Page 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The buzzing of his phone ringing on the coffee table pulled him out of the relaxed state he was in with Dani in his arms. It had been five days since he bailed her out of prison and each day only got better.

They were on the couch watching a movie to pass the time but one glance at the caller and he knew he needed to answer.

Sitting up straighter, he swiped the phone before it could ring out and answered.

“Hello?”

“A guard from the Lackawanna County jail was found dead this afternoon.”

“Wait, what?” There was no hello. Not that he expected one from his team leader. Daniel was a man of very few words. Unless they were for his wife. A phone call from him in general was out of the ordinary, which was why his guard immediately went up. A call from Daniel meant bad news.

“A guard from the Lackawanna County jail was found dead this afternoon,” Daniel huffed like repeating himself was a nuisance, and to his team leader, it probably was. But that didn’t stop him from questioning the statement Daniel gave him.

“Who? Why? What happened?” His brain was not firing on all cylinders at the moment. He was still in relaxation mode with Dani and it was taking longer than normal to shake that off.

“A Robert Harrison.” The answer didn’t come from Daniel but his wife. His team leader must’ve lost patience with the conversation and handed the phone over to Emma. “According to the police report Bree was able to access, he was found dead in his home this afternoon from a gunshot wound to the head. The sheriff’s office called in a welfare check after he didn’t show for two of his shifts and no one could reach him. He lived alone in a shitty run-down house in an even shittier neighborhood.”

A dozen more questions swirled around in his head. Gage scooted down until his ass was on the edge of the couch and the hand that wasn’t holding the phone played with his beard.

“Is Bree thinking he had something to do with him giving our information to the Hell Raisers?”

It was the only reason that Daniel would be calling him with this information.

He could feel Dani tense behind him. He reached his arm back and pulled her so that she was flush against his side.

“She’s looking for a connection as we speak but he was working when Dani was released, so there’s a possibility. I’m not saying I don’t believe in coincidences but he went missing after your place in Pennsylvania was shot to shit. He was only discovered today, but has been dead at least four days. Something tells me someone wasn’t happy the information they received didn’t pan out.”

Gage didn’t care for coincidences either and his gut was telling him this Robert Harrison had something to do with the Hell Raisers knowing Dani was back in Pennsylvania.

“Let me know when she learns anything.”

He doubted they would find much. Possibly payments rendered for services but it was more than likely Robert was indebted to the Hell Raisers for something. Drugs, weapons. It could be anything. The odds that the Hell Raisers were paying for information was slim to none. It wasn’t an MC’s style. They used fear and manipulation to get what they wanted.

Gage hung the phone up and threw it down onto the couch next to him.

“Who was that?” Dani was still snuggled into his side.

“Emma. She’s married to my team leader, Daniel. She’s the less tech-savvy version of Bree.”

Now that they had Bree, Emma could focus on other aspects of the team. Like deciding which assignments they took. That should’ve been Daniel’s job but everyone knew he hated being in charge. He would’ve stepped down if anyone else on the team was willing to take his spot but none of them wanted that responsibility.

He doubted his team leader thought that far ahead when he first accepted Black’s offer. Daniel formed the team to find his wife and exact revenge. Things obviously turned out different but Daniel was stuck with the team, whether he wanted it or not.

“What did she have to say?”

“One of the guards who was on shift when you were in custody was shot.”

Dani gasped. “And they think it has something to do with me.”

It wasn’t a question and he could hear the tremor in her voice. He shifted around so that he was facing her. “No, my team thinks he was the one to leak your information. Bree is looking for a connection between him and the Hell Raisers.”

His answer didn’t calm her down like he thought it would.

“Either way, it’s my fault someone is dead.”

Oh, hell no.

There was no way he was going to let her blame herself for this.

“No.” He had to keep the bite out of his tone. “If he was the person who leaked your information, then he’s dead because he was in bed with the Hell Raisers. That’s not your fault. Things like that tend to happen when the Hell Raisers don’t get what they want.”

“I was in bed with the Hell Raisers and now they want me dead.”

He tamped down the anger that threatened to boil over. He would not take this out on her. “You made a mistake but you found a way out. Not everyone is smart enough to see them for who they truly are.”

“Or he could’ve been in too far that he never stood a chance of getting out.”

Only Dani would try to find a way to rationalize that the man who potentially helped the Hell Raisers locate her wasn’t that bad of a person after all. Her heart was too damn big some days. He wanted to protect it at all costs but at the same time he refused to give her anything but the truth.

