Page 30 of Falling for the Knockout

“Well, you know that I appreciate that, Reacher,” Gloria said. “But I’m sure that Brandi can handle taking me to my appointments today.”

“You sure?” Reacher asked.

“Of course,” Gloria insisted. “As long as you promise to call me if you hear any news from your meeting last night.”

“Will do,” he agreed. “Just call me if you need me, Gloria.” He turned to leave and looked back over his shoulder at Brandi. From the smirk on his face, she could tell that he was about to be a smart-ass, and that was something that Brandi liked in a guy.

“Good to see you again, Brandi,” he said, giving her back her own words. Gloria giggled and shook her head at him and Brandiworried that between the two of them, she was going to have her hands full.

Reacher’s Ride or Die (RBMC: Yonkers, NY Chapter Book 2) Universal Link-> https://books2read.com/u/b5a9wp

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Gray

Gray watched Kaiah as she made her way around the crowded outdoor farmer’s market. She’d be pissed knowing that he was keeping an eye on her—basically stalking her after she told him not to. Hell, she told him to stay the fuck out of her life but that wasn’t going to be possible. He knew that the hunter’s renewed interest in both Kaiah and Aylen wasn’t something that he’d be able to ignore. Rios was beside himself with worry about Aylen and his son. He made sure to get them as far from New Orleans and their club, Perdition, as possible. Rios was smart to take his woman and kid away from danger but when Aylen insisted that Kaiah join them, she refused. Rios made Gray swear that he’d keep Kaiah safe and that was exactly what he planned on doing—whether she liked it or not.

Aylen made Kaiah move into Gray’s small home as a stipulation for letting her stay in NOLA and Kaiah reluctantly agreed. Aylen made up some sappy story about not wanting to worry about her sister while they were on the run and Kaiah didn’t want to give her sister anything else to upset her. What her sister didn’ttell her was that Kaiah would also have someone watching her twenty-four-seven. At the last meeting that Rios attended before high tailing it out of town, he asked for volunteers to help keep the sexy little seer under strict surveillance. And when just about every damn biker in that place raised his hand for the job, Gray felt about ready to rip their fucking arms off. He had enough and that was when he lost his mind and shouted to the whole bar that Kaiah was his and that anyone who fucking touched her would live to regret it. The thought of any of his shifter brothers laying one paw on her made him want to burn down the club’s bar, Titos, with everyone in it. Kaiah had that effect on him—made him irrational and want things that he had no right to want.

He had a family once—a wife and two pups, but they were gone now, and at forty-five, Gray was pretty sure that ship had left the harbor and set sail. But being around Kaiah made him think about things he hadn’t for years and that dredged up so many painful memories that he’d sooner forget. Wanting Kaiah wasn’t something he could let himself do—it was too dangerous but having his shifter brothers sniffing around her wasn’t something he could stand by, and watch happen either.

He did a quick scan of the market and realized that he lost track of the crafty seer. She was just buying a bouquet of fresh flowers and now she was gone. Gray panicked and did a quick search for the other vendors that she usually shopped with. This was his fourth time trailing her to the farmer’s market in town and he had to admit, he liked spending the day out in the fresh air watching sexy little Kaiah buy pretty flowers for his kitchen table—not that he’d ever tell her that. Whenever she put them out, he’d grumble something about her making his place too girlie but deep down, he loved the way she had made his old house feel like a home again.

“Gray,” Kaiah whispered his name from behind where he stood, damn near making him jump out of his skin.

“Fuck, Kaiah,” he growled. “You damn near scared the piss out of me.”

Kaiah giggled, “You do have such colorful ways of saying things, Gray,” she teased. “What are you doing here?” she asked. She looked him up and down as if sizing him up. “I’m guessing you aren’t here to buy anything since you have no bags and you're lurking over here in the corner.” Kaiah squinted her eyes at him, and he could tell the exact minute she realized what he was doing. “You’re here babysitting me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I thought we agreed that you would stay the fuck out of my head,” he shouted, towering over her small frame. Kaiah leaned into his body as she always did, sending him such mixed messages. “Shit, Kaiah,” he grumbled. “When you do that it makes me crazy.”

“Do what?” she whispered, craning her neck to look up at him. She was so close he could feel her warm breath and all he could think about doing was pulling her up against his body and taking what he wanted from her.

“You know exactly what you are doing to me, kid,” he said. She backed down from him just as soon as she heard the nickname he used for her. Gray knew she hated it and hell, maybe that’s why he used it so often. It was almost like throwing a bucket of cold water on the little hellcat. Every time he called her, “Kid,” she seemed to lose some interest in him and backed down.

