skull in a second if needed. Priest leans back with his arms over his chest, his “I don’t give a fuck attitude” mirroring mine.
“This Derek guy doesn’t exist,” Orion spits out without preamble.
“What? Reign was working for him before she came to Vegas, and her brother Owen said he had been in an explosion, so I can assure you he does,” Priest says.
“Derek King, fifty-two years old. Owner of King’s Cars and Bike repairs, but up until five and a half years ago, there was no Derek King. I have someone looking deeper, but as of yet, that’s what we have,” Orion admits, rubbing a frustrated hand over his face.
“What about the hospital he was staying in?” Saint asks while I try to figure out what this all means.
“He checked out against doctor’s orders and disappeared. Nobody has seen or heard from him since. We asked the people who work for him and they have no clue what’s going on. They’re being paid to stay at home while the repairs are being made to the garage. We tried to trace the money back to its source, but it leads to a dummy corporation, which makes no sense when we are talking about a fucking garage.”
“What about his family?” I put out there, as nobody has mentioned them yet.
“What family?” Halo asks with interest. “From what we found, this guy has nobody.”
“Owen said that he was being taken care of by his family.” I shrug, remembering the phone call the first night Reign was at Carnage.
“We’ll keep looking. The hospital doesn’t keep records of who visits, but someone might remember something.”
“Are we thinking this Derek guy is Reign’s stalker?” Gage speaks up for the first time.
“Fuck, I hope not. It’s been hard enough for Reign to think about a stranger doing this but knowing it could be someone she cares about will kill her.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Reign
It’s early when we leave. The rest of the clubhouse, barring the prospects, are still fast asleep. Luna and her guys went home last night to their house at the back of the compound to relieve their sitter. I had already said my goodbyes, and even though it was a shitty situation that brought us here, I could see Luna and me fast becoming friends.
We’ve been on the road for a couple of hours when my bladder decides it can’t go any farther, so the guys pull over at a mom and pop roadside café. I hurry inside, the guys hot on my heels. After a rather undignified dance, the waitress points to the restrooms and I leave them to order us some coffee.
When I walk out, Saint is leaning against the wall waiting for me. I should have known they wouldn’t let me go far.
“May as well eat while we’re here so we don’t have to stop again. You might want to take it easy on the coffee, Trouble.”
“Hush now, you’ll hurt coffee’s feelings. It’s very protective of me. And honey, just saying, coffee is likely the only reason I remember to put pants on in the morning.”
“Well, now I really dislike coffee,” he purrs, making me shiver. He backs me up against the wall and places his hand on my hip, making me yelp.
“What the fuck?” Saint lifts the hem of my top and when he sees white gauze, he starts to lose his mind.
“Saint, I’m fine. I’m not hurt. It’s a surprise for you guys. Please shut the fuck up about it before you have Bates and Priest running over here,” I snap.
He looks at the gauze, which extends from my hip to halfway up my ribs, then up to my face.
“Did you get a tattoo?”
I pout. “Dammit, Saint, you’re ruining my surprise.”
He yanks me toward him and shoves me back into the bathroom I just vacated.
“What the fuck, Saint?”
He crowds me against the sink, his big body leaning down over mine. “You get my name on you, baby?” he asks, his voice rumbling over my skin like an electrical current heading south and zapping my clit.
I don’t answer, but that doesn’t stop Saint from lowering the zipper and pushing my jeans down over my hips. Pulling at the edge of the tape, he carefully peels back the bandage to peek beneath it.
“Holy fuck!” he hisses.
I look down at the design—twisted vines with thorns, decaying black roses, and three gothic crowns woven within them, each etched with one of their names.
Oh, so gently, he sticks the bandage back down before abruptly spinning me around