Chapter Twenty

“Got a question for you,” Ronin murmured, making sure to keep his voice low.

Ghost glanced at him with an eyebrow raised.

“How did you know Sidonie was the one for you? I mean, what was it about her that turned your head away from club pussy?”

Ghost gave him an incredulous look. “Seriously? You’re asking for relationship advice?”

“Never mind,” Ronin muttered.

“No, no, no. Sorry.” He flashed a smile. “Okay. It was lust at first glance with Sid. And then second glance, then third glance. Before I knew it, I’d fallen for her hook, line, and sinker.”

“Wasn’t that just about sex?”

“Not just sex. I liked talking to her. I liked hanging out with her. I liked watching movies and cuddling with her, and no, that doesn’t make me soft or a fucking pussy.”

“Didn’t say it did,” Ronin said blandly.

“With Sid, it was the whole package. Brains. Beauty. And for some goddamn unknown reason, she liked me back.”

Ronin inserted Keres into everything he said. She was beautiful. She was smart. And she seemed to like him as much as he liked her. Or, at least liked fucking him as much as he liked fucking her.

Ghost returned to staring through the binoculars as they waited for their prey.

“How do you know if you’re in love?”

Ghost glanced over at him. “Tell me this,” he said. “If she were to disappear, what would you do?”

He didn’t even have to hesitate. “I’d find her.”

“And if she were to die?”

His body went cold, and every part of his soul cried out against the visual in his head. No, she couldn’t ever leave him. Not by walking away and certainly not by death. He’d fight the Grim Reaper down and dirty to save her.

“Yep,” Ghost said, returning to his vigil.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you love her.”

Ronin blinked. Did he? Shit. He loved her? When did that fucking happen?

“Heads up,” Ghost said. “We’ve got movement.”

Ronin immediately snapped to attention. Keres had to be regulated to the back of his mind, at least until after this job was finished. He’d been contracted for this hit, but with his damn head injury, Ghost had come with him just in case.

The sooner he got this business over with, the sooner he could go back to Keres.

****

One moment she was in dreamland. The next, Ronin slid into bed next to her and gathered her into his arms.

“Ronin?” she asked.

“Yeah, babe, it’s me. Sorry to have woken you up.”

“What time is it?”

“Late. Go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, and fell back into oblivion.

The next morning, she was woken by the shrill cry of a phone. Beside her, Ronin stirred and reached for his cell. She went back to dozing until his words sank in, then she sat up, concerned.

“Vivi? Why are you calling … what? No, he’s probably at the clubhouse. Hold on, hold on.” Ronin hit the speakerphone on his cell. “Go ahead, Vivi. Keres is here.”

“I can’t find him, Ronin.” The desperation in her voice was palpable. “Brim hasn’t seen him. Parker hasn’t seen him. Nobody’s seen him since last night.”

“Have you called his cell?”

“I’m not stupid,” she snapped, which wasn’t like her at all. “Sorry. I’ve driven around, went to all the places I thought he’d be. He’s not answering his calls or texts. I’ve called everyone. Please help me.”

“Okay,” he said. “Get to the clubhouse. I’ll call Brim and have everyone meet in church.”

He hung up and turned to Keres.

“We have to get to the clubhouse ASAP.”

She nodded and got out of bed to dress. She didn’t even bother showering. Ten minutes later, they hurried out the door and jumped on his bike. Ronin gunned it and before she knew it, they were at the Death Riders compound. As soon as they stepped inside, Keres saw the men were already mobilized. She spotted Vivi sitting down, crying, and heading toward her.

“Can Mac ping his phone?” Thorn asked.

Keres didn’t know who Mac was, but it sounded like a viable plan.

“I’ll call my brother,” Ghost said.

Brim nodded his approval, but just as Ghost pulled out his cell, a gunshot rent the air and everyone flinched. Men drew their guns and flocked to the sides of the windows, carefully peering out.

“Shit,” Brim said. “It’s Davorin.”

Keres’s heart stuttered.

“Oh, fuck,” Thorn muttered. “They have Lincoln.”

Vivi pushed past everyone to look out the window, and she emitted a sharp cry. Keres hurried over and saw blood pouring from Lincoln’s nose. One eye was swollen shut. He knelt on the asphalt road and one of Davorin’s Deathmen had a nine-mil resting against the back of his head.

