Chapter 6
6
PHOENIX
W e pulled into the compound and around to the back of the clubhouse. I didn’t say a word as I helped Lindsay off my bike, then put my arm around her and walked toward the back door. As we passed a couple of brothers and prospects lounging around the firepit and picnic tables, I gave them a terse nod. They were smart enough not to say a damn thing when they saw the storm cloud on my face and Lindsay practically plastered against my side.
I needed to get her alone before I lost my shit.
The moment we stepped inside, I steered her straight to the stairs and up to my room. I lived full-time at the clubhouse. Came with the territory when you were the club treasurer—and a control freak. Unlike the bunk-style rooms most of the guys used for crashes or overnight visits, those who were here full-time had rooms that were closer to a suite. A small sitting area, king bed, desk, and built-in shelves I had loaded with files and books. As an officer, my space also had an attached bathroom. The clubhouse was home, but this was the one place in this building that was only mine. My brothers didn’t barge in here like they did with my office.
I shut the door behind us and turned the lock, then watched Lindsay silently as she looked around. Eventually, she faced me with wide, watchful eyes. She was trying to appear calm and collected, but she was practically vibrating with tension.
“Sit,” I ordered, voice low, gesturing to the couch. “You need a minute to breathe.”
“I’m fine,” she argued, her chin tilting in that stubborn way that made my cock twitch.
I narrowed my eyes, making it clear that I didn’t believe her. “Humor me.”
It wasn’t a request, and she knew it. She huffed adorably but padded over to the sofa and sat.
I ran my hands through my hair, then dropped my head back to stare up at the ceiling and sighed. Adrenaline was still pumping through me, and it was making it hard to ignore my desire to expend that energy with Lindsay. In bed. Naked.
When I brought my gaze to her once more, there was a pretty blush on her cheeks, and for a moment, my restraint snapped. I crossed the room in a few steps, bent down, bracing my hands on either side of her head, and kissed her.
It wasn’t soft. Or gentle. Or any of the things it probably should have been after what she’d gone through.
It was hard. Consuming. Almost desperate.
I kissed her like I meant it. As though I’d nearly watched her get stolen off the street. Like I needed to taste her just to make sure she was still here. Safe. In my arms.
Her fingers twisted in my shirt, tugging me closer as heat sparked between us. Her breath hitched, her mouth opening under mine, and I inhaled her bewitching scent. I fucking needed her like I needed to breathe.
“Fuck, you taste good.”
She was sweet. Addictive. And with a little encouragement, I had no doubt she would be wild.
My hands cupped her face and…
A banging on the door interrupted me.
I growled against her lips, ready to kill the motherfucker on the other side. My forehead dropped to hers as I panted and tried to regain my control.
“Better not be fucking,” Maverick shouted from the hallway, his voice too damn amused. “Club business, asshole. Brief the prez before you start breeding her.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” I muttered.
Lindsay let out a tiny, breathless laugh. “Um…did he say…um. Do you guys always bang on each other’s doors like that?”
I scowled at the door as if it would penetrate the hard surface and burn Maverick to fucking ashes. “Only when we know we’re interrupting something.”
Then my gaze dropped to her stomach for a moment. I decided not to tackle the question she’d been about to ask. Not yet. It would be happening real fucking soon if I had my way, though.
Lindsay giggled again, and I kissed her once more. Fast, rough, and filthy. But over too fast. Just enough to leave her gasping and flushed with intense desire.
“Gotta go talk to Fox.” I straightened and walked toward the door but paused to toss one more demand over my shoulder. “Don’t wander around without me.”
Until she was wearing my property patch, I didn’t want Lindsay running into any of my unattached brothers and giving them the idea that she was available.
When she didn’t say anything, I twisted my head and glared at her. She opened her mouth, probably to argue, but I cut her off. “I mean it, baby.”
After a second, she gave me a reluctant nod, and I lifted my chin in acknowledgment before forcing myself to turn and unlock the door.
Once I was out in the hall, I leaned against the wall for a second, dragging in a breath as I adjusted myself. My dick was as hard as fucking stone, pressing against my zipper as though it was trying to make a jail break. Last thing I needed was to walk into a strategy meeting looking like I was ready to fuck the wall.
“Relax, asshole. Fucking breathe,” I muttered, straightening up and heading for the prez’s office.
Fox sat behind his big, modern desk—one you’d expect to see in the executive's office of a financier on Wall Street—with multiple monitors and nothing out of place. He was a neat freak, but only his wife and our VP could get away with giving him shit about it.
Maverick stood on his left, arms crossed, his face impassive.
Whiskey and Deviant were lounging in the small sitting area on the right side of the office, while Stone sat at the round, wooden conference table on the other side.
“Took you long enough,” Stone muttered.
