Devil's Game (Reapers MC, #3)(99)

“Will you please go get him?” Em asked, her voice like very polite granite. She might be scared as hell, but she wasn’t showing any weakness. “I’m not going anywhere without my dad.”

“Screw this,” Painter muttered, shaking his head. “I’ll be back in a few. Enjoy the f*ckin’ cold while you wait, Em.”

She relaxed visibly as he jumped down off the truck.

“You okay?” I asked. “I really wish you’d go with him.”

Em rolled her eyes, waving off my concern with one bluish hand.

“No f*cking way,” she said. “I leave, you got no witnesses. Painter hates you. Ruger’s not too fond of you, either, and he’s the one with the chainsaw. Anyone decides to kill you, they’ll be going through me first.”

“Babe, I say this with all due respect. You scare the shit out of me.”

She reached down and touched my cheek, and I turned my head to kiss her fingers.

“Emmy, it’s Dad,” I heard Hayes call out. Then I felt the truck shift as he climbed up to look through the window. “Painter said you won’t put down your gun and go to the Armory.”

“Thank God,” she said, her voice full of relief. She’d been closer to the edge than I realized. “I’m so glad you’re here. I won’t leave Hunter with anyone but you. But I’m really cold … Not sure how much longer I can last out here.”

I couldn’t see his face well in the darkness, but I had a feeling I’d recognize the expression—the same mixture of love and frustration I’d seen in the mirror a hundred times since I’d met her.

“Emmy, nobody is going to hurt Hunter,” the Reapers president said. “I gave my word.”

“Would Mom have left you behind?” she asked, her voice a challenge.

He sighed heavily, then reached down to take her hand.

“Nope,” he said. “That’s why I wanted you with a Reaper, honey. We really can’t afford not to have you on our side. You remind me more of her every day.”





EM


It felt good to be back in the Armory again. Better than I expected. Of course, it probably didn’t hurt that I’d been met at the door by Dancer, Marie, Kit, and Maggs. Sophie was upstairs with the kids, who were constructing a mighty campsite in the game room on the second floor.

Horse had given me a ride home, stepping inside long enough to catch Marie and stick his cold hands on her stomach. She’d shrieked and swatted at him until he caught her close for a long, hard kiss. Then he’d headed back out into the rain, leaving me dripping in the center of the kitchen. Dancer wrapped a blanket around me, and Marie handed me a cup of hot coffee. I found myself shivering so hard my jaw hurt.

“So what the hell happened?” Dancer asked, settling me on a stool. “The guys ran out of here like the world was ending.”

“Someone shot out our tires,” I told her. Wow, saying it out loud made it sound so … insane. “Hunter was driving, and the truck started sliding on the ice. We went off the road. A tree pinned him inside the truck—he’s still there—and I called for help. That’s when whoever shot the tires started shooting at us.”

The women all stared at me, eyes wide.

“That’s some serious shit,” Kit said slowly. “But you’re okay? And Hunter, too?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, but they’ll have to cut him out.”

Kit tapped her fingers against the counter nervously.

“Did you know a Devil’s Jack has been seen around town?” she asked. “And I guess they spotted him earlier tonight, right after someone took potshots at Dancer and Bam Bam’s house.”

My eyes widened.

“They shot at your house?” I asked Dancer, stunned. “With the kids there?”

“Yes,” Dancer said, her face more serious than I’d ever seen it. “Em, I love you, but I don’t understand how you could be with a man who’s part of that club.”

I stiffened.

“The man who shot at your house wasn’t a Devil’s Jack,” I said firmly. “Hunter told me he wasn’t. He says that someone else is trying to set us all up for a war. They want peace—they need peace, or their club won’t survive.”

The women exchanged looks, and Marie coughed nervously. Great. Now they all thought I was a gullible idiot.

“Anyone want a drink?” Maggs asked brightly. “I could use a shot.”

“Grab the bottle,” Kit said, reaching out to take my hand. I tugged it away from her, frustrated.

“Just don’t make any judgments until we have the full story,” I told them. “You don’t know what happened out there. Remember, the sniper tried to kill Hunter, too.”

“I guess we’ll see,” Marie said. “It’s good to have you back, Em. The good news is we all brought food with us—whatever else happens, we can celebrate the holiday together instead of just canceling everything.”

Perfect, I thought. Just what I needed. Now everyone could spend tomorrow glaring at me and Hunter, blaming him for everything that’d gone wrong for the Reapers during the last twenty years. And with his truck all busted up, it wasn’t like we could leave. Maybe I could rent a car …