Page 101 of Coveted By Cupid

“What bodyguard?” Mikhail asks, his displeasure thick on his tongue.

“Some creepy guy dressed all in black.” Riley shudders as if thinking of him made her skin crawl. “He was with another thug, too. Both were wearing biker cuts.”

The room falls silent, all of us dreading who it might have been.

Kirill asks the million-dollar question. “What MC?”

Riley’s lips thin. “Royal Bastards.”

Of fucking course. I groan internally.

Our chances of grabbing Vanessa under the MC’s watch are unlikely, not without getting creative.

Mikhail pulls at his hair. “FUCK!”

Kirill raises an eyebrow, rubbing his chin. “The question is why she is under the club’s protection? How is she affiliated with them?”

I shake my head, lost. “No clue. Her grandpa owned a mechanic shop in Colorado Springs when he was alive. Perhaps he was tight with the MC?”

“Unlikely,” Kirill says, shooting down my suggestion. “The nearest chapter of the Royal Bastards MC is in Loveland. Colorado Springs is two hours away. They would service their bikes somewhere local.”

Mikhail takes the seat next to Kirill, settling into the discussion. “What other explanation could there be?”

Riley bites her thumbnail, looking unease. “I think I know.”

“Share it,” I snap, irritated that she’s holding back information.

“I don’t want to upset you,” she says with a sigh.

“Spit it out, Riley.”

“She’s claimed.”

Kirill and Mikhail swear in Russian, hanging their heads.

“Claimed?” My brow furrows. “What does that mean?”

“It means things got more complicated,” Kirill says, raising his head to mine with a sneer. “Fucking biker whore.”

He did not just call my woman a whore. “Excuse me?!”

Riley gets in front of me when I move toward Kirill, stopping me from doing something stupid. Kirill may not have the manpower he had prior to his operation going up in flames, but he’s still a dangerous man to make enemies with.

“She was wearing a property patch,” Riley explains to me gently. “She’s Cupid’s ole lady.”

Fucking Cupid. I knew the guy was trouble the moment I saw him step out of Vanessa’s apartment. But I never would have guessed Vanessa would have joined an MC and become some criminal’s woman.

Riley runs her hand down my arm, trying to offer me comfort. “I’m sorry, Boden.”

Cringing, I shake her off, not wanting to feel her touch. It’s because of her I lost Vanessa in the first place, her and my stupid dick.

Besides, Kirill is watching us. He’s the last person I want to upset. Riley is his property after all, and she shouldn’t be anywhere near me.

Riley frowns at my rejection, but steps back, retreating behind Kirill where she belongs.

“The property patch was a message,” Mikhail says earnestly, looking at his boss. “They’re letting us know she’s untouchable. If we do, it’s open war.”

The air stalls in my lungs. I can’t afford to have Kirill change his mind about taking Vanessa. If he backs out, I’ll never have a chance of getting her back.