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“Sounds good to us,” I say.

“When you arrive at your destination, you’ll get some instructions before you leave from Misha. He will be your contact.”

“Anything else, Ghost?” Hippie asks.

Ghost clears his throat before he speaks, and when he does, he keeps his voice low and deep, a rumble that can’t be heard by anyone but me and Hippie. I press my lips together, sliding my tongue along the front of my teeth, and wait for his words.

“Do not sample the merchandise. It is to arrive in Seattle untouched.”

Instead of telling him that I’ve got my own merchandise at home and I’m very happy with said merchandise, I stay quiet. I don’t know this man, and I don’t know what he’s capable of. The last thing I need is for him to go looking for my woman if I do something he doesn’t like. I wouldn’t, but still, not everyone has the same code as the club.

“No sampling will happen,” I state.

Hippie grunts. “None from me, either.”

Now I’m a bit concerned about the future. Handing off these women to another club, even if it’s another chapter of the Iron Flame, doesn’t mean they’ll adhere to the same code of conduct, the contract, and the rules. I’d have to vet them before I agreed to allow them to be part of the transport.

An hour later, Hippie and I are in the truck and driving out of the airport security gate.

Sixteen hours.

Holy fuck.

I guess we’ll have to drive in shifts. As much as I want to believe that I can drive the full sixteen hours, we will definitely have to take turns. I figure when we fill up, we’ll switch. Though I doubt either of us will get much sleep.

“I don’t like leaving them back there,” Hippie announces.

Merging onto the highway, I let out a grunt. “I agree. I can’t imagine that they’re comfortable back there… or safe. I don’t like this at all. Not in the fucking slightest,” I state.

The conversation comes to a lull as I drive toward Seattle. I’ve never been there before, and if I didn’t have a woman waiting for me at home, I would probably look for an excuse to stay a bit. But as it stands, I can’t wait to get the fuck home. To my woman. To my baby. To our new home, which will hopefully be close to finished by the time I get back.

When we finally make it to a gas station, I pull in, and both Hippie and I jump out. “You want anything? I’m going to get some shit to eat and drink.”

“Yeah, grab me a Monster if they have it,” I call out.

He jerks his chin, and I make my way to the pump to start fueling. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I walk away from the pump, although what I really want to do is check on these damn girls. I don’t, though, knowing they have cameras here.

When I look down at my screen, I can’t stop the smile from curving up on my lips. There on the screen is a new notification. It’s from Keely. A picture and a short message. I can’t swipe my thumb across fast enough.

KEELY: We miss you.

Thea and Keely have their faces together, and Keely is smiling so big, it’s adorable as fuck. They’re in my room at the club. I hate that I had to leave them there, but I know she’s safe and is not being treated like shit by her parents.

I miss you both. Should be back in three or four days. I’ll know more by tomorrow.

“You want me to take over?” Hippie calls out.

I shove my phone back in my cut pocket, jerking my chin toward him, then I walk around to the passenger side. I doubt I’ll get any sleep, especially after I drink this fucking Monster, but at least I won’t be white-knuckling the steering wheel and stressing about killing all these women in some freak accident.

“Yeah, that’d be great. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

As each mile passes, I can’t stop thinking about Keely. I wish I were there with her. I don’t know what the fuck she’s doing, and for whatever reason, I thought that her and Thea living at the clubhouse while I was gone was a good decision.

I’m a fucking idiot.

A big fucking idiot.

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