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He laughs. “Living the dream. You need something?”
“Yeah. I need a file.”
“Again?” he asks and the noise in the background slowly quiets. I sigh, scrubbing at the scruff along my jaw as I nod.
“This time it’s… personal for the club. Someone that is like family.”
He sighs. “What’s the name?”
“Isabelle Hutton.”
“Shit,” he hisses and I hear a door close on the other end of the line. “You know her?”
“Yeah, she’s Ali and Carly’s best friend. Why?” I answer and he takes a deep breath.
“I was called out to that scene tonight and it was…”
My brow furrows as his words hang in the air between us and I swear my heart stops beating for a fraction of a second. What the hell did Izzy get herself into? The thought of someone coming after her, of her getting hurt, makes my stomach twist painfully again. I haven’t been much good at protecting anyone in the past but the thought of her getting hurt, or worse, lights a fire inside me and I know I won’t let anyone come near her. This club is not going to lose anyone else.
“You got time to tell me about it?”
“No, not right now but I’ll leave the file in the usual place.”
“Thanks, Max,” I say, nodding. “I owe you one.”
He barks out a laugh. “You owe me a hell of a lot more than one but y’all did help me get that girl out of town last week so I suppose it’s my turn. Gotta go.”
Before I can reply, he hangs up and I tuck my phone back into my pocket, more intrigued than ever by what happened to Izzy tonight as the engine of the bike roars to life beneath me. I close my eyes, blowing out a breath as the vibrations of the bike clear my mind of all the clutter that weighs me down daily. When I open my eyes again, I flick the kickstand up and wait for the front gate to open before I race out of the lot, pointing my bike toward the police station, letting the road melt away the stress that was suffocating me earlier tonight. Being on the bike is freeing in a way that I can’t find anywhere else and I honestly don’t think I’d be alive right now if it weren’t for this machine and my brothers. When I first met the Bayou Devils MC eight years ago, I had never ridden a day in my life but I had always wanted to - something my cautious, superstitious mother hated. In the beginning, I just worked alongside the guys and flirted with the idea of getting a bike of my own as I helped them in their mission to save the innocent anyway they could. But, somewhere along the way, my life became entangled with the club in a way I couldn’t have imagined and they became like a second family to me. Hell, some days, it feels like these guys are my only family or the only one that accepts me as I am with no conditions or expectations - something that has been lacking in my life these past few years.
I pull into the station parking lot just as Max reaches the top step on his way back into the building and he glances back over his shoulder, giving me a subtle nod before he steps inside. Scanning the lot, I make sure it’s empty before I ride up behind his truck and lift the handle of the tailgate as quietly as possible. Once it’s down, I look around again as I reach into the bed, underneath the liner, and pull out a thick manilla envelope. Max isn’t able to give me the actual files since someone would notice if they went missing so he makes me a copy and leaves it here, in the back of his truck, for me to grab when no one is looking. The weight of the folder intrigues me and I turn it over in my hand, desperately wanting to open it and figure out what is going on but Storm is counting on me to watch her house so I tuck the envelope in my saddlebag instead before closing the tailgate. After taking one last look through the lot, double checking that I wasn’t seen by anyone, I peel out of the lot and point my bike toward Izzy’s house, my thoughts consumed with the trouble she’s in again. I’m dying to read that file but it will have to wait for a minute.
Izzy’s house isn’t far from the station so it only takes me a few minutes to get there and when I pull up in front of her modern bungalow, I breathe a sigh of relief. Nothing looks out of place so I climb off my bike and walk it into the woods surrounding her property to set up shop for the night. Moving to the edge of the trees so I have a good view of the house, I lower the kickstand on my bike and sit down on the ground, leaning back against a tree as I pull the folder out of the saddlebag. I can’t help but feel like I’m violating her privacy a little bit as I open the envelope and pull the stack of papers out but if I’m going to protect her, I have to know what I’m protecting her from. A photo falls out of the stack as I try to rearrange things and I reach down, scooping it up to study it and my eyes widen.
Holy fuck.
She’s in a hell of a lot more trouble than I ever imagined.
Chapter Seven
Isabelle
“Aunt Issy?” a sweet little voice I recognize all too well calls, dragging me back into consciousness as I desperately try to stay in the warm, cozy dreamland I’m floating through. I can sense her right next to my bed and her breath hits my face. “Are you awake?”
No.
I’m not.
Another burst of air smacks me in the face just before she jabs her tiny little finger into my cheek, hard. Jerking, I groan and open my eyes, flashing the miniature version of my best friend an insincere glare. Not that she gives a damn. She blinks her bright blue eyes at me, clearly waiting for an answer to her question despite the fact that I am very clearly awake, thanks to her. I roll my eyes. Magnolia Mae Chambers is the main character in everything she does and none of the guys would ever admit it but she runs this damn club. From the moment she was born four years ago, she has had every single man on this compound wrapped around her fingers and the trouble is, she knows it. I swear, I’ve never met a more spoiled child in my life. Anytime she wants anything, all she has to do is flash a grin and there isn’t a single brother that could deny her. And if she decided to pout? Lord have mercy because they would all be falling all over themselves to appease the little diva but no one is quite as bad as her father. Logan will go to any length to give his little princess anything her heart desires. It would be funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous.
“Yeah, Mags,” I answer her, stretching carefully to avoid irritating my sore muscles before relaxing back into the mattress with a sigh. “I’m awake now.”
She beams at me and grabs my hand, giving it a little tug. “Yay! Mama said I had to leave you be until you were awake but now we can go play and I got new dolls to show you. I’ll be the princess and you can be the mean, ugly dragon guarding the tower.”
I ignore the dragon comment as I shake my head and pull my hand from her grip, gently.
“Hold up, little miss. Auntie Izzy needs coffee and breakfast before we can do any playing.” As if on cue, my stomach growls, reminding me that I haven’t eaten anything since before my show yesterday, and Magnolia drops her gaze to my belly with a scowl. It’s adorable. When she glances up at me again, the frown is gone and replaced by a pout that would make any of the men around here crumble at her feet.
“Don’t give me that pout, young lady,” I tell her as I sit up in bed and flick her lip. “And if you don’t put that lip away, a bird is going to poop on it.”
