Marcus swept the bugs into his palm and closed his fingers around them. His expression shifted, hardened into something resolute and dangerous. “You don’t have to do anything,” he said. “I’ll handle Reeves.”
The calm certainty in his voice sent a chill down my spine. “What are you going to do?”
Marcus slipped the bugs into his pocket, then reached across the table to brush a tear from my cheek that I hadn’trealized was there. His touch was gentle despite the lethal promise in his eyes. “This time, I’m going to protect what’s mine,” he said simply. “And then I’m going to make sure Detective Reeves never threatens you again.”
The storm raged on outside, matching the intensity of what passed between us in that moment. Fear and relief and something deeper, something I wasn’t prepared to name yet, hummed in the air between us.
And despite everything, the danger, the uncertainty, the knowledge that things would likely get worse before they got better, I found myself believing him.
Chapter Nine
Rancor
Rain drummed against the roof of my truck as I drove us back to the compound. Cora sat rigid in the passenger seat, her fingers twisted together so tightly her knuckles had gone white. The listening devices weighed heavy in my pocket. They were probably active, so I had no doubt Reeves knew his plan hadn’t worked. He’d played her perfectly, exploiting her fears, using her against me. My jaw ached from clenching it, but I kept my face neutral, my movements measured. Showing my rage now would only frighten her more. I didn’t want her thinking I was angry at her. She was the only innocent person in this whole fucking mess.
“You don’t have to take me back to the compound,” she said suddenly, her voice barely audible over the engine’s rumble. “I’ve already caused enough trouble.”
I glanced at her. Her face had paled, eyes rimmed with red, hair still damp from the rain. Something fierce and protective surged in my chest. “You didn’t cause anything, honey.” I kept my voice low, steady. “Reeves did.”
Kurt Reeves. The name left a bad fucking taste in my mouth. I’d known from the moment I was released that he’d come for me someday. Eight years hadn’t dulled his hatred. Or mine. But I hadn’t expected him to find such an effective weapon. Using Cora against me, forcing her to do his bidding when he couldn’t do anything to me legally, threatening to destroy her life… It was calculated cruelty. The kind that spoke of a patient, festering rage that matched my own. And now Cora, an innocent person who had done absolutely nothing wrong, got caught in the crossfire of a vendetta that began long before sheentered my life. “He was waiting for an opportunity,” I said, more to myself than to her. “Watching for a weak point.”
Her head snapped toward me. “I’m your weak point?”
I didn’t answer immediately, eyes fixed on the rain-slicked road ahead. The windshield wipers beat a steady rhythm, clearing sheets of water only for them to reform an instant later.
Finally, I nodded once, the admission coming easier than I expected. “Yes.”
She fell silent again, turning to watch the rain. I needed to call Knight, to prepare the compound for our arrival. I reached for my phone, engaged the hands-free, and dialed.
Knight answered on the second ring. “You good?” He’d been on edge since we discovered the first bug.
“Ten minutes out.” I kept my eyes on the road as I spoke. “Everything secure?”
“Locked down tight. You alone?” His question carried layers of meaning.
“Got Cora with me.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw her tense beside me at the mention of her name. “She’s clean. Reeves had her plant the kitchen bug. Blackmailed her.”
A beat of silence on the line. “Figured as much. Looked like she dropped it instead of actually placing it.” Knight’s voice softened slightly. “She okay?”
I glanced at Cora again, noted the way she hugged herself, shoulders hunched as if expecting a blow. “She will be.” I slowed as we approached a flooded section of road. “Reeves fabricated evidence against her, threatening to arrest her for trafficking and prostitution if she didn’t cooperate.”
“Classic,” Knight muttered, disgust evident in his tone. “Knuckles is here. We’ll meet you in the common room.”
The call ended and silence filled the cab again, broken only by the rhythmic slap of wipers and the steady drum of the rain. Cora’s breathing had quickened slightly at the mentionof Knuckles. I couldn’t blame her. Our president carried his reputation like armor, cultivated it deliberately. Most people found him intimidating even when he was trying not to be. Well, everyone but the old ladies. His wife, Hannah, saw to it the women knew he was a big softy. Yeah. He really wasn’t.
“Knight and Knuckles are waiting for us,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “They know what happened. They know you didn’t have a choice.”
She nodded mechanically, but the tension in her body didn’t ease. “Are they angry?”
“Not at you. You did nothing wrong.”
“Maybe I should have just told you.”
I thought about her statement for a moment. “I wish you’d trusted me enough to come to me, but I understand. Reeves knew exactly what to say to make you doubt everything you thought you knew about us.”
We turned onto the access road leading to the compound. Even through the rain-blurred windshield, I could make out the increased presence. Two prospects stood guard at the gate instead of the usual one, and I spotted Diesel positioned on the roof of the gatehouse, the outline of a rifle visible beside him. I knew there was at least one other patched member in the gatehouse, but I didn’t see who. Seemed Knuckles and Hawk weren’t taking chances.
The gate slid open as we approached, Griffin giving me a nod and a two-fingered salute as we passed through. I drove slowly down the main thoroughfare, noting several more brothers around the perimeter. Every face reflected the same focused vigilance. Word had spread. The compound was battening down for a storm that had nothing to do with the rain.
