Page 43 of Jake's Angel
“I turned the system off. You shouldn’t have been alerted to us being here. Whatexactlydid you do?”
“It wasn’t off. You just weren’t in control of it. I created a backdoor so you would think you shut it off. All you did was alert my computer that someone had tapped into the system. Whenever you switched cameras, it notified me. On the third switch, it locked you out.”
“You did what?” Pop says, pointing directly at Sadie. She’s unfazed by his anger, standing with her arms across her chest, waving her hand in front of her while she examines her nail polish. “You know the stipulations of you living here. Put the system back to its original controls,” he growls.
“First of all, before you go throwing around all your ‘you know the rules’bullshit, let’s get the facts straight. I own this house,”she growls back at Pop.“It’smine. Not the Kings. Not yours. And not yours either,Nathaniel! So, no, I won’t return the system to its original controls because you have no right to spy on me in my own home,” she shouts to the room.
“So,to explain—though you don’t fucking deserve it. Let’s try this again. Iletyou into the system, my house, and my security system. You didn’t think I’d let you fuckers watch me like the creepers you are whenever the hell you wanted, did you?” She arches a brow at Hawk. She’s not wrong. He would be a creep about it, especially now that he knows there’s a manin her life thanks to the prospect reporting back her every move yesterday. Oh, he would be all over her ass with twenty-four-hour surveillance. I have no doubt.
“Once you accessed the system on your phone, it alerted me to your presence. I let you believe you had everything under control, knowing the whole time I had you where I wanted you and you were none the wiser.” She’s beaming with pride. “I beat you at your own game,hacker extraordinaire.” She taps a finger to Hawk’s nose. He growls his frustration loudly. If he didn’t have an audience, I’m pretty sure he’d haul her over his knee and redden her ass.
If it were my Angel playing games like that, I’d sure as fuck do it, too.
Oh, hell no. I don’t have an Angel, or anyone else.
“As soon as I knew you were here, I moved Avery safely away from the door so you idiots wouldn’t crush her when trying to kick the fucking thing in.” She hitches a thumb toward the front door.
“You,” Pop snaps, pointing at Sadie. “Sit your ass down here on this couch and don’t you move a fucking muscle. Hawk, I want to know what she’s got going on with all these computers over here.”
“No! Don’t touch anything! You can’t!” She yells, but Pop isn’t bothered by her outburst.
“Hawk?” Hawk nods, pulls out the thumb drive, shoving it in his pocket and begins his assault on the keys of her computer. Sadie starts to tear up, but remains strangely quiet. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she already knows what he was doing. “Now, Avery, grab your things.”
“Speaking of which, where’d she go?” Avery’s no longer sitting at the bar. Her backpack is gone too.
We were all so caught up in Hawk and Sadie’s argument that we didn’t see her slip out.
We all split up. Declan, Caleb, and Jameson take off out the front and back doors. Hawk stays with Sadie while Pop and I dart down the hall. Her bedroom window is wide open. The curtains blowing in the wind.
How the hell did she get past everyone?
“Any sign of her?” Declan’s voice comes over the comms line.
“I have her. She got as far as the back end of the truck before I jumped out and caught her. I’m bringing her to you now.” Austin’s voice comes over the comms.
“Copy that.” I pull my earpiece out and let it hang on my shoulder. Pop’s blocking the hallway with his body watching Sadie and Hawk, who are in a staring contest. Declan stands as their referee. Caleb is leaning over the countertop, where he can watch all the exits. Jameson has gone out to get Avery while me and Blake are leaning up against the fireplace.
She walks through the front door, Austin’s carrying her bag. Once she’s inside, the prospect heads back outside to the truck. He hasn’t been given permission to be a part of this conversation. I nod to Blake, who follows Austin’s lead and heads outside. Both prospects are good men, and I trust them with my life, but this conversation needs to remain officers only for now.
“Avery.” Pop tries to coax her to him. His voice is gentle. More so than how he’s really feeling right now, I’m sure. “I think you have some explaining to do, don’t you?”
“No more than you,” she fires back. Her face flushes red with anger. Pop lifts his brow, challenging her to go on.
“Why are you here? And what the hell are you doing wearing a leather cut?”
“This is my family, and this,” he taps his cut, “is my real uniform. I don’t just work for Russ. I work for the Kings of Fury. Garrison Security is a club-owned business. My turn to ask you something. Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“Depends on what you plan to do now that you’ve found me.” Her voice trembles. She’s working hard to keep herself calm. Pop stays quiet, studying her. She doesn’t seem to trust him. I don’t understand what reason she would have not to. He’s been guarding her family for years.
“We’ve come to take you two ladies back to the clubhouse for a little chat. Our President has some questions he’d like answered.” Pop stays calm and keeps his answers straight to the point.
“You need to understand something before I agree to go anywhere with any of you.” She points a finger, circling the room. “I’m not going back to Baron’s Edge orthat house.”
Pop nods, and the rest of us stay silent, watching her movements. If she tries to run, we’re ready for her.
“What does your president want with me, anyway? I don’t even know him.Or any of you.I met a couple of you at the diner, but I don’t know what any of you could want with me.” She trails off, keeping her distance, watching Pop skeptically. She’s putting up walls. I’m watching as she constructs them, one by one, protecting herself from everybody.
My chest feels tight with the need to protect her.