The Biker's Fate Chapter 158

Mack

I STEPPED OUT of the shower and pulled on a pair of sweats after drying off. Nothing was resolved, the club was still in a precarious position, and my woman was still in danger. I swore. The longer I'd have to keep away from Darien, the more she'd grow to hate me. I was in a no-win situation, but I'd protect her, even if it meant I lost her.

I made my way into the great room and noticed movement out the back door. The house was dark, the back yard even darker. Grabbing my gun, I stepped to the wall and watched. As a figure in black sidled up to the sliding glass door, I let out a sigh. I wasn't sure if it was relief or irritation, but I couldn't help but smile. I stowed my gun and waited to see what she'd do. The door slid slowly and quietly open and Darien stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Darien."

She squeaked and spun to face me. "Ohmigod, Mack, you scared me to death!"

"You're the one breaking into my house," I pointed out, both pissed and elated to see her. "I could have shot you. What are you doing here?"

She shifted from foot to foot.

"Darien?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you cheat?"

"No." I crossed my arms.

Darien

I watched Mack watch me. There wasn't a whole lot of light in the house, but I knew him enough to know his body language and I felt tears well in my eyes. He really hadn't cheated.

I let out a frustrated yell and launched myself at him, ready to maim him, but he obviously knew me enough to know my body language, and caught me, gently dragging my hands behind my back and leaning in close. "Not gonna happen, Darien."

"Why not? You deserve it."

"You might be right, but that doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't be here."

"No one saw me. I made sure." I'd worn all black in effort to camouflage myself.

He studied me again. "You gonna be nice?"

"You gonna pull your head out of your butt?" I retorted.

"Are you eating?" He loosened his grip and slid an arm around my waist. "You've lost weight."

"No, I haven't really been eating. I've kind of been a mess." I found myself leaning into him and sliding my hands up his chest.

"I've been a mess too," he admitted, and kissed me.

"Logan." My floodgates opened, and I gripped him desperately as I cried.

Mack slid his hand through my hair, squeezing the back of my neck. "Shhh, baby, it's okay."

"No it's not." I smacked his chest. "You lied to me and I believed you!"

He took a deep breath. "I never lied to you."

I pushed away from him and scowled. "You told me you cheated!"

"I didn't, Darien. You assumed—"

"And you didn't correct me!" I jabbed a finger toward him. "Then you let me believe it!" I tried to force back tears again, but failed miserably. "We have been apart for three days." When he reached for me again, I held a hand up. "No. I'm mad. And I'm hurt. But more than anything, I'm confused. I thought we were a team."

He rubbed his forehead. "I know."

"So, am I wrong?"

"No."

"Really?"

"I can't talk to you about this."

I crossed my arms. "Well, you better tell me something, or I'm walking out that door and we're done."

"Darien." He gave a resigned sigh.

"That's my name," I retorted.

I could tell he was holding back a smile. God, he was gorgeous. "I'm between a rock and a hard place here, Darien. Part of it's attorney, client privilege and part of it's for your protection."

I relaxed a little. I could accept some of that, but it didn't mean I had to like it. "I get the privilege part, Mack. But if no one knows I'm here, then no one will know you told me anything, which means I'm still protected."

"Okay, baby."

"Really?" I smiled. "I thought that would be a harder sell."

"Missed you, honey," he said, and kissed me.

"Missed you too," I whispered.

He released me and moved to secure the door I'd sneaked in through before closing the blinds. After setting the alarm, he grabbed his gun and led me into his bedroom. Closing the door, Mack turned on a lamp and faced me with a chuckle. "Holy shit, Darien. Were you going for the cat burglar look?"

I glanced at my feet and shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to be seen."

"The beanie's a nice touch." He plucked it from my head and dropped it onto the bed.

My hair fell in messy waves around my face and I scooped it back as best I could, finally getting a good look at my man. Gorgeous all shirtless and ripped, but almost as sad as me. "You look tired."

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me between his legs. "Yeah, that happens when you don't sleep."

I cupped his face. "What's really going on?"

"Threats have been made, babe. That's all I can really say."

I slid my fingers into his hair. It was still a little damp. "Against me?"

He sighed.

"Honey, I need something," I pressed.

"Do you remember meeting Nika Kozlov?"

I frowned. "Where?"

"At work."

"Oh. Um, tall, blond Russian guy?"

Mack nodded. "Yes."

"Vaguely. He was a little creepy."

"Yeah. Well, he was checking you out."

I gasped. "What?"

"He had a plan to get to know you, but you quit and since no one told him you were leaving or where you went afterwards, his plans didn't quite work out the way he wanted."

"I've been back half a dozen times to see Mr. Akerman, and I haven't seen him."

"Consider yourself lucky, Dare."

"I don't understand." I frowned. "His grandfather's there."

"I know," he said.

I let out a quiet snort. "Are you saying he moved his grandfather into an assisted living program in order to get close to me?"

"Yeah, baby, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Why?"

"To get to the Dogs through me."

I took his face in my hands and leaned in. "What aren't you telling me?"

He closed his eyes for a second and then took a deep breath. "The woman in the photos that Millie sent you is Katya Kozlov. Nika's sister. We had a thing... not really even a thing. Fucked a couple times, but she wanted to start up again and I said no."

"Okay. So why were you kissing her on a public street?"

"I wasn't kissing her on a public street," he snapped. "She moved in and I immediately pushed her away. Millie must have just gotten a lucky shot."

"Why couldn't you just tell me that?" I complained.

"Babe, there's so much shit goin' down right now, I was caught a little off-guard by your unexpected visit, but I saw a way that maybe I could protect you and went with it."

"You're an idiot."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"