Naw, but you’re gonna hear it anyway.”
“Shit.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Rip the bandage off.”
“Well, when we finish this call I’ll send you the link to download the files. I played the voicemails on the phones you sent, and read the email and DMs in all his socials.”
“How bad?”
“Pretty bad. I also have a few pictures for you.”
“Pictures?”
“Yeah…”
By the time our conversation ends ten minutes later, the thought of turning my truck around and driving to Atlanta and pounding Randolph Sterling into a bloody pulp with my bare hands is looking better by the minute. Because I’ve downloaded the files and listened to the voicemails, and even if I had still been thinking about sending Mal away, those would have cinched my determination to keep him here and keep him safe.
Long story short, Morning was right that people are actively looking for Mal.
Sterling’s people.
And he was also right that if Sterling’s people get their paws on Mal, he’s dead.
It settles the matter. I have to talk with Todd and Mal, and we need to come up with a plan ASAP to get Mal smelling like pack until we can put him through a full initiation.
I pull back onto the road when my phone rings again.
Fucking hell.
Thank the Goddess for hands-free car mode. I punch into the call. “Jax Crowe.”
“Hi, sir. This is Carson Odette.”
I quickly scan my memory. I believe he’s one of the gammas living in a group house on the compound. “What can I do for you, Carson?”
“Well, sir, several of us from our gamma house were at the meeting last night.”
I suppress my grumble because I have a suspicion this will not go well. “And?”
