I guess … I’m not just injured but pregnant.
Goddamn it.
I stray away from that thought for just a minute. I need time to think.
“You’re right. My plan is entirely unconventional, but I can assure you: I’ve been working on this project for a while now. Since I first woke up back at the cathedral after you rescued me. Months of planning, Gidget.”
“And then what?” Crown asks, addressing Grey directly. I can hear Fem barking and Reba frantically shushing him. I wonder if she’s listening in? Not that it matters. She can eavesdrop to her heart’s content. But I will be just a little more careful what I say around her in the future. I’ll just have to assume Grey knows every word of it.
I’m not even mad about that.
“I’ll work with Gidget,” Grey offers up, gesturing at me with his left hand. “She’ll be my liaison with the club; I won’t work with anyone else. That solves all of our problems: my father is scrubbed from my life like a bad stain.” He lifts up a single finger. “The war is stopped.” A second finger. “And Gidget becomes invaluable to Death by Daybreak. However you decide to handle your other problems with the president, that should serve either way.” Third finger.
Grey drops his left hand by his side, tucking his right into the sweatpants that he must’ve either stolen from someone’s drawer—I hope for his sake that isn’t true—or was more likely given to wear to get him out of a suit. Grey is recognizable but only close-up. From far away, in sweatpants like this, he could be a prospect or just a young guy one of the older members isn’t familiar with.
“It’s an interesting concept,” Crown agrees grudgingly, giving me a sharp look. “But that won’t fix the problem with Cat. Still, I’ll consider it.”
“Incredibly generous of you,” Grey agrees, and I give him a sharp look that he returns with a half-smile.
“You are on our compound, and we have ways of making people disappear,” I tell him, not entirely disingenuous with my words. “Remember that.”
“We’ll go visit the boys in the hospital tomorrow, see if the gate guards are still checking every passenger that’s outgoing. Then we’ll know if it’s safe to move you off the compound.” Crown gives Grey an awful sort of look, one that promises violence if he dare breathes in the wrong way. “Don’t underestimate me, Grey Wolfe. The club isn’t just made up of grunting barbarians. If I were you, I’d be very careful with my behavior while inside these walls.”
“On the contrary,” Grey says with a shrug, letting his half-smile get a little wider. “I laud you, Calder Reid. It takes guts to switch teams, doesn’t it? For an undercover cop to abandon his position. You’re a very impressive individual, no doubt about it.” Grey turns and heads back up the stairs, knocking lightly on Reba’s door. She lets him in, and Fem immediately tries to attack him; he hates all men apparently. Not without reason. Basically every man but my officers and Grey have kicked the shit out of him, choked him, shot him. Why should he like men?
I’ve decided I’ll leave my husky as he is, no training required.
I look back at Crown, blinking hard as Grey’s words settle over me.
“Undercover cop?” I ask, but Crown doesn’t meet my gaze, moving over to the front door to bolt it and activate the alarm. It feels so much bleaker out here when it’s just us. If someone attacks in the night, it’ll be just me and Crown. I like it better when we have our little army. “What does that mean?”
“Get upstairs and get in bed,” Crown barks out, flicking off the lights. He comes to stand beside me in the dark. He stays to my right, his hand on the banister. I mimic his pose, just facing in the opposite direction.
“Don’t boss me around,” I warn him, and I can feel him smirking at me in the dark.
“Why?” he asks, almost innocently. “You like it.”
Crown continues up the stairs as I scowl after him, turning to look after his retreating back. But the temptation of his bed … it’s too much.
With a long sigh and a swipe of my hand over my face, I turn and follow after.
Cat thinks Crown lost his balls to me. Must’ve been a fair trade. Because I almost do like it. We’re trading our vulnerabilities as well as our strengths to each other.
I step into the room, only to hear the shower running in the bathroom. The door is half-cracked, leaving a small sliver of golden light to fall across the bed. I close the bedroom door, lock it, and then climb into the bed by myself.
If I go in that bathroom, and I see Crown naked, I’ll snap. And I can’t do that to Beast.
