Sly (17 page)

Colt shot me a sheepish smile. “Just let me call our guy to look into her. And why don’t you bring her down to the Den tonight? We like her too, you know. And it does Mo good to see you happy.”
 

I laughed. “Yeah. You maybe need to be careful what you wish for. If Mo stops needing to worry about me, who do you think she’s gonna train her matchmaking sights on next?”
 

Colt shivered. “Fuck. I forgot about that. She’s doesn’t need any encouragement.”
 

“Exactly.”
 

“Come on, let’s give her the thrill of getting us some lunch. She hasn’t had the chance to force feed me in like two days.”
 

Colt laughed and I threw an arm around him, glad that things were easy between us again. I felt better as we walked out into the bar together. But the thought of what had to happen with Scarlett tore a small hole in me. I knew in my gut her feelings for me were as real as mine were for her. She couldn’t fake that. I knew what it did to her when I whispered her name in the dark, how her body responded to mine.
 

She had her secrets. I’d never been blind to them. I could not—would not—believe she wasn’t falling as hard for me as I was for her. The question was whether I was willing to risk the safety of my club to find out.
 

Chapter Sixteen

Scarlett
 

Kagan’s SUV pulled into McGee’s parking lot at ten minutes to six. I picked a corner booth with my back to the wall. The waitress brought me a stack of waffles nearly as high as my chin. I set about eating them as if this were just like any other day. Kagan had to believe the charade. Both mine and Sly’s lives depended on it.
 

I raised my chin in greeting as I shoved a forkful of waffle in my mouth. They were actually delicious. I waved my fork at Kagan as he watched me from across the room. Jinx was nowhere to be found but Kagan had brought reinforcements. I recognized two of his club members from back at the farmhouse. They each took a seat at the bar as Kagan made the slow walk to the end of the restaurant where I sat.
 

“Just a black coffee, honey,” he said to the waitress as she set down his menu.
 

I shook my head. “You’re missing out. This is just a big stack of heaven right here is what this is.” I waved my stuffed fork at him again, watching syrup drip onto the plate.
 

Kagan sat back. He wore his silver-white hair long today. It hung past his shoulders. He fixed his steel blue eyes on me and smiled as I took another mouthful. The waitress came with his coffee and I busied myself cutting the rest of my waffle stack into quadrants.
 

“Bring us an extra plate if it’s not too much trouble,” I said. Kagan raised a brow. “Seriously. Stack of heaven. It’d be a crime if you missed out.”
 

He leaned forward and caught my wrist, pressing his fingers hard against the bone. “Cut the shit.”
 

I twisted and wrenched my wrist away and sat back, dropping my napkin into my lap. “Fine. No bullshit. I’m having a little crisis of conscience and I figured we should talk it out.”
 

He shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing. I’m thinking I might let Jinx do some of the things he wants to you. He’s got a hell of a colorful imagination. Those zip ties got him thinking.”
 

I nodded and pointed my fork at him. “See, I
knew
he’d figure himself out. He doubted me. He’s pretty limber for such a big guy, hey?”
 

“You want to tell me what the hell this is about? Or why I shouldn’t just end you right here?”
 

I set my fork down. “I said. Crisis of conscience. See, this job hasn’t been going the way I like from the get go.  I blamed you at first but that’s not fair. I did some things that were against my better judgment on account of who vouched for you. Well, not so much vouched as ... but you’ve got a hell of a reputation and I wanted to show respect for that. That’s why I agreed to meet with you. You know that’s not normally how these things are done.”
 

“And here I am starting to think your reputation is bullshit.”
 

I shrugged. “I asked you last time we met, what is it you really wanted? You remember your answer? I asked you if you cared more about taking Sly out or hurting his club.”
 

