“Okay,” I say instead. “Just... be careful. Whatever you’re doing.”
“Always am, babe.”
He kisses me one more time, quick and sweet, before walking back to where his bike is parked. I watch him go, admiring the way his jeans hug his ass and the way his cut stretches across his broad shoulders.
But as I get back in my SUV, that nagging feeling returns. The sense that something isn’t right, that there are pieces of this puzzle I’m missing.
I shake my head and start the engine. I’m probably just overthinking everything. Devil loves me,
I know that much.
And sometimes, in this world, love has to be enough.
Even when it feels like it’s all built on a foundation that seems to shift out from under our feet.
Chapter 9
Devil
"Talked to Ransom today. He's aware his kid applied to work at the garage," Dime says as we sit in a crop of trees, observing the back door of Tommy's convenience store. "He's cool with Keegan working there as long as it's just garage business."
"He's a teenager," I scoff. "What the fuck does he think a motorcycle club is going to have a teenager doing?"
"More than likely, he thinks it's going to be more suspect if we immediately write him off as not being even a candidate. We can use some younger people around, too. If we have him there, maybe we can entice the next generation."
He looks over at me, his eyebrows raised. "You're thinking of the next generation? Don't forget that this is undercover for you. It's not what the rest of your life is going to look like." His voice trails off. "Are you in too deep?"
"No," I argue, shaking my head. "But if I'm not pretending to be looking to the future, then I'm going to be putting a bullseye on my back, aren't I?" From the moment he walked into Chief Harrison's office and we were introduced to each other, he's been my one confidant, a friend I wasn't sure I could have. We've understood each other, and that's been so important. There have been times when, if I hadn't had him, I'd have lost my mind.
"You've got a point, but what I want more than anything is for you to understand this will come to an end. It's hard to think about it because we're so entrenched, but at some point, this ends."
"Does it?" I question, daring him to say the words I've been thinking. "We're in so deep now, how do we pull out?"
"Chief Harrison makes sure we get out."
"To what end?" I clench my teeth. "So many are going to be hurt by our actions, not limited to us."
He runs a hand through hair that ends just below his ears. "Look, I get it. There are parts of what we're doing that I like, that I find myself agreeing with, but we still took an oath to uphold law, Officer David."
I hate when he fucking calls me that. It's like over the past few years, I've become Devil. There are times when I have to think about what my first name is. Chief Harrison only calls me Officer David, and it's the same with Dime when he wants to make a point. "I get it. I have some self-reflection and soul-searching to do. I'll make sure I'm on the right side when it counts."
"You make sure you do that, and I'll make sure I have your back."
We're quiet for a few minutes while he gets his camera equipment ready. I don't think he's going to say anything else, but then his voice breaks the silence.
"I have a date tomorrow night."
"Do you?" I raise my eyebrows. "Is it with my wife's bestie?"
He grins, the tugging at the corner of his lips. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. You gonna run home and tell your wife about it?"
I snort, throwing my head back with a laugh. "I'm sure she already knows. Those two talk every day, all day. What made you finally ask her? You've been adamant about not starting anything while we've been undercover, and you've fought it for years with her. What changed?"
He sighs, picking up his camera and testing the distance. "We can't be expected to let our lives die because we're undercover. The fact that you've gotten married during this whole situation is a testament to that. I've put off exposing myself to anything that could be used against me, or painful, because I believed in the beginning we'd only be doing this for a short amount of time. But now?" He shrugs, seeming to be at a loss for words. "I'm sick of being alone. There's only so many times I can sleep with a hangar-on, that I can have a one-night stand, and keep my heart out of it."
"It's a lonely life," I agree.
"As much as I've given you shit today about what you've built with Dani, I want that. I'm not getting any younger, and it doesn't matter how long or short this undercover operation is. I can't continue to put my life on hold. So I asked Allie out on a date, and she said yes."
