Page 38 of Reckless: Collision

“Tell me what’s on the drive,” Ryker demands.

“No basement.”

“No deal.”

“Then no intel.” I shrug like my heart isn’t trying to jackhammer out of my chest. “And hey, when Sterling Labs finally catches up to me, you can explain to Malachi how your alpha pride got his best hacker killed.”

“What if,” Finn stands, pushing those glasses up again, “we show you there are other ways to get that adrenaline spike you’re chasing?”

I tilt my head. “Go on.”

Ryker’s glare shifts to Finn, but our beta doesn’t back down.

His. His beta. Not mine. Not myanything.

“You have information you weren’t supposed to get,” Finn holds up a hand when I start to protest. “And you and I both know Quinn will come looking for that drive once he realizes it’s not with your things.”

My silence is apparently answer enough.

“You want to put your life in danger?” He raises a brow. “Then let us show you how to do it in a way that doesn’t end with you dead in a ditch.”

“What?” Ryker and I speak in unison, which is frankly disturbing.

“Listen. You’re an adrenaline junkie,” Finn’s voice gains confidence with each word. “Only instead of extreme sports, you get your fix from digital break-ins and system breaches. Let us show you other ways. Let us show you what protection could look like if it wasn’t a cage.”

“Finn.” Ryker’s warning holds enough alpha command to make the air heavy.

“No, I’m onto something.” Finn starts to pace, that beautiful brain of his clearly firing on all cylinders. “We should know what’s on that drive. But Cayenne needs protection. This is about trust. Us trusting her not to get herself killed, and her trusting us to have her back.”

“And how exactly do you build that kind of trust?” Ryker’s tone suggests he already hates whatever answer is coming.

“We get to know each other.” Finn’s eyes light up behind his glasses. “Not as guards and prisoner, but as potential packmates.”

“This isn’t speed dating.” Ryker’s scowl could probably curdle milk.

“Isn’t it though?” The smile that breaks across Finn’s face is damn near criminal. “It’s about learning someone’s limits, their strengths, what makes them tick. For example,” his voice rises with excitement, “we need to figure out what protecting Cayenne looks like. And it’s obviously not going to look like protection detail for some pampered omega. No, we need to treat her like what she is—a force of nature who needs room to run.”

Before Ryker can growl, I pat his chest. “Easy, big guy.”

“A traditional charge needs a protective alpha to stand guard,” Finn shakes his head. “Cayenne would rather be the guard.”

“Damn straight.”

“So we let her.” He stops, turning to face us both. “Ryker, you can take her riding. Jinx loves parkour and cliff jumping. And Theo has?—”

“Enough.” Ryker’s hand slices through the air.

I tap my chin, considering. “So you want to put me in high-stakes environments for what amounts to a trust fall on steroids?”

“Well, when you put it that way.” Finn’s eyes sparkle. “Yes.”

“Fucking hell.” Ryker tilts his head back, but all he gets is a view of the hobbit hole’s ceiling. “A high-stakes trust fall.”

“Honestly?” I grin, already imagining the possibilities. “I want to see where this goes.”

“That’s what will keep you from running?” Ryker pins me with those steel-grey eyes before turning to Finn. “I want no part of this.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Finn stammers, some of his confidence slipping.

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