Page 17 of Colt’s Betrayal

I know what I'm asking. She spent years making a life that had nothing to do with Kingdom Come, and now Chains has somehow made the club's gates safer for her than her own front door.

“All right.”

I hand her the spare helmet.

“But my car?”

“We'll get it later.” This time she doesn't argue.

Jayne climbs on behind me and wraps both arms around my waist before I pull out of the lot. The first time I ever carried her on the bike I had back then, she was eighteen and laughed every time I accelerated too hard. Tonight she presses close enough that I can feel her whole body pressed against my back, and after this afternoon my body has no trouble remembering exactly what that means.

The gates are already opening when we reach the compound. Kane is waiting in the clubhouse with Judge. Wilder is at the bar, and Griz sits at one of the tables with a coffee in front of him that looks untouched. There are more bikes outside than there were earlier, which means word has already gone around that something is moving with Perdition.

Nobody comments on Jayne arriving behind me. Kane looks at her face once, then at mine. “What happened?”

“We've got the location. Blackwater Road, the old logging turnoff six miles east of the river crossing. Raze followed her outside and forced a kiss on her. I wasn't leaving her after that.”

Wilder's head comes up immediately. Griz's expression changes too, though he looks away before Jayne can see much of it. Kane's attention returns to her. “He knows where you live?”

“Yes.”

“Then you stay here tonight.”

Jayne doesn't bristle at the order. “I assumed that was coming.”

“Good. You brought us something we can verify. Until we do, you stay out of whatever happens next and we keep Raze away from you.”

“That's fine with me.”

There is no ceremony around it, which is exactly how it should be. Jayne has potentially just saved three Kingdom Come men from riding into a kill zone. But she's also Chains's daughter, and she got the information while sitting alone with Perdition's vice president. Kane would be a shit president if he didn't hold both facts in his head at once. I don't like it, but that doesn't make him wrong.

“I'll get her settled.”

Kane nods. “Come back when you're done.” Jayne follows me across the compound to my room. She looks around when we walk in, taking in the bed, dresser and chair with enough clothes thrown over them to prove nobody expected company.

“Still a tidy person, then.”

“I've had a busy day.”

“That explains the previous several years.”

The dryness in her voice tells me some of the strain is starting to ease. I lean back against the dresser while she puts her purse down. For the first time since the parking lot, we're alone, and my attention goes straight to her mouth because I fucking hate knowing Raze's was there. Jayne sees where I'm looking.

“He didn't get anything from me.”

“I know.”

I cross the small space between us and touch her jaw, letting my thumb move once over her skin. “I wanted to kill him, just so you know that.”

“I noticed.”

“Still do.”

“That I believe too.”

There are about a dozen things I could say next, none of them useful. What happened outside wasn't about my pride, and I refuse to turn it into that by demanding reassurance. Instead, I press a kiss to her forehead.

“I need to get back to Kane.”