Page 52 of Fatal Temptation

“I wanted to apologize for my… reaction.”

Akio nodded, a lump clogging up his throat.

“Happy birthday?”

Diesel opened his arms, a vulnerable look on his face as if he thought Akio might not hug him. He was off the couch and in his brother’s arms the next second. He understood Diesel’s overprotectiveness. He understood the worry and fear coursing through his brother. He was sure they were all going to be much worse when it came to Addie, himself included.

He pulled back, a line forming between his brows.

“Wait. Where is Addie?”

“She’s staying with Ares and Jace. We didn’t want to pull her out of school for the trip. I’ve never been more thankful for that decision,” Diesel said with a heavy exhale.

“I gave him the bracelet,” Chris said to Diesel, pointing at the box on the coffee table.

Diesel winced, then said, “Yeah. Sorry. We left your present in your dorm room.”

“We’ll go grab it later,” Chris said, a smile widening his lips. “Along with cake.”

Akio’s groan had them both laughing.

Lucas

When Diesel asked him to follow him into Ryder’s dining room, he wondered if the man was going to hit him again. Fortunately, he didn’t need to wonder for long. Diesel led him toward the table where he and Chris had set up a makeshift workstation with all the information they had mapped out.

“Getting rid of Kuroki has to be our priority,” Diesel said with a tight-lipped smile. “With him out there, Akio isn’t safe.”

“Neither are you,” Lucas said when he realized as much.

Diesel grimaced.

“Which means none of my family is safe.”

“Addie,” Lucas breathed.

“She’s safe in York. Ares will keep her at the club when she’s not at school.”

Ares was the president of Diesel and Chris’ motorcycle club, and Lucas had met him enough times to confidently say that he was not a man you wanted to cross unless you had a death wish.

“Akio’s arrest and everything with the Rebels will have to wait. I’ve asked the club’s lawyer to look into it and to work with the Rebels as well.”

Lucas nodded. He leaned forward to place his hands on the table and looked at the map there. At the addresses that had been circled with a red pen. He’d been in contact with Edmunds throughout the day, though sparingly. His ASAC’s updates hadn’t been good.

“They’ve abandoned the locations Akio gave me,” he said with an annoyed shake of his head, his hold on the table’s edge tightening. “They know we have someone with inside knowledge.”

“That’s not good,” Diesel muttered.

Lucas tended to agree.

“They’ll be looking for my CI.”

“How long before someone realizes that your CI is your boyfriend?”

Lucas blinked in surprise as he looked up at Diesel.

He knew better than to question Diesel’s choice of word. He would simply piss him off and Diesel was already giving quite the olive branch by calling Akio Lucas’ boyfriend. He gave Diesel an appreciative nod to acknowledge them moving on from their scrabbles.

“Not long, I’m afraid.” He turned around and leaned against the table with a sigh. “I haven’t told any of my colleagues about Akio or the arrest. Nor about Akio staying with me, but they’re FBI agents, and if one of them is working for Kuroki…”

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