Page 34 of Protecting Salvation

“What the fuck you looking at, pervert?”

His cheeks went red but he looked away and Hurricane tried not to laugh.

“Hey, Bertie.” Lotus reached down and lifted the dog, who’d been asleep on his foot into her arms. “Here.” She used the motion to hand him his meds and he took them and popped the lid open, shaking two into his palm. He swallowed them dry, his back to McCain.

“All my shit is inside.”

“Weapons and ID?”

“No weapon, that’s on me, but the ID I used before is inside, along with my meds.”

“We can get that sorted.”

Police began bringing bags of evidence out of the house as they watched. Then McCain got in his car and drove away, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

“I don’t like this.”

“Me either, girl. Me either.”

“Duchess is on her way. I called her after Bás alerted us.”

“How did he alert you? He was on the call with me.”

“He’s with Val so she called me. They probably used some kind of couples voodoo shit to communicate.”

Hurricane smiled, he was glad she was here. She might be a pain in the ass sometimes but she was good at what she did and her banter always helped to ground a situation and he needed that now more than ever.

“Bás wants us at his place to plan but I’m not leaving until I have Peyton beside me. That asshole cop already referred to her having an accident in his custody.”

“That fucking prick.” Her hand landed on his arm. “We won’t leave her and Damon is the best. He’ll have her out in no time. We can clear up this bullshit and you two can go back to making eyes at each other.”

Hurricane didn’t smile but he appreciated her effort to lighten things. Duchess arrived and waved them off, saying she’d oversee things from here. He watched her march into the house, a determined look on her face and almost pitied the men inside who’d either leave terrified of her or be ready to leave their wives because they’d fallen in love with her. He didn’t really care, all he wanted was to see Peyton and hold her in his arms.

“Okay, big guy, let’s go.”

Lotus opened the passenger door and he saw Titan waiting in the back, his phone in his hand as he typed.

“Hey, you good?”

Hurricane nodded. “Better, but we need to figure this out and fast.”

“I just got word from Bás that Aubrey is heading to the station and Damon is already there.”

His shoulders sagged and he nodded. “Good, good.”

Peyton was as good as she was going to be for now. Damon and Aubrey would have her back and he had trust that the people he sent would be able to work a miracle.

“You need a lie-down or some shit to get your head on straight?”

Raising a brow at Lotus he pointed to the ignition. “Fuck you, Lotus, start the damn car.”

Titan chuckled but didn’t look up from his phone as Lotus pulled away. Bertie sat in his lap looking lost and licking Hurricane’s hand. He stroked a hand over the little dog with the heart of a goddamn lion. “Any word on what happened with the cousin?”

“Not yet, but it looks like someone stabbed him. He was found in his home late yesterday from what we can glean.”

“We need to know what they have on Peyton. It’s obviously a setup but why and how?”

“Well, the how would account for the break-in. We thought they were there looking for something but maybe they were there collecting her fingerprints.”