Distraction (Underground Kings 3)

“He touches her, I’ll kill him. I know you guys are tight, but I’ll kill him.”

“If it comes down to that, I’ll do it for you,” he mutters, and I watch his eyes change in a way that shows how serious his statement is.

“He drugged her,” I whisper to myself, knowing down to my gut I’m right. “The only one who got close to her. She fucking trusted him.”

“Fuck,” Zack hisses, and I know he sees it now too. Eva wouldn’t do that shit. She wouldn’t. I saw the worry in her eyes when she found out what happened. Justin ran her check and it came back clean, no red flags. Lane has been playing the good guy, playing me, and playing her. I close my eyes, hating that I need to fucking tell Maggie about this shit. She’s already on edge; this shit will likely push her over.

“I can’t be here with her. With him here, I can’t risk something going down, not right now.”

Stepping closer, he drops his voice. “This is the safest place for her.”

“He’s sleeping down the hall,” I remind him, narrowing my eyes. “Right down the fucking hall.”

“Right next to me,” he says calmly, and I shake my head in frustration. “I’ll let Pika and Aye know what’s going on. No one will allow anything to happen to her.”

“Why the fuck didn’t I see this shit earlier?” I ask myself aloud.

“No one saw it.” I know he’s right, but even knowing he’s right, I want to put her ass on a plane and send her somewhere safe, where I can deal with this shit without her being in the middle of it. “We’re watching him. He has eyes on him, and Lane isn’t stupid. Even if what he’s done is stupid, he’s not a dumbass He won’t take a chance.”

“Fuck,” I clip, when I really want to roar my frustration.

“I know this situation isn’t ideal, but right now, we need to roll with it. When he makes his next move, I’ll make mine and put an end to it.”

“No, fuck no. I don’t know what his plan was, but he drugged her, could have fucking hurt her. He makes a move, I’m putting him down,” I rumble, letting the weight of my words sink in then continue. “We don’t show our hand, don’t change shit, and when I talk to Maggie, I’ll tell her to keep her guard up, but to play it cool. We don’t know his plan, but we also don’t know if he’s taking orders from someone else right now.”

“You think Paulie’s in on this shit?” he asks, and I shrug, having no fucking idea if he is, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he has something to do with it.

“Paulie has deep pockets. Money makes people do crazy shit, so it could have started out as him taking an order then turned into him wanting Maggie. Right now, I’m walking fucking blind, but I’m not willing to risk Maggie in this fucked-up game. When you talk to Pika, Aye, and Teo, you make sure they know that Lane isn’t fed anything he can pass along to someone else.”

“I’ll talk to them.”

“I’ll talk to Mags.”

“Your woman’s crazy. She may try to take him out herself,” he mutters, and I catch the smile in his voice.

“Don’t say that shit. You know she will, and that’s the last thing we need right now.”

“True, but it could be fun to watch.” He laughs, but I don’t find anything funny about this, not right now. My woman is strong, but she is going to be hurt that someone else she trusted is not someone worthy of that faith. “We’ll get this sorted,” he mutters, reading me, and I nod.

“Fill the guys in tonight. When Kai and Kenton get in, tell them we’ll talk in the morning. I’m going to talk to Maggie then, too. She needs sleep, and I want her to have at least one good night of it before more bullshit is piled on her that will keep her from resting easy,” I tell him then storm into the house, making sure to keep my face impassive as I nod at the guys, who are still sitting around the table as I pass.

When I make it to the room Maggie and I are sharing, she’s still out, but now she’s tucked a pillow to her chest with one leg out of the covers and thrown over it. Getting undressed, I shut off the light, get into bed, and pull the pillow from her grasp, shoving it behind my head.

The second I’m settled, before I can pull her into me, her body moves. Her leg slides over both of mine as her arm moves across my waist, and her head nestles into the crook of my arm. I never did this shit with a woman before Maggie. The idea of having someone so close all night would have annoyed me. Maggie didn’t have the option of sleeping any other way. I wouldn’t allow it. I not only want her close; I need her close.

