The heat of his chest is better than any blanket. “I’m fine, really. I’m not even cold. I don’t know why I’m shaking.”
“It’s the adrenaline.” He rubs my arms again before jumping up and walking into the bathroom.
When he returns, he’s carrying a wet cloth, and the shower is running.
“You don’t have to do that,” I assure him. “I promise I’ll be okay.”
“Let me take care of you.” He sits on the bed, resting his hand over mine as I start to pull away. “You’re always taking care of everyone else. Let me return the favor, Emery. I want to.”
This time, when he reaches for my legs and runs the warm cloth over the inside of my thighs, slowly cleaning me, I don’t pull back. With anyone else, I might be embarrassed by what’s happening. But he does it withsuch gentleness. With complete care. Like it’s the most important part of the evening.
“Here.” He hands me my water glass from the nightstand. “Drink this, and then we’ll take a shower.”
I open my mouth to argue again, but he lifts an eyebrow in a silent warning to let him do this. So I snap my mouth shut, taking the water and downing a large sip. When I hand it back to him, he picks me up off the bed, carrying me into the bathroom.
Hayes takes care of me.
He’s the first person in my life to bother to.
32
Soul
It’s never a goodsign when things are this quiet, and I know I’m not the only one thinking it as we filter into church. It’s been weeks since Zane took Emery and Charlie, and he’s still yet to make a move.
Steel sits at the head of the table to my right, tapping his fingers on the armrest as he glances at Ghost. “Has there been any movement?”
Ghost has been monitoring the feeds around the warehouse we raided last week, keeping an eye out for Eli.
“Nothing.” He drags a tattooed hand through his dark hair. “Eli hasn’t sent anyone to clean it up, which means they sense the trap. They’d rather let the bodies rot than risk being tied to it.”
“What about the owner of the warehouse?” Steel asks.
“A shell corporation owned by a shell corporation. There’s nothing to tie it to Eli.”
“There goes our backup plan,” I grumble, leaning back in my seat.
We hoped they’d eventually sweep in to take care of the men we left behind so we could seize the opportunity to tip off the Feds and tie them up in legal trouble. Unfortunately, they’re smarter than that.
“We’ll figure out something else,” Steel says.
I shake my head. “It’s too fucking quiet, and you know it. Zane told Emery he’s going to use her to take us down, and he hasn’t so much as contacted her yet to see if she’s gathered anything. What’s he waiting for?”
After Emery admitted everything her uncle said to her in the interrogation room, I brought the information to the club. I expected the guys to take it worse than they did, or to think she might actually betray us. They surprised me by having her back. They were as pissed as I was.
Zane didn’t just threaten the club; he threatenedCharlie.
No one, including me, blamed Emery for considering his offer to keep our daughter safe. I respect the hell out of her for wanting to protect Charlie, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t come down to that. Even if it means I have to take the fall in her place.
Steel’s eyes narrow on me as if he reads what I’m thinking. “We’re going to figure this out.”
“Then let’s do it already.”
Legacy leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I’ve been digging into all of Zane’s ancillary bank accounts, and I think I found something.”
“A way to drain his assets so he can’t buy his way out of this?”
“Not quite. Something different, and you’re not going to like it.” Legacy and Ghost share a look that has a knot forming in my stomach. “I’ve been tracing every deposit back to the source, and as you know, he shifts his funds around too much to pinpoint exactly where it’s all coming from. All we know is that everything from his clubs goes overseas, while his casino money stays stateside. It’s all filtered through so many corporations; there’s no cutting him off.”
