Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
“What’s your game, Eva?”
Her heart leapt in her throat at the sexy voice coming from behind her.
She’d heard the door to her shop open, but she’d been cleaning her machines, and she hadn’t bothered to look.
Not an easy task, but she’d had to learn to fake nonchalance a long time ago if she was going to fit in with the Brothers.
She turned slowly in her chair and faced the man in leathers standing just inside her shop. The man who’d kissed her and made her want things she couldn’t have.
Damn, he was sexy. Tall, dirty blond hair, muscled. He had what looked like three days’ worth of scruff and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. There were lines at the corners of those eyes. She hadn’t noticed those yesterday. He looked like a commando rather than a biker with that haircut.
She didn’t like bikers or commandos. She didn’t like dangerous men, and this one certainly was. She shivered as she thought of what he’d told her last night. He was here for her. Here to take her away before she’d accomplished her goals. She couldn’t let that happen.
She needed to be sure they went down for good, and she couldn’t do that if she was somewhere else.
“Game?” she drawled. “Sorry, I don’t do games. You want me to work on your tattoo or what?”
He came over to her chair and shrugged out of his cut. Then he pulled his shirt up and over his head with one hand. She blinked as her mouth went dry.
Oh. Dear. God.
His belly was ridged with muscle, and his chest was broad and tanned. She’d seen it all yesterday when he’d done the same thing, but she hadn’t let her eyes settle in any one spot then. She’d focused on his shoulder and the faded tattoo, ignoring the rest.
She couldn’t ignore it now, not when there were little sparks of sensation zinging through her body. Or when her pussy ached with need. It was shocking and exhilarating at the same time.
“Yeah, you can work on it. But you’re also going to tell me what’s going on with you… Evelyn.”
Her insides turned to ice. She was vaguely aware that her jaw dropped, the needle in her hand suspended in midair, her muscles solidifying like she’d been frozen in place.
How could he know? How? She’d been so careful, so methodical.
Eva swallowed. He was guessing. He didn’t know anything. He’d thrown the name out to rattle her. It was a wild guess, though a good one. She could deflect it though. Of course she could.
“Nice guess, but Eva isn’t short for anything.”
His gaze met hers, and her breath caught. “I know who you are, Evelyn. I know why you’re here.”
Her hands trembled. The needle shook like a leaf in her grip. She set it down carefully and tucked her hands between her knees.
“You really don’t. You don’t know anything.”
“You want to get him. You want him to pay for what he did to your sister. But how? How are you going to make that happen? You want to kill him?”
The blood rushed to her face. Of course she wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t brave enough. Not yet.
“I imagine a lot of people want to kill Brandon Cox. No one has done it though.”
“You’ve been inside for a couple months now. Why haven’t you shot him with that .45 while he was at your mercy in this chair? Don’t tell me you couldn’t have.”
She dropped her head, her eyes blurring. Yeah, she could have. A few times. “Because they’d have killed me if I did. And nothing would change other than he’d be dead, I’d be dead, and they’d have a new leader. There’d be no justice.”
“So hanging out here and calling the FBI with anonymous tips was your plan?”
She swallowed. She could deny everything, deny she was Evelyn Collier and that Heather was her sister. But, dammit, she didn’t want to. For once, she wanted someone to know.
Even if she denied it, he wouldn’t believe her. It was clear he knew the truth. Somehow, despite all her planning, he knew.
“I want to bring them down. All of them. And I want him to admit what he did.”
She heard him sigh. She looked up, met those whisky-smooth eyes of his. “Tall order.”
“Maybe so. But I’ll find a way.”
“Judge Mason’s wife died in that crash. I think that’s enough to get them. If you testify about what you heard.”
Fear rolled through her, followed by doubt. “It’s not enough,” she spat. “They’ll find a way out of it. They always do.”
“What’s the plan then, Evelyn? How are you going to take them down?”
“Stop calling me that,” she growled. “I’m Eva. Evelyn died seven years ago.”
“You were a sweet little thing,” he said softly, and a shiver slid down her spine.
“You don’t remember me, Jake Ryan. Don’t pretend like you do.”
He took one of her hands, gently pried it from between her legs. “I remember. You were in my English class. Mrs. Hamrick, fourth period. And you used to bring me drinks whenever I escorted Heather home for a visit. You were shy, and you wouldn’t look me in the eye, but you were sweet.”
She bristled. “You brought her home three or four times. For all you know, I was trying to poison you so I could free her from the Brothers.”
He snorted, and warmth blossomed inside. “I could completely believe that about Eva. Evelyn not so much.”
She extracted her hand, mostly because of the heat prickling her skin. She didn’t know what to do with him. What to do about him. He wasn’t one of them, but he still wasn’t the kind of man she could get involved with. Ever.
Another thought formed in her mind, chilling her. What if he was one of them and he was just getting her confession before turning her over to Brandon? It was exactly the kind of sick game Brandon would play.
“Hey,” he said, and she met his gaze. He looked calm and cool. “I can almost read your mind, beautiful. You’re wondering if this is a setup, if the game is over.”
“It’s occurred to me.”
“It’s not a setup. But the game is definitely over.”