“I need to give it some—what the fuck was that?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Steph had leaned her head against the wall, making the softest of thuds. But these men were all hypervigilant, probably more so when not wanting to be overheard. Time for damage control. She turned and speed walked back toward the stairs just as Copper stuck his head out of the kitchen.
“Stephanie,” he called.
She froze and spun around plastering a cheerful smile on her face. “Oh, Copper, hi. I was coming to get something to eat, and I heard voices. Sounded serious so I was just on my way back to my room. I’ll come back later.”
He flattened his lips and stared at her—hard.
She held her breath. Please buy it. Please buy it.
She held her breath. “Come on in here a minute. Wanna run something by you.” He jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen before disappearing.
If he’d told her he had a million bucks waiting for her in the refrigerator, she wouldn’t have been more surprised. He was bringing her into a discussion about club business?
She hurried into the kitchen. Maverick’s eyes lit up the moment he spotted her, and he came right to her. Wrapping one hand around the back of her neck and the other across her lower back he hauled her against him and kissed the hell out of her.
Everything faded away but the firm pressure of his lips, the scrape of the metallic ball over her tongue, and his arms around her.. He was her drug of choice, and like so many addicts, she’d traded her soul for a fix.
“Ahem, could you two horndogs keep it in the fuckin’ bedroom?” Copper asked. “Didn’t call you in for a live sex show, darlin’. Not that it wouldn’t be a good one, but we got shit to talk about.”
Oh, my God. She wanted to die. She tried to wiggle away, but Mav’s grip on her neck held her close. “Mav,” she whispered, “let me go.”
“Copper can wait for one more fucking second. He’s just cranky cuz his dick spends way too much time with his own hand these days.” He didn’t even try to muffle his voice but antagonized his president right out in the open.
Steph giggled as he pressed one more kiss to her lips then released her, tucking her close to his body. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight. Why, oh why did it have to feel like she belonged right there at his side? “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked Copper.
He ran a hand down his face, pausing to scratch his beard. “You’re aware of the Gray Dragon’s involvement with trafficking girls.” He shifted his gaze to Maverick, who squeezed her tighter, before returning his attention to Steph. “We’d hoped taking Shark and King out of the equation would put an end to that operation, but it hasn’t. One of his lackeys has taken up the cause. Last night, Rocket rescued a twenty-seven-year-old woman who’d been snatched and was slated to be sold to the highest bidder.”
Stephanie hung on every detail. This was it, the entire reason she was in Tennessee. She was torn between begging him to talk faster and pleading with him to stop. Any information he divulged could be used against him. Though, who was she kidding? She’d already proven her willingness to perjure for this group. Now, knowing they were fighting to save and protect the women from sexual slavery, how could she do anything but support them?
They were still breaking the law. Killing people, taking justice into their own hands. It was all wrong in the eyes of the law.
But the FBI had nothing. And one of their own agents had been integral in the kidnapping and deaths of three teenagers after letting them be used and abused. And just the previous year, in a similar case, jury members were bribed and threatened to coerce a favorable ruling for the defendant, a sick bastard who preyed on innocent women. The Handlers could take this scum out without ever involving the law.
Stephanie wouldn’t stand in their way. Instead, she’d help keep the FBI off their backs.
Hello, gray zone.
“What do you need from me?” she asked.
“She’s on board with keeping quiet about who rescued her, just a random biker whose face she didn’t see, which is the truth anyway. She gave a detailed description to the cops of a bike different from Rocket’s. We also had to ask her not to seek out any local psychological help. Those people can be bought or threatened by Lefty into spilling what they know. But the girl’s gotta be fucked up after all she went through.”
“I’ll do whatever you guys need.”
“We forced Lefty to give her up with threat of war. Can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the rough treatment she received, since I’m pretty sure Lefty was trying to send us a message. He’d wanted an alliance, and we shot that chance to shit. She suffered through more than you did, but I thought maybe she could talk to you. Maybe you could help her.”