Chapter Twelve
Ivar
Cleaning up Zane’s mess was like any other day in Shitlandia, but babysitting for him? That was new.
This was the woman he had been secretly seeing and guessing by the fact that no one had bothered to put a damn blindfold on her face, he was planning to keep her around for a while.
She was Zane’s property now and from the moment I’d seen her entering the warehouse, I’d known we were up against something none of us were prepared for.
Note to self: Shit happens when a powerful man starts making decisions with the head hanging between his legs.
I couldn’t deny she was a beautiful woman. Not my type, but still, a perfect ten. Was a perfect ten worth all this trouble? Hell no. But beauty wasn’t the first thing I noticed. It was her composure and good she was at hiding her emotions.
Despite the circumstances she was walking into, she didn’t seem scared. In fact, she seemed incredibly calm, calculated, more focused on studying her surroundings than worrying about the danger likely waiting for her.
That by itself was curious.
Each time she opened her mouth, it was a pinch on my nerves.
It wasn’t the tone of her voice, but her presence simply bothered me.
I didn’t trust her. Not even a little. She didn’t belong here, and Zane was being careless, risking too much over a stranger who hadn’t even proven to be useful.
Whatever connection he thought she had with the Red Scorpions, if she had one to begin with then she’d be more useful dead.
“I want to see Zane.”
There was the annoying voice again, talking as if she had rights under this roof.
“Fuck it,” I growled under my breath. If I had to stay with this woman all night, we’d end up trying to pluck each other’s eyes out. It wouldn’t end well. So, I did the only thing that made sense, I dragged her to the one place I knew she couldn’t escape from.
The catacombs.
That was my name for it, because sometimes dramatics were damn well deserved.
We didn’t use the prison chamber much these days, but when we did, it got bloody. Thankfully for her, tonight, it would only be a place where she could take a nap.
When I shoved her into the cell and slammed the door shut, terror finally flashed across her face, her first real emotion since walking into this mess. And then, the bitch actually spit on me, almost in my goddamn eyes!
I had to admit, I was impressed. The woman had a bigger pair than half the men we’d tossed into that same cell. Trapped with nowhere to go, and still, she didn’t let her guard down. Either she was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Maybe both.
I could see why she piqued Zane’s interest. The women in our circle were all the same: submissive, boring, predictable. But this one was built from something else entirely. Still, I couldn’t find a single good reason why he’d put his life at risk for her.
I’d known Zane my whole life and this made no sense.
By the time I reached Andy, irritation was already tightening around my throat.
“The fuck happened out there?” I demanded. “How does a simple exchange turn into a bloodbath worthy of a breaking-news exclusive?”
Andy scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to wipe away the stress and tiredness. “I’m not even sure. We were getting into the SUV when Zane stormed back inside the club and—”
“You were supposed to be sure all the fucking time, Andy!” I snapped, stepping in closer. “He could have died. Do you get that? We could be zipping him into a body bag right now.”
His jaw tensed irritation replacing guilt. “Well, he didn’t,” he shot back, “and we got this.”
He handed me a phone and then a zip-bag with bloodied bullets inside.
“I’ll send those to ballistics, see what we can pull from them,” he muttered as I swiped through the photos on the phone. Three bodies on the ground, blood pooling beneath them. I zoomed in on that distinct red ink on their necks.
Just like he’d said on the phone.
“The Red Scorpions were there,” Andy continued. “They tried to take the girl, and Zane brought her here so we can figure out why.”
I locked the screen and exhaled through my teeth.
Great.
Just fucking great.
We weren’t babysitting a random girl. We were sitting on a live grenade, and Zane had already decided to pull the pin without warning the rest of us.
I shoved the phone and the bullets back against Andy’s chest. “Make sure the place is clean and get the full surveillance footage,” I said finally.
“And send someone to check the street and the cameras around the club. Every angle, every second from the last thirty days. I want a complete timeline.”
Andy blinked. “Thirty days? You think they were tailing her specifically for that long?”
“I think I don’t like coincidences,” I said.
He swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. “And the girl? What do you want me to do with her in the meantime?”
“She’s locked up. She’s not going anywhere for now.”
At least, that was the plan.
I dragged a hand down my face, inhaling through my nose until my pulse stopped thundering in my ears. “I want her file in my hand before Zane gets out of surgery.” I added. “And until we know what the hell she is, we treat her like a threat.”
Andy nodded before hurrying off down the hall, already barking orders into his radio.
Zane didn’t risk his life for strangers. Not ever.
What the fuck made her so different?