Page 8 of Reaper

"Not officially." I slump in defeat."But I was already recruited.They wanted me to inform on the Saints, on your dad's operation.I couldn't--I wouldn't betray you like that.So I left instead."

"Jesus, Sandy." He drags a hand through his hair."Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I know you. You would've tried to help, tried to fix it.And they would've arrested you for interference." My voice cracks."I couldn't watch that happen.Not to you."

The room falls silent except for the persistent buzzing of my burner.Reaper stares at me for a long moment before grabbing the phone and answering it himself.

"She'll call you back." His voice carries that commanding tone that makes even hardened bikers snap to attention.Then he ends the call and tosses the phone aside.

"That was stupid." But my protest lacks heat."They'll think my cover's blown."

"Maybe it should be." He steps closer, backing me against the wall."Maybe it's time to stop running from whatever's coming."

"I'm not running." My hands come up to brace against his chest, but I'm not exactly pushing him away."I'm trying to stop a war before it starts."

"Then let me help." His thumb traces my bottom lip, sending shivers down my spine."We're stronger together. Always were."

"It's not that simple."

"It could be." He presses his forehead to mine, and all those years of distance evaporate like morning mist."Just tell me what we're really facing."

My burner buzzes again. This time it's a text.

Kings moving product tonight.All agents in position. DO NOT BLOW YOUR COVER.

"Sandy." Reaper's voice pulls me back."Talk to me."

I look up into eyes I've trusted since I was seventeen, and something inside me breaks."The Kings aren't just running guns.They're moving something bigger tonight.Something that has every federal agency in three states on high alert."

"What kind of something?"

"The kind that gets entire clubs put away for life." I swallow hard."The kind that could start a war that would destroy everything you've built."

Understanding floods his expression."That's why you wanted to reroute through Colorado.Keep us clear of whatever's coming down."

"I can handle the Kings. What I can't handle is you getting caught in the crossfire." My fingers curl in his shirt."I lost you once because of this job.I won't do it again."

"You never lost me." His mouth hovers inches from mine, his words a dangerous promise."I was just waiting for you to come back."

This time when he kisses me, there's nothing gentle about it.It's all heat and hunger and years of pent-up need.I arch into him, gasping as he lifts me against the wall.His hands slide under my shirt--another one of his shirts--palming bare skin as his mouth devours mine.

"Tell me to stop." He nips at my throat, making me moan."Tell me this isn't what you want."

"I can't." I wrap my legs around his waist, drawing him closer."God help me, I can't."

His answering growl vibrates through me as he carries me to the bed.We fall together in a tangle of limbs and half-shed clothes, hands relearning familiar territory as if no time has passed.

Then Reaper's club phone rings.

"Ignore it," Reaper murmurs against my collarbone.

But the ringtone is Timer's, and he never calls unless it's important.With a frustrated groan, I reach for the phone and hand it to him.

"This better be good," Reaper growls, putting the phone on speaker.

"Kings are on the move." Timer's voice carries an edge I've never heard before."Full crew headed toward Devil's Wings territory.They're carrying heavy artillery."

Ice floods my veins. "How heavy?"

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