Devil's Game(84)

“Deal with it,” she snapped. “He’ll keep me safe and give me a ride. But only if you promise the guys at Cookie’s house won’t do anything to him. Otherwise I’ll go to a hotel … I’ll get myself safe, but I won’t tell you where I am. I won’t let you use me to find him or hurt him.”

Something tightened in my chest and I couldn’t breathe for a second. I felt a surge of possessive pride in my girl. I wanted to grab her, kiss her hard, and then f*ck her up against another wall. Or pretty much anywhere else, for that matter—the list of places I’d fantasized about doing her was nearly endless. She gave a frustrated growl, hanging up the phone.

“Things aren’t so good at home,” she said with quiet understatement. “I don’t want to be a hassle, but I think we need to find a hotel room.”

Normally I’d consider that was a great f*ckin’ idea, but tonight was anything but the usual. She needed to be under guard. Much as I hated to admit it, right now the Reapers were her best bet for protection.

“Give me the phone.”

She shook her head.

“Em, give me the f*ckin’ phone,” I growled. “I don’t know what’s happening on your end, but a bunch of my brothers got shot up in the last hour and two of them are dead. I don’t have time to argue with you or find you a goddamned hotel when you should be with your club. I want you safe so I don’t have to worry about you.”

“We lost a brother in Boise tonight,” she said slowly. “Dad wants me locked down. They think it was Jacks, Liam …”

My name on her lips twisted something up inside my chest. Looking back, I think that’s the instant I made my decision. I wasn’t going to give her up. Ever. I’d die first.

“It wasn’t the Jacks,” I told her. We’d have to talk about “us” later. I needed time to think, and I wanted her ass off the street. For once, I agreed with Hayes. “Please, Em. Let me talk to him.”

She shook her head slowly, but she handed over the phone and I hit the callback button.

“Baby, we don’t have time to argue,” Picnic said.

“It’s Hunter.”

Silence.

“What are you doing with my daughter?” he demanded, his voice like ice. He didn’t give anything away, but he had to be scared for his children. Last time we’d talked like this, I’d threatened to kill her. Hell, I completely understood why he hated me after that. Sometimes I hated me, too.

“I’m trying to take her somewhere safe,” I said, my voice steady. Unthreatening, but not showing any weakness, either. “I think the best place—at least for tonight—is with the Reapers, but I need more information. We’ve got two men dead. If that wasn’t you, now would be a good time to tell me. My brothers will want blood.”

More silence. Then he spoke.

“It wasn’t us. We’ve got our own casualties. One dead, two in the ER. Someone took potshots at four clubhouses, including Portland. Care to tell me what you and your brothers were doin’ earlier tonight?”

Your daughter, up against a wall in a dirty alley.

Yeah, probably best not to mention that.

“The Jacks aren’t behind this. It’s the cartel. Has to be. Unless you know another crew we’ve both pissed off? Because someone executed our national president tonight, and fingers are already pointing your direction.”

“Fuck me …” Picnic said slowly. Silence fell between us as we processed the situation. “You playin’ games with me?”

“I wish to hell this was a game,” I said. I reached out and pulled Em into my side, eyes sweeping the street for danger. I wanted her behind walls. “I want to take her home, Pic. Only way that happens is if you give me safe passage. No f*ckin’ way I’m letting her go to a hotel without protection, so if I can’t take her to her people, she’ll be staying with me.”

“She with you voluntarily?”

“Yup,” I replied.

“Shit,” he muttered. Then he sighed. “Daughters are a curse. The other one isn’t even answering her phone … At least Em’s safe right now, although I hate to give you credit for that. Can’t say the same about Kit.”

“We’re in the open here,” I told him, losing patience. “No reason they’d know where I am, but I’m not comfortable just standing on the street. Tell me where to take her.”