She drinks me in, a slow grin splitting across her face. “Big bad Officer Decker, all dressed up. I’m gonna miss that uniform.”
“What’s he roped you into?”
Her smile falls and she sighs. “He hasn’tropedme into anything. You might be all squared up with the Sinners, but I’m still not completely forgiven. Axe holds a grudge, and from where he’s standing, we’re not even yet.”
I grit my teeth. “You’re not doing anything for that asshole. You understand? I know what it means to make a deal with the devil. What did you promise him?”
She rounds the desk and leans against the edge, clutching my collar and pulling me closer. She runs her hands over my chest, then settles them at my shoulders. “He’s not the devil. He’s my brother.”
“Grace,” I growl.
She huffs a breath. “You know who’s scarier than Axe? My dad.”
Hell of an understatement. Her father’s reappearance has made shit… complicated. The man’s even more overbearing than his son. When Grace told him we were leaving, I thought the guy’s head was gonna explode. Axe may be hard to deal with, butJimmy Donovan is fucking impossible. It’s another reason I’m happy to be leaving South Bay behind for a while.
“What’s your point?”
“Axe agrees it’s best Jimmy doesn’t know therealreason the enemy invaded Sinner territory. He’s leaving me out of the story. In exchange for his silence, I owe him a favour. One he can cash in whenever he likes. Jimmy’s in the dark. I’m forgiven. Axe gets whatever he thinks he wants from me. Everybody wins.”
“No,” I say. “Axe gets something to hold over your head. I’ve been there. And I won’t let you?—”
“Let me?” She steps closer, a small smirk tipping up at the edge of her mouth.
“Grace,” I warn.
“We’releaving,Linc. Let’s put all this behind us, okay?Please?”
I sigh. “Fine. You ready?”
“I’m always ready. Are you?”
No.
Yes.
I don’t know.
This town is a part of who I am. I’ve never left it for more than a few days. But now I’m here. Leaving behind my badge. Taking a six-month leave. With nothing but a bag of clothes, my motorcycle, and my woman.
It’s weird, knowing I won’t wake up here tomorrow. Not knowing when I’ll be home. At the same time, it’s like a weight’s been lifted from my chest. Whether I want to admit it or not, South Bay has been suffocating me. I need a break. A moment to think. To suck in air that hasn’t been tainted by all this history, all this bloodshed.
“I will be once we get out of here.”
She hums. “Tell me you packed light.”
“Yes, Grace. I packed light.” I roll my eyes. “But I really think we should consider strapping the bikes to my trailer and taking my truck. Then we wouldn’thaveto pack light. And don’t you need all your… I don’t know, girl shit? It looks like a makeup bomb exploded all over my bathroom counter every damn morning. How the hell you fitting all that in one bag?”
“Sheer will and a little skill. I’m a practiced nomad, Decker.” She grins. “I know how to survive off a couple pairs of underwear and a curling iron. You’ll be fine. Promise.”
I grin. “Leave the underwear behind.”
“Only if you pack that uniform.”
I kiss her. And it’s fucking healing. This last month has been hell. Living with the fear that I might end up in handcuffs, that Donovan might change his mind and force me back onto his payroll, that I’m gonna come home one day and Grace will be gone, with nothing but a skull and crossbones burned into my floor in her place.
All the shit that haunts my nightmares.
I don’t dream of Emily anymore. There’s no more pale skin, no more song, no more crash. I’ve let it go. Lethergo. But I’m still haunted. Now, it’s Grace I see. Bleeding, dying, begging. I don’t get to her on time, I don’t save her.
