Chapter 10

10

DEVIANT

" T he fuck?" I seethed as I opened my door and exited the Jeep. I wouldn't tolerate this kind of treatment of any woman, but this time, it'd happened to mine. Whoever this motherfucker was, he was gonna die.

I grabbed Alice's hand and pressed a kiss on the back. "I'll find out who did this, and they'll fucking pay," I promised, my tone gritty from suppressing my rage.

"I just…I don't understand."

"Do your best to forget about it, gorgeous. I'll handle this. Let's just get your shit and get the hell out of here."

A truck pulled up next to my vehicle, and Ryan, a new prospect, climbed out of the passenger side. Then Jake, who would be given the name Jester when he patched in a few weeks, got out of the driver's side.

When Jake saw the other vehicle in the driveway, his brow wrinkled. "That your woman's?"

I nodded, staying silent so I didn't let out a string of expletives as I rounded the Jeep to help Alice from the vehicle.

Taking her hand, I led her toward the front door. "Tell Jake and Ryan what you want taken home first, then we'll grab you an overnight bag and go to the club. Need to fill my brothers in on what happened here."

Once I took Alice's keys and opened the door, I ushered her inside. Then I gave instructions to the prospects. "Keep your eyes and ears open in case they decide to come back."

Both nodded before getting to work. I helped Alice pack a bag and tossed some extra stuff into the Jeep before we left and drove to the compound.

When we walked into the clubhouse, Whiskey's old lady, Ellery, was on the floor, encouraging their nearly eighteen-month-old daughter, Corrine, to walk. Elise, Blade's woman, was seated on one of the couches with Dahlia, each of them cradling one of her and Fox's twins.

If I hadn't been so focused on the situation with Alice, I might have given my prez a little shit when I saw him leaning against the door to the kitchen, staring at his wife and kids with a soft expression. Instead, I gently encouraged Alice to join the old ladies while I spoke with the club officers.

Fox's attention shifted to me as I stalked over. When he clocked my expression, he pushed away from the door and headed to his office.

"Lemme guess, whatever has you looking like you're ready to kill someone has to do with your woman?" he muttered as he walked around his desk and sat in the chair.

I nodded as I paced, too wound up to take a seat. "What is it with people thinkin' they can mess with an Iron Rogue's old lady?" I raged. "You'd think after Molly and Dahlia, they'd get the message. Seems like it's becoming a fucking tradition for patches to have dangerous situations finding their women."

"The fuckers aren't right in the head, Deviant," Fox muttered as he typed something on his phone before tossing the device onto the desktop. "And while I don't disagree that it's weird and too fucking common, we'll handle your shit like we did with all the others."

I paused my pacing when Ice, Hawk, and Racer—-a few of our enforcers—walked into the office. Followed shortly by Whiskey—our sergeant at arms—and our captain, Stone.

Obviously, Fox had put out the word. When everyone found a place to stand or sit, I filled them in on the situation at hand.

"I get that this isn't much to get worked up about when it could've been a fuck of a lot worse," I conceded, even though no one had voiced the thought. "But I want this shit handled before it escalates. With what just happened with Viper's woman, we need to make a clearer statement that going after an Iron Rogue's woman is a fucking death sentence."

No one brother disagreed.

"Do what you do best, Deviant," Fox ordered. "Get a name, and we'll back whatever play you decide to go with."

I lifted my chin appreciatively before marching toward the door.

"Deviant," Fox called out, stopping me at the door. "When this shit is done, the vest is ready."

"Thanks," I grunted before heading to the lounge to check on Alice. She was holding one of the twins and cooing with a sweet smile on her beautiful face. Seeing her with the baby just made me even more determined to protect her, then make sure she was mine in every way so that no one would think otherwise.

Eventually, I walked over to the couch where she was sitting and bent down to press a quick kiss on her mouth. "Got a little work to do. You gonna be okay here?"

Alice smiled. "I won't turn down the chance to spend time with these little munchkins."

"Hopefully, it won't be long before you're growing our own little peanut," I said in a low voice so only she could hear me. Her cheeks bloomed with heat, and I winked at her before striding away.

Unfortunately, Alice didn't have a security system, much less any cameras on her property, so it took a little longer than I'd hoped. And some fancier footwork—and by that, I meant illegal shit.

Ultimately, I managed to find a video of the culprit. The picture was from far away and at an obscured angle. Plus, the quality was low, so it was pretty gritty. I could just make out a hooded figure in baggy clothes spray-painting Alice's car.

There was no way for me to determine anything about them, even their gender. But I watched the video over and over, memorizing every detail as I looked for one little clue that would give me a direction to go in. I only took a break to eat dinner with Alice, then got her settled in my room before returning to my work.

It was nearly two in the morning when I finally spotted a clue. There was the slightest reflection in the car window when the vandal stood up after finishing their task.

With some finagling and manipulating of the video frame, I managed to get a logo from the front of the sweatshirt. It was for a local bar, one of the few businesses we didn't own. The dive didn't compete with our own watering hole, so we didn't bother them.

I was dead tired, and the place had been closed for an hour, so I decided to spend a few hours wrapped around Alice and catch some shuteye.

She looked peaceful as she slept, and I knew I should let her rest. But once I climbed into bed and pulled her naked body into mine, all sense fled. Three orgasms later, we both collapsed into an exhausted but extremely satisfied sleep.

Alice was still dead to the world when my eyes popped open a few hours later. I carefully extracted myself from the bed so I wouldn't wake her. Then I grabbed a quick shower before going to the kitchen for a giant cup of coffee.

Once I was back at my desk, I booted up all the monitors on and over my desk and got back to work. An hour later, Alice knocked softly on my door.

"Can I come in?"

I smiled and held out my hand, beckoning her to come toward me. She'd picked it up fast for someone who'd been new to my world. A lot of women might have been offended about having to ask their man for permission to come into a room. But Alice knew it was possible that I was working on club business, and she understood. She was fucking perfect.

"Morning, gorgeous," I murmured when she padded over to me.

"It was a little weird not waking up with you this morning," she admitted sheepishly. "I'm not sure how I got so used to it in just a few days."

I nodded and pulled her down sideways onto my lap. "It might be fast, but I don't care. I don't ever want to sleep without you in my arms. Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."

"I know you have important work to do, Grady."

I gave her a sweet kiss, then leaned back to look into her eyes. My first instinct was always to protect her, but she'd accepted me, accepted the life I lived, so it was only fair that I shared what I could with her. Especially when it concerned her.

"Working on finding the bastard who tagged your car."

Alice cocked her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Any luck?"

"A little. I spotted the logo for the bar over on South Street. Now I'm digging into the background of their employees."

Alice frowned. "I've never even been there. Why would someone have an issue with me?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip, so I peeled it from between her teeth. "Stop worrying, gorgeous. I've got this. I'll figure this shit out. You gotta know I'd never let anything happen to you."

"I know." Snuggling deeper into my embrace, she laid her head on my chest. "Which is the only reason I feel okay about going into work today."

I hated the idea of her not being at the compound right now, but I figured she'd be safe at the school with all of the security there. Especially with one of my guys keeping an eye on her…and me tapping into their video feeds.