Punc stood taller. “We don’t know if the attack was random or if they might make another attempt. We’re being cautious.”
For the first time I didn’t want to spend time with Punc, and I tried to stall. “Do we have to go now? I didn’t get much time to work with Desiree this afternoon.”
Desiree swatted a hand at me. “Oh, we can work on that some more tomorrow. You get home.”
Punc
Out in the parking lot, Ava turned her head side to side and shuffled her feet in those sexy-as-hell teal sandals while she waited for him to unlock her door. “This seems like overkill, but thanks for spending the night, and taking my safety so seriously, Punc.”
“You’re welcome.”
He closed the door for her after she got in and hurried to the driver’s side. From the tone of her voice, he couldn’t tell if she suspected something was up or if something else was wrong. The problem was, he wasn’t entirely certainwhatwas going down.
“What’s going on here, Punc?” Ava asked after he buckled his seatbelt.
He started the vehicle and motored toward Blanding Boulevard. “Could ask you the same thing. Why were you trying to catch a ride with Heaven?”
She sighed and looked out the passenger window. “I didn’t want you to have to go out of your way.”
That sounded like bullshit. Before he could call her on it, she spoke.
“Why are you so determined to drive me?”
“Just want to get you home safe, Ava.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said. “Anybody else, you could get away with that, but you’re lying.”
Normally, he’d love that she could read him, now not so much. He shook his head and focused on the road. “Not lying, but Turk wanted to get you out of the club.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know.”
“I find that hard to believe, Puncture.”
He fought a smile. For some reason, he liked hearing her use his full road name. “It’s the truth. Turk pulled me from the floor and told me to take you home.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw her eyes narrow. “Did it have something to do with me upsetting Yak… or Volt?”
He shot her a curious glance before watching the road again. “What are you talking about? Why would you have upset either one of them?”
She hesitated for a moment. “I told them about some things I remembered about my attack. Prime and Ghost were talking about someone named Iggy, or maybe Ziggy. Yak and Volt didn’t seem upset at the time, but as soon as I left the office, I heard something bang against the wall. Turk stormed up there, and… now he’s ordered you to get me home.”
Punc’s lungs froze, and he gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles went white. “You’re saying, Prime was in on it with… did you say, ‘Ghost’?”
“That’s the name he used. I’m very clear on that, it’s the other two names that I think my brain’s just messing with me.”
He forced himself to exhale slowly. “No, sweetheart. That isn’t a mind trick. For a while, Yak’s suspected we’ve had a rogue brother, so that would upset him. Shit. No wonder Turk wanted to get you out of the building.”
She shook her head. “But Prime wasn’t there today.”
His chin dipped as he turned into her quiet neighborhood. “No, we know where he’s at most of the time. We don’t know where Ghost is though, since he’s with the Devil Lancers.”
“Who are the Devil Lancers?”
He sighed as he pulled into her drive. Sharing that with her hadn’t been his intention. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I kinda do, Punc. Cat and I don’t need another problem to sneak up on us.”
