"Understood, sir," she replied. I ended the call as I recognized a familiar car pulling into the parking lot.
"Alexi!" I snapped as my head of security climbed out of his car. My voice cracked through the evening air like a whip, and he flinched visibly.
My employee made his way over to me, and I shot Lieutenant Jeffries a sharp look. "You can go now, Jeffries. We're done here."
The middle-aged cop looked like he was ready to stand his ground on pure principle, but a few stern words from Gen made him send me a tight nod before stalking toward his squad car.
I waited while the other remaining cops packed up their shit and left my property before flicking my gaze back to Alexi.
"Where the fuck were you?" I demanded. "And why didn't you answer your phone?"
His lips tightened. "I was on break," he replied. "I didn't know this would happen. Fuck, I just took an hour to grab some dinner, and..."
I arched a brow. "And?"
He shrugged. "This is obviously a set up."
"Obviously," I replied tartly. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Embarrassment crept over his face. "I didn't know it was you calling, sir. I thought... I didn't think it was important."
A frown tugged at my face, then I quickly connected the dots. I hadn't called him from my phone. Lucas had. And Alexi must be struggling to accept Lucas as being in a position of power above him. Hell, Lucas had the place Alexi had been chasing for years—at my side and in my bed.
Grinding my teeth together, I drew a calming breath. "You're on thin fucking ice, Alexi. Go over to Club 22 and see if Zed needs help with the suits he was persuading not to press charges."
Alexi gave a tight nod. "Understood, sir." He swiped a hand over his brow as he turned away to head back to his car, and I noted blood staining the cuff of his shirt. Not exactly uncommon in his line of work, but it stuck in my mind, nonetheless.
When he was gone, I turned back to Gen and Lucas with a frown. "Anyone heard from Zed yet?"
Gen shook her head, checking her phone, and Lucas ran his hand through his hair with a grimace.
"I'm sure he's just—" Whatever Lucas was about to say cut off when my phone rang again, and I held my hand up to silence him.
"Zed," I barked, bringing my phone to my ear. "Where the fuck have you been?"
His casual laugh on the other end of the line set my nerves on edge. "You miss me, baby? I'm on my way to Anarchy now. Those pricks took more convincing than expected."
I bit the edge of my lip, analyzing his tone for any hint of deception. But why the fuck would he lie to me about being at Club 22 when there were plenty of staff there who could verify his whereabouts if I asked. I was just being paranoid. That was Chase's whole fucking game, and I didn't think for even a second anyone but Chase Lockhart was behind this mess.
"Dare?" Zed prompted. "You still there?"
I let my breath out in a rush, squeezing my eyes shut. "Yeah, I'm here. Don't bother coming to Anarchy. Cops have shut us down indefinitely. Just head home, and I'll fill you in when we get back."
Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I offered Lucas a weak smile. "Sorry, I was stressing over nothing. Zed didn't even know what happened here."
"I should head out," Gen commented, grabbing her car keys out of her purse. "This is going to be a hell of a lot of paperwork, and I'd rather get onto it sooner than later. I'll check in with you in the morning, boss."
She gave Lucas a smile, then headed back to her own car. A few of the Anarchy staff were still making their way out, ducking under the police tape, but they didn't need me to stick around. Lucas and I made our way home mostly in silence, but his hand on my knee as we drove was a constant reminder that I wasn't alone. I no longer had to internalize everything, because I had a team around me.
When we arrived back onto Zed's street, our new neighbor was conveniently out checking his mailbox and gave us a sarcastic wave when we passed by.
A shudder of dread rolled through me, and Lucas grimaced. "He's completely unhinged," he muttered. "Cass needs to be so fucking careful not