Devil's Game (Reapers MC, #3)(68)

Well, maybe not quite as f*cked-up. I didn’t ask, but so far as I could tell, he hadn’t actually been involved in a kidnapping.

But other than that, things were about the same.

It made him the perfect partner for the evening, and it got Kit off my back, too. Of course, Kelsey continued to scowl at me, but I didn’t give a shit about her. I might like her all right, but I wasn’t looking for a new best friend. Anyway, once I established Devon as “safe,” I let myself go and enjoyed his company, leaving Ms. Grumpy scowling behind me. We danced to almost every song, and nothing I did was too dorky for Devon.

To be fair, he was kind of dorky himself, and so funny I got to the point where I couldn’t stop laughing. Seriously. I had this giant laughing fit and I couldn’t stop and he kept doing weirder dance moves and it was insane.

“Make it end,” I gasped, clutching my stomach. “I’m gonna puke if you don’t stop.”

He stopped. Abruptly.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe how weird you are,” I giggled, but he didn’t laugh back or smile or anything. I cocked my head.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Your friend is going home now,” a deep, familiar voice said behind me. “Right?”

Devon nodded, then took off without even saying good-bye. Rude. I turned slowly to find Hunter behind me, his sister standing next to him, smirking.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said. “I tried calling but you never answered. Then I happened to talk to Kelsey and she mentioned you were here.”

I narrowed my eyes at Kelsey, who didn’t even bother trying to look innocent.

“You had all day to get in touch with me,” I told Hunter, bracing my hands on my hips. “Now I’ve made other plans. I’m hanging out with my sister tonight. Family first.”

“Kit took off with some guy half an hour ago,” Kelsey said smugly. “She texted you a heads-up and made me promise to make sure you got home safe.”

My eyes widened, and I whipped out my phone. Sure enough, there was a missed call and a text from Kit. There were also three missed calls and two texts from Hunter.

Oops.

Guess I’d silenced it completely, instead of just putting it on vibrate.

“What the hell is she thinking?” I muttered. “Kit’s lost her mind. And I’m sorry I didn’t get your messages, Hunter, but I do have the right to go out and enjoy myself. You had no business running off Devon, either.”

“He was pretty easy to run off,” Hunter said, his tone dry. Then his face grew serious. “Em, I really need to talk to you. Think we can get out of here?”


I wanted to tell him no, to take himself right to hell. He’d left me hanging and then he hadn’t gotten back in touch all day … But his face said this was important, so indulging myself in a snit was probably off the table.

Deke said things were unsettled.

Fuck.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” I said. We grabbed our stuff and walked Kelsey to her car. I’d be having words with Kit later, I decided, thumb-typing her a quick update. I knew it wasn’t the first time she’d taken off with a random pickup, but she really needed to be more careful. I loved my sister so much, but for all her personality and spark, she had a pretty strong self-destructive streak.

It scared me sometimes.

“Bike’s this way,” Hunter said, catching my hand as Kelsey drove off. He tugged me toward an alley and I followed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, feeling awkward. “Obviously something is wrong. Is it us? Club drama? I swear to God, if you kidnap me again, I’ll let them kill you this time.”

I said it like a joke, but I wasn’t entirely kidding. That shit was not going to be my new way of life.

“I have to leave tomorrow,” Hunter said, starting down the alley. It was dark and while I could hear people, I couldn’t see anything but the narrow path between the buildings. I started to get that uncomfortable feeling again. I tried to tug my hand loose, but he wouldn’t let me go.

Fuck.

I stopped, digging in my heels.

“I’m not going anywhere with you unless you tell me what’s happening,” I said, eyes darting as I scoped out my options. It wasn’t particularly promising. The narrow passage was dark, and a big Dumpster blocked the street view.

Great. Was I walking into another trap?

“Club business,” Hunter said, tugging on my hand again. I refused to move. “Em, I’m not trying to do anything. My bike’s on the other side of the block. I just figured this would be faster than walking all the way around.”

I studied his face, trying to decide if he was f*cking with me. Shadows covered his face, making him look like some kind of comic-book villain.

“I’m calling a cab,” I said abruptly, reaching for my phone.

“Fuck it,” Hunter muttered, and then he grabbed my waist, lifting me and carrying me two steps to the wall. He shoved me up against it. Then his hand was in my hair, twisting to hold me captive for his kiss.

He took my mouth hard, forcing me to open for his tongue. Then he was inside and I thought I might die because it felt so good. His other hand pushed up my shirt, shoving the cup of my bra up and over my boob, palming me as his hips pushed into my stomach.