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“There was another chick here when I ran up; she was in pretty rough shape. But as soon as she saw me tend to Ryan, she up and left,” Torque said quietly.

That got an eyebrow raise from me. Who was this other woman, and why were she and Ryan fighting off four men? Or maybe it was one against five. The thought of Ryan being outnumbered made my blood boil.

“Where the fuck is the rest of the Los Muertos crew? Why was she out here alone fighting off grown-ass men?” I yelled out before lowering my voice. “I swear when I see that punk-ass motherfucker, I’ll kill him.”

I was seething.

“I don’t know, man. I wondered the same thing. I was surprised when I saw her in there tonight. At first, I thought maybe she was fighting. But she had her hood pulled up over her face and looked like she was trying to blend in.”

His words caught my attention. Why was she here tonight?

“I saw her walk out the fire exit door before I cornered Jax’s fight. Thank God the fucker got a TKO in the first round. That’s the only reason I was out here to see all this shit in time. If the fight had gone the distance, I don’t know who would have shown up next.” There was a tinge of regret in Torque’s voice. Seems my Latin beauty had made an impression on more than just me.

“Fucker, I’m glad you were here to help her. But you better only think of her as a sister, you hear? She’s off-limits,” I practically snarled at Torque while shielding her body from view with mine.

A sly smile crept up on Torque’s face, his hands back up in surrender. “You got it, man. She’s your woman.”

I opened my mouth to argue when Dex pulled down the alleyway in a blacked-out SUV. Not wanting to take any chances if this was turf war-related, I’d made sure he brought the bulletproof vehicle to transport her.

“Thank fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

Careful of the wounds, I cradled Ryan in my arms and strode toward the back passenger door and gently laid her on the bench seat before I moved to get in.

Dex’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. “You have to check the scene, man,” he whispered. The look he gave me was loaded.

My hands rubbed down my face. "Fuck, you’re right,” I groaned, pissed that I was the best person for the job.

The scene needed to be pieced together so we knew what the hell had happened. At least until Ryan woke up and told us her version, but even that wouldn’t shed light on the truth. I glanced around the alley. It looked like a bloodbath. Ryan probably wouldn’t have details about anything other than what she was involved in. And based on how gruesome and sloppy everything was, this seemed like a heat-of-the-moment attack. Part of me was pissed Torque hadn’t gone after the mystery woman, but I would’ve beaten him to a pulp if he left Ryan lying alone.

“I’ll take good care of her, man. She’ll be waiting in the guest room at the clubhouse when you get back,” Dex commented when I still hadn’t moved.

My head snapped up at the mention of putting her anywhere other than my bed. Dex probably figured I wouldn’t want her close after I learned of her and Mario. But her being away from me and unprotected, like she was tonight, made my stomach turn.

“No, I want her in my bed.” I gave her one more glance before I strode toward the crime scene, wanting to get started. I called over my shoulder, “And Dex, the doctor and you. You’re the only person allowed in the room when he’s checking her. She doesn’t get exposed more than she has to be. Got it?”

He searched my face, for what, I didn’t know. But when he was done, I received a firm nod as a response.

“Go find out what happened, brother. Shit’s getting weird, and I’ve got a feeling moves are about to be made—by all of us,” he warned.

He was right—too many coincidences for my liking. Ryan, at an underground fight night, hosted by a neutral party, but not for fighting? And if Torque was correct, she didn’t want to be recognized. She was collecting information; I’d put my money on it.

On what? That was the million-dollar question.

I watched as the red-tinted tail lights drove out of sight, carrying the woman who’d clawed her way into my chest. She wasn’t supposed to; this fucked everything up. Shaking my head, like that’d clear my confusion, I got to work trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

“Hey, Gunner. We cleaning this shit up or getting Los Muertos to do it?” Torque called out.

“Depends on what we find out. We’ve got a partnership to run guns, but that doesn’t mean we have to share everything we know with them,” I replied, crouching down next to the body that’d been on top of Ryan.

Anger thrummed through my veins. If only I could bring this piece of shit back to life and kill him again—slowly and painfully. I looked over at Torque, making sure he got the hidden meaning in my words.

We couldn’t trust Los Muertos.

He nodded his head, understanding. “I’ll go check those two for anything useful,” he answered.

If it benefited us to share the information found in this alley, we would. But if it were better kept in-house, then we wouldn’t be telling Los Muertos shit. Sure, Ryan could tell what she knew, but the fact that she showed up without anyone from the cartel said a lot.

The man in front of me didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean too much. He wasn’t wearing any colors or a cut.