“Death Riders!” Davorin called out. “If you snipe me, my man will kill yours.”

“Fuck!” Brim swore.

“Ghost and I can snipe them both at the same time,” Ronin said.

“There are twenty other men out there,” Thorn said. “We can’t snipe them all at the same time.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Bruiser asked. “Do we know what Davorin wants?”

The men talked to each other, throwing out different suggestions on what to do. A sob caught Keres’s attention and she glanced back at Vivi. Big hazel eyes met hers, tears streaking down her face. It wasn’t hard to see the fear in their depths, as well as a silent plea. Vivi was begging her to save the man she loved, and not even being subtle about it. Not that Keres blamed her because this rested on her shoulders. She was the reason Davorin was at their doorstep. This was her fault. If she stayed, all of them were in danger. She brought this mess into their backyard, and she was the only person who could end it. Vivi’s words from the previous night came back to her.

“I loved him more than anything. I love him more than anything.”

She nodded at Vivi, acknowledging she understood.

An idea formed. It was stupid and risky and had zero chance of succeeding. But she had to do something to end this. Without saying a word to anyone, she left the men to their discussion on how they were going to rescue Lincoln and headed toward the staircase. On the landing, she glanced back to memorize Ronin once more. Wishing time could stretch indefinitely. In that moment, she finally acknowledged that she had fallen hard. She loved him, more than anything.

A warm flush infused every cell in her body. Like a soft, gentle hug that lasted for an eternity. Tears filled her eyes and before she could chicken out, she turned and ran upstairs. In the closet, she grabbed the duffle bag and placed it on the bed, opening it up to pull out the metal box she had taken from Darby’s room. He had shown her the contents inside when they had come up with the plan to rid the world of Dishon Peterson and take pictures of Sapphira Todd.

Inside the box were four rings, each with a different toxin. Darby had gotten them from his contacts in the military, taken from a sting operation somewhere in Russia. They weren’t legal, of course, but that didn’t matter. Two were used, so they were worthless to her. She picked the ring with the red stone and slipped it on her finger, then she took the last ring, which held a green stone, and slipped it into her pocket. A backup. Just in case. Then she grabbed one of Darby’s folded-up knives and stuck it in her bra, under her boobs to avoid detection. If they did pat her down, hopefully they’d not get that intimate with her breasts.

Keres left the room and headed to the back staircase, exiting on the side of the clubhouse. For a moment, she hesitated, trying to gather her courage. She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes.

“Forgive me, Darby. Forgive me, Abigail.” She opened her eyes. “Forgive me, Ronin.”

Then she marched resolutely from the shadow of the clubhouse and headed toward the standoff. As she approached, guns were suddenly trained on her. Her heart thundered. Keres kept repeating in her head to take one step in front of the other. When she reached the end of the driveway, she paused.

“Look who’s here!” Davorin mocked.

“Let him go,” she ordered. “I’m here. I’m the one you’re searching for. I killed your Deathmen, blew up your warehouse, and took pictures of your girlfriend. Release him, alive, and you can have me.”

A roar came from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. Bruiser and Thorn held Ronin back. He was shaking his head.

“Keres!” he yelled. “Get back here!”

Their eyes met. Held. He almost broke free and then Ghost tripped him so he could kneel on Ronin’s back to hold him down.

“I love you,” she mouthed, making sure he saw. Then she turned back to Davorin. “Let Lincoln go and leave the Death Riders alone.”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you start a war with them, you’ll have multiple clubs coming after you. The Death Riders have a lot of friends. They’d travel to the ends of the world to track down the person responsible for their destruction.”

Davorin’s cold stare flickered past her before giving a nod to the man holding the gun on Lincoln. He pulled the weapon away and kicked Lincoln forward. The big man rose to his feet.

“What are you doing, Keres?” he demanded.

“Just go,” she told him. “Vivi is waiting for you.”

He hesitated. Behind her she could hear Ronin’s impotent roar.

“Take care of him for me,” she whispered, and then she walked forward. There was nothing left to say. Davorin’s man pushed Lincoln again, and he reluctantly left her behind. Once that happened, she took a step off Death Riders property and let Davorin’s men take her.