Page 4 of Tank's Temptation

His expression doesn’t change. “I’ll be by the door.”

“Guarding me.”

“Yes.”

At least he doesn’t insult me by calling it protection.

I cross to the window. Reinforced screen, narrow opening, two stories above concrete. When I turn back, Tank has removed a handgun from beneath his cut and locked it inside the metal box along with a knife. He keeps the key in his pocket and sits in the chair beside the only exit.

I catalog the room because observation is the only weapon he hasn’t taken from me. The door opens inward, its hinges exposed on this side but too solid to pull without tools. The lamp has a heavy ceramic base. The bathroom window might be wide enough if the screen gives, though the drop would probably break an ankle. Tank follows my inspection without turning his head, as if he already knows every route I’m measuring and how quickly he could close each one.

I lower myself onto the edge of the bed without taking my eyes off him. “You need to understand something. If Harlan reaches me, I’m dead.”

Tank holds my gaze for a long moment, all stern face, tattooed arms, and frightening certainty.

“Harlan isn’t coming through that door tonight, whatever your story might be.”

He reaches back and turns the lock. The click is small, almost ordinary. Tank thinks tonight is the danger; he still doesn’t understand that tomorrow is when they plan to give me back.

CHAPTER 2

TANK

I’ve guarded thieves, dealers, runners, and men who would bite through their own tongues before giving up a name. Tessa Ward behaves like none of them.

Nothing about her looks like a woman waiting to collect blackmail money. She looks like somebody trying not to show how scared she is.

I sit in the chair with my boots planted between her and the exit, pretending I don’t notice the tear along the thigh of her jeans or the dark marks around her wrist. Harlan said she and Daniel Morrow copied financial records, then tried to squeeze him for cash. Morrow disappeared with part of the material, and Tessa ran with the rest.

Kane accepted the job after Harlan sent photographs of her vehicle outside the Rivermark, a message demanding payment, and enough old history to make the story fit. Find her, recover the files, and hold her until Harlan arrived. No harm and no handover before the property was secured. The job is just to hold her until he can deal with her.

Kane gave the order, so I brought her in. My loyalty is to him and Kingdom Come MC. It’s never been to Clay Harlan.

Tessa shifts on the mattress, and my attention drops before I can stop it. She is still wearing the same damp shirt from the hotel, pale fabric streaked with dirt and torn near the hem. When I carried her from the motel room, my hand spanned most of her hip. On the bike, her arms tightened around my waist every time I leaned into a curve.

I’ve had women wrap themselves around me before. None of them made it hard to think.

She catches me looking. “Are you waiting for me to confess, or is silent intimidation the full service?”

“I’m waiting for Cash to verify Harlan’s story.”

“And while you wait, I stay locked in here.”

“Yes.” Her mouth tightens, but she doesn’t waste breath asking again. That bothers me more than pleading would. Tessa hears the answer, stores it, and starts looking for another route.

A knock sounds against the door and she goes rigid.

I unlock it and open far enough to take a paper bag and two bottles of water from Cash without giving her space to pass me, not that she’d have a chance of getting out of here if she tried. He stays in the hall, voice low. “Harlan’s message chain looks clean on first pass.”

“Keep digging.”

Cash glances over my shoulder at Tessa, then at the bruise on her wrist. “Kane wants Harlan kept outside the gates when he arrives. Nobody gets her alone until Kane is sure.”

“He won’t.”

Cash leaves. I lock the door again, open the bag, and set it on the dresser within Tessa’s reach. Two wrapped sandwiches, chips, and apples.

She examines the wrappers, then checks the plastic ring beneath one bottle cap. “You think I’m dangerous enough to imprison, but you trust me with an apple.”