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“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, swinging my gaze back to Ryder.
“Hunter wanted to meet at his place because Brandy’s got something for us. Come on. We’re late.”
He didn’t wait for my reply, not that I had one since I was still stuck on Hunter having his own place. Though I wasn’t sure why that surprised me. Hunter had always guarded his privacy the way Scrooge guarded his gold. Down a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, was actually quite fitting. You could hide a lot of bodies out here.
Whoever the hell this Brandy chick was, I hoped for her sake she could handle Hunter, or I feared she’d wind up being buried along with the rest of Hunter’s problems. Hell, if I didn’t get my head out of my ass, I might be joining her.
Ryder’s headlights reflected off a group of bikes parked in the grass beside a van that belonged to the club. To my left they’d strung twinkle lights all along the banister of the wraparound porch.
What the fuck was this shit? I’d been dropped into an alternate dimension where Hunter had somehow been domesticated. Wonder if he still had both his balls or if they’d been strung up on the porch too.
Ahead of me, Valentina picked her way along the lit flagstone path in her high heels. Jesus Christ. Did that girl even own a pair of tennis shoes? If not, I wondered what she wore when she worked out. An image of her prissy ass, nose stuck up in the air, running in heels on a treadmill popped into my head.
Thankfully, my snort was drowned out by the front door swinging open. Valentina walked inside like she owned the joint and I followed suit.
If Hunter wanted you dead, you’d be dead, though I doubted he’d kill her for not knocking first. He might doll out plenty of death sentences, but unlike his father, he didn’t enjoy killing any more than the rest of us did.
I didn’t know shit about interior design, but even I could see this place was gorgeous yet simple. A wooden bench withfancy hooks lined the left side of the entry, Valentina’s heels clicking against the light wood floors. At the end of a short, dimly lit hallway, the space opened up.
Some brothers leaned against the back of a giant gray sectional, while the rest sat around the long, rectangular wooden table beside it. Hunter stood off to the side in a spacious white and black kitchen, his eyes focused on the table.
How he could stare, unblinking like that, had always creeped me the fuck out. God help whoever he was fixated on. Still, I was kinda curious because it was unusual for him to give a shit about another human being.
Then I turned my head and saw her. Talk about trippy. It was Cherry, but not. At least I didn’t think it was. Not unless Cherry could magically grow her hair, and if she could, I doubted she’d be hanging out with us.
There was something else, too, but I wasn’t sure what to call it. Fuck. Maybe an aura? Where Cherry gave off sunny, bubbly vibes, this girl was…walled off. Almost somber.
Ryder’s shoulder brushed against mine, but instead of walking past, he stood beside me, his eyes coming to rest on the girl. “That’s Brandy. She’s Cherry’s twin and Hunter’s old lady.”
“Shit,” I muttered, glancing around to see if anyone had heard my slip.
Ryder, that asshole, had the nerve to snort, drawing more than one set of eyes.
“Did I mention that she’s also Stella’s BFF?” He leaned in and whispered, “Better get used to spending a lot of quality time with Hunter,” before patting me on the back and walking away.
Like hell I would. Being forced to rely on Hunter’s help for Stel’s sake was one thing, but us being Friday night doubledate buddies wasn’t happening. Anyone who lacked the ability to feel wasn’t all the way right in the head, and while that trait came in handy for cleaning up the club’s messes, it didn’t exactly make him comfortable to be around.
Ryder clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Listen up! Brandy has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to help us find Stella and thinks she found something that may help us.”
He nodded his head at Brandy, whose cheeks were getting pinker by the minute. Interesting. If she was this flustered around the guys, I wondered how in the hell she handled Stel. I loved the girl to death, but she was about as subtle as a bull in a China shop and cursed like a sailor.
She shifted in her seat as she fingered the pearls around her neck, but when she spoke, her voice was confident and clear. “Her abductors have deviated from their usual pattern. Once the bidding starts, they normally won’t post again until the clock runs out and they announce the winner. Then the name is left on the site for twenty-four hours before all traces of the auction are removed.”
“About an hour ago”—she turned her laptop around—“this photo was added. I’ve magnified and enhanced the background so you can get a feel for the layout of the room. While it’s not as valuable as a blueprint, I figured it was better than you guys going in blind.”
Moving closer, I tried to brace myself for whatever image might be on her screen. It couldn’t be any worse than the shit I had rolling through my head right now. But imagining shit and having it stare you in the face were two very different things.
As I gazed at the photo, I released the breath I’d been holding.
“I don’t see Stella,” Tweak said, his arm brushing against hers as he leaned closer. “How do you know if it’s really her or one of the other girls?”
Brandy shrank back as if he’d burned her by moving a fraction of an inch. A low growl came from the direction of the kitchen and Tweak leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes at Hunter.
“Calm your ass down over there. Everyone knows you’ve already licked this cookie, and I barely bumped the lid on the jar.” He crossed his arms and nodded at Brandy. “How do you live with that psycho?”
She let out a half giggle, half snort, her cheeks going from pink to red. “Subtle, Tweak, very subtle.”
My eyes wandered around the room as I tried to figure out what I was missing because obviously something was up with this girl. Unfortunately, the guys remained silent and unfazed, waiting on her to continue. Hell, maybe I was imagining things. It had been months since my head had been this clear.
