Page 11 of More Bite than Bark

Hex cranked the throttle and eased his bike to the clubhouse where he backed into the row of bikes parked there, then waved to Elle as she drove past.He killed the engine, shed his helmet, and headed inside.

Inside, he stopped a couple of feet in the door and let his eyes adjust for a moment, then scanned the room, looking for specific faces.When he spotted Wrath at one of the pool tables, he headed in his VP’s direction.

“Hey, you heard anything from Cypher?”Hex asked when he reached Wrath where he knocked balls around a table on his own.

“Not recently.Last I saw he was in the command center.”

“Let’s go see.I need to talk to you both.”

Wrath scowled, but laid his cue on the table and followed as Hex headed down the hall to the room Cypher had set up to be the security center of the compound.From here he could watch any of the cameras they had scattered around the place as well as monitor several other alarms.He could close and lock down the gate and more than that, it was also where he kept his computer set up for when he needed to do a little off the records computer work.

“Oh, good,” Hex said as he reached the command center and found the door open and Cypher at his computer.“Found anything yet?”he asked as he stepped into the room, Wrath right behind him.

“Nothing alarming, but I’m just getting started.All I’ve got so far is what’s publicly available.And there’s nothing surprising there.Can I ask what’s going on?”

Hex took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.He would have to tell them eventually, but if it meant making sure they were all looking out for Elle, he’d tell them now.

“You know I went to a wedding earlier, right?”

“Yeah, but I thought it was a society event.”Wrath looked him up and down.“You look a little underdressed.Unless you were looking to pull a “Friends in Low Places” thing.”

“Fuck you.”Hex didn’t tell them that he’d considered it.The only thing that had stopped him was the knowledge that Mother would find small ways to make him pay for embarrassing her like that.And that was just how she would say it too.For embarrassing her.“Anyway, the bride called it off before the ceremony.”

“That’s your girl, right?”Wrath asked, knowing at least part of the history between Hex and Elle.

“It is.”

“Did she do aRunaway Brideor aMy Best Friend’s Wedding?”Cypher asked.“And why were both of those characters played by Julia Roberts?”

Hex frowned at Cypher, wondering what the hell was wrong with the kid and not having any idea how to answer him.

“Did she walk away before the whole walk down the aisle thing or after?”Cypher asked after a moment.

“After.”

“My Best Friend’s Wedding,” he said with a nod.“I take it you’ve been to see her, that’s why you wanted to know where she was, including room number?”

“Yeah.She’s not there anymore by the way.”

“If she’s your ex, why do we care if she walked out on the wedding, much less where she was or is?”Wrath asked, scowling.

“That’s why I needed to talk to the two of you.I’ve put us on a soft lock down.”

“Soft lock down?”Wrath asked.“What the fuck is that?”

“It’s just a closed gate and no one not already part of the club comes and goes without my permission.”

“Why?”Wrath sounded more confused than anything else.

Hex took a deep breath.“Because Elle’s at my place and she doesn’t want to talk to either her former fiancé or her mother right now.”

Wrath lifted one brow.“And we’re a halfway house for runaway brides?”

“No, but I will not deny my woman the right to feel safe in her home.”

Cypher coughed.

“You’ve moved her in?”Wrath’s eyes went wide and he stared at Hex.“Damn, you move fast.How’d you talk her in to walking out on her wedding like that?”