“I told you not to call me that, Gray. I’m not a fucking kid—I’m twenty-eight and a divorced woman to boot,” she said, pushing her long, dark hair over her shoulder. God, what he’d give to kisshis way down her slender neck and hear her panting out in need for him.

“Why don’t you just do it then, Gray?” she challenged. She looked him over, staring him down as if daring him to accuse her of reading his damn mind again. That was the trouble with wanting a seer—she knew every damn dirty thought he had running around his crazy head about her.

“Not going to happen, kid,” he said. Gray took the bags full of produce from her and headed back over to where she had parked her truck. “You about ready to head back home?” he called over his shoulder. He chanced a look back at the sultry seer and yeah, she was good and pissed. Kaiah put her hands on her curvy little hips and started after him.

“You can’t keep denying your feelings for me, Gray. You know I can hear everything you don’t tell me. It’s not a secret that I want you too—why not just let yourself have what you want?” she questioned. She was running alongside him, trying to keep up with his fast pace. He wanted to get her into her truck and then find his own because the last thing he wanted to do was have this conversation with Kaiah. He had been avoiding it for months now.

When they got back to NOLA from their time running from the hunters, he thought for sure that would be the end of his time with the sexy little seer. Hell, he thought she’d head back to New Mexico to live with her grandmother. Her divorce was finalized, and she was talking about starting over again and finding her path. Gray wanted to ask her to give him a damn chance to walk that road with her, but he didn’t want to assume that she’d welcome his company. He was an old shifter with too much baggage and Kaiah deserved so much more.

But, then she announced that she was staying in New Orleans to be close to Aylen and her nephew. She moved in with Rios and Aylen and he had to admit that watching Kaiah give Rios shit around every corner was entertaining. Rios didn’t seem to mind much though since his woman seemed happy to have her sister around. Kaiah even took a job at Tito’s which housed his MC—Perdition. She was a waitress, and Rios was even training her to bartend which was just what Gray didn’t want to happen. The guys were a little too welcoming to Kaiah and he didn’t like the shit that they thought about her. Yeah—he had heard all their dirty, sleazy thoughts about the new waitress at Tito’s whenever they’d shift. It was one of the things that shifter wolves could do when they were in wolf form, hearing each other’s thoughts. It didn’t usually bother him but when it came to the things his brothers were thinking about Kaiah, he was beginning to hate having to shift into his wolf form.

“Gray,” she shouted, laying her hand on his arm. Every time she touched him it felt like a fire licked his skin. “You can’t keep avoiding me. You’ve been denying both of us for months now and I think it’s about time you act on what you’re thinking. I’d say yes, Gray,” she promised. He brushed past her and opened her truck, putting the bags in the passenger seat.

“You need to fucking lock your truck, Kaiah. In case you forgot, hunters are not just after Aylen, they’re after you too. Don’t do something stupid like hand yourself over to them on a silver platter just because you’re too lazy to pull your keys out of your pocket and lock your pick-up,” Gray accused. Yeah—he sounded like a first-class asshole, but he didn’t give a shit. The sooner Kaiah saw that side of him, the better off she’d be.

“Gray,” she whispered. She took a step back from him as if he physically assaulted her. “You don’t have to be mean to me.”

“Mean to you?” he barked. “Fuck, Kaiah—I’ve been nothing but sweet to you since the day we met. It’s about time you meet the real me.” Kaiah shook her head and put her damn hand back on his forearm.

“This isn’t the real you, Gray. You forget that I can see inside of that thick skull of yours and I know who you are. You are one of the kindest men I’ve ever known. I know what happened to your wife and kids but that wasn’t your fault,” Kaiah whispered.

Now it was his turn to act hurt and offended. “Stay the fuck out of my head, kid,” he growled. “You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about so keep your nose out of my fucking business,” he shouted. He turned to walk back over to where his truck was parked just a few spaces down. He was done talking about all of this and having a shouting match in the parking lot of the farmers’ market wasn’t how he wanted to spend his day. No—he’d call in some backup and take a break from babysitting sexy little Kaiah, he’d earned it. Today, he just wanted to head into Tito’s and drink himself stupid. He wanted to drink until he forgot the sexy vixen staring back at him, boring holes into the back of his skull. He pulled out his cell and called Trace. His club’s Prez and pack’s alpha would need to take a turn with Kaiah because as far as he was concerned, he was off the clock.

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