Day shuffles as he turns to look at me. “In what manner?”
I lick my lips. “When I worked in the city. I had a client, who to save himself turned on a man called Delaney.”
“What’s this got to do with Jono.”
“Delaney’s the bastard behind Jo-Leigh’s death and the reason I left New Orleans. For the last five years he’s been in Angola. Now he’s out on parole.” I take a swallow of the whisky. “I don’t know if they didn’t know where I was. Or they’ve waited until now. But Jono must have told them where I am.”
Day swings his beer bottle between his fingers. “Who is this Delaney?”
“He runs a racketeering organization. The thing is, he went down for Tax evasion and nothing more. His sentence was ten years, and he’s just been let out on early parole.” The whisky numbs my brain as I battle with my pain. I glance directly at Mia. “They raped Jo-Leigh. Then murdered her.” I turn to Day. “They never got the bastards who did it. Delaney had the perfect alibi. He was in prison.”
“You never thought he’d come looking for you,” said Leon.
I glance over to Leon and lick my lips. “They took the one thing away from me who meant anything. I packed my bags and ran from New Orleans the day Delaney went down and came back here.” I smile. It’s cold and doesn’t reach my eyes. “As a pack, I have a stronger chance of survival to that if I was on my own.”
Day strolls over to me. His lips straight and the blue of his eyes as dark as the midnight sky. “Did you know this when you hooked up with Mia.” Day glances at Mia then turns back to me. “The sheriff’s sister. That Delaney and his men would come looking for you.”
“Shit. Day. I didn’t think Jono was that vindictive or deranged he would put his own sister in such danger. He knows what Delaney is capable of.” I run my hand through my hair. “I expected trouble from Jono. I know we can handle him.”
Day is close. I can smell his aftershave and the beer on his breath. “You should have mention this sooner, Alex. I wouldn’t have gone along with this harebrained idea of yours to use Mia against Jono without knowing all the facts and the danger my club is in.” He turns from me. “Leon. You and Kit need to go to New Orleans. Find out what Delaney and his men are up to.” Day paces and my gaze shifts to Mia. I need to get her on her own and talk to her. “Oyster. You and TJ need to recall as many men as you can back to Noir Valley. Bastian, find somewhere where we can set up camp away from Demon’s Lair. I want business to carry on as normal.” Day glances over to Mia and shakes his head, then his gaze is back on me. “She had better be worth it. You don’t let her out of your sight. Because I don’t want Hank on my fucking back twenty-four/seven when he finds out about this escapade.” Day glances at his watch. “I’m hitting the sack. I suggest you all do the same. Because until this mess with Delaney is dealt with, life is going to be crap.”
I watch as the room empties. My head buzzing from the alcohol I have drunk and as I watch Mia, my heart dips. Shit. I have only just got her on Demon’s Lair. I did think we would have sometime before the shit hit the fan. “Can I get you a beer?”
Mia shrugs as she strolls further into the room. My cock is raging. Blood thunders through my body. Her tee-shirt is spread tight across her tits. Her face no longer has the look of someone just wakening. The sleep blush is gone. The hazel of her eyes blaze and I know it has nothing to do with passion. But my body doesn’t care. I need to make some good memories before life goes to shit, and I know it will. I can count on one hand the number of times Mia and I have had sex, and I want to remember more than a couple of one-night stands with her. She’s close. I can smell her. She must have showered before she went to bed. Her fingers trail along my arm and I shiver.
“I’d like a beer, Alex.” Her gaze burns into me. She is close and I yearn to wrap my arms around her. To take away the pain I see her battling with. When I pass her the beer, she steps away and strolls over to the window facing the river, and I watch her reflection in the glass.
A gulp of air knots in my throat as I watch the way she drinks from the bottle. Her head slightly arched back. Her neck constricts and relaxes as the cool liquid slides down her throat. My cock throbs as it clamors to replace the bottle. “Let’s return to the cabin.”
Mia shakes her head. She’s watching me through the glass. “Why did you invite me on to Demon’s Lair?”
“Because you’re an itch I need to scratch.”
Her hollow laughter as she turns to face me, grates along my spine. “It has nothing to do with Jono.”
Half a truth is better than a full lie. “I knew Jono wouldn’t be happy if you and I hooked up.”
“You knew Jono wouldn’t be happy–But you still went ahead with it.”
“Mia.”
“I knew about Delaney.”
My heat throbs, “what.”
“I’m a fucking journalist.