Kagan put his palms up, gesturing me to continue. “Well, as you know, I’ve been able to spend some alone time with Sly. See, you just questioned my reputation, but I really am good at what I do. And customer service is a bit of a specialty of mine. That’s important too. And it would be easy for me to just do the job you paid me for, but you’d end up dealing with an even stronger rival than you started out with. And normally, I wouldn’t care. But you dragged me into this with your little show out at the farmhouse. You made it pretty clear what you were trying to accomplish. So, if you really want to cause a shit storm for the entire M.C. I have to tell you, you’ve picked the wrong mark.”
 

At this Kagan leaned forward. His eyes widened and I held my breath. The hook was baited. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
 

“For a sharp guy, I’m actually kind of surprised you haven’t worked this one through. You have to know Cullinan’s made some big, bold moves lately. He says he’s running a one hundred percent legit operation. Now, I’ll leave it to you to figure out if that’s true. I don’t really give a shit. But I get the distinct impression that not everyone in that club thinks that’s such a good idea. As you and I both know, legit is all fine and good, but it’s kind of a lousy thing for serious cash flow.”
 

He tapped his fingers on the table and worked his jaw. Good. He was still listening. “You saying someone’s trying to take his patch?”
 

I shrugged. “Club politics is more your area. I’m just saying, taking Sly out might work to the advantage of the club more than it would hurt it from what I’ve seen. I mean, think about it. What would happen in
your
club if you told your members you were ah . . . changing your business model?”
 

Kagan laughed. “You know. You’re stupid but you’re not stupid.”
 

I smiled. The waitress came back with the extra plate I’d asked for. I transferred a half stack of waffles and put them in front of Kagan. “Seriously. Heaven.”
 

“You saying some of them
want
him dead?”
 

I shrugged. “Nobody’s dumb enough to come out and say that directly. I’m just saying, extrapolate. Would you feel like that patch on your chest was secure if you killed your club’s golden goose? So yeah. If I were a betting woman, I’d say somebody at his own table wants him out.”
 

Kagan scratched his chin. “Who approached you?”
 

My heart thundered in my chest. He made the leap. It had been easier than I could have ever dreamed. Which meant I didn’t trust it.
 

“Have you been made?” he asked before I could answer his first question.
 

I let out a breath. “I’ve been careful. But I think I’m about to get made. Yes.”
 

“Who is it? Who’s got balls enough to take him out?”
 

I flipped a lock of hair out of my eyes. Kagan could see my hand was steady. “You know his veep is out on the road. That leaves Cullinan vulnerable. From what I can tell, his second in command is Colt Reddick.” The minute I said it, I felt the slow rise of bile. But this was the worst time in the world for me to start growing a conscience if I had any hope of killing the hit on Sly.
 

Kagan slapped his hand to the table. “Ambitious fuck. I’m not surprised.”
 

“Right. So you have some decisions to make. I think I can goose it along a little. Drop the right kind of hints. By the end of the week, I think your Mr. Reddick is going to want to pay for my services. Seems like a win-win for you.”
 

Kagan’s eyes narrowed. A slow smile spread across his face and my heart flipped. I had him. I could have sworn I had him. But something dark flickered behind his eyes. He clenched his teeth hard and grabbed my wrist again. I tried to wrench it free but he held on tight, pressing hard on the small bones. I kept my face
even. I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly he was hurting me.
 

“I hired you to do a job. I gave you a hefty down payment in good faith. You’re going to finish the job.”
 

“Did you not listen to a fucking word I said? Your plan is going to end up backfiring on you. Now, I don’t give a shit. I’ll collect my money and you’ll never see me again. But I like you Kagan. You remind me of somebody I used to know.”
 

“I hired you to bring me a dead wolf. And that’s what you’re going to bring me.”
 

My fingers tingled where he cut off the blood flow, but I kept my eyes locked with his.
 

“Change of plans.” His voice was little more than a hiss through his clenched teeth. “Reddick. You’re going to kill Reddick.”
 

