STEPHANIE
FORTY-FOUR
No one likes a martyr.
I’m deliciously aching everywhere, and I can’t remember if I’ve ever felt as happy or as content as I do right now, all because my heart has finally settled with a man I trust. That’s pretty special, considering the things I’ve done to survive.
I bury my face in the pillow that still smells of James, my pulse heating just from the reminder. I’m insatiable. I could drown in him and still feel starved.
He left the bed hours ago with a chaste kiss on my forehead and a whispered order for me to rest. But I’m done lying around unless he’s naked here with me, so I crawl out and go in search of another shirt. I pull one on, making myself decent enough before slipping out of the room to search for him.
“You’ll need to be smart to take something right from under the Alderidges’ noses. It’s a bold move,” James says, his deep voice drifting out of his office.
“Makes it all the sweeter when I ruin her. I know your sister is off limits, but I need to send a message that I’m someone they should be scared of.”
I stop just beyond the open door, my breath catching in my throat at the familiar voice belonging to the devil who’s got me hiding out.
“Still, you shouldn’t underestimate the motorcycle club,” James advises.
Christopher scoffs. “I can have them gone with a snap of my fingers. They’re boys in leather playing at being men.”
Wrong. Those men are more dialed in than you could ever hope to be. My brother’s MC might be a clean organization, forgoing the drugs, firearms, and whatever else plagues many of the other clubs across the country, but if attacked, they will retaliate without prejudice.
“So the gala is set?” James checks, and I have to steady my breathing.
“I’m putting pressure on the foundation, and that bitch needs to be taken down a peg or two. Women don’t belong at the helm. In the meantime, I’ve acquired a new one to keep me entertained.”
I grit my teeth and push the door open farther. I have to know what’s happening.
“I’ll let you know when,” Christopher adds. “It would be useful to have you there, another guy in my arsenal. There’ll be eyes, and pulling them away gets me what I want.”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
He sounds so sincere, and it messes with my mind. I know this is what James does, but…
He turns in his chair, not an ounce of surprise on his face. He offers his hand and arches a brow. My feet move unbidden toward him until I’m sitting on his lap and staring at the phone still connected to Christopher.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“Don’t worry. Everyone will get what they deserve,” James says, looking into my eyes.
The meaning is clear as day, but someone like Christopher is utterly clueless.
“Come what may, this chase will end.” He cuts off the call and wraps his arms around my waist. “How are you doing this morning, sweetheart?”
I’m not letting him deflect. He should know by now that I need everything spelled out. I tilt my head. “What’s the deal with Christopher?”
He presses his lips into a thin line, and the silence stretches, but I wait him out.
“I think your idea, while dangerous, will work with careful planning. I’m done making you hide away. It should be your right to walk in the light and not look over your shoulder at every turn.”
“Does Camryn know?”
He shakes his head. “She won’t approve. Plus, I’m being cognizant of the leaks in her immediate leadership. I’ve let her know we need to talk. And for the record, I also don’t approve, but I’m trying to mitigate the risk of you doing something chaotic.”
I smile. At least he’s figured out who he’s dealing with. “Hmm, I guess I can understand that. But she needs to know, right?”
James sighs, shrugging one shoulder. “We’ll get there.” He scoops me into his arms and stands. “But for now, I’m hungry. Breakfast?”
With a nod, I twine my arms around his neck. “Yes, please.”
When we enter the kitchen, I expect James to set me down on the chair near the table, but he doesn’t, choosing the counter instead.
There’s already coffee made, so I twist behind me to pull down a mug from the cupboard while he goes to the fridge for eggs.
After he sets them down, I hold out my cup and jiggle it. “Coffee me.”
He chuckles and fills it for me. But as soon as I’ve finished my first sip, he takes the mug, sets it on the counter, and presses in between my legs. I wrap them around his waist and drape my arms over his shoulders.
“Maybe what I really want for breakfast is you.”
“Hmm.” My lips curl into a smile. “On the counter sounds like a fun idea. I think I’d be—”
James’s phone makes a soft chime in his pocket, and we both groan. I roll my eyes as he pulls it out, but sober when he flashes the screen at me. It’s Camryn. We definitely have to take this.
Hitting the green button and putting it on speaker, James says, “Hey, Camryn. What’s up?”
“Christopher has taken another woman.”
I appreciate that she gets right to the point.
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with him. He mentioned something to tide him over.” There’s a beat of silence, and then Camryn curses, and James steadies himself to provide the rundown of my plan.
“We can take him down, but we need to find the other girls. Letting them die because we couldn’t find them is unacceptable.
Stephanie has an idea, and at this point, I think we have to go through with it. ”
“What is it?” I hear the concern in her voice. “And why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like it?”
“Because you won’t.” James doesn’t beat around the bush, and I loop my arm through his as he speaks. “She’ll go to the gala he’s bitching about as bait, lure him out, plant a tracker, and find out where he’s keeping the girls. It’s risky, but straightforward.”
“It’s incredibly risky.” Camryn doesn’t shout, but the intensity is there. “We’d need every precaution in place to ensure he doesn’t run off with her somewhere we can’t find.”
“That’s what I suggested. Control the exits, have eyes everywhere, and make sure that he doesn’t leave with me.
I’ll just be there to lure him out and get a tracker on him.
I can’t let other girls get hurt when there’s something I can do about it.
You’re the FBI. Isn’t this what you do? Set up stings? ”
There’s another break in the conversation, and this time, it stretches. I wait, flicking my eyes between James and the phone. He doesn’t rush to jump in, and I have to assume he’s giving Camryn a moment to think.
When that moment goes on a bit too long, though, James pushes off the counter, putting the phone close to his mouth and saying, “He’ll be gone, and the girls will be safe. We can’t keep hiding. I won’t make Stephanie live this way.”
“That’s not a lot of time to prepare, James.”
“You’ll have Honor’s complete cooperation, and I’ve seen you do more with less.”
Camryn sighs again, but I can hear the resignation in it and picture her shoulders sagging. “Well, I better get fucking planning then. I’ll keep you both in the loop.”
“Thank you, Camryn.” I look into James’s eyes as I speak. “We’re going to do this. It’ll work.”
“It better.”
The call ends, and James puts his phone back in his pocket.
It’s beyond tense now, and I sip on my coffee while he starts cooking the eggs.
The kitchen is quiet. My heart is already beating hard, and it’s not even the gala yet.
But I’m not going to back down. We’re the only ones who can help those women, so we’re fucking going to.
As James leaves the stove to go put the egg carton back in the fridge, I just make out his whisper.
“You’ll be free of all this, Stephanie.” My heart squeezes. “If it’s the last fucking thing I do before the end. You’ll be free.”