Page 25 of Inferno

Took him a solid five minutes to notice me. The moment he did, I registered shock followed by his carefully crafted professionalism. He kept speaking to the family without missing a beat, seeming to be completely focused on them when I could tell he was acutely aware of me standing in the foyer.

He finished what he was saying and let them move on to the dining room. Then he straightened, smoothed the front of his jacket, and looked at me directly across the length of the room, smiling as he did.

The family moved upstairs. The portfolio man took a card and left. The young couple reappeared from the back, asked about the timeline for offers, and Brett walked them to the door with another round of handshakes and a card each. The door closed behind them. The house went quiet except for the distant voices of the family somewhere on the second floor.

Brett turned and walked over. He moved without any hurry. His suit looked expensive, but what the fuck did I know about men’s business wear? His lean frame still filled out the jacket across his shoulders without looking too bulky. He stopped maybe six feet away, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed.

“Didn’t know you were in the market,” he said pleasantly. “This one would be a stretch on a club salary, but there are some good options down the road. I could put together a package.” I didn’t move or say anything. “Or,” Brett said, his voice dropping slightly, “if this is about Junie, I hope you know I’m just worried about her. She’s been under a lot of stress. With the shop and everything.” He paused just long enough. “I hope things settle down for her soon. I really do.”

Suddenly, I realized coming here hadn’t been my brightest idea. I knew exactly what I could do with the right motivation, I just hadn’t realized I’d have this intense protective reaction over Juniper.

Brett stood six feet away, completely safe, and he knew it. I had no doubt the bastard had managed to find enough about me to know my history.

I looked at him for three seconds. Then I said, “You should know Juniper has people watching out for her.”

“That’s good.” He gave me a relieved smile. “I worried she’d have trouble finding her footing.” He shrugged. “She’s… prone to make up dramatic stories. Watch out for her, but also watch out for yourself. Your friends. She’ll drag you under if you let her. Why do you think I left?”

“Funny,” I said. “She never once brought your name up unprompted. Not on her birthday at Throttle, and not since. But you can’t seem to stop sayin’ hers.”

“I’m just trying to be honest with you,” he said. “One man to another.”

The familiar rage I’d worked so fucking hard to control threatened to break through my shield. I’d built it not to protect myself, but everyone around me.

Instead of engaging further, I turned slowly, gave him a snort of derision before I turned and walked back through the entry hall and out through the front door.

I walked down the front path to the driveway without looking back. I reached my bike at the end of the driveway and swung a leg over it and sat. As I put my hands on the grips before starting the machine, I realized not only was I shaking with anger, but my palms were sweating.

Finally, I revved the engine a couple of times, just to piss off the neighbors around us, and took off. I needed to get away from here. I needed to make sure Knight and Hawk knew they needed to be aware of a heightened threat to the club from this pissant in case he figured out more about Kiss of Death than he should. And I needed to figure out what exactly I planned on doing about this situation because I knew there was no way I could leave Juniper on her own.

Chapter Nine

Inferno

My phone lit up with Juniper’s name while I cleaned the garage for Tiny. Did the garage need cleaning? No. But I’d been such a pain in the ass, Tiny had put me to work. Since he was an officer and I wasn’t, I was stuck here while Knight worked on keeping an eye on Brett’s movements. The visit to that open house hadn’t been to intimidate Brett. I’d put a gadget Knight gave me on his car and Knight used that gadget to get into Brett’s phone via the Bluetooth when it connected to the car. It might not help much, and only for a day before the battery died, but at least maybe we’d have a heads-up if he did anything stupid.

I answered Juniper on the second ring. “Hey.”

“Inferno.” The second she said my name, I knew something had gone very wrong. Her breathing was too fast and shallow.

“Juniper. What’s wrong?” I moved toward my bike at a run, leaving everything where it fell when I dropped it.

“I need help. Behind the b-bakery supply shop off C-Charlotte.” Her voice broke as she spoke. “The b-back parking lot. They took my k-keys and --”

“I’m coming. Are you hurt?”

A pause. “I’m fine.” The words came out on a little sob, which meant she was the opposite of fine.

I shot off a text to Knuckles and started my bike, my mind settling somewhat when the thing roared to life. On the bike, I was in control of my world. Right now, I needed every ounce of that control. The compound gate rolled open before I reached it, and I sped along as fast as I dared.

The little supply shop she always used sat in a strip of low commercial buildings with a gravel lot behind it. I cut through the alley between buildings and found her standing beside her sedan, one hand braced on the trunk, the other holding a set of keys so tight her knuckles had gone white. She was upright at least. Her hair had come loose from its bun and hung in dark strands around her face. She didn’t look up when my bike growled into the lot.

I killed the engine and hurried to her side. She looked at me and I saw more fury than fear. A lot more. Her eyes were bright and hard and her mouth was set in a line so tight the corners had gone white. There was gravel ground into the heels of both palms. A scrape ran the length of her right forearm where the sleeve had torn. The bruise Brett had left on her skin was still there, purple fading to yellow at the edges, and beneath it fresh red marks where someone had grabbed the same arm.

“They took my keys,” she said, like she’d rehearsed them. “Two men in a white sedan, I didn’t get the plate. They were parked behind the dumpster.” She pointed without looking. “When I came out with the invoice and my order sheet, they were just there. One of them grabbed my keys out of my hand.”

I needed to make sure she was OK, and to hold her close for a long fucking time. I needed her in my arms like I needed to breathe, but as big a dumbass as I could be sometimes, even I recognized now was not the time. If she felt smothered again, I doubt I’d get another chance.

“He grabbed my arm and just…” She waved her hand in a frustrated motion. “I don’t know. I fell to the gravel. I managed to hang on to his arm and got my keys back. When he pulled me to my feet, I swung for his face and I got him.” Her eyes were bright and wide with the adrenaline rush. “I got him good. Right across the…” Her hand made a diagonal slash across her own cheek. “He fucking screamed.” She was breathing hard now, her words coming faster. “The other one pulled him off. They said…” She stopped. Shook her head. “They said there’s an offer coming on the building. On my building. The b-bakery. They said I’d be smart to take it. That’s what they said. ‘There’s an offer coming. You’d be smart to take it.’ Then they ran. Got in the car and left.” I saw the confusion beneath her anger. “What does that mean? An offer on the building? I own the building. My grandmother left it to me. There’s no offer. There’s no…” She cut herself off. Swallowed. “I called you. I promised I’d call you.”