Strangely, I was more apprehensive about going into the kitchen than I was about invading their sacred biker space. Swedes was, by all accounts, incredibly protective of what he considered to be his kitchen and his alone. I didn’t want to risk him barring me from future dinners. Especially not when he’d already promised he would cook for me whenever I wanted.
I went slowly as I pushed through the doors.
Every muscle in my body loosened as relief made my head spin.
Rhys and Glitch were both there, along with a big guy with dark auburn hair and a full beard.
And a dog. One who looked an odd amount like the man thanks to their similar hair color. He stood perfectly still by his owner’s side, but his alert doggy gaze was on me.
Cool.
Not missing and not having sex—which would have ended with Rhys missing anyway because I would’ve left him in the woods.
I started to back out of the room when he lifted a hand and crooked his finger at me.
Too relieved to be obstinate, I walked to the mini huddle and was immediately plastered against Rhys’s side.
His sharp gaze scanned my face, and his brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I was just coming in for water.”
He handed me the full cup from the counter. “Sorry, hellcat. Was filling Nox in.”
The bearded man—who I assumed was Nox—grinned as he looked between us before sticking his hand out to me. “Nice to finally meet ya, Luna. Would’ve done it sooner, but we just got back to the States this afternoon. My wife sends her regrets. Or she would’ve if she’d been awake enough to. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon.”
I was so distracted by his accent—Scottish or Irish maybe—that I almost missed what he’d said.
Luna.
All that tension that’d left me returned tenfold.
With my body so tight to his, Rhys felt it. “He’s good, hellcat. Don’t worry.”
Nox offered an apologetic smile. “Lo. Sorry. Won’t happen again. Blame the jetlag.”
“How…?” I asked.
“I’m in the private sector.”
That didn’t explain anything or make me feel reassured. A deep-dive Google search that went a hundred pages wouldn’t have revealed my name. I wasn’t, and had never been, mentioned in the news, crime blotters, or on the department website. I’d never wanted that risk or to limit my opportunities within the force.Even when I was shot, I’d gotten treated as a Jane Doe because through blinding pain, my sole focus had still been my career.
Like he knew where my thoughts were, he tacked on, “You were a hard one to get any info on. Had to dig deep for just the name. No one else is finding shit.”
“Why did you look?”
“To check out who would be around.”
That was valid.
“Would’ve just met ya instead,” he continued, “but like I said, I was over in Scotland with my wife. Not to mention, I didn’t hear shit about what happened till Glitch looped me in when he admitted defeat.”
“Fuck you,” Glitch said. “It’s not defeat. It’s extra eyes and ears.”
“It’s calling in the best of the best, and you know it, ya muppet.”
“Fine, you’re right,” Glitch admitted with faux innocence. “So you’ll have to tell Dair we need his help.”
Nox gave him the finger.