Running my hand through her hair, I stare at the clock across the room, the green lights reading a little after ten. It’s early. Kai and Kenton will be in soon with their women. We were supposed to start talks tonight, but that shit will have to wait. Tomorrow is going to suck in more than one way, and I want to give Maggie one more night of just this—her in my arms, the world outside of us not creeping in.

Closing my eyes, I let out a breath, thinking that if her parents want to be there when we get married, they’ll have to meet us as soon as we hit town when this shit is done. Because I’m pulling over at the first wedding chapel I see.

With something to look forward to, I smile and fall asleep.

Chapter 11

Maggie

Locked up

Waking with my cheek pressed to Sven’s chest, my hand resting over his heart, and my leg over both of his, I blink my eyes open slowly. Looking past my hand and the expanse of Sven’s chest, I see lavender walls and beautiful dark furniture. Blinking again, I realize I slept through our arrival at Kai’s house and had been put to bed without ever waking up.

“You awake?” Sven asks, shifting my hair out of my face and off my neck and settling his hand on my back.

“No,” I whisper, wishing I wasn’t, since I know that once we leave this bed, I will have to deal with everything going on outside of it, including the fact that Sven and his friends are going up against one of the biggest monsters in Vegas. A monster that put out a hit on him, and succeeded in shooting him in the chest not even a month ago.

“Wish I could let you sleep, baby, but we have some shit to talk about, and I want to make sure you’re good before we walk out of this room,” he says, running his hand down my back and settling it on the curve of my waist.

Lifting my head, I place my chin to his chest and meet his eyes then ask, “What is it?” seeing the worry he’s trying to hide as he scans my face.

“I’m gonna ask you something, and I want you to really think about it before you answer.”

“Okay,” I breathe, a little scared by the tone of his voice and the way his body has gotten tight under mine.

“There is no right or wrong answer, and I swear, baby, no matter my reaction right now, I’m not pissed at you, okay?” he asks as his hand on my hip squeezes gently.

As I try to sit up, his arm holds me closer, keeping me in place, and he jerks his head no. “You stay right here.”

“You’re freaking me out,” I whisper, trying to catch my breath that has suddenly turned choppy.

His face softens and his hand comes up to run along my jaw. “Has Lane ever said anything to you, made you feel uncomfortable in any way?” he asks, and my body stills.

“Don’t,” I whisper, shaking my head and knowing what he’s alluding to.

“Maggie.”

“I would never—”

“I know that, baby,” he cuts me off. “That’s not what I’m after. I need to know if you have ever noticed him acting strangely when you’re around?”

“What’s going on?” I ask, Lane has never made me uncomfortable, but so much has happened over the last few weeks that I wouldn’t notice if he was acting strange.

Rolling us, he settles his body over mine and his hands move to hold my face as he dips his closer. “I’m going on my gut. I have no proof right now, but I think he’s the one who drugged you.”

“You thought it was Eva,” I remind him.

He nods then mutters quietly, “I did, but now I don?

?t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I need to find out.”

Licking my lips and studying his jaw, I repeat, “You…you think he drugged me?”

“I do,” he agrees softly, and I look into his eyes and know he’s the one person I can really trust in this whole world, the one person who will never lie to me or lead me astray.

“Why?” I ask again, and his forehead drops to rest against mine as his fingers move along my jaw.

“No idea, baby. Zack said Lane flipped yesterday when we were upstairs. Last night was the first time I saw something in his eyes I didn’t like. Right now, it’s just a feeling, but my gut has never led me in the wrong direction before, so I’m going with it.”

“He’s here,” I say softly, and his face moves away from mine. “I…what am I supposed to do?”

“One: don’t be you.”

“What?” I frown and he smiles.

“You know I love you, but you cannot do anything that will lead him to believe we’re on to him.”

“But—”