Kitt

“I still say a bullet through the head is a safer bet.”

Dex McLain was the kind of guy who probably scared the hell out of most people. I wasn’t most people. And I had Switch at my back. It was Paulie I was worried about. He was currently eating this shit up.

Switch kept a steady hand on my shoulder. I shot Paulie a look. He was fanboying out at the moment, watching Dex pace the room. I’ll admit. He looked every inch the stereotypical bad boy with his leather cut creaking and the chain on his belt swaying as he made another turn.

“Sure,” Paulie said, enjoying every second of the attention. His chair was pulled up to the table in Sly’s kitchen. It was too hard to maneuver his chair down to the basement, so here we were. Paulie had two laptops open. He’d walked the men through his plan step by step. Every so often, I had to tap his arm to remind him to hold back the snark. These men might not be computer geniuses like he was, but they understood plenty.

“You take him out,” Paulie said. “Then somebody else steps in after a while. It might even be good for a few years, but then what?”

“Go through it again,” Sly said. He sat at the head of the table, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. He’d made the same gesture back at the guesthouse when I made him the counteroffer. He was willing to set me up. Get me out of town. He thought he was doing right by me. I could understand that. But he didn’t know my heart. I felt like it was beating outside my body now in the form of the leather-clad wall of muscle behind me. Switch was family. Which meant Sly’s club was now too.

“It’s easy,” Paulie said. “The cartel’s problem is cash flow. It was hard to pick up the pattern at first. But if you know what you’re looking for, like I do, it’s no problem. They’re using the Hellz Rebels to launder a fat lot of dough through three separate channels and it’s moving through offshore accounts.”

“You’re talking about moving that money out,” Big John asked. “You can do that?”

“Maybe,” Paulie said. “But ... I don’t think I can easily do it without leaving a trail. Which would seem like the problem, unless you’re using it the right way.”

“English,” Dex said.

“All right,” Paulie answered. “If the cartel is propping up the Rebels, seems to me the best way to solve your problem is to have the snake eat its tail. These guys aren’t stupid. I know a few people who monitor shit for the cartel.”

“They have their own hackers,” I said.

“Right,” Paulie said. “If you want to get simplistic about it.” I glared at him. He cleared his throat.

“Anyway,” Paulie continued. “It wouldn’t take a whole lot to trip their radar. If the cartel pulls out and leaves the Rebels to twist in the wind, your problem is solved.”

“So how do we do that?” Angel asked.

“You make the cartel think the Rebels are selling them out,” Switch said. He squeezed my shoulder. Heat poured through me. His strong, solid presence fed my heart.

“Exactly,” Paulie said. “I told you. The cartel is monitoring shit constantly. They would never get in bed with that club without making sure they knew who they were dealing with. You’d be surprised how often I get approached by people like that. I mean, it’s not overt. It comes to me through channels.”

Sly put a hand up. “Yeah. And I’m thinking the less I know about that, the better.”

“You’re not wrong,” Paulie said, smiling.

“But why?” Dex asked. “Why should we trust you? And why the hell would you even bother to help us?”

Paulie looked over at me. My heart filled even more. “Because Kitt’s family,” he said. “And because you’re going to pay me.”

“I don’t know,” Dex said. “Seems like too many things could go wrong.”

“More things could go wrong the old-fashioned way,” Switch said. “Look. I don’t have to tell you. I want Manny Torre to pay for what he’s done. Probably more than the rest of you. I’ve got more at stake.”

He squeezed my hand. I wanted to kiss him. I’d wanted to jump him since the second he walked back into Sly’s house. Scarlett and the others assured me that no news was good news, but until I saw Switch with my own eyes, I couldn’t breathe.

“It’s worth a shot,” Charlie Brogan said. He sat on the other side of Sly, the club’s elder, gruffy statesman. “I’m for a solution that ends this threat from the cartel on a more permanent basis.”

“This will give you that,” Paulie said.

“Are you sure you can do it?” I said. When I got the idea to call him, I never expected him to come up with such an intricate plan so quickly. But Paulie was Paulie. It turned out he loved the attention from the club. I’d never seen him so animated. His cheeks flushed with color. He was excited. I just hoped I hadn’t created a monster. It was hard not to love him all the more for his enthusiasm.

“I can do it,” he said. “It’s not even hard.”

“What’s the downside?” Gunn asked. “What’s the risk?”

“To you?” Paulie answered. “Virtually nothing. And if I’m right ... if things are as close to coming to a head as you all think they are ... once there’s movement on these accounts, I predict the cartel will act quicker than you think. There’s too much money at stake for them. I can make it so the Rebels catch heat from two directions. More.”

“Do it,” Sly said. “Do it today.”

Dex let out a sigh. “But if it doesn’t work …”

“If it doesn’t work ... we have another plan,” Sly said. The two of them seemed to connect on a telepathic level. It made my blood run cold. “And now it’s time to talk about that. No more civilians.”

Switch put a hand on my back. “Can you wait for me back at the hideaway?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said. “Paulie, I’ll take you down there.”

