“What did he really say?” I asked, the adrenaline flooding my body making me feel lightheaded.
Saber shook his head. “Point the gun somewhere else.”
“No,” I said. “Now tell me what he really said, or I’m aiming for your foot.” I lowered the barrel of the gun.
Motorcycle pipes ripped through the day.
“Thank God,” Saber said, sliding the phone into his back pocket. He hesitated. “Devlin’s pretty mad. You seem like a nice girl, even though you won’t put down the gun. I hope you understand him.”
“I don’t,” I admitted. “What about you? You’re obviously a new member. Why become a Lorde and move to Idaho?” If Aiden had just arrived, there was no way I could get out of there, so why not dig for information?
Saber rubbed the scruff on his chin. “He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Wonderful. “I don’t know what that means. Where are you from?”
“California,” Saber said.
I tilted my head, lowering the gun even more. “You were in a club that got patched over? By a group that barely had any members?”
Saber shook his head. “Nope. I’ve never been in a club. I love to ride, though.”
So Aiden was recruiting new members who weren’t even in clubs? How did that make any sense? “What kind of an offer did Aiden make you?”
Saber smiled again, but his gaze didn’t move from the gun. “Not a lot motivates me, pretty lady. But a guy hits an age when comfort matters, you know?”
“So, money?” I asked. “What are you guys into these days?”
Movement sounded, and Aiden suddenly stood behind Saber. He’d shaved off the beard but already had a five o’clock shadow. “Leave,” he said.
Saber gave me a sympathetic wince, turned, and quickly exited the apartment. When he closed the outside door, silence descended.
Aiden’s chin lifted. “You have one second to put that gun down.”
I was a woman who should live in a bubble. Surrounded by family, still living close to where I grew up, working hard in a secure job. But one moment years ago had blasted that bubble apart, and I knew it was all a mirage. Danger could be anywhere, whether you lived in a bubble or not. Right now, it was standing right in front of me. “I think I’ll keep the gun,” I said, the shiver ticking down my back feeling like ice.
Aiden’s eyes were a combination of so many blue hues that a true description wasn’t possible. Right now, they were harder than the sharpest edge of a new blade. His black hair was thick and curled beneath his ears, having grown out a little bit the last couple of weeks. With his black motorcycle boots, faded jeans, and dark tee stretched across his rock hard chest, he looked like the proverbial immovable object—with an edge that might just slice through a girl. He was a good foot taller than me, about a hundred pounds of pure muscle bigger than me, and if I had to guess, a boatload of more danger than I could ever hope to be. Worse yet, he was sexy. Oh, he shouldn’t be. But I knew, firsthand, what he could do with that firm mouth and those broad hands.
“Now, Angel,” he said softly, that Irish brogue hinting at his heritage.
I’d already learned that when Aiden got quiet, when he went tense, he was more dangerous than another man in full and loud temper. So I tightened my hold on his gun. Even though he was scaring the crap out of me, part of this was about my sister. “We’re going to have a little talk. Did you kill Danny Pucci?”
Aiden’s jaw tensed. His gaze didn’t so much as flicker from mine. Then he stepped forward. Slowly, deliberately, he prowled right toward me with the grace I’d admired in him from his youth.
I took a step back. Damn it.
He kept coming, and I had a split second to decide whether to pull the trigger or not. Then his hand was on the gun, and the weapon was out of my hands. His scent of leather, motor oil, and male washed over me in a remembrance of much better times.
The gun was instantly tucked at the back of his waist and his free hand wrapped around the front of my neck, lifting me up.
I gave a very unsexy squawk as I rose to my toes and my eyes widened on his.
His nose almost touched mine. “When I tell you to stay away from somewhere, you fuckin’ do it. Tell me you get me.” His voice was so rough it went hoarse.
Flutters whipped through my abdomen in a combination of fear and something I really didn’t want to admit to. It definitely wasn’t fear. There was something about him that scared people, and I got that, but I didn’t want to be one of them. From day one with him, I’d wanted to be different than everybody else. Yeah, I was screwed up. No question. “I’m not afraid of you,” I whispered, the slight shake in my voice telling a different story.
“Then you’re not nearly as smart as I’d hoped.” His fingers tightened but still didn’t hurt me. “What do I have to do, Angel?”
“For one thing, stop calling me Angel,” I admitted, wanting to plant my mouth against his to remind him of our time together. “For another, tell me what happened so I can clear my sister.” And him. I didn’t think he’d killed Danny, and I was going to find out the truth whether he liked it or not.