“Was busy,” I said flatly, dropping onto an empty chair in front of Fox’s desk.
“Yeah, we know,” Deviant said with a shit-eating grin. “Mav filled us in.”
Whiskey smirked. “Bastard’s finally got it bad.”
Fox’s voice cut through the shit, demanding our attention. “Shut the fuck up. I have a wife and kids waiting, and none of you are pretty enough to keep me here longer than necessary.”
The room immediately went quiet.
“Since she’s here, and you look like you’re gonna flip your shit any minute, gonna assume something happened at the hospital?”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Someone tried to snatch Lindsay in the parking lot. Van rolled up, masked pricks jumped out. I shot one of the tires and clipped the frame before they peeled off. Had to fire a few rounds. The hospital will have to report it.”
Stone didn’t even blink, just wrote a note on the legal pad in front of him. “I’ll handle the cops.”
I nodded my thanks. “Asshole is still in a coma. No help there.”
“We should have eyes on him,” Whiskey grunted.
Fox nodded and pulled out his phone, making a call. “Send two prospects to the hospital. Then contact the head of the ICU and let him know that they’re not to leave Vogel’s side until I say otherwise. If the fucker wakes up, I want to know immediately. If anyone tries to get to him, I want them stopped.”
He listened for a couple of beats, grunting a response before ending the call. Then he looked back at me. “You sure he’s the guy?”
“Positive. Every deposit lines up with donation drops,” I confirmed. “And the account he used wasn’t tied to Juniper Grove’s records. All under the radar.”
Deviant nodded. “Pulled his credit report. Paul’s drowning. No real assets, no savings, no investments. He’s overdrawn most months. The withdrawals are cash, and then he’s wiped out.”
“Which makes it more likely he owes somebody,” Whiskey said, rubbing his jaw. “Or he’s paying for something he doesn’t want anyone to know about.”
“He’s still alive, so I think whoever kicked his ass still wants something from him. Putting him in a coma was probably an accident.”
“Think he’s in with a bookie?” Stone asked.
I shook my head. “Don’t think so. The withdrawals are too regular. He’d be scrambling for large payoffs if he was in major debt to a bookie or loan shark.”
“Which leaves paying for a vice,” Whiskey concluded. “Then why the beating?”
Deviant scratched his chin and rested an ankle on the opposite knee. “Probably pissed someone off, and they were teaching him a lesson.”
Fox frowned. “Still doesn’t explain why they came for the girl.”
I went still, my voice dropping low. “We need to figure that shit out fast. Or I’ll put the bastard in the ground. Whatever it takes to keep her safe.”
No one argued. It would have made them a bunch of fucking hypocrites since they’d do exactly the same thing for their women.
“She know something?” Stone asked, thoughtfully.
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Been poking around. Asking questions. But I didn’t think she’d dug deep enough to make waves.”
Fox studied me for a second. “We’ll figure it out. No one’s gonna hurt your girl.”
“Damn straight,” I growled my hands curling into fists. Just the thought of anything happening to Lindsay had me feeling homicidal.
“Need to find out where Paul’s been going after his withdrawals,” Deviant added. “There’s no digital trail, so we follow his physical one. ATM cams, traffic cameras, gas stations, whatever. He’s cash only, so that’s all we’ve got.”
“Start mapping it tonight,” Fox said, nodding at Deviant. “Tomorrow, we turn his apartment upside down. He’s got physical records, we’ll find ’em.”
I nodded and stood. “Need to get back to my woman. Make sure she’s good.”
“Yeah, I bet you do,” Whiskey snorted.
“Don’t knock it,” Stone smirked. “He’ll finally be tolerable now that he knows how it feels to be obsessed with his woman.”
“Go,” Fox said, waving toward the door. “Phoenix, hang back.”
The others filed out, leaving the door open behind them. I faced my prez but didn’t sit back down.
Fox leaned back in his chair and gave me a look that said he wasn’t just my president—he was my friend.
“You want me to send out a vest?” he asked, his lips tipped up at the corners.
A vest. My property patch.
“Yeah,” I confirmed without hesitation. “Send it.”
I intended to have that patch on her back and my ring on her finger as soon as possible. Then I’d breed her and make damn sure no one ever forgot who Lindsay belonged to.
Fox gave me a small nod. “Figured, but I wanted you to say it out loud. Make sure you were certain.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t need to. In our world, nothing spoke louder than a property patch.
Maverick lifted his chin toward the door. “Go check on your woman. Deviant’ll be digging into shit, and we’ll head over to Vogel’s place around nine.”
“Better find something,” I growled. “We don’t figure this out soon, gonna burn the motherfucking world down to make sure she’s safe.”
I stalked out of the office, my blood humming with fury and need.
They’d come after my girl.
And now the whole world was gonna learn what that cost.