“You realize this guy could be the reason we were shot at on the way home from the prison, right?”

Dani shrugged. “I learned a long time ago that things aren’t always black and white. I would think you better than anyone would understand that.”

She had him there. He did know that. Most of his time in the Army was spent inside the gray area.

“Touché.”

“I’m not saying you’re not right, but I would prefer to know facts. I’m being hunted right now because no one took the time to look at the truth. I hate to do that to someone else.”

He tugged her into his chest. “And this is why I love you.”

He could feel her lips turn up into a smile against his neck. “I love you too.”

“We’ll wait to see what Bree has to say.”

Bree’s ears must’ve been ringing because not even a second later she was calling him. She had a special ring tone on his phone. Not because he put it there but because she did. And his wasn’t the only phone she did it to. The woman was a menace to their entire team. It was a good thing they all liked her so much.

“Speak of the devil.” He snatched his phone up from where he tossed it just moments before and answered the call and immediately hit speakerphone so Dani could listen in.

“Were your ears ringing?”

“Talking about me, were you? Saying all nice things I hope.” Bree’s snicker filled the room.

“I always say nice things.”

Dani chuckled into his chest. She knew that wasn’t the truth, but instead of calling him on it, she merely laughed. God it was so good to have her back in his arms.

“Let’s agree to disagree on that one.”

Fair enough. “What do you have for me?”

“Emma told you about Robert Harrison. Sorry I would’ve called myself but I was elbow deep in searches.”

“I figured as much. What did you find out?”

Dani wanted answers before she would judge and Bree just happened to be the best person at finding them. If anyone could find out if Harrison was dirty, it was Bree.

“Robert Harrison was far from clean. I can’t officially tie him to the Hell Raisers but there have been a few deaths that they suspected were done by the club, and every time a snitch managed to provide bail, they ended up dead. But that’s not even the best part. Harrison was on shift each time one of those dead guys was in lockup. Not concrete evidence, I know. It would never hold up in court but come on. I doubt that’s a coincidence.”

Nope, he didn’t think it was, and based on the anger burning in Dani’s eyes, she no longer thought Harrison was just someone who couldn’t get out from under the Hell Raisers.

“Oh, and did I mention Harrison had a gambling habit? He liked the ponies specifically but they didn’t like him. He was lucky if he won once every thirty times he gambled. If I was him, I would’ve cut my losses long ago but I guess that’s why he’s broke, living in a shitty house and I’m sitting pretty.”

Gage didn’t bother mentioning that one of the reasons Bree was sitting pretty was because of the work she took before hooking up with his team. There was no point in pissing her off.

“So it’s safe to assume his judge of character was a bit off.”

Bree snorted. “Sure, we can go with that. Personally? I would’ve said he was a cuntcake but we can go with your watered-down version if you like.”

Dani couldn’t keep her laughter contained. He felt the rumbling along his chest, and then she was leaning back against the pillow with tears in her eyes, laughing hard.

“Awe, another person who appreciates my creative names. I knew I was going to like you.”

Bree was talking to Dani but she was too busy trying to catch her breath to respond back, so instead he answered for her. “Yeah, the two of you are going to get along great. Yay for me. Thanks for the info, but I gotta go.”

He hung up the phone mid Bree scoffing but he didn’t care. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Dani’s carefree laugh. He wanted to sit back and enjoy it.

“Cunt … cake?” Instead of one word, it was dragged out into two. That was how hard Dani was still chuckling.

“Bree wasn’t lying. She’s known for her creative names. That’s just one of many.”

“Bree and I are going to get along great.”

Yeah, he was afraid of that. Bree didn’t need any encouragement to cause trouble. But she was tight with all the wives, so it made sense that he would want Dani to get close to her. He hadn’t gotten the nerve to discuss their future after the court date but he wanted her in New Mexico with him.

Gage scooped Dani up and stood from the couch.

“Where are you taking me?” She had yet to stop laughing.

“Upstairs. I want to show you what that laugh does to me. You got a problem with that?”

He quirked his brow and held his own laughter in when her cheeks tinged pink.

“Nope, no problem at all.”

That’s what he thought. He wasn’t the only one who felt they had time to make up for. So while they waited for things to happen, he would gladly take this opportunity to get reacquainted with her body.

Yes fucking please.