“Name it.”
“Don’t tell Lyric what I did to you in there.”
She tilted her head and swore she saw regret and a plea in his eyes seconds before he masked all emotion from them again. “I won’t say a word. And for what it’s worth, I think you scored a lot of points with her by telling her Lana was here and to contact me.” It dawned on her that she and Lyric weren’t really connected. “How did you know she could get me here?”
“Smart women are always trouble.” He closed the truck door. “We’ve seen you in town getting things ready to open up your shop. The club likes to keep tabs on people and what’s happening around here. I saw you with the cop on the news. I got his name from someoneI know in Willow Fork. Since I couldn’t risk calling the cop, I called Lyric.”
“And put yourself on the line in doing so.”
“Yeah, well, babies belong with their family. I’m sorry about your sister.”
“Thank you. Do you know where Rad is?”
He shook his head. “No. But if I find out, I’ll make sure he gets what’s coming.” He frowned again. “They’re watching us. I’m going to move in like I’m going to kiss you. You shove me away and get out of here.” He didn’t wait for her to acknowledge that and leaned in close.
She put her hands on his chest, shoved him away, opened the driver’s side door, got in and got the hell out of there, thanking her lucky stars for a man like Viper, who did the right thing even in the face of danger, because if his club knew he ratted them out about the baby, there would be consequences.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lyric accepted the call as soon as her phone rang. “Is she okay?” she asked the formidable man she thought would be the last man who’d ever do something kind, even though he’d never actually done anything to warrant that assessment but be a force to reckon with just by existing.
“She’s on her way back to you right now with the baby.”
She breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you.” She never used that ridiculous name Viper. “I don’t know why you did it—”
“I wish you did.”
“—but thank you,” she spoke over him. “Wait. What did you say?”
“Nothing. Listen, things got a little dicey. Make sure Cyn’s okay when she gets there.”
“What happened? Is she hurt?”
“No.” He sounded defensive, then she got a softer, “Maybe. But not the way you think,” that he quickly added in a gruff voice. “Lobo held a gun to her head. That kind of thing fucks with you for a long time.”
She hated that it sounded like he knew that from firsthand experience. “I’m sorry that happened to her. And you,” she added.
He didn’t speak and the ensuing quiet pause held a world of something that pulled at her even as she wanted to deny it.
“If there’severanything you need, anything I can do, let me know.” She thought she heard a very faint whispered, “I need you,” before he hung up, like he hadn’t just twisted her heart up into a whirlwind of questions and emotions she didn’t want to breathe life into, let alone acknowledge.
Hunt stared at his cousin, trying to read the uncertainty, longing and upset in her eyes. “What did he say?” His demand brought her out of her thoughts.
Lyric waved her hand, like she needed to symbolically wash away whatever she was feeling. “She’s on her way. They gave her the baby. But...”
Hunt waited, but had to ask, because Lyric looked torn about telling him. “What?”
“Things got... complicated. They aren’t the trusting sort.”
“And? What does that mean?”
“Lobo, the president of the club, held a gun to her head.”
Hunt swore. “I shouldn’t have let her go alone.”
Lyric shifted her weight and cocked a hip. “Trust me. It’s better that she did. She held her own and got the baby. That’s what counts.”
“And what about how she had to go about getting thebaby? Do you have any idea what she’s been through the last couple weeks?”