Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gage disposed of the condom and headed back to the living room to scoop Dani up. He wanted to spend more time with her wrapped in his arms but it wouldn’t be on the couch. It would be in the bed he’d claimed since staying at Black’s house. It wasn’t the same as his bed but it would do for now.

“You know I can walk, right?”

He nuzzled her neck and chanced both of them falling down the stairs when he didn’t watch where he was going.

“I know you can but I much prefer holding you.”

“A.k.a. you like to show off how strong you are,” she giggled.

She knew him so well. “Why yes, as a matter of fact I do.”

He never passed up the opportunity to show her that he could take care of her. Not as a teenager and not now.

He unceremoniously tossed her on the bed and watched as she bounced around with laughter. This was the thing he missed about their time together. The amount of fun they used to have. They were the kind of couple who knew how to laugh and joke despite how serious he always was. Dani brought the best out in him and he missed that.

“You got quiet on me.” Dani was up on her knees, butt-ass naked with her head tilted to the side like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. Luckily for her, he didn’t want to be mysterious anymore.

“I was just thinking how much I missed this. Laughter was a huge part of our relationship.”

She crawled over until she was right in front of him, kneeling so the height difference between them wasn’t so stark.

“Is.” She said the one word with such conviction, but he didn’t understand what she was trying to tell him. Fortunately, she could still read him better than anyone else, so she was quick to explain. “You said it was a huge part of our relationship. Past tense. And I’m telling you it is a huge part of our relationship. Present tense because there is nothing past about us anymore. We are moving forward. Together. And laughter is still going to be a part of that.”

Well, damn. Talk about a shot straight to the heart.

He hooked his arm around her waist and rotated so that his back fell onto the bed with her lying across him.

“You’re right. We are moving forward and I can’t wait for it.”

A huge smile spread across Dani’s face, followed by just as big of a yawn.

Gage shimmied them farther up the bed until they were both tucked under the covers. “Close your eyes for a few minutes. We’ve got plenty of time to take a nap.”

Normally he would never consider sleeping during the day. Not unless he was on an assignment that kept him awake for days on end, but he would use any excuse to keep Dani in his arms for a little longer. He liked how she felt with her body pressed against his.

It didn’t take long for her breathing to even out. Pride swelled in his chest that he was the one to do that to her. He, however, had no intention of falling asleep. He wanted to use the time to just watch her. It sounded creepy, but after so many years apart, he couldn’t believe this was where they’d ended up.

At some point his eyes must’ve closed because the sound of his phone ringing downstairs woke him up. Doing his best to not wake Dani, he slipped out from beneath her and took the stairs two at a time. It didn’t matter. He missed the first call and the person on the line was already calling back by the time he found his phone in the living room.

“Hello.”

“Well, it’s about time. Geesh. I know I said this before but it bears repeating. If I was dying, I’m not calling your stupid ass.” Bree’s teasing tone hit his ears along with her typing a mile a minute.

“Sorry, I was busy.” Gage recognized his mistake immediately but it was too late to take it back. Bree’s whistle through the phone was all the confirmation he needed that she heard him.

“Well, now. I see things are progressing between you two.”

“I was napping , Bree.” He snagged his boxers off the floor and tried not to drop the phone as he pulled them on.

“So that’s what the kids are calling it these days. Chance and I do a lot of napping too.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand down his face. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut. Once Bree got started, it was hard to rein her back in. She was like a dog with a bone. She would focus on that thing until there was nothing left.

“Gross. I don’t need to hear about how you and Chance spend your time. Did you call for something specific or just to bust my chops?”

“Feisty. Usually Chance is much happier after he has gotten laid.”

He would be happy if he was still in bed with Dani wrapped in his arms. Instead, he was stuck on the phone with his annoying teammate who didn’t understand the meaning of off- limit topics. She said the first thing that came to her mind. To hell with how it sounded to the rest of the world.

“Bree,” he growled.

“Fine. Don’t share your happy news. I’ll just wait until I get to meet your girl in person and ask her.”

What Bree said stopped him cold.

His girl.

Dani was his girl once again.

He shook the feeling off and focused on the phone call. If he had any hope of getting back to a warm Dani, he needed to get Bree off the phone. “Can you please tell me why you called?”

“Pretty sure your instincts were spot-on once again.” He had no idea what she was referring to, but fortunately Bree just kept talking. “They won’t confirm but they sure as hell aren’t denying that they have a man undercover.”

Shit, he had almost forgotten that he asked Bree to look into an undercover agent.

“Who are they? Which agency?”

“DEA. Again they refuse to confirm but they didn’t flat-out say no either. ATF isn’t giving me a clear answer either way, so my guess is it’s a joint operation but the agent undercover is DEA specifically.”

