“Wow.” I can’t keep the awe out of my voice. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that.”
His smirk is entirely too confident, taking me back to simpler times. “Join the force.”
And with that, I’m smacked with a dose of reality. “Absolutely not.”
Jax looks me over as if I could’ve been harmed in the one-sided scuffle. “I was lying, by the way.”
“About what?”
“People can change. You were always meant for more than a life of crime. I’m glad you found it.”
My nose stings and I drop my gaze. “That almost means something.”
“Get outta here before I haul you in.” He whips out two pairs of cuffs from his jacket pocket.
“Yeah, it’s about that time. This was… enlightening.” Not to mention cathartic. An old, festering wound now has the chance to heal. “See ya around?”
Jax gives me a stern look. “Not if you stay out of trouble.”
“Unlikely,” I laugh.
“Take care of your new family, Franks. It’s a good look for you.”
Heat burns my eyes in an embarrassing display of emotion. I turn away before he can catch me blubbering. My hurried stride doesn’t drown out Jax’s call for backup. A bitter huff scraps from me. That piece of traitor trash was a cop all along.
Winter greets me with a burst of cold wind as I step outside. I inhale the fresh air, allowing my eyes to slide shut for a moment. The crunch of furious footsteps snaps my gaze open. My attention locks on Byron’s full-speed approach.
“Hey, boyfriend,” I croon. “Did you get my bat signal?”
“Cut the shit, menace,” he growls.
The clench of his chiseled, bearded jaw is visible beneath the darkening sky. It’s almost tempting enough for me sprawl on the ground in offering. But then I remember Jax’s cover is at risk of being blown.
I block the entrance with a starfish formation. “You can’t go in there.”
Byron presses himself flush against me. “Why not?”
“It’s… dangerous.”
That gives him pause. “Are you hurt?”
I bite my inner cheek. “No.”
“Did you hurt someone?”
My scoff is affronted. “No.”
“Gotta give me answers,” he rumbles low. “Or I’ll bust that door down and get them myself.”
“It’s been taken care of,” I evade.
Which isn’t good enough for him. “Dennis told me that two of the bikers escaped. Are they in there?”
The truth expands in my chest, but I force it down. “I’d rather not say.”
The demand for destruction steels his towering stance into a dominating force. “Move.”
As a last-ditch effort, I launch myself at him. I’m whisked into his arms as if this ploy was choreographed. Byron’s palms cradle my ass while I cinch my legs around his waist. In a downward swoop, I fuse my mouth to his and proceed to kiss the suspicion out of him.