Chapter 1
God, would this week ever end? It was only Wednesday, and I was ready for the weekend.
My work as a computer network architect kept me busy.
I appreciated making a decent salary, which allowed me to cover my bills and then some.
Other than my computers and associated equipment, I didn’t spend much money on anything beyond the necessities.
I had no friendships where I was asked to go out partying or anything like that.
My clothes and car weren’t flashy either.
Although I should be happy that work was so busy, as it meant I made more money, it took time away from my true passion.
When I wasn’t working for one of the various companies I contract with as an architect, I was deep in the web, searching, tracking, and digging to find information about others.
It was my second, hidden job. I worked for one person.
When she didn’t need my skills on a case, I was free to find others who required someone to ensure they received what they deserved.
I had a new assignment from Braelyn that I was anxious to jump into.
She always sent me the most interesting cases.
I loved to sleuth on those she asked me to investigate.
Brae and I attended college together. Somehow, she broke through my walls and proved to me she was a friend and confidante.
When we graduated, we stayed in contact, and one day, after she became a lead Assistant DA in Georgia, Brae asked me to find out what I could about her client. It grew from there.
All the work I did for her was on the down low, so she paid me in cash. This practice made the money untraceable. It was her idea to pay me. I tried to do it for free, but she refused. Braelyn could be very stubborn when she wanted to be.
Due to her brilliant skills, she was constantly defending or prosecuting someone.
The DA office’s win percentage was through the roof because of her.
I took pride in knowing I had helped her achieve that.
Brae constantly praised my skills and the depth of the information I found.
It helped to put plenty of criminals behind bars.
About a year ago, she’d been targeted by someone she sent to prison.
In the process of protecting her, the MC that her mom was part of had sent her to another MC in Tennessee to be safeguarded.
The man after her and the people who carried out business for him, despite being in prison, had been neutralized. Only this time, there wasn’t a trial.
Braelyn hadn’t come straight out and told me that they had been killed. But when there were no further threats or talk about the main guy, whispers all over the internet about others in his organization disappearing, and the businesses shutting down for good, I read between the lines.
I wasn’t upset or squeamish at the thought.
They ended up the same as the ones I tracked for myself.
Sometimes, the crime was so heinous that justice could not be served by merely serving time in prison.
They didn’t deserve to remain among the innocents of the world.
Those types of people would only get out and continue what they were doing before.
Since I more or less assisted in the same thing occurring, it wasn’t like I’d turn her in.
Braelyn, in the process of all this, shocked me when she shared the news that she was an old lady to an MC member in Tennessee—the one who safeguarded her.
A biker named Loki had proclaimed she was his.
Brae ended up agreeing, after a brief period apart.
They were happy together. I was as happy as I could be for her.
Checking where I was in my current project and the time I’d spent, I decided I’d devoted enough time to it.
I’d work on it tomorrow. I was ahead of schedule anyway.
Standing up to stretch out my stiff body, I worked out the kinks before heading to the bathroom.
After using the toilet and washing my hands, I grabbed a refill of my water and a snack.
Back at my desk, before sitting down at my keyboard, I ran through a few yoga poses to loosen myself up.
I tended to get so absorbed that I’d sit for hours without moving. It wasn’t good for me.
Immediately, after my fingers touched the keys, I was sucked into my world.
The one where I was the ruler, and I would find out everything possible about you if I had to.
It was the ringing of my phone that brought me to the surface.
I glanced at the clock. Christ, it was ten p.m. I’d been lost for five hours.
The phone rang again, not quite drowning out the growl of my stomach.
My snack hadn’t contained enough calories to be considered dinner, but that would have to wait until I answered the phone.
Who would be calling me at this time of night?
Fumbling under my scrap paper on the desk, I found my cell phone buried underneath it all. Snatching it up, hoping to catch it before they hung up, I looked at the screen. It was Braelyn. My heart pounded as I answered.
