Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Eva Gray grabbed her pistol and whipped it up to point at him. Jake didn’t flinch. He stayed in the chair, watching her, assessing.
She wasn’t going to shoot him. Not yet anyway. For one thing, it would bring what she least wanted: armed Brothers banging on her door. For another, she was smart and she’d want to know what he meant about being sent before she blindly pulled any triggers.
Her blue eyes flashed fire. The tattoos on her skin made her look seriously badass. She was tatted up like a biker babe, and yet hers were more artful, as if her body was a canvas in a museum. The gun trembled ever so slightly in her hands. She wasn’t quite as confident as she wanted to be.
He studied her face, the planes and angles. He’d seen it before. He just didn’t know where. Or when. Maybe he’d known her when he’d lived in town. Obviously not tatted up the way she was now, maybe with different hair, too. It was an intriguing notion.
Who was she?
“Who sent you?” she gritted.
“Ian Black.”
She swallowed, frowning. “I don’t know who that is.”
“No, but he knows who you are. And he knows what you did.”
He saw the fear in her eyes. The gun dipped before she gripped it tighter.
“I didn’t do anything. I have no idea who Ian Black is. Sorry, but somebody’s winding you up for reasons I don’t know.”
He leaned forward, staring hard at her. Hoping she got the message. “You’re in danger here, Eva. You’re a loose end. You know too much and Brandon isn’t gonna let you live just because he likes your art.”
“I don’t know anything. You’re wasting your time here. Go away and leave me alone or I’ll have to tell Brandon you’ve been harassing me. He won’t like it.”
She wouldn’t tell Brandon anything. He’d seen the revulsion in her eyes when she’d looked at Cox earlier. She hated him. Another intriguing thing about her.
“Who called in the tip on Judge Mason?” he asked, going straight for the jugular.
Her face drained of color and the gun wavered in her grip. He could disarm her. Probably should. But he didn’t move. He let her process it. He wouldn’t endear himself to her by taking the weapon. He’d rather she got there on her own. Understood he was a friend instead of an enemy.
“You’re a Brother. You’ve been a Brother since you were eighteen.”
A chink in her armor. Did she realize it? “How would you know?”
Her eyes were wider than before. She gripped the gun tight. She knew she’d fucked up. “I just do. You’re one of them. You came back. Brandon said so today.”
“I came back for you, Eva. And because Judge Mason saved my life.”
She shook her head, the gun dipping. He didn’t move, and she finally let it fall to her side. Her eyes shimmered. “I can’t leave here. I can’t.”
He went over to her, put a hand on her arm. His skin tingled at the touch, but he didn’t draw back. She was lovely. It was no surprise he was attracted to her. She was beautiful, and vulnerable. His protective side roared to life. He wanted to whisk her away, keep her safe.
Find out her secrets.
“You can’t stay. It’s dangerous.”
She tossed her hair defiantly. He dropped his hand, but his fingers still itched to touch her.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” she said, her words measured, “This is a biker compound. You don’t just waltz out when you feel like it. And if you think Brandon’s not going to do anything if you roll out of here with me on the back of your bike, then you’re wrong.”
That much was true, but he’d deal with it when the time came.
“Why are you here?” he asked. “You don’t like these guys.”
“Of course I like them. They pay me.”
He didn’t believe her. He recognized contempt when he saw it, and she had it in spades. “You’ve been calling the FBI.”
She swallowed. “Not me. No idea what you’re talking about.”
He sank onto the chair again. But he didn’t lean back. Outside, the party was in full swing. It was loud, with music and talk and the revving of engines.
“You used your own phone. Dangerous, but also probably the best option unless you can get into town and find a pay phone somewhere.”
She put the gun back where she’d gotten it from. He took that as a good sign. Then she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair for a second. When she opened them, her gaze was cool and clear.
“I overheard some things about Judge Mason, yes. The Brothers sit in my chair and talk like I’m not here, but I listen.
Brandon’s nephew is on trial for attempted murder in Atlanta, in case you weren’t aware, and Judge Mason was the presiding judge.
He’d already made some rulings in the case that were unfavorable.
So Brandon got the idea that it was time for Mason to go.
He talked about hiring someone to install malware into the judge’s car.
This guy was supposed to program it to cut the power to the brakes once the car reached a certain speed. ”
“Who’s the guy? Do you know?”
She shook her head. “I don’t, not really. All I heard was the name Snake. A hacker of some sort, I imagine. Any hackers turn up dead lately?”
She said it jokingly, but he knew she wasn’t joking at all.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Ian to check it out. Anything else you can think of?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know anything for certain. All I know is Judge Mason had a car accident and Brandon talked about making it happen before it did. I can’t prove it. It could just be a coincidence.”
“But you called the FBI.”
She picked at her food but didn’t eat anything else. “Because I believe he did it. I can’t prove it, but I believe it. It’s just my word against his—against all of theirs, because none of the Brothers will admit it’s true. They stick together no matter what.”
She sounded bitter.
“Tell me again why you’re here, Eva. Why do you stay?”
“I have my reasons.”
He studied her. There was definitely something about her that tickled his memory. But what?
“If I were to ask Ian to dig into Eva Gray’s background, what would he find?”
Her gaze was cool. “You tell me.”
“I think he wouldn’t find much of anything.”
“Not worth the trouble then, huh?”
He stood. He’d been here long enough. It was time to get back to the party before Brandon missed him.
“Probably not, sugar.” He started toward the door but stopped and turned back to her. She was beautiful and ballsy, and he had to wonder why she wanted to be here when she hated the Brothers so much.
He stalked to her chair while she tipped her head back to gaze up at him. She didn’t run, though. Didn’t flinch or look scared. Her gaze slid to his mouth, lingered.
“What do you want now?” she whispered.
What did he want? He’d wanted to say something profound that would make her understand, make her agree that she needed to go with him when the time came. But now that he was standing here, looking down at her, he couldn’t fucking think.
She made him jumpy in ways he hadn’t expected. Like she was beneath his skin, and no amount of scratching would make her go away.
“This,” he growled before he hauled her into his arms and kissed her.