I drag a hand over my face. “I may have sorta got into an altercation with his hired gun a few weeks ago. He took a couple of shots at me but didn’t land a hit.”
“Fuck, Krampus, why didn’t you say anything?” Drac scolds.
Gremlin pipes in because the bastard can’t keep his mouth shut. “Because he’s trying to be some kind of hero and doesn’t think he needs his club to back him.”
That lands harder than anything.
I didn’t realize how much I had pulled away from the club over the last few weeks.
“Bottom line is that Moseley has plans to traffic Mindy, and I’m not going to stand for it.”
Pinhead’s knuckles crack. “Moseley signed his own death warrant with that one. No one messes with a man’s sweetie and gets away with it.”
“She is not mine!” I correct him, voice rough with emotion. “At least not yet. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s in danger and Moseley wants to harm her.”
Creature lets out a growl, catching everyone off guard. The man barely talks most days. “That’s some cowardly shit right there.”
Jigsaw shakes his head. “You know we don’t protect club-adjacent women, Krampus. So, what exactly are you asking?”
“To fucking back me up and help me get her out of this mess.”
“But she’s not part of the club. Hell, she ain’t even an Annie,” Bates grumbles quietly.
“She may not be part of the club, but she’s fucking mine, and if I want to protect her, I will. With or without you assholes!” I snap.
No one laughs this time.
Drac studies me carefully. “And what about Moseley?”
“He’s making things worse. He doesn’t want me hanging around her shop anymore. He’s in control of this whether we like it or not.”
Phantom exhales. “He’s not in hiding anymore. He’s daring someone to stop him.”
Bigfoot jumps to his feet. “Then we stop him with a bullet right through eyes.”
Drac nods slowly. “But we need to be smart about it. Taking down Moseley might start a war we aren’t prepared for.” Before he can say anything else, his phone chirps. Then it starts chattering across the table.
He looks down at the screen and pales.
“Shit,” he breathes, his eyes meeting mine briefly.
I feel the pull immediately. It’s like a hook caught under my ribs.
I knew I shouldn’t have left her.
Drac answers the call and walks away from the table. “Amber, what’s wrong?”
His voice softens, urgency bleeding through. “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Tell me what happened?”
The room goes dead silent.
“What do you mean she’s hurt?” Drac asks, eyes snapping to me. “And this happened outside the bakery?”
My chair scrapes back violently as I stand.
Drac turns fully toward me, covering the phone. “She’s hurt. Something to do with that man named Rico?”
That’s all I need.