“Hello!” I said quickly.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Brae asked swiftly.
“No. I wasn’t asleep. It’s good to hear your voice. What’s up? Are you alright?”
“Cam, everything is fine. In fact, I’m fantastic. I’m sorry to call so late, but it’s been chaotic here for the past two days. I finally had time to relax. I wanted to let you know that I had the baby late yesterday.”
Joy rushed through me. I gave a little squeal.
When Braelyn got with Loki, they had a surprise.
He discovered that he had a son he had never known about.
Loki and Brae ended up getting full custody of him from his horrible mother.
And right after Brae and Loki resolved their issues and got back together, she discovered she was pregnant.
“Oh my God, I’m so happy for you, Brae. How do you feel? How is Loki? Xander? What did you name him?” I rattled off.
She laughed. “Okay, hang on. I feel tired and a little sore, but otherwise good. We were allowed to come home today. Loki is doing great. He’s eating up being here from the beginning.
He hates that he missed all this with Xander.
And Xander is a trooper. He’s hovering around the baby and me to make sure we don’t need anything.
He held his brother, and they bonded immediately.
We named him Branton Michael Lane. He was seven pounds, ten ounces, and twenty-three inches long.
I told Loki, I refuse to have more if they exceed eight pounds. The beast laughed at me.”
I pictured her pretending to pout on the other end of the line. I heard murmuring in the background, but couldn’t tell what was said. The voice was deep and masculine, so I assumed it was her man. I waited for her to say something more.
“Sorry about that. Loki is preparing to give me a massage.”
“Lucky bitch,” I said without heat.
“Tell me about it. You know what you need, don’t you?
Someone like Loki. You should visit and let me introduce you to some of the Warriors.
Our chapter still has single guys. They’re alpha males, but they do have manners, and if nothing comes of it, at least you gave it a try. You’re isolating again, Cambria.”
Her light voice turned concerned. I closed my eyes, though why, I didn’t know. I knew she did it out of love and that she was genuinely worried about me. She was the one person I didn’t blow off constantly or lie to when the questions became uncomfortable.
“Brae, honey, thank you for the invitation. Maybe one day I’ll surprise you and drop in on you and the Warriors. I admit, I’m curious to check them out in person and to see the compound for myself.”
“You know you checked them out already. No way you wouldn’t have.”
I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me.
“I may have. If I did, it was only to keep my girl safe. You said they’re like the Pagans.
I dug into them after you told me about your mom’s connection.
Those Pagans seem like a bunch of good people.
Although now that I think about it, I couldn’t get a whole lot on one of the guys. ”
“Really? I bet I know who. What’s his name?”
“Shaine Creed.”
“Shaine, Shaine, oh, you mean Shadow. Well, I’m not surprised you couldn’t.
You and he are fellow computer whizzes and sleuths.
I told you every club has one. Shadow is one of two in the Oconee chapter of the Pagans.
He’s very quiet, but there’s a lot going on upstairs.
I swear there were times I thought I’d see smoke coming out of his ears from the way the wheels in his head were turning. He gets absorbed like you do.”
Her description piqued my curiosity. What would it be like to have someone I could talk to about computers? A person who would understand what I was saying when I detailed how I went about my investigations. And he, being a man, would be doubly intriguing.
“Cambria, it’s been too long since you’ve gone out with a guy on a date, let alone been in a relationship with one.”
She was right. But I refused to let the excitement from minutes ago die down.
“Braelyn, we’re not talking about me. I’m an aunty. I want to hear everything that happened. When you went into labor, did Loki freak out?”
My deliberate change of subject and the sound of my voice must’ve clearly told her I wasn’t engaging in further talk about me.
She sighed audibly, but the way she launched into telling me about her labor told me she was respecting my request, for now.
Braelyn was a lawyer, and her tendency to be like a hound on a scent trail came out not only in her work.
We were the same in that way, but she was much more overt about it.
I liked to stay in the shadows and do it covertly.