Page 12 of Steamy Ever After

Pinch gets between us and shoves Maddox hard in his chest. He may be gangly, but he’s fucking lethal. Maddox’s hard body slams into the back wall. “Shut your fucking mouth, Maddox. They’ll hear you.” I’m suddenly acutely aware of the fact that we’re in the clubhouse and I’ve just admitted to being a cop.

My thoughts fly to Marie. My stomach drops and I start cracking each knuckle on my fists. “Marie’s got nothing to do with any of this shit.” I have to clear her. “Fuck, I just met her tonight. I fucking swear it.”

“We know,” Pinch pipes up. Relief floods through me.

“Who else knows?”

Pinch answers with his typical ease and his grin returns as he sits back down. “Just the two of us and Pres. And Jace.”

I snort. “Of course Jace knows. He’s always following me around like a lost puppy and spouting off shit about the shipments.”

“You tell your boss about the shipments?” Maddox’s eyeing me like an asshole.

“The Pres is my boss.” The words come out hard, daring him to contradict me. I haven’t had a real conversation with Roger in months. Not only that, but there’s nothing to say about the shipments. They control the port, but I’ve never seen anything shady come through. Shit ton of pot, but that’s not worth mentioning.

“Stop fucking with him.” Pinch looks at me after telling Maddox off. “We know you don’t say shit about the shipments. Roger’s the one who sent you to us.” This just keeps getting better and better. He smiles like a lunatic then says, “And he’s the PD contact.”

My whole body feels like it’s shaking with rage. “You know how hard it was for me to go through with everything last week?” I glare at Maddox. “Why’d you fucking cut me off? You had to know this is what I was getting at.” I felt like a fraud. And like a pussy for not telling them. The guys are my family. I’d done everything I could to prove it to them, but with that shit weighing on me, it just didn’t feel right getting patched. Maddox stares at me for the longest fucking time. So long, I don’t think he’s going to answer me.

“I don’t like the fact that you’re a cop.” He shrugs, and for the first time since I admitted the truth, he relaxes a bit. “It was easier to just pretend you weren’t.”

“Now what?” I have to ask. “You guys going to kill me?”

“What the fuck, Blake?” Pinch looks at me like I kicked his puppy. Even Maddox takes a step back and side-eyes me like I’m the crazy one.

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to think?” My anger has taken over. I’m running on pure adrenaline and anxiety.

“Think of it like a job interview, only we didn’t want you to realize you were applying.”

“It took you two fucking years to figure out that you wanted me for the job?” The question rips up my throat with outrage.

“Well technically we wanted to patch you last year, but Pres liked fucking with you or something and you didn’t seem like you were in a rush.”

“Why didn’t he tell me before last week?” It fucking hurts. I can’t help it. I wanted to be patched, but not as a fucking undercover cop. My rage fades as I realize what a blow it was for them to know and not tell me.

Pinch shrugs. “Maybe he wanted to see if you’d tell him.”

“Shit.” If that’s the case, then I failed him. I’m not as close to Linc as I am with Maddox. In fact, I’ve kept a lot of shit that the two of us have gotten into from Linc. Now it’s just guilt eating at me. I’ve got to talk to Linc, ASAP.

“What about the chick?” Pinch’s question makes my fists clench and my blood run cold.

“What about her?” I can’t help the growl that escapes.

“Well, you making her your old lady?” His question lifts a fucking ton of weight off my shoulders. I almost smile. Almost.

“If I’d known her more than a few hours, I’d be able to answer that. For now, just keep your hands off.”

Pinch lets out his signature, high-pitched laugh looking crazy as fuck and Maddox shakes his head, making the ghost of a smile on my face vanish. His lips are pressed in a hard line. He hasn’t looked at me like that since I first came to the club. I feel like I failed him.

“We good?” I ask him in all seriousness. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him. The thought makes my chest feel hollow.

“Yeah.” His hard eyes soften and he grabs me in a bear hug. I pat him hard on the back. Thank fuck.

“I’m fucking sorry.”

“Me too, brother.” He grabs the piece of paper in my hands. “You sure you don’t want help fucking this guy up?” A grin spreads across my face.

“I guess I could use some help.”

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