My gut turns over. Yeah, all that shit he has on me gets sent to the chief. And maybe every news outlet on this side of the country. He ends up dead, then I might as well be too. Not much room for a man like me in prison.
I shrug. “Maybe I’ll take my chances.”
It’s his turn to smile. “You do that. But I’ll warn you now. You take a shot at the king, you better not miss.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty good aim, Axe. As you know.”
I press two fingers into his shoulder, and when I hit his old bullet wound, he flinches. Satisfaction rolls through me. A weakness. A little twinge of pain, maybe every time he moves that arm. It’s really nice knowing the discomfort he feels is because of me.
I twist him around and shove him towards the PD entrance. Once he’s settled in the interrogation room, cameras off, I head to the basement cell to pay a little visit to the other Donovan.
Grace and I need to have a chat.
19
Grace throwsme a murderous look as I approach. “Why am I still handcuffed? I’m not a threat, Decker. Take these things off me.”
I arch a brow. “I don’t know, Grace. Feels like every time you and I have words, you’re spewing some kind of threat from that pretty mouth of yours.”
She scoffs. “Ditto, asshole. But at least I’m not trying to get your clothes off while I do it.”
A humorless laugh escapes me. “You left me naked in a field.”
“Andyoufucked me and then threatened my life. I don’t think that’s the same.”
“Fine. Get up.” I unlock the cell door and slam it shut behind me, ensuring it locks.
As she stands, her eyes flash to the small area in front of the bars, to the camera in the back corner.
Smiling, I turn her around and work at unlocking her cuffs. “Cameras are off,” I whisper in her ear.
Goose bumps rush over her neck as my breath hits her skin. Fuck, I want to trace them with my fingers. Follow them to her shoulders and along the ridge of her spine. I want my hands onher, exploring every inch, tracing paths over every divot, every freckle, mapping the lines of ink on her skin.
My dick twitches. Yeah.Definitelynot out of my system.
Teeth gritted, I release her from her restraints and step back.
She’s slow to face me, her attention on her wrists as she rubs the ruts the cuffs left behind, her usual expression in place. Furrowed brows, tight jaw, eyes narrowed and untrusting.
“That was completely unnecessary,” she says, her focus finally drifting up to my face.
“Which part?”
“All of it.” She moves forward a pace and crosses her arms. “How can you just stand there and let that asshole do whatever he wants? Regardless of your relationship with the club, with Axe, it’s not right, and you know it.”
She doesn’t get it. Letting Allen run around without a leash isn’t an easy thing to swallow. And while I won’t lose sleep over the beating he’s likely laying out on Axe right now, I’m certainly not on board with his tactics. He’s stirring shit up that’s best left in the dirt. Bending the law more than what even I’m comfortable with, at least out in the open. And he’s made bringing down the Donovan empire part of some personal vendetta. I can’t see this ending well for the Sinners, which means it won’t end well for me. Like Axe said, myusefulnessmay have run its course. He ends up dead or in jail, my fucking life is over.
I smile. “I don’t really care what’s right.”
She shakes her head. “I’m disappointed in you, in who you’ve become.”
A weight settles in my stomach, pulling it down, a sickness of sorts churning my guts. It shouldn’t fucking matter what she thinks. She’s Jack’s sister. Axe’s sister. Wears my enemy’s last name like a fucking badge of honour.
I shouldn’t give a shit. I shouldn’t care that I’m adisappointmentto her.
I can’t. I won’t.
I am who I am. I made my bed. And now every night, I get to sleep in it. Next to Emily’s ghost. Heavy with the burden of the lives I’ve taken, the uniform I’ve betrayed.
