Page 30 of My Enemy Biker

My phone buzzes fifteen minutes later.

Tomorrow 7pm. Bring the finalized easement paperwork. We need to talk about boundaries.

I text back.I'll be there.

Stare at my phone for another minute. Add:The promise is real. I meant every word.

Her response takes four minutes.

We'll see.

I put the phone down. Sit on my couch in the dark.

She didn't forgive me. Didn't say we're okay. Just acknowledged that I said something and she's reserving judgment on whether I meant it.

Fair.

I broke my word to her and she's making me earn her trust back. That's reasonable. Smart, even.

Doesn't make it easier.

I lean back against the cushions and think about tomorrow. About what I need to say to make this right. About whether saying anything will be enough or if I just need to prove it through action over time.

Probably the latter.

Words got me into this. Words won't get me out.

Action will.

My phone vibrates with a text from Clint: "Marsh bit. 0217 hours. In custody."

The trap worked. Leak confirmed, being handled. One threat contained.

Doesn't fix what I broke with Anna, but at least it's something.

Chapter 8 — Anna

He shows up at 6:47pm.

Thirteen minutes early. I watch from the window as his bike pulls up, see him kill the engine and just sit there staring at my front door. Preparing himself, probably.

He should be nervous.

I open the door before he can knock.

He's holding a manila folder and looks like he hasn't slept. Dark circles under his eyes, jaw tight with tension, the kind of exhaustion that comes from lying awake replaying your mistakes on repeat.

I know the feeling. My own night was shit.

"Come in."

He walks past me and the smell of him hits immediately. Leather and smoke and something underneath that's just him, and my body responds before my brain catches up. Heat low in my belly. Skin going sensitive. I'm still furious with him and my body doesn't give a damn.

He sets the folder on the kitchen table but stays standing. Waiting for me to tell him how this goes.

At least he learned that much.

I close the door, turn the deadbolt, stay on the opposite side of the room because I need distance to think straight.