Page 29 of Hunter's Game
“Because I don’t know who I can trust in the agency anymore.” Eden met his eyes. “Romano’s got people everywhere. One wrong move and anyevidence we find disappears—along with anyone trying to expose him.”
“So instead you want to throw in with outlaws?” Darkness’s laugh held no humor. “That’s rich, coming from a fed.”
“Ex-fed,” she corrected again. “And yes. Because whatever else the Blind Jacks might be, at least you can’t be bought. Romano’s power comes from corruption, from people choosing money over morals. But you?” She gestured around the clubhouse. “You built this on loyalty. On brotherhood. That’s something he can’t touch.”
Darkness was silent for a long moment. Then he looked at Hunter. “You trust her?”
“With my life.” Hunter’s response was immediate, and Eden felt something warm unfurl in her chest. “She could have turned us all in tonight. Instead, she risked everything to help us take down the Devil’s Mark.”
“And the fact that you’re sleeping with her has nothing to do with your judgment?”
Eden felt heat rise in her cheeks, but Hunter didn’t flinch. “My judgment’s fine. And she’s right—Romano needs to be stopped. The question is, are we going to help her do it, or are we going to let him keep thinking he’s untouchable?”
Another loaded silence. After exchanging looks with King, Darkness sighed heavily. “What’s your play?”
Eden pulled up another file. “The museum heist is key. If we can catch him in the act, withirrefutable proof of his involvement, not even his political connections can save him.”
“You want to let the heist happen?” Hunter’s surprise was evident.
“I want to be waiting when it does.” Eden’s smile held no warmth. “With enough evidence to bury him and everyone he’s bought.”
“It’s risky.” King’s voice was thoughtful. “If anything goes wrong...”
“Then we’re all dead anyway.” Eden shrugged. “Romano won’t let any of us live, not after tonight. We either end him, or he ends us. Simple as that.”
Darkness studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Alright. But we do this my way. No more lone wolf bullshit, no more hidden agendas. You work with us, you’re one of us. Clear?”
“Crystal.” Eden met his gaze steadily. “Though you should know, I don’t wear leather well.”
To her surprise, Darkness actually cracked a smile. “Get her cleaned up,” he told Hunter. “We’ve got work to do.”
As King and Darkness put their heads together and started strategizing, Hunter led her out of the office, his hand warm on her lower back. Neither spoke until they reached his private rooms in the compound.
“You okay?” he asked finally, closing the door behind them.
Eden started to nod, then stopped. “No. Not really. My father’s dead, my career’s over, and I’mplotting a major crime with a motorcycle club. Pretty sure this isn’t how they told me undercover work would go at Quantico.”
He pulled her to him, one hand tangling in her hair. Eden was acutely aware of every point of contact between them—his calloused hand against her scalp, the solid wall of his chest against her cheek, the steady heartbeat that contradicted the barely leashed tension in his muscles. His organic, earthy scent was so uniquely him, and it made her feel grounded for the first time in hours. In a rare moment of vulnerability, she finally let herself shake apart. The adrenaline crash hit hard, bringing with it all the emotions she’d been holding back.
“You’re alive.” His voice rumbled under her ear. “That’s what matters. Everything else, we’ll figure out.”
“We?” She pulled back enough to meet his eyes. “That’s a dangerous word.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” his voice roughened as he traced her jaw, “I like dangerous.”
She shouldn’t. Everything was too raw, too complicated. But when he kissed her, she forgot all the reasons this was a bad idea. His mouth was hot and demanding against hers, asking for everything she shouldn’t give.
She gave it anyway.
Hands roaming and mouths tongues dancing, they pulled and tugged at each other’s clothing until they stood before each other, naked as the day they were born, and without missing a beat, theyfell into bed together and got lost for the next few hours in a mess of limbs and sweat and passion more intense than either had experience before.
Later, much later, they lay tangled in his sheets, her head on his chest while he traced patterns on her bare shoulder. The compound had settled into pre-dawn quiet around them, but Eden’s mind was still racing.
“Romano will know we’re coming,” she murmured.
“Let him.” Hunter’s voice rumbled into her hair. “He’s never dealt with anything like us before.”
Eden smiled against his skin, feeling truly warm for the first time since her father’s death. “Us. Another dangerous word.”