“No,” Sly said. “He stays for now.”

Paulie puffed out his chest. Oh brother. Sly didn’t realize he might just be creating a monster.

“Behave yourself,” I mouthed to Paulie. He shot me a quick wink.

I excused myself from the table. Scarlett, Ava, and Brenna had hung back. At Sly’s orders, they each retreated. Switch’s hand trailed over mind as I stepped away. I made my way out the back door and down the short path to Scarlett’s guest house. She joined me.

“Thank you,” she said, touching my arm. The sun shone bright, turning the ends of her dark hair gold.

“For what?”

“Well, Sly’s got himself a new toy, for one.” There was laughter in her eyes as she gestured over her shoulder toward Paulie. I could still see them all gathered around Scarlett’s kitchen table. Paulie was the center of attention and he was eating it up.

“Yeah, I’m afraid that’s mutual.”

“You surprised me,” Scarlett said. She was smiling.

“How?”

Scarlett put a hand on her stomach in that absent way pregnant women do. Family. I was still trying to get used to the idea that technically, the baby she was about to have was my little half-brother or sister. It mystified me. It was something I had longed for my entire life.

“Them,” she said. “You had every reason to take Sly’s offer and just get the hell out.”

I bristled. “Did you want me to?”

“No! God. No. It’s just ... you didn’t sign up for any of this. You came looking for family. I’m afraid you got more than you bargained for. It’s just ... never mind your face ... if anyone ever had any doubt who your father was ... you just proved it. You’re a fighter.”

I smiled. “You have no idea.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I mean … I’m still not convinced this friend of yours can do what he says. And even if he can ... what if it doesn’t work? But if you’ve managed to come up with a way to keep our men safe, I owe you everything, Kitt. And I’m proud to know you.”

Her words struck my heart and took my breath away. It was hard not to want to erect all those defensive walls I usually did when someone tried to get close to me.

The door opened behind her. Switch slipped out of the house and started up the walk. Scarlett smiled, rubbed my arm, then turned to leave us alone.

Switch tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. He sensed something had happened between Scarlett and me. He took my hand and watched her leave.

“You okay, baby?” he said.

I wiped a tear before it had a chance to fall. “I think so,” I said.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to get you alone all day.”

“Are you sure?” I said. “I mean ... Paulie …”

Switch laughed. “Uh ... he’s fine. He’s got a captive audience with Dex and Sly. They’re making him go over every detail of his plan.”

I followed Switch up the little porch and into the cabin. He was right. I’d been desperate to be alone with him too. As soon as he shut the door, he slid his arms around me and lifted me off my feet.

“God, you’re amazing,” he said.

“I just called a friend,” I said. I kissed him. He set me down and I sat on the bed. He came to me and kicked off his boots.

“Some friend,” he said. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or terrified with what that guy can do.”

I laughed. “Get used to the feeling. And just be glad he’s currently using his powers for good.”

“Yeah.” Switch put a hand to my face.

“I love you,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“Sly told me about the conversation you had. He gave you an out. A chance to get away from all of this. A way to keep you safe.”

My heart stopped. “Did you want me to go?”

He took a breath. His eyes searched my face. The air between us grew charged.

“Baby,” he said. “I know I can’t ever face losing you again. That’s what I know. I said I’d protect you.”

“You have,” I said. “I’m still here.”

He let out a choked sound. His grip tightened on my arms. It was as if he was afraid to let me go or else I’d vanish.

“I just can’t …”

“What?”

“I can’t promise you that things won’t be like this. Because they will. Club life is dangerous. Even though we’re out of the criminal end for now. It’s still what it is. Sly knows that. He wants to keep you safe as much as I do.”

“Stop it,” I said, growing angry. “I’m getting damn sick of you both thinking you know what’s best for me. I had the chance to leave. Sly made it easy. He was offering me enough money and a place to go. I could have disappeared. I don’t want to run anymore, Switch. I’ve been doing it my whole life. For the first time, I feel like there’s finally something worth sticking around for.”

His eyes glistened. “This thing with my old man …”

I kissed him. “You silly, silly man. You think I care at all about who your father is or what he did? Me? Of all people. You’re not your father. And I’m not mine.”

“No,” he said. “It’s just … seeing him again brought it home for me. The people around us, this club. It’s not an easy life. It ate up my mother. It ate up yours. I don’t want that for you.”

“And I’m the one who gets to decide what I want for myself. I made my choice. My eyes are open, Switch.”

He kissed me. It was long and deep and filled with love. But when we finally broke, his face hardened with resolve. “I need you to make me a different promise.”

“Switch …”

“I’m serious. I need you to promise if this shit goes south. If something happens to me. You promise me that you take that money and that place Sly offered you. And you never look back. You stay safe. You survive. I can handle all the rest of this if I know that.”

He broke my heart at the same time he remade it. I realized at that moment that Switch needed me as much as I needed him. And I also understood that the only way through this darkness was together. But I answered him with a kiss. For now, it would have to be enough.