Page 24 of Grim’s Angel

A knock sounds at the door.

Lock steps inside, his face stripped of its earlier concentration.

“The call triggered a location request through the identity app you used to sign the contract. The firewall blocked the GPS packet, but whoever sent it still confirmed your phone is active on a Roseburn Falls network.”

My stomach drops. “Alan tracked me?”

“He may not know,” Lock says. “The request could have been attached to his call remotely. Someone probed the east camera feed at the same time. We blocked both attempts, but the timing means they’re narrowing the search.”

Grim’s body hardens around mine.

“How close?” he asks.

“Close enough that I don’t want her sleeping here.”

Grim looks down at me. “My cabin.”

Lock nods. “No address in any public database and no connection to the club records. It’s the best option.”

Grim waits until Lock leaves before speaking.

“The cabin is in the mountains. Only three of my brothers know the road, and nobody outside the club knows it exists.”

I lift my head. “You want me to stay alone in a cabin with you?”

“I want you somewhere they can’t reach.” His arm loosens, giving me room to move away if I choose. “If being alone with me makes it a cage, Striker takes you and I stay here.”

“Would you rather come with me?”

“Yes.”

The answer arrives without hesitation.

“Why?”

His thumb traces the edge of one bruise without pressing it.

“You pulled me out of the desert.”

My breath catches.

“No one has managed that before.” His silver eyes hold mine. “I want you close, Angel. Wanting you gives me no claim over where you go. Your choice stays yours.”

Heat moves through me, tender and terrifying.

I look at the man whose club surrendered a fortune because I said no. His hand surrounds mine without pulling, and his arm waits loosely around me instead of becoming a lock.

“Take me to the cabin, Grim.”

He raises my knuckles toward his mouth and pauses, giving me time to pull away.

I remain exactly where I am.

His lips brush my skin.

“Anything you ask for, Angel. Nothing you don’t.”

Chapter 4