Page 184 of Reckless

Made them weak enough to lose sight of what mattered.

Turns out I had it ass-backward.

Love is a risk—a damn big one.

But Sage is worth the risk.

She’s worth being reckless.

I am so fucking screwed.

Chapter Thirty-Four

GHOST

Later That Night

The bedroom is dark except for the lamp on the nightstand, its warm glow spilling across tangled sheets and the quiet space between us.

Sage sits with her back against the headboard, one knee drawn up beneath the blankets, watching me as I climb into bed beside her. She shifts closer until her shoulder brushes mine, her fingers slipping into my hand as if they have always belonged there. “Tell me,” she says softly.

I lace our fingers together and stare at the ceiling for a moment before I start at the beginning. I walk her through Travis’ house. Koa, Mace, Slate, and Static taking out the guards. Me sitting in the van, stripping away every option Travis thought he still had before he even realized he was trapped.

I tell her about catching him at the gate.

About sitting him back down at his kitchen table.

About the statement waiting for him before he understood the fight was already over.

About the silence that settled over the room when he finally realized every move he’d made had already been anticipated.

And finally…

The signature.

She doesn’t interrupt once.

Her thumb drifts slowly across the back of my hand while she listens, her eyes never leaving mine.

“So…” she says after a long moment. “You did it.”

I shake my head. “We did.”

She waits. I know she’s waiting for more.

“Sin saw the play before any of us. Koa and Mace got us through the front door. Slate and Static rode halfway across the country because another chapter asked for help. Everyone had a part in it.” I glance down at our joined hands. “One man doesn’t bring down someone like Calloway.”

“A club does,” she finishes quietly.

I nod. “Yeah.”

Silence settles over the room again, comfortable this time.

Sage reaches up and cups my jaw, turning my face toward hers. “I’m proud of the club,” she says and smiles, small and knowing. “But Ghost…” Her thumb brushes across the stubble on my jaw. “I’m proud of you.”

The words affect me more than everything that’s happened today.

Nobody has ever said that to me like that before.