“No.”
“You’re lying again.” She was going to cry. She was losing him. And it worse than sucked.
“Suz, just let it go. Please. For me.”
“Someone put a hit on you, and you’re being stalked! I can’t let this go! If they find you. If they…” She swallowed. “If they kill you…”
“They won’t. And it’s not the same person stalking me that put the hit on me. Just… just trust me on this. Please, baby.”
She gave him what she knew was a desperate, panicked smile. “I can’t risk it, Stunner. Please, just tell me and we’ll fix it. Whatever it is. We’ll fix it together.”
Just her luck. He pulled onto the driveway leading to the clubhouse and fucking floored it. He was going to shut off this conversation any way he could. Since she wouldn’t stop, he was forcing the issue.
They skidded to a stop, and Stunner shoved the door open. He stalked around to her side and helped her out. “Listen to me, Suzie.” He glanced around, noting where everyone was. The whole of Bones were on alert, but gave Stunner and Suzie the seconds they needed. “This is all part of my past. All of it. Well, not the assassin part. That’s all the Salisberrys. But this person watching me. It’s all in the past. I swear, it won’t touch you, but you’ve got to just let it go.”
She shook her head. “If you’re in danger from someone and I can stop it, you know I’m going to.”
“I’m begging you, Suz. Let. This. Go.”
Instead of waiting for an agreement, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her fiercely. She could have been imagining things, but she thought she felt his body trembling. Could have been her own, though. Because tears leaked from her eyes, and she was silently sobbing. He held her a few more moments, then turned, pulling her with him by the hand, and headed inside the clubhouse.
After leaving Suzie in Somerset, Stunner spoke with Cain for a few minutes, then got in the truck and left. Alone. No goodbyes, and he hadn’t texted her. Which left her right back where they fucking started. If she hadn’t been so worried and frustrated, she’d have cried her heart out. Instead, she turned her anger and fear into finding Stunner’s shadow. Which meant she basically locked herself in her bedroom for the next two days.
She was just about to crash when she got the mother of all leads. Intellectually, she knew it was too easy. But she followed it like a bat out of hell. As fast as her fingers could fly across the keyboard, she tailed the son of a bitch. Later, she’d realize he’d let her find him, but in her sleep-deprived mind she’d spent the better part of three days hunting, and all that work had finally paid off.
When she finally put a name to the faceless stalker, it sent chills through her body and dread in her heart.
El Diablo…
Chapter Seven
The second Stunner pulled into the Bones compound, he knew he was caught. The place was locked down tight. They let him in, but no one welcomed him or even talked to him. Not even Shadow. The only thing anyone told him was that Cain wanted to see him. Great. After more than forty-eight hours on the road with no sleep, the last thing he needed was the confrontation he knew was coming. The thing he hated most about it was that Suzie had been the one to find him out. Or, at least, she’d been the one to find the path the others needed to find him out.
He’d gone back to Cambridge to get their things, including his bike. He’d cleaned everything out and stowed it in the trailer. Hauling that much on the frantic dash home would have used gas and sacrificed speed they couldn’t afford. Now, he was bone tired. Weary in body, heart, and soul.
The second he stepped through the door, several Bones members behind him to guard against a retreat, he scanned the room for Suzie. The second their gazes collided she gave a cry and ran to him. Bohannon intercepted her, pulling her into his arms and whispering something in her ear. She shook her head, her gaze never leaving Stunner’s. Bohannon gripped her chin and said something to her Stunner couldn’t make out. He wasn’t harsh with her, but he was firm, obviously impressing the importance of her following his instruction. Before she could defy him, Angel reached her, pulling the young woman into her arms, pulling her away from Stunner.
Never in his life had he felt more defeated. Not when he’d killed for the first time. Not when he’d left for Argentina at thirteen. Always, no matter what life threw at him, Stunner had put his shoulders back and pressed on. No retreat. No surrender. Now, he felt like he was crumbling under the weight of guilt and shame and loss. And it was his own damn fault.
“Come on, honey,” Angel said. “This is club business. We need to leave.”
“No! Mom, I’m not leaving.”
“Baby, we have to.”
“I said no! I’m not leaving Stunner. If this has to do with him, it has to do with me. We’re a team.” She turned to fix her gaze on Stunner’s. He could see her lower lip trembling, like she knew something bad was coming, but refused to let him face it alone. Even if her parents wouldn’t let her be at his side, she was standing solidly with him. That gave him hope
