Page 34 of Puck (The Lost Boys MC)
Only for Stone to pull me into a dark, empty room when we arrived.
“What the hell?” I asked.
He slammed the door closed. “Why in the absolute fuck did it take you so goddamn long to come back with this information? Clancy was practically climbing the damn walls!”
I blinked. “Well, it’s not what you think, for starters.”
He charged me until my back fell against a wall. “So, you weren’t in some shady back alley somewhere fucking her brains out like I told you not to?”
Well, not in a back alley. “Not by a fucking longshot.”
“Then tell me: why the hell did it take so fucking long? You gotta give me something. Clancy’s already calling for me to pull your ass from protective detail.”
Come on, come on, you’ve got this. “Look, there are some personal issues in play for Brigid and I kept her on the straight and narrow as much as I could. But we believe we had a run-in with the cartel while at Pathways and she was a bit…”
Stone gripped my shirt. “I don’t give a shit if she broke down and cried. You stick to the plan or you’re off her detail. Got it?”
I slapped his hand away. “I got it until you touch me like that again, and then it’s on. I’m not your son, and I sure as hell am not your prospect. So, treat me as such.”
He growled as he got in my face. “Then start acting like it.”
And of course, the second we stepped out of the closet he had pulled us into, I heard Clancy barking orders.
“Stone, you got two men you trust to go stake out Pathways?”
He didn’t skip a beat. “Frost. West. Head over to the rehab facility and camp for the night. Make sure nothing happens.”
“On it,” they said in unison.
Clancy turned to me. “Did you meet with this contact? Or did my daughter go in there on her own?”
I shook my head. “I kept eyes on the outer perimeter. It’s how I spotted the men in black as they walked inside.”
He nodded. “Good man. Okay. I want an assessment on our contact inside that facility. Frost, West, if she’s in danger? Get her out of there and bring her back here.”
“What?” Stone asked.
Clancy glared at him. “You want to lose our only way into the cartel chasing your ass?”
Stone sighed. “Okay, yes. Brigid?”
I looked over at her as she cleared her throat. “She’s in room 2120 now. If something happens, you need room 2120.”
“2120, got it,” Frost said.
West grabbed some sodas from the fridge to help keep them awake, I guess. But my focus quickly returned to Brigid. She looked nervous as she wrung her hands in front of her body, and it wasn’t until her father wrapped his hands around hers.
“Always project strength,” he whispered.
I tried not to eavesdrop, but they were loud fucking whisperers.
“Daddy, what if something happens to her?” Brigid said softly.
Clancy shook his head. “That’s why we’re sending the guys. And if anything happens—”
She shook her head. “It’s not safe for her to be here. There are too many triggers in a place like this. Plus, she doesn’t do crowds well. She’s got—”
“Social anxiety?” I asked.
Brigid glared at me. “Yes.”
“What’s this woman’s–”
But Clancy cut me off. “If saving her from the cartel means bringing her here, then it’s worth it.”
His gaze returned to his daughter before he took her into his arms.
“A leanbh, I’m sure she means a lot to you, so you have my word that she’ll be safe. But we’re all out of options. We’re here to help our new business partners, which means you need to keep your head in the game.”
Stone jumped into the conversation. “She should stay here tonight with us as well, just to be safe.”
I nodded quickly. “We aren’t sure what those men in black saw, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
I could feel Stone burrowing a hole into the profile of my face as Clancy nodded his head. “They’re right, a leanbh. Stay here tonight, and then we’ll figure things out tomorrow. Yes?”
Brigid sighed heavily. “Okay, okay. I guess Puck was right to tell me to pack some of my things up.”
Clancy peeked over at me. “Thank you for watching her today.”
I tossed Stone a look before I nodded. “Of course, sir.”
And as Hayley waddled down the hallway to take Brigid by the hand, my eyes followed her all the way to the end of the corridor.
Before she took a right and disappeared out of sight.
So much for space.
Twenty
Brigid
A knock came at my bedroom door and I drew in a deep breath. I allowed myself one more moment of silence before I walked over and cracked the door. What I wanted was to be left alone with my worries and my concerns, but what I got instead was Puck’s beautiful face peering at me from beyond the threshold.
