Page 39 of Sniper

I swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat. “Okay. So what’s the plan?”

“There is no plan, honestly. He’s watching, I’m sure of that. But I’m not sure where he’s watching from or who he has watching us.”

“So that’s what today was, putting on a show.”

“No. It was about getting you out of the clubhouse, so you don’t go stir-crazy.”

Right. “Sure.” I turned to him. “Okay so he’s watching, presumably waiting for his opening to what, kidnap me? Kill me?”

Sniper nodded and reached for my hand again. The move wasn’t calculated, it seemed like he needed it, so I didn’t pull away. “My guess is both. He wants to make you his, permanently. Once he finds out we’re married he’ll probably want you dead.”

I sucked in a shaky breath and nodded. “Thank you, for being honest.”

“I’ll never lie to you Katey.”

Unlike me the lying liar who can’t tell the truth to save her life. “Okay. So?”

“So, we go out and spend time together and let the world see just how madly in love we are. He’ll be so fucking furious he’s bound to show his ugly face and if we’re lucky, make a mistake.” His smile was absolutely wicked, and it drew me in, closer and closer until our lips met in the middle.

It was a thorough kiss, hot and sweet at the same time. It was confusing as hell after a day filled with affectionate touches and shared smiles. It felt like a real date dammit and my poor deprived heart wanted to believe the lie.

My head wouldn’t let me.

So for just a few minutes, I let my heart lead the way.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sniper

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” Katey held my hand and looked up at me in the middle of the parking lot. “You know Cal is going to freak out.”

I flashed a confident grin that I didn’t quite feel. “I’m ready. He knows we’re married so what’s the big deal?”

“You know damn well what the big deal is,” she responded. “Being married in name only isn’t exactly the same as holding hands and canoodling in public.” Her blue eyes were wide and a little wild.

“That’s just something he’s gonna have to deal with.” I knew Cal would have an opinion about this, but it was what was needed to keep her safe and draw Ethan out, so he could have one, but it wouldn’t change a damn thing. “Come on, wife.”

Katey nibbled her bottom lip cautiously, her gaze darted around the parking lot the way it always did when we were out in public. She was always waiting for the moment Ethan would strike, and in that moment, I felt even more sympathy for her. I was always aware of my surroundings but that was a lifetime of training plus the military and the MC. For Katey this much anxiety had to be plain fucking exhausting. “Yep,” she sighed. “Let’s do this.” She put her small hand in mine and gave it a tight squeeze.

“Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be fine.” That’s what my mouth said but the moment we walked inside the steakhouse,and I spotted Cal sitting in a booth with a fizzy drink in front of him, uncertainty settled like a pit in my stomach.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,husband.” She snickered and tugged me forward, dropping my hand to greet her brother. “Cal!” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight.

Cal’s eyes slid shut as he hugged his sister and that one moment of relief and vulnerability in my buddy’s eyes solidified my resolve to stay the course. “So glad to see you.” We took a seat inside the booth and placed our orders. There was no tension, but Cal’s gaze shifted to our hands, one of mine resting on top of Katey’s. “What’s going on?”

Katey flipped her hand over underneath mine and curled her fingers with mine. “We’re married.”

Cal spluttered and I smiled to myself. I’d never seen him look so flustered before. “Well yeah, obviously. But this is… not what I expected.”

Katey’s lips twitched and I let her take the lead in teasing her brothers. “You thought I’d be a monstrous bitch to him forever?” She shook her head, not waiting for Cal to respond. “I thought about it, honestly. But then,” she looked at me with a warm smile. “Something shifted.”

When her blue eyes caught mine like that, sparkling and warm, I realized she was right. Somethinghadshifted between us. “Yep,” I agreed tightly.

“So this is real now?” To his credit, Cal didn’t seem horrified at all by the turn of events.

“No,” Katey laughed. “I mean in some ways, yes it is real. But this,” she raised our hands and pressed a kiss to the back ofmy hand. “This over the top PDA is for the asshole who is very likely watching us.”

Cal froze and I gave my head an imperceptible shake to stop him from looking around. “He knows she’s staying at the clubhouse, but he doesn’t know we’re married. Yet. Figured the best way to smoke him out was to let his lackey report back how madly in love we are.”

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