My heart thundered in my throat. I’d played my hand too well. It was bold and brilliant and six weeks ago, I could have appreciated the beauty of it.
If
all the shit I fed him about Great Wolves disharmony were as true as I’d just convinced him. Take out Colt. The club blames Sly for not keeping a lid on things. They could eat him alive.
 

“If that’s the way you want to play it,” I said.
 

He smiled and finally loosened his grip on my wrist. Slowly, I pulled my arm back and rested it on the table. The bones ached and throbbed but still, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he could hurt me.
 

“Yeah. That’s how we’re going to play it. And you’re going to speed up your timetable. If Reddick is about to make you, you need to get this done. Twenty-four hours. Jinx will reach out to you to tell you where to make the drop.”
 

“The drop?”
 

Kagan sat back and smiled. He picked now to cut into the stack of waffles I’d put in front of him. “I’m going to need proof. You bring me a dead wolf, you get the rest of your money.”
 

“That’s . . .”
 

Kagan lifted a hand, cutting me off. “Don’t tell me it’s not how you work. You work for me. You work how I tell you.” He stuffed his face with a forkful and raised his brow in appreciation.
 

“I told you,” I said, sliding out of the booth. The Hawks at the bar watched me but didn’t make a move toward me. “Stack of heaven.” I threw a twenty on the table. “And I haven’t lied to you yet.”
 

Before Kagan could finish chewing, I turned and left, trying to remember to put one foot in front of the other.
 

Chapter Seventeen

Twenty-four hours. It was a lifeline and a death sentence.  I’d saved Sly’s life at the cost of either my own or Colt Reddick’s.
 

I weighed my options. I could skip town, go into the wind. I’d planned for this a thousand times before. I started building an escape pod for my life the day after my brother Mickey died in my arms. I had enough money in an offshore account to last me for a few years if I was careful. I had a fake passport and the means to disappear. It might even be easy. I could start over.
 

But if I left, Sly might die anyway. Kagan wasn’t going to abandon his plan to take down the Great Wolves. Colt would be dead. Maybe Sly too. The cold reality was, I didn’t think I could live with that. Sly mattered to me.
 

I loved him.
 

“Fuck!” I screamed into the wind and thumped my steering wheel. My wrist still throbbed where Kagan had crushed it.
 

The idea of never seeing Sly again ripped a hole in me. I’d been alone my whole life, it seemed. He made me feel things I thought would never apply to me. It was like my heart started beating for the first time when he touched me.
 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. If I’d just shot him in the shower the first night I had the chance, things would be so much simpler.
 

My phone vibrated on the seat next to me. I looked down. It was Sly. I’d promised to call him and that deadline passed several hours ago. I pressed the accelerator and headed out toward the bluffs. The easiest thing to do would be to keep on going. Take the freeway north, cross into Oregon and keep heading for the border.
 

I screeched to a halt when I reached the turn-off. My heart thundered in my ears. I’d
done
all I could do. Hadn’t I? I’d taken the mark off Sly’s head. For the moment at least, he was safe. Colt was another matter but I didn’t have the same feelings for him. He wasn’t my problem.
 

Except he mattered very much to Sly. Losing Colt would be like losing a brother. And Sly had lost as many people close to him as I had.
 

“Fuck!” I slammed my hands against the seat then pressed my forehead against the steering wheel, blaring the horn.
 

My other option would be to just Thelma and Louise it off the cliff here. It would be a hell of a lot less painful than what would happen if Kagan got the word out I’d reneged on a job. It would be the end of me. I’d be marked for the rest of my complicated life.
 

A full moon rose high, illuminating the mountains. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go, actually. Sly told me the club members all fantasized about going out in their own blaze of glory over the cliff and down into the Great Wolf River. If Lewis had been even slightly more confident, Sly himself would have got his wish.
 

I took a deep breath of the cool mountain air and closed my eyes. I let my heart settle back into my chest. One breath. Two. Three. When I opened my eyes, I knew what I had to do.