Shaw (Alpha Geek #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,51

sons were dabbling in drugs, he would be willing to turn against them. Uncle Chuck was nothing if not an opportunist. If he could save his own skin at the cost of his kids, Poppy had no doubt that he would protect himself and his own interests first.

By the time they pulled into Nick’s safe house, Poppy was all but ready to go to war against her cousins using their father. It was borderline evil, but they had nearly killed her mate, they had tracked her down using shady methods, they had attacked her again, and Curtis had seriously hurt her.

Okay, not that bad.

But those mother fuckers had to pay for the reign of terror they had been dolling out on the city for years. It was true that they had learned their trade from Uncle Chuck, but things had definitely gotten worse since the old man had begun to give the reins of his empire to his sons.

Uncle Chuck had always been blinded by the shitty things the terrible trio could get up to.

Now that she was thinking more clearly, she was pretty sure that the idea to marry her off would have come from Curtis. It would be nothing for him to manipulate his father and the whole situation. Was Micah Lewis even a real estate mogul like his uncle, or was he deeply involved in the drug trade?

Nick, Bennett, and a few other men were waiting for them outside of the safe house. It was nothing more than a really huge building made of gray stucco. There were no windows, and the single door Poppy could see, was made of solid steel and could probably take a blast from a goddamn bazooka and not budge.

“You two, get in here,” Nick said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

One of the men Poppy didn’t recognize jumped into the driver’s seat of the car and drove away.

“If they have someone tracking your car, they’ll keep tracking it. Troy looks enough like Shaw to pass for him from afar.”

Poppy would have to agree to disagree. They had similar builds, but the man’s curls had nothing on Shaw’s. Her mate was a much more attractive man. With a last look over her shoulder to see the car drive away, she exhaled. She didn’t know where they would bring Curtis, who was still out like a light in the trunk. It was hard for her to care right then. Her head was still aching from the gash he had caused.

Poppy followed Nick and Shaw inside. Bennett was close behind her. He began to chat with Shaw. They had gone to college together, but Bennett was a few years younger. They were friends, and Shaw had apologized for stealing the serum. Poppy could see there was still tension in the friendship. But she was confident everything would be put to rights. After all, Bennett was in a prime position to understand what it was like to need the serum to survive. He had gone through a very similar situation not too long before.

Nick led them into a small reception area. Poppy was reluctant to call it a living room, it was too cold and sterile to have that warm and homey name. Nick sat down on one of the stiff and gray sofas, indicating that Poppy and Shaw should also take a seat. They did, and Poppy couldn’t shake the feeling, that they were kids who had misbehaved, and that Nick was about to give them a piece of his mind.

“Before you rip into us…”

“Rip into you?” Nick interrupted her. “You’re not getting it. I need to apologize. I never should have let you two go off on your own. That was a serious miscalculation on my part, and I am sorry. You could have been seriously hurt. Especially after what we’ve learned about your cousins.”

“Let me guess,” Poppy cut in, “they have a huge drug empire built on my uncle’s business. The old man has no idea how bad it is, and Curtis is the mastermind.”

Nick’s smile was dry. “You know your family well.”

“Yeah, well, Curtis always was an asshole. He burned my favorite doll the day of my mother’s funeral, so you can say there is no love lost between us.” She didn’t add that the funeral had been mere weeks after her father’s death.

“Fuck, that is dark,” Shaw said as he placed his hand on her lap.

“So, what can we do? Are there going to be charges pressed against Curtis?”

“You can