Page 14 of Mile High Heist

Preacher had kept us separated for a reason. Just like he reunited us for a reason. Knowing him, there was another angle I couldn’t see. Another agenda. And Olivia was involved in it, just like she’d been in the past.

Burn me once.

I was done playing nice. It was time to get some answers. I stalked forward, pinning her body hard against the sink. I caged her in, overwhelmed her. Her hands slapped against my chest.

“You had a chance to walk away,” I said. “We had a deal. You got what you wanted. You were supposed to forget about me. You weren’t supposed to get involved again.”

“It wasn’t that simple. Preacher—”

That was her first mistake. My hand came up, catching her jaw. Her throat bobbed, the fire flickering in her eyes but not igniting. “Fuck that godfucking prick,” I growled. “Don’t lie to me, princess. Why are you really here? Why now? Why this job?”

“I don’t know.”

My fingers tightened on her face. She winced. “I said don’t lie.”

“I’m not!” She finally snapped. “Preacher asked me to help you. I couldn’t say no, not when he’s protecting Molly.”

Mentioning her sister was her second mistake. Anger burned in my chest. Molly had shot Madoc on the island. She’d hurt him. As much as Madoc pretended to be infallible, I saw the way it changed him. He’d hidden most of his recovery, but he couldn’t hide the scar.

“I can’t lose her again, Jax,” Olivia whispered. “Molly knows too much. The people who took her…Preacher is keeping her safe. I can’t walk away now.”

I scanned her face, wishing I had Madoc’s ability to see through masks. She’d fooled me once before. My gut told me she was lying again.

There was more to the story. Preacher never did anything randomly.

“I’ll say this once,” I warned her, tapping her chin. “You risk my crew, you lie to me again, I’ll kill you.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“I mean it this time.”

I did. She saw it in my eyes, the subtle tremor in my fingers. My violence was a palpable thing. It couldn’t be contained for long.

“You don’t get to do this again,” she said, her nails biting into my chest. “You don’t get to push me around. I’m not one of your Crows.”

“No. Just a fucking problem.”

She held my eye, hostile and sharp. The heat simmered between us. I hated her. She hated me. We didn’t trust each other.

My hand slid around her jaw, up her neck, until I got a solid grip on her ponytail. Her lashes fluttered. “Say it, princess.”

“S-Say what?” She stammered.

“Say you hate me. Tell me how much I hurt you. Wish me fucking dead.”

Her mouth opened, then shut. Those grey-blue eyes finally ignited. “I hate you, Jax.”

“Good.” With that, I smashed my mouth against hers. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle. It was harsh and punishing, and I starved for it.

“More,” I snarled into her mouth.

She made a helpless, keening noise that went straight to my dick. When she pulled back, I chased her, keeping my grip on her hair tight. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Her nails raked across my chest.

“I hate the way you look in a suit,” she said, breathlessly. “I hate that you always smell like smoke.”

I rubbed myself all over her for good measure.

“I hate your eyes,” she said.