Chapter 17
Bones
“Yo, Bones! We’re about to start. You in?”
I unlock my eyes from my phone, pissed as hell that she hung up on me.
Ripper’s staring at me hard, probably reading the anger on my face by the curious look on his.
She fucking hung up on me. But what I’m really pissed about is the fact that Pritchard is leaving that girl unguarded.
He should’ve fucking let me know he was going to be out tonight.
I would’ve been there. Last he told me, he was staying in tonight. So, I thought she was safe.
“Yeah, deal me in. I’ll be there in a sec.”
Me: Just got word from Dagger that you have an event tonight. Do you need me to go keep watch?
Even Dagger didn’t let me in on the fact. Probably because he knows King’s back in town and he doesn’t want me getting my ass into trouble.
Pritchard: No need. I’ll be leaving here soon. I have a raging headache and don’t have the patience for these people.
Me: Don’t know how you ever have patience for them. Next time, let me know when something comes up. I’ll go keep watch at the house.
Pritchard: Appreciated, but that place is more secure than a prison thanks to you. I feel comfortable leaving her home alone.
He may be comfortable with it, but I’m fucking not.
A couple of cameras and an alarm system won’t stop a monster from breaking in.
By the time the cops or us Knights got there, she could be thirty minutes away from the state line, trapped in the trunk of someone’s car, bound and gagged. Or even worse, she could be…
I can’t even finish the thought. I’m going to take the issue up with King.
He can relay the message to his old buddy that the girl needs 24/7 protection.
Even if I have to make up some shit about Vicious driving through the neighborhood, I will.
But that girl needs to be guarded. The only reason I’m not hopping on my bike right now is because Pritchard will probably beat me to his house.
Damn, I need a drink.
“There you are,” King states. “Haven’t seen your ass in weeks. Glad you’re joining us for poker night.”
I give him a fist bump as I take my seat.
“What are you drinking, son?”
Whatever will burn off this grudging feeling in my stomach.
It’s my first argument with my girl. I’m letting her ass cool down a moment before I text her again.
For now, I’ve checked the camera feed and she’s in the bathroom, probably taking a bath.
Little girl loves her bathtime. She let me watch her clean her pussy once, and fuck if it wasn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
Damn, now I’ve got a semi.
“I’ll have a Walker. Make that a double.”
“Shayna sweetheart! You mind getting Bones a Scotch? Give him the blue label.”
They shouldn’t be wasting the good stuff on me. I’m just looking for a quick buzz.
“So, how are things over at Pritchard’s? Any of those venomous snakes been sniffing around lately?”
I’m the only snake that’s been sniffing around the place. Every night I’m in that girl’s bed, crawling under those sheets, my tongue slithering between her legs as I prey on her body.
“Haven’t seen them, but I feel like we’re sitting in the eye of the storm. They’ve grown quiet, probably having caught onto the fact that there’s a new security system in place. Not sure when they’ll plan their next attack, but we’ll be ready.”
“Fucking wish those bastards would go back to where they came from,” he sighs. “It’s one fucking headache I don’t need right now.”
“How are things out east?” I ask.
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” He lifts his glass, taking a nice long swig of his drink. It doesn’t look like things went well from those creases around his eyes.
“Caprizio and his men are helping with the situation now, so for the time being, I’ll be here. My daughter needs me.”
That girl is fine. She has Ripper to keep her safe.
“It will be good to have you around, Prez.” I clink my glass to his before taking a swig. The scotch goes down slow and smooth, settling into my gut. Hopefully, this drink and the distraction of the poker game will calm my nerves down.
But as the evening wears on, my nerves only grow more haggard. I can’t check the cameras because King is right next to me. If he sees the image of her room on my screen, he’ll wonder why the fuck I have surveillance of the girl’s private bedroom.
“I’m going for a ride,” Cage suddenly states in the middle of a hand. He’s another one who seems off tonight. Ever since his one-night stand last week, he’s been checked out. I think the woman may have had an impact.
“I’ll go with you,” I tell him. There’s no way I’m letting him ride alone.
Besides, I’m hoping the fresh air will do me some good.
I need to figure out how to handle this situation with my girl.
The disappointment was thick in her voice.
But if we get caught… I won’t even get to kiss her goodnight because I’ll be buried six feet under.
We cruise down the mountain side, winding around the curves, the cool breeze blowing against us, but it’s not doing anything to chill me the fuck out. All I want to do is pull over and check my phone. I want to hear Zoey’s sweet voice and make sure she’s not mad at me.
Cage pulls into the same country western bar we were at last week for Dagger’s bachelor party, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we wound up here. I think he’s looking for someone.
“You want to tell me why we’re back here?” I shrug my helmet off and place it on my seat.
“Just wanted to get a drink.”
“We passed about a dozen bars on our way down.”
“There’s no chance I’ll run into my dad here.”
Although that’s probably the truth, I call bullshit. “Are you sure that’s the reason? Or is that girl you met last week that you’re after?”
“Come on.” He shakes his head. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
I’ll take that as a yes.
I pull out my phone as I follow him in. It’s time to apologize to my girl.
But as soon as my screen lights up, I see all the notifications I’ve missed.
All the times the cameras alerted from movement on Pritchard’s property.
He must’ve gotten home from his event. I go ahead and open the alerts just to be sure.
The first one shows a car pulling into the drive, but it’s not the governor’s car.
It’s Zoey’s best friend. Teagan gets out and goes inside.
Not twenty minutes later, it shows her leaving.
But then there’s another alert from the side camera as the car drives through the gate.
It’s Teagan. But I thought she was the one in the car. Motherfucker.
I knew that girl was a bad influence on my angel.
Immediately, I pull up the tracker on Zoey’s phone to see where she ran off to, but it says she’s still at home.
The little sneak left her phone at the house.
Fuck. Now, I’m going to have to track her by Teagan’s phone.
I punch out the keys, working through the system to get what I need.
I saved Teagan’s number in case of emergency. Now is that emergency.
“You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Shit, I forgot Cage was even here, or where the fuck I was.
“The governor’s daughter ran off, and he can’t find her ass.” I rise from my seat as the location comes through.
“You want me to go with you?”
“Nah. Need to handle this on my own.”
I’m going to find my naughty girl and teach her a lesson.
“Just remember who it is you’re dealing with.”
I don’t fucking need this right now. I know I’m not allowed to be with the girl. That’s exactly why I’m in this fucking situation to begin with. If I could be with her, she would’ve been back at the clubhouse, tucked in my bed.
“She’s nineteen, Cage. I’m not trying to rob the cradle. I’m just doing the man a favor.”
Nineteen or not, the girl is my everything.
“You let me know if you need me.”
What I need is get to my woman before someone else does. She’s exposed. And Vicious is still out there. And this is exactly why Pritchard should have 24/7 watch. From now on, I’m going to be there regardless of whether he’s home or not.