Chapter 16 Arrow
ARROW
I wake up and my body is plastered against Annie’s, and if I’m not sweating from where our legs intertwine, my arm is asleep from trying to hold her close.
I don’t give a shit if it’s the worst night’s sleep of my life.
I’ve never ever felt this fucking good. Every time I squint my eyes open against the dark, I’m reassured she’s here.
I’ve dated plenty and slept with plenty more. But I’ve never had a connection with a woman on a personal and physical level so fast. So powerful. Not only do I fucking love her company, her humor, her sweetness, but goddamn, she is wild in bed.
I resist the urge to wake her in the middle of the night for another round of fun, but by the time the sun brightens the windows, I feel her fingers stroking my morning wood.
“Hey,” she whispers, looking up at me. Her hair is tousled, and she has the cutest little sleep lines pressed into her right cheek. I stroke the skin with a finger.
“Hey to you, gorgeous. Sleep okay?”
She ducks her chin to kiss my fingers and shakes her head. “It was the worst night of sleep I’ve had in a while, but it was still the best night ever.”
I chuckle. “Same, babe. Same.”
We lie together in a groggy fog, her fingers exploring my chest and abs while I smooth her hair and try to control the raging erection that presses against her thigh. She cuddles closer, her thigh thrown over mine, and my dick throbs in response.
She cups my balls and gently strokes my sac. “My purse is right over there…”
That’s all the invitation I need. “I’m going to bring every single condom you packed,” I tell her.
I ease out of bed, my boner bobbing painfully as I head to her open purse.
I reach inside her small purse and feel the loose cash that Neveah stashed in there yesterday.
I fumble around past a wallet and ChapStick, but before I feel the familiar foil-wrapped packet, my fingers hit on something small, flat, and hard.
I pick up her purse and open it wide, peering inside.
“Did you find them?” Annie calls. She’s naked on the bed now, the sheets pushed aside as she watches me with a sly grin on her face.
“Can I look in here?”
She cocks her head and looks at me with a concerned expression. “Yeah, why? What is it?”
I fish my way to the bottom of her purse and stop when my fingers hit the small disk again. As soon as I pick it up, my gut turns over, and I break into a sweat.
I hold up the small device to show her. “Is this yours?” I ask.
Annie’s eyes widen. “What is that?” she asks. “I don’t even know what it is. And no, it’s not mine.”
She climbs out of bed naked and meets me at her purse.
She peeks inside where the loose cash is on top.
I can see now that I look that two condoms, their perforated ends still connected, have folded together and are wedged between the flaps of her wallet.
I pull those out and set them on the dresser.
“We’ll hang on to these,” I tell her. “But I think we’d better get dressed.”
She holds out a hand for the device I found in her purse. “Josh, what the hell is that?”
I knit my brows together and rub my eyes with two fingers. “This, Annie, is a tracking device.”
She staggers away from me, clutching her hands to her bare chest. “Shut up,” she says, shaking her head. “No. No, it can’t be. How did it get there?” She stares at me, her golden hair still messy from sleep and sex.
She’s looking to me for answers, but I have nothing but questions. I hold the device in my hands. “I’m going to talk to Tiny,” I say, striding over to the bed and pulling on my briefs. “Until we know what’s going on, the compound may not be safe.”
Annie sinks down on the bed and covers herself with the end of the sheet. “No…” she whispers, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it.”
I place the device back in her purse, then turn to kneel in front of her.
“Annie.” I grip her knees in my hands and squeeze.
“These guys are going to be okay. They aren’t just old dudes who go for joyrides together.
Until not that long ago, the Disciples spent more than their fair share of time on the wrong side of the law.
Tiny and the rest of them can hold their own. ”
Her eyes are bright with tears. “Neveah?” She croaks out the word, and the raw sadness in her eyes cracks my heart into a million pieces.
I nod. “Shower and get dressed. We’re going back to campus.”
By the time we’re both dressed and grabbing a cup of coffee from the kitchen, the entire compound is on high alert.
Tiny stands shoulder to shoulder with Dog and Eagle in the kitchen.
“Crow was on a job, but he’s on his way,” he tells me with a nod.
“Morris is at the office with Alice. I told Leo to let his brother handle the shop. He’s sticking close to my daughter just in case.
We’ve got the compound covered. Nobody will come in or out without us knowing about it.
