Imperfectly (Dante’s Nine MC #2)(48)
Author: Colleen Masters

“Thank god,” he says, relief flooding his words, “That’s great news, Kelly. Where are they keeping her?”

“In an RV in the Wraith’s Nest,” I tell him, “I’ll be able to get to her again no problem, now. They’re gonna let me play hostage nanny from here on—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Declan cuts me off, “We’re coming for her. Today.”

“What?!” I gasp, my stomach flipping over, “Declan, you can’t do that. What about our plan? Are you crazy?”

“Not a bit,” he replies calmly, “We’ve received some new information about Sam. An eyewitness says that Leo ran him off the road during that bullshit race. That’s more than enough justification to—”

“No,” I cut in, “That’s not true. Leo would never—”

“Don’t tell me you’re coming down with a case of Stockholm Syndrome over there?” Declan scoffs, “Why shouldn’t I believe that Leo killed Sam, after what he’s done to Kassie?”

“Look, I’m sure that whoever’s been feeding you this shit about the Wraiths is persuasive, but Declan, they’re lying to you. Leo didn’t even want to abduct Kassie in the first place. That was a club decision. He insisted on overseeing it, to make sure she wasn’t hurt—”

“You don’t have to protect Leo, Kelly,” Declan says coolly.

“I’m not! Kassie will back me up on this—someone is messing with you, and doing a damn good job of it. The Wraiths have been getting all kinds of information, too. About the Nine. Terrible, trashy lies about your club. I don’t know why, but someone is trying to turn the Wraiths and the Nine against each other.”

“Who would want that? That’s crazy talk,” Declan says dismissively.

“Crazy or not, it’s the truth,” I insist, “Let me guess. You’ve been getting anonymous emails with all sorts of information about the Wraiths?” A moment of silence from Declan is all I need to know I’ve guessed right. “Leo’s been getting the same kind of emails,” I press on, “I’m going to hack into his account and find out who’s been sending them. If you let me look at yours too, I can—”

“It’s been three days,” Declan says, his voice twisting with agony, “I need my old lady back, Kelly. I can’t wait any longer. The time for peacemaking has passed.”

“Just give me the morning,” I plead, “Let me find out who’s been sending out all this faulty information. If I can’t figure it out on my own, you can get Kassie back on your terms. But you have to let me keep trying. Please.”

“I can’t let seventy two hours go by with her still gone,” Declan says gravely, “You can have a few more, but that’s it. Figure it out, or I’ll handle it. My way.”

And just like that, the line goes dead.

“Shit,” I mutter, staring down at my silent phone, “Looks like my day just got a whole lot more interesting.”

There’s no way I can start snooping through Leo’s email while he’s still sleeping upstairs. With my luck, he’d stumble upon me the second I cracked open his inbox. And that’s to say nothing of how guilty I’d feel in the act. No, the only thing to do is act natural. Act natural and hope Leo has some business at the Wraith’s Nest that’ll get him out of the house ASAP. I need some alone time with his hard drive if I’m going to sort this thing out.

As the morning sunlight starts to filter through the tall windows of Leo’s home, I set to work on a breakfast fit for a king. I have no idea how today is going to play out, but I do have control of this tiny act of kindness for Leo. Who knows what might go down between the Wraiths and the Nine before the day is out, but at least I can give my man a good breakfast. There’s a comfort for me in that.

My eyes sting with tears as I put on some coffee and get a couple of massive omelets cooking. I’ll blame my watery eyes on the onions if pressed, but the real reason for my melancholy is knowing that this could be the last day I get to spend as Leo’s girl. One way or another, the dice will have been cast by nightfall. Everything will be out in the open. The Wraiths will know that I’m Kassie’s friend, an agent of Dante’s Nine. And who knows if Leo will be able to forgive me for that?

As I’m slicing up a couple of apples, a new thought suddenly occurs to me. What if I was the one to tell Leo the truth?

I have to sit down, so stunned am I by the simplicity of this potential fix. I’ll break into Leo’s account and figure out who’s been sending him these damned emails. I’ll get Declan to call off his raid by sending him after the real villain. Then I’ll tell Leo what I’ve found out and come clean about why I arrived at the Wraith’s Nest in the first place. It’s not a perfect plan, and he might still be mad, but it’s the best idea I’ve come up with so far.

And that will have to be good enough.

I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs just as the coffee finishes brewing. Nothing like the smell of crispy bacon to get a man out of bed, it would seem. I wipe a few stray tears from my cheeks and plaster on my perkiest smile.

“Good morning, babe,” I call, forcing lightness into my voice, “Hope you don’t mind, I took it upon myself to whip up some breakfast.”

“Mind?” Leo asks sleepily, stepping into the kitchen, “Why would I mind?”

I nearly start drooling at the sight of him. He’s wandered downstairs in nothing but his favorite pair of perfectly worn jeans. His long hair is sleep-tousled, his eyes half-lidded. His bare chest and shoulders are relaxed, even in their sharp definition. I wish more than anything that I could drag him back to bed and have another round to start the day right…but I need to get him out the door as soon as I can. It’s a damn tragedy.

“I don’t know exactly what you like yet, so I just made a little of everything,” I smile, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Help yourself!”

“How the hell do you just keep becoming more and more perfect?” he asks, settling down across from me, “This all looks amazing.”

“Dig in,” I say cheerfully, pouring myself a cup of black coffee, “I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you.”

“We both do,” he says, grabbing a few slices of toast and slathering them with butter, “You’re on nanny duty, remember?”