It made sense considering the Hell Raisers were not only transporting drugs but selling them as well. Remembering what Dani told him about her time with the MC had his hand tightening in a fist. They were the reason she got hooked on drugs. For that alone he wanted to see them get taken down.

“I appreciate you checking but do me a favor and let it go for now. We don’t need word getting back to the Hell Raisers that one of their own is actually an agent.”

Bree scoffed. “Like those pansy-ass motorcycle bitches could get through my firewalls.”

No, he didn’t think they could but if someone from the prison was dirty, like he suspected, he didn’t need word getting around that there was an investigation into the club. He knew how clubs like that worked; they would shoot first and probably not even ask questions later. They would assume anyone who could be guilty deserved to be punished. There was already a target on Dani’s head, he didn’t need one on Bree’s as well. Chance would kill him. And he refused to be responsible for an undercover agent dying.

“I know but please.”

Bree let out a heavy sigh. “I won’t look into it anymore.” She sounded like a toddler forced to apologize.

“Thank you.”

The Hell Raisers already shot at him and destroyed his childhood home. They had proven that they wouldn’t stop when they considered someone guilty, and Dani was innocent. There was no telling how badly they would torture the undercover agent if they even suspected what he was doing. Gage refused to have that on his conscience.

“Anything for family,” Bree sang back.

For the first time that word didn’t bother him. He wasn’t fully on board with the concept but he no longer hated hearing it either. It was a start in the right direction.

“Let me know if you hear anything else. In the meantime, we’re going to keep a low profile until the court date and then get the hell off the East Coast.”

“Does that mean you’re bringing Dani here?”

Is that what he meant? They hadn’t discussed it but maybe they needed to. In that moment, he realized that was where he wanted her to be.

“I need to talk to her about that first.”

“Well, if it means anything, I’m all for it.”

Gage chuckled. Even if it didn’t mean shit, Bree would still give her opinion. It was just the kind of woman she was.

“I’ll make sure she knows that.”

The soft sounds of footsteps on the stairs had him turning around. Dani was making her way down in just a shirt. One of his shirts to be exact. It stopped mid-thigh and he wondered if she had made a detour to her room to grab a pair of underwear before coming down, or if she was commando under that.

“Bree, I gotta go.” He didn’t wait for an answer before he ended the call. He would get an earful about that later but he didn’t mind. “I’m sorry if I woke you. Bree called with an update.”

“It wasn’t you talking that woke me up. It was my lack of a pillow that did.” Dani smirked at him.

Gage crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

“Is that all I’m good for?”

She buried herself into his chest and his hands immediately fell to her ass. He inched the shirt up just enough to get his hands on her bare skin.

Oh, and he got his answer. She didn’t make a stop to her bedroom. She threw his shirt on and came straight to find him. Somehow the thought made him want to beat on his chest like a caveman. She missed him enough not to dally.

“No, you’re good for lots of things but being a pillow is high on the list. I forgot how quickly I fall asleep when I can hear your heart beating under my ear.”

Had she always been this good at disarming him?

Yeah, she had been. Which was why it hurt so damn much when she broke things off. He never saw it coming.

“The feeling is mutual except for me, it’s having you in my arms. I never nap during the day unless I’ve pushed myself past exhaustion but I was in la-la land when Bree called.”

“What did she want?”

“I had her look into the possibility of there being an undercover agent inside the Hell Raisers.”

“What?”

Dani pulled back like someone had yanked on her shirt. He wanted to pull her back in but they needed to have this conversation.

“When you told me about the club member who helped you, it gave me an idea and I had Bree look into it. We don’t have confirmation, but based on what the agency isn’t saying, it is safe to assume my guess was correct.”

Dani shook her head in disbelief.

“Why would someone do that? They have to know they would be killed if the club members ever found out.”

She wasn’t wrong. It took a special person to do undercover work. He never could and not because he hated to lie. He didn’t have the patience to wait and collect evidence. He would end someone’s life as soon as he witnessed them commit a crime.

“Because it’s the only way to get what they need for an investigation. You said it yourself, they would kill someone. The Hell Raisers eliminate their problems. Kind of hard to put them away when they kill off anyone who can testify against them.”

Dani continued to shake her head. He understood where she was coming from. He didn’t want to think about her time with them either, or the lives that were lost. Not to mention the drugs and everything else she was put through because of the addiction.

“He put his life in jeopardy to help me.”

And for that reason, he was grateful for the mystery agent. Even if he never got the opportunity to personally thank the man, he would be in debt to him forever.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat. You have to be starving.”

Talking about the MC killed the mood and he wanted them to get back to a happier place. They had time to make up for and damned if they did that thinking about those assholes.