Page 37 of Coveted By Cupid

“It would be unwise to assume they aren’t already scouting here in your city,” Gauge responds bluntly. “The flesh trade is a disease, and diseases spread when not eradicated.”

“Who the fuck is running the operation?” Drift, our road captain, asks in a demanding tone.

“If we knew, they wouldn’t be a problem anymore,” a Mercy Raven named Reaper states darkly.

“We were hoping your crew might have an idea who’s behind it,” Atlas says, addressing me.

Oaks and I exchange a glance, silently agreeing to share what we knew.

“For the record, we have no concrete proof who’s behind the abductions. However, other Royal Bastard chapters have had run-ins with the Black Market Railroad.”

Collectively, the Mercy Ravens groan and curse.

“You’ve heard of them, I presume?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Fucking hell,” Gauge spits between his teeth. “We clean up the Italians and the Irish only for the goddamn Russians to infiltrate our territory.”

“All alleged, mind you,” I stress, but sensing it’s far more likely to be true.

“Why aren’t the police all over this?” Oaks asks heatedly. “You’d think the Feds would be involved by now.”

“The Fort Collins police are overwhelmed. They’re not used to dealing with this many missing person cases in a small window of time,” Atlas explains. “Our crew’s specialty is finding missing people, but we’d rather cut off the head of the snake responsible for all these abductions than continually searching for more missing students. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to increase security around campus, questioning anyone who comes across as suspicious. Hence, running into you today at the railroad crossing had us on high alert. We couldn’t trust you’d come to us for questioning, so we came to you instead.”

“Understandable. It’s your home, and it’s under attack. We may be a highway apart from each other, but I need your community to be safe—my woman lives there. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Stay vigilant here in Loveland,” Atlas warns. “When we tighten the belt around Fort Collins, it’s not uncommon for traffickers to move on to the next town, looking for breathing room to continue business. It’s happened before. It will happen again. If you hear anything, reach out to us.”

“You have my word.” I hold my hand out to the biker.

Atlas takes my hand, shaking it with the promise that we will have each other’s backs regarding this matter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

VANESSA

After the chaotic events of the night before, I’m a mixed bag of emotions.

On the one hand, I’m glad Boden got put in his place. As harsh as it was, it was necessary. My ex wasn’t taking the hint, and the word no doesn’t do shit to deter him—at least not when it comes from me.

On the other hand, I’m stressing over the new conundrum that has steamrolled into my life. Entering a new relationship after ending things with Boden was not on my agenda—not a damn thought. I was fine being single, fine living my life on my own terms. Sure, I was lonely, but I kept busy to combat my loneliness.

Cupid came out of nowhere. He stalked me, broke into my apartment, and scared the hell out of me. Not to mention, he choked my ex, shoved my underwear down his throat, and finished him by breaking his nose.

And what was my response to all the red flags decorating this man like a dust ruffle?

I sleep with him. Rode him so damn hard, I can still feel the indent he left inside of me today.

What the hell is wrong with my head to forgo all the disturbing actions Cupid demonstrated and jump into bed with him?

Convinced there was something not right with me, I searched through several of my psychology textbooks until dawn, attempting to self-diagnose myself with anything to explain away my irrational behavior.

Turns out, there’s nothing wrong with me—I’m just a horny bitch. And apparently, Cupid is the cure to sate my inner slutdom.

To make matters worse, Cupid believes I’m his woman. He clarified he wasn’t my rebound, nor was he hitting it and quitting it, meaning I am now romantically tied to a man I know nothing about other than he’s the president of the Royal Bastards MC Loveland chapter and his legal name is Elio Amor.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. I know a little more about him. I know he’s extremely possessive of me, he’s willing to break several laws to get what he wants, and he’s phenomenal in bed.

When he sent me a Good morning, Butterfly text, I stared at it for a solid few minutes, not truly believing what I was reading. Something about the simple gesture made me pause.