Page 32 of Gunner

The last thing I needed was for Gunner to know I was in Riverton.

My phone beeped. Shit. I was going to be late.

I stuffed my wallet, phone, and keys into my pocket and left the cheap motel room I’d booked for three days. I took the elevator down to the small lobby. The receptionist, a bored brunette doing a word search puzzle, glanced up at me. She smiled and fluttered her lashes.

“I remember you,” she said. “You came in last night, didn’t you?”

I gave her a polite smile. “Hey, yes, I did.”

“Is your room comfortable?” She propped her arms up on the desk and leaned forward in a gesture that shoved her ample breasts forward.

“It is, thank you.”

“Then you don’t need anything? Because here at Jewel, we aim to please.”

A presence approached behind me, and I stepped back to let them pass, but instead, I bumped into a solid wall.

“You’re wasting your time, sweetheart,” a familiar voice said. His breath warmed the back of my neck, and all the hairs there stood on end. “Unless you’re hiding a big, thick cock under that short skirt, he doesn’t care for it.”

The receptionist’s eyes bulged, and her mouth dropped open. I spun around and came face-to-face with the bastard’s smug face. I inhaled sharply and breathed in a lungful of his scent. He was wearing cologne, something he’d never done. His natural musk of unbridled male lingered on the scent, hitting something primal inside me.

“You followed me?” I gritted out.

“Would you believe me if I said this is a coincidence?”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Not really.” He nodded at the receptionist. “You don’t want to do this in front of her, do you?”

I had completely forgotten about the woman. Gunner had this way of showing up and stealing the attention away from everything and everyone, like he alone deserved my time.

I took a hold of his arm and dragged him outside with me. Becauseheallowed it. He didn’t even put up a fight or protest. Bastard.

“You like it rough in the sack, don’t you?” he asked. “Man, I’d love to see that.”

“Keep dreaming! What are you doing here?”

“Providing backup for you.”

“I don’t need backup. How did you find out I was here?”

“I suspected you would come here to do things the proper way.”

Taking a step closer, I grabbed the front of his shirt. “You were spying on me?”

Why wasn’t he resisting? Fighting back? He was always the first to throw a punch. What was he playing at?

“I prefer to see it as looking out for you.” He covered my hand with his. “Like I said before, Witter, this case also involves my club. You may not believe me, but I want it clear who is involved and who isn’t.”

“Why are you acting so magnanimous all of a sudden?” I tugged my hand away. “I don’t trust you.”

“I know you don’t, but what if I agree to do things your way?”

“You would stand aside and allow me to handle this without your interference?”

“I’m not always an asshole.”

“I see. Only ninety-nine percent of the time, then?”

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