Page 43 of Mad Max

“Girl might be running the machines, but I’ve never known anyone to be able to tell a person is lying like she can. The machines are the front. She’s the actual one measuring the outcomes of a person’s answers.”

I’m just not getting it. “You telling me she knows when I lie?”

“More than that. The girl can sniff out a liar from twenty feet away. She’s got this gift. She might not know what they’re lying about, but she knows they are. She started the polygraph company to ask straight-to-the-point questions. As I’m sure you know, my niece doesn’t do subtle very well. Ain’t mad about that, as it lets me know what she’s really thinking, and I don’t have to guess like I do with others in this world. She realized that once she knew a person was lying, she just couldn’t let it go, so she set up the storefront so she can be as obvious with the questions as she wants. Everyone thinks they’re trying to beat a machine and not her. In the end, she doesn’t have to solve a puzzle of what a person was lying about through all the other bullshit that was thrown her way. Polygraphs are strictly yes-or-no questions. No other bull to muddle through.”

I let it sink in as I mumble through my thoughts out loud. “She’s meeting with the buyer to catch them in a lie.”

His eyes widen a fraction. “Boo’s doing field work? The agency wouldn’t have cleared her for that.”

Now it’s my turn to give him a look. One I hope conveys that I think he’s an idiot for not seeing what I do about a person he claims to know well. “You really think she’s asking for permission?”

It doesn’t even take him a full second before he’s looking down and shaking his head in defeat. “Shit. No, she’s out there doing it to solve a stupid puzzle. Someone wiggles a carrot in front of her and the girl doesn’t know how to let a mystery go unsolved. Been like that since she was a kid. I’ll bet my entire life in this place that the person who reached out knew that about her.”

“Could it have been the agency? Using her without paying, in a way?”

He shakes his head easily, but I can see him grinding his teeth about his former employer. “Nah, not with her. Anyone else, I would believe it, but they need her too damn much. They bring almost every person they can to her. They know her skill level and keep her in business as much as possible. They wouldn’t risk her ’cause there’s no one else like her.”

Don’t I know it. Thank fuck I’m able to keep my thoughts to myself.

“From what she told me the last time she was here, the agency is aware of the situation but has shit leads to go on. Boo is smart and probably took what I gave her, the agency’s info, and what the contact sent over and worked shit out on her own. If she’s meeting with people, she’s confident that she’s talking to the right person. But, son….”

He waits a beat, and I feel the importance of what he’s about to say before he says it.

“She’s badass in her own right, but she won’t make it when she gets caught. And before you try to argue, know it’s always a ‘when’ and not an ‘if.’ I did the business for over twenty years, got caught more than I can say, but I had a team that backed me. A fucked-up team that eventually sent me here, but they covered me and supplied what I needed when I was their golden boy. She’s got no one, and she ain’t the best at blending in.”

“She’s got us.” I don’t even blink as I say it. I know this hasn’t been brought to the table. I know several of my brothers still don’t trust her. But I also believe without a doubt that when shit goes down, the club will stand with her and not apart.

He sinks back in his chair as he lets the weight of my words pass between us, softly drumming his fingers on the metal table. I feel anything but relaxed, while he looks like he just ate Thanksgiving dinner and is enjoying life.

“Time to pay up.”

“What do you want?”

“Everything.” The twinkle in his eye has me glaring. “Tell me everything.”

My heart stops beating for fifteen solid seconds. I can’t betray the club. Telling him everything will strip me of my very soul, for that’s what being a Hound of the Reaper means to me.

“What are you and Boo up to?”

I swallow hard. I think I’d rather betray the club than talk about me and my fairy. But the price needs to be paid. And out of everything he could have asked for, he wants to know this. This. Something he can simply kill me for, and I wouldn’t blame him.

At least the club would be spared. It’s my only reprieve before I start talking.

“We’ve….” I search for the right words. Hooking up or fucking doesn’t seem right. Not because I’m talking to her uncle about this but because each time meant more, even if I wasn’t expecting it to. “Gotten to know one another,” I finish.

“Interesting. Go on.”

I breathe hard as I try to say this right. Has nothing to do with not wanting to be crass, but I’m muddling through my own thoughts and feelings as I’m talking it out. It’s the first time I’ve allowed myself to put words to what’s going on inside me, being with her.

“I didn’t even know who she was even though I watched over her a hundred times while in this place. She saw my tat and then said she was glad I was out. She noticed me before I could even connect the dots, and I got to say, that’s a first for me. I don’t think I meant for it to happen, but it did. Her date was an ass, and I enjoyed putting him in his place, but I think I enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t with him anymore. Another first, as I ain’t the jealous type. When I saw that the asshole had a key to her place, I didn’t even think twice about getting the locks switched to keep her safe. I decided to stay away. But then I saw her here, and at a coffee joint. Each time she left, I wanted to follow, but I didn’t. When we saw her at the buy, I hated not knowing more about her. Not knowing if could trust or her not. But once the bullets started flying, all I could think of was getting to her and making sure she was safe. I have no clue that I’m staring at her half the time until she looks at me.”

I’m staring at my hands. I wasn’t expecting to say half that shit, but I guess I needed to talk it out to someone. Someone who wouldn’t judge. Not that my brothers would, but they would still question it. And I’ve got enough rattling around in my brain, still trying to deal with whether I can trust her or not.

I look up and see a smug smile on Travis’s face. And I just want to roll my eyes. He couldn’t have possibly known I was in so deep with his niece, but that’s what his look is giving off.

“When you going to tell her?”

I furrow my brow. “Tell her what?”

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