“Well, we’ve got some great f**kin’ chemistry,” I told her. “Damned good thing you spoke up when you did. I promise, I’ll make this good for you, babe. Wanna head back to the hotel, or do you need some time first?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a soft smile.
“Hotel,” she said. “Let’s take it slower, though. Okay?”
“No prob.”
Silence fell between us as I leaned into her for a soft kiss, tugging at her lower lip. Then a loud knock on the door broke the moment.
“Go away,” I yelled.
“Need to talk,” Skid said on the other side of the door. “Important, bro. Get out here.”
Em frowned up at me.
“I didn’t realize you were here with someone,” she said.
“Didn’t feel like sharing you,” I told her, offering a quick grin. My mind had already gone cold and hard, though, switching modes instantly. Skid wasn’t an idiot and he didn’t f**k around. He wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t important.
“Give me five,” I told her, settling her on the couch. Sadly, she started hooking up her corset, covering those gorgeous tits. I walked to the door and stepped out.
One look at Skid’s face and I knew I was screwed.
“Make it good, ass**le.”
“We got a situation,” he told me. “Kelsey called from our place in Portland. Said some crazy-ass motherfucker burst into the house and started shooting. Grass is down, shot in the chest. Not sure he’s gonna make it. Shooter managed to grab Clutch and took off with him. Guess there were some girls who saw the whole thing and now they’re talkin’ to the cops. Kels was upstairs in your room, came running down with a gun too late. She couldn’t do a goddamned thing but watch when he threw Clutch in an SUV and took off.”
I felt the world narrow to a pinpoint, my mind running through a thousand calculations. “She get a decent look at the guy?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes growing colder. “Gave her a message, actually. Told her to let us know the truce with the Reapers is dead, and Clutch will be, too. Payback for Gracie.”
“We got a name?”
“Called himself Toke.”
“I’ll call Burke.”
“Jesus.”
• • •
“Em, I need to make a quick phone call,” I said, ducking my head back into the office. I smiled at her softly, pretending to be human. Harder to pull off every year. “You okay in here for a minute?”
She looked up at me, her face all innocent and trusting, and I savored the sight. I had a pretty good feeling that I’d never see her like that again. Not after tonight.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, lying easily. “Just a little misunderstanding back home. I’ll get it taken care of and get back to you.”
I started to close the door.
“Hey,” she said, giving me another soft look. “I like you, Liam Blake.”
“I like you, Emmy Hayes,” I replied, wishing things were different.
Don’t know why I bothered.
Shit happens. Fuckin’ weak and stupid to let yourself care.
I went back out into the hallway and called Burke to get my orders.
CHAPTER THREE
EM
Liam stepped out of the room and I shivered, so excited I could hardly exist. This was better than I’d hoped. He was better than I’d hoped. So incredibly cute, he made me feel amazing, and best of all? He didn’t seem particularly interested in talking about my father.
That last one was a biggie.
I pulled out my phone—I wanted to get back to the room, but I’d promised I wouldn’t go alone. I pulled up Sophie’s number, my fingers fumbling, although I couldn’t decide if it was from the drinks or the excitement.
ME: I want to go back to the hotel. He’s defintely THE ONE
SOPHIE: Dont u dare! We have to chck him out frist. Ur NOT follwing the plan
ME: Yu’ll meet him in a minut come down to Mick’s and we can head from there. We’ll wait outside.
I slid my phone into my pocket, then hugged myself, rubbing my arms up and down quickly. I still couldn’t quite believe all this was happening. I’d met Liam and he was fantastic. Sexy. Beautiful. Even sweet . . .
More important than that, though—he had an edge. An edge like the guys I’d grown up with, and that was critical. Ultimately, I couldn’t be with someone who couldn’t handle my MC family. Liam could, I was almost certain of it.
Not that I was stupid—I knew it might not turn into anything.
But it might. Tonight I’d finally get to see for myself what all the fuss was about. Funny, but Painter had actually done me a favor in the end. If he’d gone for it, I might be with him right now instead of Liam. And while I hadn’t known Liam all that long, I felt a connection with him that I’d never felt for Painter.
Painter was a fantasy, a dream about what could be. Had I ever even had a real conversation with him? I couldn’t remember anything that went past casual. But Liam was real. Liam wanted me as much as I wanted him, and while there was no question things were physically intense between us, I knew there was more to it than that. We’d connected from hundreds of miles apart. I could tell him anything and he made me laugh, and the fact that he was hot as hell was just the icing on the cake.
I had a feeling I’d have fallen for Liam if he’d been shorter than me with a gut and a hairy back.
That was a theory I’d have to go without testing, poor me. Liam in person was sexier than I’d ever imagined, and I had a very good imagination. The office door opened and he stepped back in, giving me a burning, intense look that made me wet.