“How you feelin’,baby?”
I tipped my head up at Odin, who was looking at me with that worried expression he’d had for the last two weeks.
“Fine.”
Odin grunted. That was code for he wasn’t buying it.
It wasn’t exactly a lie, though. I was doing better. The nightmares had finally stopped, and most of my bruising was gone.
The thing he was worried about was that I hadn’t been able to go back to my house.
I was afraid. Every time I even thought about going back, I’d freak the hell out and spiral into a full-blown panic attack.
Odin had been amazing. Patient. Understanding. He’d let me stay in his room at the clubhouse without pushing me to deal with anything before I was ready.
I took another sip of my coffee, curling deeper into his lap as I watched the morning news playing on the big flat screen mounted on the wall.
Caroline was in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of bacon and pancakes drifted through the clubhouse, making my stomach rumble. Reid had left for school, and Dash and Danger were playing pool in the corner.
It was the first day I’d felt even a semblance of peace since being attacked by my ex.
At least, it was until I glanced up and saw the headline running across the bottom of the TV.
My muscles tensed.
“What?” Odin asked, feeling the change.
Ignoring his question, I called across the room. “Hey, Jekyll.”
Pausing the shot he was lining up, he glanced over his shoulder. “Yo?”
I nodded to the TV mounted above his head. “Will you turn that up?”
He craned his neck, and I could see his brows pull together before he raised his arm and turned up the sound.
“Breaking news this morning. Sheriff Reggie Dane of Devils Cove has been reported missing. According to sources on the ground, the FBI raided the Sheriff’s department yesterday afternoon and?—”
“Turn that shit off,” Odin shouted as his arms tightened around me automatically, his lips pressing against my temple. “Easy, baby.”
“No, don’t!” I couldn’t look away from the screen as the female news anchor continued talking about the raid, about evidence they’d found linking Reggie to the Mexican cartel and human trafficking operations.
My mind was reeling.
Human trafficking?
I knew Reggie was an evil son of a bitch, but human trafficking? Could he really have been capable of that?
Tearing my gaze from the television, I twisted in Odin’s lap. “Did you know?”
His jaw was tight, but his eyes were soft when they met mine. I could tell that whatever it was that he knew, he didn’t want to tell me.
“Please. I need to know.”
His eyes searched mine for a long beat, and then he exhaled heavily, as if what he was about to say pained him. “Yeah, baby. I knew.”
“How long?”
“Since we got here.”
