Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
The door to King’s office stood ajar, a quiet hum of conversation drifting into the hallway. I stepped inside, finding King seated behind his desk, his expression carved from granite. Blaze, the club’s vice president, leaned against the side of the bookshelf, his arms crossed and eyes sharp.
The second I stepped through the doorway, I felt the weight of another set of eyes on me. Cerberus, King’s dog, lifted his massive head from where he’d been stretched out beside the desk.
The name fit. Three-headed hellhound energy in one enormous body.
His dark gaze locked on mine with the kind of silent evaluation that made grown men rethink their life choices.
With his thick neck, broad chest, and muscle layered over muscle like he’d been carved out of granite, the Cane Corso was a damn tank. Most people saw him and instinctively gave the room a wider berth, which was exactly the point. He was trained to guard, intimidate, and make strangers feel like prey.
He held my stare for a beat too long, then his tail thumped once against the floor.
“Don’t,” I muttered under my breath.
Too late.
All one hundred-plus pounds of him pushed up and crossed the room like a freight train disguised as a pet. He stopped in front of me, sat back on his haunches like he had manners, then leaned forward and planted his head directly against my thigh with enough force to test my balance.
Blaze snorted softly.
I shook my head. “You’re encouraging him.”
King just smirked.
Like all his breed, Cerberus was extremely affectionate with anyone he grew attached to, cuddling to express his approval and love. And he seemed to have a knack for demanding attention from the ones he recognized as suckers.
He always seemed to warm up quickly once a man patched—as if he knew the significance of the loyalty that came with it. But he didn’t show that side to the prospects, and it was funny as fuck to watch him scare the shit out of them.
Cerberus made a low, satisfied rumble and shifted his weight, clearly angling for ear scratches like he hadn’t been trained to look like a demon straight out of mythology. I gave in, dragging my fingers behind his cropped ear, and the damn dog immediately tried to fold himself closer like he thought he weighed twenty pounds instead of a small horse.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “You’re still terrifying. Don’t let it go to your head.”
His tail thumped harder.
Blaze chuckled. “Got you pegged, sucker.”
Ignoring him, I gave Cerberus one more pat, then glared at him.
He huffed before lumbering over to his dog bed by King’s desk and settling back down.
When I lifted my gaze to King again, business settled back over me like armor.
Blaze raised his brow at my change in demeanor. “You look like someone kicked your favorite jet. Must be a real shit show.”
“Close enough.” I shut the door behind me and moved to one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Got a situation. I need the club’s protection for someone.”
King leaned back, his arms crossed over his chest as he assessed me with quiet intensity. “Who?”
“Her name’s Linden Holbrook. She’s a data archivist at Aegis Aerospace Systems.” I paused and gave Blaze a knowing look. “And Carson Holbrook’s little sister.”
I’d told them about the crash shortly after it happened.
Blaze whistled low. “Holbrook? The test pilot who went down last year?”
“The very one,” I replied, my tone flat.
King’s expression had hardened, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Pilot for the same program?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, a muscle in my jaw jumping. “Different birds, though.”
Blaze walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey. After taking a sip, he murmured, “Holbrook’s crash was labeled as mechanical failure, right?”
I nodded. “That was the official story.”
King raised a brow. “Official?”
My mouth tightened as I weighed my options, trying to decide whether to break my NDA. But it only took one heartbeat to make the decision. From the moment I met Linden, she’d become my priority. “Internally, we were told pilot error.”
“Shit,” Blaze grunted. “Which story is the truth?”
“Well, that’s where Linden gets tangled up in this fucking mess. She stumbled onto something at Aegis. Found discrepancies in classified flight logs, including one tied directly to her brother’s death.”
“Cover-up?” King surmised.
“Classified lies,” Blaze scoffed.
“Exactly. She flagged it for her supervisor, and now, she’s being watched. My gut says someone tied to this program got nervous she might dig deeper, and whoever they are, they want to bury it.”
Blaze’s eyes darkened with quiet understanding. “That’s why they’re tailing her. She’s become a liability.”
“She was almost run her down in the parking lot outside her apartment tonight,” I confirmed.
Blaze cursed quietly. “The fuck kind of hornet’s nest did she kick?”
“One that kills to cover its tracks.” I forced myself to remain calm, though the idea of anyone hurting Linden had my blood boiling. “She needs protection. I moved her into the clubhouse tonight after she called me. Told her she’ll stay put until we sort this, but I need the club’s backing to handle the situation properly.”