Page 41 of Reaper & the Lioness
“You’re addictive, my sweet Lioness. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I first laid eyes on your headshot. And now that I have you here in my bed, I don’t know that I’ll be able to let you go.”
She grinned. “If being your captive involves sex like that every day, I’ll happily stay.”
Then, confusion crossed her face. Her eyes narrowed as she sat up. She tilted her head. “Wait. What do you mean by my headshot?”
Shit. In my post-fuck haze, where the blood still hadn’t returned to my brain, I’d said too much. But at this point, I was a little glad. I had grown tired of talking around what I’d learned about her.
“Do you remember how I said I knew everything about you?” I sat up to face her. “Before the club works with anyone, Linc does some digging.”
“Like a background check?”
I ran a calloused finger across her jaw, noting the growing tension in her shoulders.
“Yes. Just with a bit of light hacking to get the information we won’t find in your standard background check.”
A stoic mask slipped across her expression, and the air shifted around us. I recognized the rare panic in her eyes.
“How much do you know?”
“I know you are a fearless, fierce survivor. A woman who takes no shit. Allows no harm. And holds predators accountable for their actions—even when others don’t. Especially when the authorities won’t.”
I leveled my gaze at her, hoping to show admiration for all she’d done. I sensed her fear and trepidation as she processed my words.
She stood and pulled my T-shirt over her naked body. “That doesn’t answer my question,” she said as she began pacing the room. “What exactly do you know?”
I sighed and rubbed my hand on the back of my neck. This wasn’t going well. I stood and walked to her, wrapping my arms around her trembling shoulders.
“Come on. Let me make you a drink, and I’ll tell you what I know. And you can fill in whatever blanks you’re comfortable with. Or you can choose not to tell me anything. You don’t have to confirm or deny anything you don’t want to.”
Eva released a shaky breath, and I kissed her forehead before slipping on a pair of gray sweatpants.
She followed me into the living room and lifted Hawk into her lap on the couch.
I moved to my small liquor bar and poured a generous amount of expensive bourbon into two crystal glasses. I sat beside her and handed her the glass. She took a long sip before leveling a gaze at me.
“What do you know? What did you find out about me?”
I brushed my fingers against her arm, needing to find some way to comfort her.
“I’ve read your high school records. I know about the boy you beat up as a freshman and why you were suspended your sophomore year. And Linc got hold of your sealed record.”
Her jaw dropped. “How?”
I shrugged. “He’s really good at what he does. We were all impressed. And it sounded like that pastor deserved it.”
She only nodded as she processed the news.
“I also know a bit about the situation in college. With the frat president.”
Eva gasped in disbelief. “There shouldn’t even be a record of that. I wasn’t arrested.”
I smirked. “The cops sought you out that night. It was in their notes that you had a solid alibi. What you might not know is the type of records your college kept. Unofficial but still on their servers. The frat tried to have you expelled, but there wasn’t enough evidence.”
Eva raised her brows. “I didn’t even know that.”
“The last thing we found is … circumstantial at best.” I paused, taking another sip. “You had a stalker about three years ago. And after several calls to the police, he was killed. But you had an alibi, and your name was only referenced in the police report as a person of interest because of the restraining order.”
Eva’s eyes widened. Shock and vulnerability flickered across her face, and she swallowed hard. “What are you saying?”
