Page 21 of My Enemy Biker

"Bruised. Shaken. Alive." He's still watching me. "We got him back before they could do real damage."

"And Sully?"

"Alive. Bleeding. We left before police arrived." His jaw tightens. "He knows not to touch you now."

There it is. Part of why he came here, to tell me I'm safe, to make sure I understand he kept his promise.

"What did he tell you?" I move to the counter, lean against it. I need the distance to think clearly.

"Confirmed the leak. Someone gave Marrow our watch schedule, specific enough to know exactly when Walt would be alone. I've narrowed it to one person. We're setting up verification now."

"And when you verify?"

"We handle it internally."

"Which means what?"

His eyes don't leave mine. "You don't need those details."

I should push. Should demand the transparency I've been demanding since Tuesday.

But I'm looking at him standing in my kitchen at two in the morning, covered in blood because he recovered Walt and made sure the man who threatened me understands the cost of that mistake, and I can't make myself ask for information I don't actually want.

The silence stretches for ten seconds. Twenty.

"Are you okay?" The question comes out quieter than I intended.

He goes completely still. Something crosses his face, surprise maybe, or recognition.

"No."

The word drops between us like a stone.

He didn't come here to report on Walt. Didn't come to update me on club business. He came because he needed to be here and didn't know how to ask for that.

I move without deciding to move, crossing the space between us. I reach up and cup his jaw, feel stubble rough against my palm. His eyes close like I've given him permission to stop holding himself together.

I can feel him shaking. Fine tremors running through his shoulders, down his arms. Adrenaline crash, exhaustion, maybe something even deeper.

"Hey." I keep my voice low. "You're here now. With me. You're okay."

His hands come to my waist. Grip hard enough I feel it through my shirt. I move closer, put my other hand flat against his chest.

His heart is pounding, too fast, uneven.

"You got Walt back," I say against his shoulder. "He's safe. You did what you needed to do."

"I tortured someone." His voice comes out flat, controlled. "Applied pressure to a bullet wound until he gave me what I wanted. You should be horrified."

"I'm not."

"Why the fuck not?"

The profanity surprises me. I pull back enough to look at him.

"Because he threatened me yesterday morning and helped kidnap Walt yesterday afternoon, and now Walt's safe and Sully knows what happens if he touches me again." I hold his gaze. "I'm not going to perform horror for you when what I actually feel is relief."

Something breaks in his expression. His hands tighten on my waist and then he's kissing me.