” Tiny laces his thick fingers together and cracks his knuckles.
“I’m looking forward to protecting what’s mine. Whatever it takes.”
Annie opens her mouth to say something but stops. She looks from Tiny to Dog to me, and then down at her shoes. “I can’t believe this.” Her voice is almost a whisper.
Tiny grimaces, and the sight’s definitely scary. He plants a meaty fist on the counter and nods at Annie. “You listen to this one,” he says, gesturing to me with his other hand. “That’s your only job. Listen to Arrow and stay safe. Don’t you worry about anything else.”
He nods at me, and I return the gesture. I don’t know how I’m going to thank them for offering us shelter. Being willing to risk whatever danger this is to give us a place to stay. I shove that thought to the back of my mind and focus on what we need to do.
The first priority is confronting Neveah.
Annie’s hands shake as she sips her to-go mug of coffee, and I wrap a hand around her waist.
“Besides,” Tiny says. “The sooner you two can get back to your own place, the sooner we can sleep in peace.”
Annie’s eyes widen in horror as Dog taps his fingers on the kitchen paneling.
“Thin walls,” he laughs.
While Annie practically blushes herself into next week, I shake my head.
“We’ll keep in touch,” I tell them. “If anything we need to know about goes down, you know how to reach me.”
Before I take Annie outside to the truck, I scan the perimeter for cars, people, for anything that might be lying in wait for us.
She stands back behind the closed door while I inspect my tires and start the truck.
It all seems safe, but I have to assume that whoever placed that tracker and whoever she’s working for know exactly where we are.
Before I wave Annie over, I drive up and down the long driveway, testing my brakes and listening to my truck for any unfamiliar sounds.
Everything seems to be working fine. Nothing seems to be tampered with, and the brake lines obviously haven’t been cut, so I drive back and idle as close to the door as I can.
“Come on,” I call, rolling down the passenger window.
Annie takes off running from the front door of the compound, fear etched on her beautiful features. She climbs onto the running board and slams the door shut behind her, then quickly rolls up the window.
“I’m so sorry,” she says again. “This is…” Her voice trails off as she gazes out the window.
I reach a hand across the divider and squeeze hers. “Annie, stop apologizing. This isn’t your fault. We’re going to get answers from Neveah. And we’re going to get them today.”
We make the rest of the drive back to campus in silence.
My gut is churning as I think through how long that tracker was in Annie’s purse.
She’d been using a backpack until yesterday, so I’m sure the device was just placed there when I left Neveah to get coffee.
I’m not sure if I regret that decision or if that was the smartest thing I’ve done.
If Neveah denies leaving the device, it’s not like I can rough her up to get her to confess, but I’ll figure that out when we get to her.
We park in student parking and use Annie’s student tag, then hurry into the dorms. I peek at the security cams over the doors as we enter, wondering just how deep this danger runs.
I glare at the cameras and lace my fingers through Annie’s.
Every student we pass gets a sour look as I search every face, every hand, every passing shape for clues.
Most of the students seem too relaxed to even notice us.
It’s a gorgeous day. Sunlight floods the dorm lobby as everyone has someplace to be. I want that for Annie. I want carefree, artistic, sunshine Annie, and I’m going to get that back for her.
We head upstairs and go right to Neveah’s.
“Let me talk to her,” I say, lifting my hand to pound on her door.
I knock three times, loud and hard.
Annie stands beside me, her hands clasped together and a look of absolute fear on her face.
“You going to be okay?” I ask. “Do you want to go to your room and wait? I’ll handle this, Annie.”
She shakes her head and instead pushes past me. “I’m mad. I want to know what’s going on.” She pounds on the door, calling Neveah’s name. “It’s Annie. Open up!”
A door across the hall from Neveah’s opens, and a young woman peeks out at us. “Annie? What’s the matter?” She looks me over and cocks her chin at me. “You looking for Neveah?”
Annie turns and talks to the girl. “Yeah,” she says, without bothering to introduce me or explain. “It’s kind of urgent. Have you seen her?”
The girl shakes her head. “I actually haven’t seen her since last night.
We were going to grab dinner together, but she bailed.
I texted her around seven to see if she was okay, and she just said yeah, she got held up thrift shopping and would talk to me later.
” The girl shrugs. “I haven’t seen her today, though. ”