Page 116 of Tempting Fate

“Tell me what’s botherin’ you most, sweet thing.”

“Everything.” I pull in a lungful of air and slowly let it out through my nose. “Mainly us. I’m scared that Hunter’s plan mightn’t work. You could get hurt. What if Alex?—”

Zeke cuts me off with an angry hiss. “I don’t wanna hear his fuckin’ name fall from your lips one more time. He’s my problem now, not yours.”

My gaze cuts from my plate to Zeke’s face. We’re separated from the main group, but it must be clear things are tense between us since the people sitting closest are shooting worried glances our way.

“Please,” I whisper. “I don’t want to argue here… not in front of everyone. Not yet.”

“Sweet thing, I don’t plan on arguin’ with you ever again. We’ve cleared the air. We’re on the same page. We have trust and love on our side. Tonight is ours, then the countdown to the end begins… as long as you look at the next few weeks like a game, we can get through anythin’ they throw at us.”

As much as I try to play it cool, I can’t keep the squeak of desperation out of my voice when I ask, “Weeks?”

“No.” Zeke presses his fingers to my lips to shush me. “Hold that thought until tomorrow. I’ve got better use for these lips than frettin’ over things we can’t control.”

“How can a girl resist when you put it so nicely?”

He laughs at my sarcasm. It sounds rusty, as if he hasn’t found anything funny for too long. I know the feeling. It’s been little more than forty-eight hours since Alex reappeared in my life, yet it feels as if he’s been stalking me for years.

In some ways, he has.

Winking at me, Zeke starts on his meal. As we eat, we share some easy conversation about Fret being brought out of his sedation tomorrow. My request to be there when it happens is ignored, so I take the hint and start to do more than move my food around my plate.

I eat, not tasting the food, unable to stop my head from spinning with worry.

Once my man has cleared his plate, he rises to leave. “I’ll see you later on.”

“Don’t be too late,” I murmur. He brushes the backs of his fingers over my jaw. Capturing his hand, I peer up at him. “I love you.”

“I know you do, metukà shelì… almost as much as I love you.”

22

VENOM

Lily is in the shower when I finally make it back to our room to catch a few hours’ sleep. I hear her humming to herself, happy as she can be in the midst of the shit flying at us, and it takes my legs out from under me.

How can I risk her like this?

I stumble to the edge of the bed and plonk my arse on the mattress. Every way this convoluted game I’m about to initiate could go wrong hits me all at once. The stakes are high. Deadly. For me. For Slash, Toker, Cub, and Hunter. Most of all, for Lily.

To successfully pull this off, I have to entrust her safety to the man I trust the least.

Brutus.

And that scares the living shit out of me.

Jamming my fingers through my hair, I yank at the longer strands until it hurts.

The sharp pain snaps me out of my head.

This is going to work.

It has to.

I’ve got to protect it all.

My club. My position as VP. Most importantly, my woman’s life.

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