Page 25 of Ghost

“Thanks.” The corner of her mouth turned up as she reached for another box.

I took it from her and watched her cheeks warm again. “Where do you want this, pretty girl?”

She pointed toward the temporary records office and walked ahead of me, the sway of her hips making the weight in my arms feel like a useful restraint. I followed because the position let me watch the room and her at the same time. And staying close enough to reach her had become instinctive.

By early afternoon, the surviving files had been sorted, the recount was moving under Tamsin’s supervision, and Cipher had flagged every post-submission change he could find. Tamsin sat at the edge of a folding table, comparing a transfer packet against a list from another Bellamy property, then frowned and flipped through the pages again. I saw the moment she decided something was missing by the way her shoulders tightened and her fingers stopped halfway down the sheet.

“The original transfer packets for these loads are at our other storage property,” she muttered, sliding off the table. “The copies here don’t include the receiving signatures.”

“We’ll collect them.”

Tamsin glanced toward me as she gathered the pages into a folder. “That was remarkably easy.”

“You haven’t told me how you planned to get there.”

Her eyes narrowed with immediate understanding, and she pointed through the open loading door toward her truck. “We can take mine.”

“Fine.” I took the folder from her and tucked it beneath one arm. “I’ll drive.”

“You really do compromise,” she murmured in a dry tone, falling into step beside me with exaggerated wonder.

“Fuckin’ beautifully, pretty girl.”

Tamsin shook her head and walked a few paces ahead, sunlight catching in her hair as she crossed the lot. I let my gaze travel down the line of her back to the curves packed into her jeans, already imagining those hips in my hands while she rode me instead of my bike. For fuck’s sake. It was like my brain had lost complete control over my dick.

My eyes swept the parking lot when a flash beneath her truck snapped every thought into cold focus.

The glint came from the front passenger side, too clean to belong beneath a vehicle coated in road dust. A dark housing sat tucked against the chassis where no factory component should have been, nearly hidden unless the sunlight struck it at exactly the angle I had caught. My smile vanished as Tamsin reached the rear quarter panel.

“Stop.”

11

TAMSIN

Ifroze because his tone didn’t leave room for anything else. Tipping my head back, I noticed his smile had been replaced by an intensity that worried me.

His gaze was locked on my truck. “Step back. Behind the loading barrier. Now.”

I moved quickly, waiting until I was behind the concrete before I asked, “What do you see?”

“There’s a device under your truck.”

I hated that he was still out there, but he wasn’t the only one at risk. Pulling out my phone, I called the front desk.

“Bellamy Pyro⁠—”

There was no time to lose, so I cut our receptionist off. “Keep everyone away from the parking lot and move them toward the opposite side of the building. Now.”

A month ago, Beth probably would’ve questioned the demand. But after everything that had happened over the past couple of days, she didn’t ask for more details. Without hanging up, she activated the loudspeaker and announced, “We’ve got another emergency, guys. Head to the west side of the building for your safety.”

With that accomplished, I peered around the corner to see what Gavin was doing. He was checking the cars on either side of my truck, his thumbs moving on the screen of his phone while my knees went wobbly with fear.

He must’ve sent word to his club brothers because they swarmed the area. Bikes cut off the entrance, stopping anyone who tried to pull in.

“Is the warehouse empty on this side?” I asked.

“Almost,” Beth replied. “They’re checking bathrooms now.”