“Which is why you don’t like to play games,” I nod.
“Yeah,” Brooks says, “Pretty much.”
I swallow hard. Lying about my identity probably didn’t do much to dismantle his trust issues. But this isn’t about me. I force my attention back to Brooks as he goes on.
“My dad wasn’t without his vices,” he continues, fixing his eyes on the wall straight ahead. “The man loved to drink. Needed to drink. It never occurred to me until after he was gone that he was an alcoholic. The doctors told me, after he died, that he’d been suffering from PTSD since his days in the Navy. Undiagnosed, for years. He passed away while I was overseas. I never knew how bad it had gotten until it was too late. And through all of that, he still managed to be a decent father to me. It fucking kills me to know how much he must have been suffering. I just wish he’d been honest with me. Maybe I could have helped.”
I rest my hand against Brooks’ back. There’s nothing I can say that will alleviate that pain in him. All I can do now is listen.
“I was just getting out of the Navy when he died,” he says. “I went back home to Berkeley, took one look around the house we’d shared, and knew I couldn’t stay. I needed something completely different, a clean slate. It was right then that Declan reached out to me about coming to Vegas. We hadn’t seen each other for years, and in the meantime, he’d found Dante’s Nine. He was happy there, he told me. The club was like a family, and he knew I needed that more than anything. I walked away from my old life and moved out here to become a member myself. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Well...the second best thing.”
A knot twists in my throat as Brooks turns toward me on the couch, taking my hands in his. His eyes are fierce with purpose, and I cling to his every word.
“I never thought I’d meet a woman who could understand me. A woman I could trust and be honest with. The only girls I’d been with before you were one-night stands, casual, no strings attached. But you...you’ve changed all that.”
“But I lied to you,” I whisper, “about who I am, what I do—”
“And then you came clean,” he cuts me off. “Sure, it wasn’t the ideal way to find out. I could have done without meeting that idiot ex of yours. But you’ve told me everything, now. Haven’t you?”
“Yes. Everything,” I say.
“Even though your career, your livelihood, your entire life depend on my not knowing who you are?” he presses.
“I...hadn’t thought of it that way,” I say. “Honestly...all of my attachments, everything I’ve ever defined myself by...it all feels in flux now. It’s like you’re the only real thing in my life, the only thing I care about protecting. Holding onto.”
“I know the feeling,” he says, taking me at once into his arms. His face is inches from my own, his breath warm on my lips. “So we both have pasts,” he growls, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m pretty sure that only makes us human. You say there’s some fucker out there trying to hurt you? Well, I’m not going to let that happen. I don’t care if you’re Keira Campbell or Quinn Collins, to me you’re just Red. My Red.”
“You forgive me then?” I breathe, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
“Forgive you?” he says. “You’re going rouge to make sure my brothers and I don’t get taken down by some psycho with cooked-up evidence. You’re putting everything on the line to keep my family safe. I should be throwing you a fucking parade, Red.”
“I’m not sure that the others will see it that way,” I tell him.
“We’ll worry about them later,” Brooks says, planting a searing kiss just below my jawline. I curve into him, relief coursing through my entire body. I thought he’d hate me, once he discovered the truth. But look—it’s only brought us closer.
“It really is you and me against the world, isn’t it?” I laugh, writhing as his lips trail along my neck, across my chest.
“You fucking bet it is,” he smiles, brazenly confident in spite of it all. “And you know what Red? I like those odds.”
I cry out in surprised glee as Brooks presses me back against the couch, his eyes sparking with lust.
“I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with how well you’re taking all this,” I say.
“So you’re a fed. So what? I’m a damaged loner, there’s some crazy asshole out to get you and my club,” Brooks says, running his hands up along my bare legs. “You don’t honestly think I’m gonna let that stop us from being together?”
“Shouldn’t we be formulating a plan? Discussing our strategy—?” I ask, propping myself up on my forearms.
“It can wait until morning,” Brooks growls, kneeling over me.
“It is morning,” I remind him, jerking my head at the window. The sky outside is just beginning to glow with daylight.
Brooks parts my knees with firm hands, fitting his staggering body into the space between my legs. “Then it can wait until I’ve had my fill of you,” he says, sliding those irresistible hands up under my shirt, “What do you say, Red?”
I moan in response as Brooks cups my breasts, pinching my nipples just hard enough to send a shiver of pleasure down my spine.
“I guess you have a point,” I gasp, arching my back as he kisses along my hip bone. “Can’t really talk logistics while insanely horny, right?”
“Right,” Brooks grins, tearing my shirt up over my head.
We’ve already stopped one bad guy tonight, haven’t we? We deserve to blow off some steam. Then we’ll set our sights on the real villain: Jeff Bruno. Alone, I may not have been a match for my devious fellow fed. But with Brooks by my side, who knows what’s possible? We’ve been a pretty incredible team so far. And if we’re half as good at fighting corruption as we are at blowing each other’s minds in bed, Bruno doesn’t stand a chance.
By the time afternoon rolls around, The Mayor has decided that Brooks is his new best friend. My inherited cat refuses to budge from my lover’s lap as we go over everything I know about Jeff Bruno, and what he might be up to. It takes everything in my power not to giggle at the big bad biker being colonized by an old cat.
“I can’t believe that fucker,” Brooks says through gritted teeth. The Mayor glances up at him solemnly, as if in agreement.